Cuisine: Chinese fusion
Address: 2 Circular Road Singapore (049358)
Nearest MRT: Clarke Quay station (North-east line)

Walking past the shop, you wouldn’t have expected a bar/ restaurant in this nondescript premises. There is a table for collection of takeaway orders, a drinks counter and an average looking fridge stocked with canned drinks. If you walk past too quickly, you might even miss out on this place. Across the road, there is a coffee shop and down the street, many bars and restaurants serve a wide variety of cuisines, from Thai to Japanese to Indian or Italian.

Tucked away at Circular Road near Boat Quay, this speakeasy bar unfolds itself in the dark, revealing a 93-seater space which contrasts vastly with the humble fridge entrance. What may look like a regular beer fridge in a kopitiam is actually a secret door that opens up into its own inner recesses. Reminiscent of Chinatown gambling dens and secret society hangouts, the walls of The Dragon Chamber are covered with artwork from local and regional artists such as Sabotage, Mister Tucks, and Riandy Karuniawan, referencing past and recent Chinese tradition from a globalist, counter-culture point of view. The place boasts a bar, a private dining area, and an even more private VVIP room – in line with the ‘secret’ Chinese mafia vibes of the restaurant. With the current dining in restrictions, the tables have been pulled apart to accommodate at most 2 people per group.

As part of the set menu for 2, we were served 2 glasses of prosecco. It is quite a good deal to go with the set menu, as you get to try the signature dishes at Dragon’s Chamber and also to have a wide variety of dishes.

Two different soups were served. One is a double-boiled soup with mushroom, sea whelk, conpoy and the other soup is a prawn broth with assorted seafood. The latter feels like drinking a rich soup from the prawn noodles stall, as the prawn broth was strong and made the soup very tasty. I like how the soup and utensils are served in traditional Chinese porcelain, giving it an authentic feel to this Chinese restaurant.

For starters, we chose two beef skewers. The beef cubes were well marinated and juicy. The cherry tomatoes by the side were roasted lightly and they burst in our mouths with sweet flavours. The other option for starters is the wasabi prawn with tobiko, which we decided not to try.

Next, there was Tofu duo in pumpkin gravy. There were four pieces of tofu and the layout is very aesthetic, with alternate pieces of tofu and pumpkin. The tofu was black (charcoal) and the other was the normal egg tofu. I liked the glazed pumpkin that was slightly charred and provides a hint of sweetness. The pumpkin gravy was not too thick and allowed for the tofu to soak up its flavours.

The other mains is the Kinmedai fish with crispy scales. It is not easy to prepare such a fish dish, especially if the scales are not fried properly. I have watched contestants on Masterchef preparing this delicate dish and they did not manage to remove the scales properly. However, over here at Dragon Chamber, the fish was fried to perfection, and the scales provided an additional crunch to the dish. For people who are not fans of eating fish due to the numerous bones, this dish is suitable for them because the fish meat is quite easy to pick out and there are not many tiny bones.

For vegetables, we had Kale stir fry. It is a very simple dish, stir fried with some oyster sauce and garlic.

The last meat dish is the Roast Irish duck (quarter). I liked the seasoning of the duck, however, there were too many bones in the duck which made the eating experience unpleasant. For the duck, they also provided a dipping sauce by the side, which is sweet and sour, something like plum sauce. Since our tiny table for 2 could not fit all the dishes at once, the staff kindly helped us to set up a small standing table by the side to place the remaining dishes.

Lastly, the toilets here are very unique as well. They follow the Chinese characters “ao” and “tu” to represent “female” and “male” respectively. Even for those not familiar with Chinese characters, I am sure based on the shape and colours associated with each character, you can differentiate which toilet to go to easily.

The set menu for 2 cost $108 which is a good deal, as when you were to add up the individual dishes based on the menu price, it would come up to $173.

Open till 12am daily, you can also come here for drinks. Familiar classics are given a contemporary flair at The Dragon Chamber. Their Mojito Twist ($16++), for example, features a five-spice syrup for a piquant punch. Crazy For Coconuts ($22++) is made with coconut cold brew and pandan tincture – a tinge of local flavours and also a great drink to end the night with. The Dragon Chamber is definitely worth a visit for its modern take on Chinese cuisine and also for the gangster vibes based on the interior design. Don’t worry, it is a safe place for food and drinks, fights do not break out easily here.