Review: Qin Restaurant and Bar – Reinvented Chinese Cuisine With International Touches

Qin is the inhouse restaurant of The Clan Hotel. Opened by Tunglok Group, the restaurant serves Chinese food but with a modern twist. In Chinese, the restaurant name is 亲 which means kinship, in keeping with the overall theme of The Clan Hotel.

Located at the 5th floor of the property, the venue boasts of sweeping views of Singapore’s CBD owing to Qin’s high loft-style layout and floor-to-ceiling windows. Qin is comprised of two levels – the lower level is where the restaurant is located while the upper loft level is a bar where guests can unwind before or after their meal. The walls here are quite notable with their TCM medicine cabinets – inspired design.

Given that the restaurant is by Tunglok Group, I was actually expecting something more traditional but the cuisine is pleasantly fresh and outward looking, taking inspiration from Singapore and beyond. 

Get 20% discounted vouchers at Qin Restaurant here

The Thunderclap Roti Prata (S$12) – our first course – gave clues that this is not one’s usual Chinese restaurant. While the dish by itself might seem rather pedestrian, the roti prata came topped with generous portions of truffle mayo, caviar, egg white and mimosa – rendering it to be a unique start to the meal. The prata came fresh from the oven – still warm and chewy. I did not expect to like the dish when I first saw it but it was delightful.

Next up was the Qin’s Slaw (S$22). It came with lettuce, peanuts and crispy taro on top. The ginger plum dressing gave quite a strong CNY yu sheng taste to it, sans the fish.

One of the heavily recommended mains at Qin is the Short Rib (S$68). At 400 grams, each serving is good enough for two. The beef is grilled over binchotan and marinated with sambal matah, giving it a Southeast Asian kick. There is also a slice of lime on the side to slather all over the meat for a bit of a zing. The meat itself was highly tender and the fibers easily collapsed as I sliced a couple of pieces – certainly softer than what I have come to expect from Angus beef.

Qin has a dessert called Pineapple Tart (S$15) in the menu. While I initially thought it was more in keeping with the CNY staple, their pineapple tart here is a literal pineapple-flavored western-style tart which was more to my liking. It is not all pineapple though. The fruity flavor is further enhanced with passionfruit curd and coconut sorbet. Aged cheddar gives it a more creamy texture.

We finished off with a second dessert  – Rose Love Letter (S$12) with a cute rose pattern on both sides of the stick. The actual rose flavor here is infused into the aerated cream within. I like how the cream did not feel heavy at all even though this was the last course that we had.

Overall, QIN turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It has quite a beguiling menu and I’d be curious to try the other dishes to see how they are interpreted here.

Get discounted vouchers for Qin Restaurant here

QIN Restaurant and Bar
5/F The Clan Hotel
10 Cross Street
Singapore 048417

+65 6980 3535 / 9459 2388

Opening Hours:

Weekdays: 6:30AM to 10:30AM / 11:30AM to 3PM / 6:30PM to 10:30PM
Weekends: 6:30AM to 11:30AM / 12PM tp 3PM / 6:30PM to 10:30PM

Bar is open daily from 3PM to 10:30PM