If you want to try out the Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck restaurant on weekends, especially during lunch time, it is advisable to make reservations. An advance order of the Peking Duck is required if you want to guarantee its spot on the dining table. 
All photos by Chong Yap
Food critic Chong Yap of popular food blog Make Your Calories Count, was at the Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck restaurant at The Paragon to find out why it has won the hearts of gourmands and casual diners alike. The award winning restaurant chain has even bagged the World Gourmet Summit Award of Excellence.
Apart from the renowned Michelin guide of good restaurants, another reputable ranking organisation is undoubtedly the 'World's 50 Best Restaurants'. Having recently tried Nahm, ranked third in Asia, and previously Fook Lam Moon, ranked 48th in Asia, we are highly convinced of the guide's stringent levels of assessment of food quality, ambience and levels of customer service.
Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck restaurant is currently ranked 40th in Asia. It is named after its signature dish, the Peking Duck.
Peking Duck | S$68/++ (Verdict: 8.5/10)We enjoyed the crispy thin roasted duck skin that complemented the tender, juicy duck meat. All diners at the table were individually given a slice of the skin, which was slightly dabbed with sugar and you could literally hear the crunchiness as the skin is munched!
Pancakes for wrapping roasted duck skinMy complaint was that the steamed pancakes were served at room temperature and the sides were curled up and had hardened. They were also slightly too thick for our liking but we liked it that the roasted Peking Duck was cooked to perfection.
Braised ee-fu noodles with roast duck | S$10/++ (Verdict: 7.5/10)During our last visit, we requested for the remnants of the duck to be served and on this occasion, we requested for them to be used with another dish to share. While the noodles were cooked to al dente and beautifully braised, we surely were not served the full remnants of the roast duck.
Egg tarts | S$3.30/++ (Verdict: 8.0/10)
The puff pastry to the egg tart was rich in butter and had a beautiful fragrance. It was not overly satiating despite the buttery and flaky pastry base and was surely one of the better egg tarts we have tried. Arguably, the taste of the custard egg filling could have been stronger.
BBQ pork bun | S$4.20/++ (Verdict: 8.0/10)
Coated with a mildly sweet layer of crust, it lacked the crispness found in Tim Ho Wan as it was slightly limp. We enjoyed the beautifully roasted char siew on the inside which carried a tinge of fragrance from Chinese rose wine. It brought back fond memories of our visit to Dim Sum Square in Hong Kong.
BBQ pork pastry | S$4.20/++ (Verdict: 9.0/10)
This was surely one of the top BBQ pork pastries we tried. Every element of it was executed well, from the fragrant and buttery puff pastry to the roasted char siew inside (which was the same filling as that of the BBQ pork bun).
BBQ pork rice roll | S$5.50/++ (Verdict: 8.5/10)
It was hard for this dish to be a miss when the core ingredient, the BBQ pork (char siew), was such a hit in the two dishes above. The rice roll was thin, not overly starchy and the savoury soy sauce nicely complemented it and suited our palate. Another classic dim sum dish well prepared.
Pan-fried carrot cake | S$4.20/++ (Verdict: 8.5/10)
Yet another classic dim sum that is a must-have on the dining table. The pan-fried carrot cake nailed all the basics, good seasoning of the radish and a nice layer of crispness on the surface which complemented the soft radish.
Coconut tart | S$3.30/++ (Verdict: 9.0/10)
Personally, I always find that coconut tarts belong to a special category of food where it has an acquired taste among foodies. I never thought of trying it till my days of living in Hong Kong led me to try it one day and since then, I fell in love with it and is in search for the best one in Singapore since it is not a common pastry even among the Chinese dim sum restaurants. This coconut tart easily won me over with that crispy puff pastry and the freshness of the coconut which had a natural sweetness and fragrance to match. It was good enough for me to request a second serving but it was sold out by then!
Ha Kau - prawn dumpling | S$5/++ (Verdict: 8.0/10)
We enjoyed that the skin of the prawn dumpling was thin and not excessively starchy but serving dumplings with torn skin was hardly acceptable. The prawns used were fresh with a natural sweetness and had a nice crunch and it was really a shame that the wrapping workmanship let the dish down. Apart from that, in all fairness, it won us over in terms of its savoury taste and flavours.
Siew Mai - Pork dumplings | S$4.80/++ (Verdict: 8.5/10)
A classic dim sum cooked well. Expect to enjoy the savouriness from the juicy pork dumpling carefully sized to suit a mouthful.
Steamed custard bun | S$4.20/++ (Verdict: 8.5/10)
No prizes for guessing this is the most popular dish. We ordered three servings of it! The skin of the bun wrapping the filling was soft but too thick for our liking. However, the sweetness of the salted egg yolk custard bun suited our palate perfectly and what we enjoyed was that while it was runny, it maintained viscosity and it was more of a case of generous filling. Another round, please.
Glutinous rice with chicken | S$4/++ (Verdict: 8.5/10)
We enjoyed the soft glutinous rice that was sticky and fragrant. Unwrapping the lotus leaf that imparts the fragrance to the rice, we dug into the savouriness of the diced chicken and Chinese mushrooms!
Coconut cake | S$3.30/++ (Verdict: 6.0/10)
Just when we were expecting the desserts to be as good as the dim sum mains, we were disappointed with this coconut cake. Served chill, it was too 'curdy' and while it had a strong coconut fragrance, it lacked a refreshing taste and freshness, and tasted artificial.
Sago cream with mango | S$5/++ (Verdict: 7.5/10)
This traditional Chinese dessert is usually on my must-try list and undoubtedly so on this occasion. It has a rich, creamy and strong taste of mango blended with drapes of pomelo sparingly in each bowl. I prefer more texture so I would enjoy tasting the mango fruit itself rather than blended. That said, this was a good and refreshing rendition but there was a large discrepancy in the quantity of ingredients in the bowls we ordered. One of them barely had pomelo while the other had large chunks of it.
Glutinous ball with sesame | S$1/++ each (Verdict: 9.0/10)
Just when we thought that we were about to conclude our meal with a disappointing offer of desserts, this surprised us pleasantly! Coated with roasted crushed nuts, the soft and thin layer of glutinous ball packed a generous amount of sesame filling that had the desired level of sweetness (even our mum agreed that it was good!). The nice complementing layers of textures surely sealed the dessert for us, not to mention that it was sized perfectly for a mouthful pop!
Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant
290 Orchard Road #05-42/45
Paragon Singapore 238859
Tel: (+65) 6732 7838