In the ancient-looking flour mill better known as Prima Tower, a certain Chef Chan has been whipping up dishes after dishes of Beijing and Cantonese delicacies for 30 long years. At Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant, diners are not just there because of its lengthy history but are, instead, drawn towards the highly acclaimed Crispy Peking Duck and the novelty of feasting while rotating ten floors above ground-level.

• The Vibe
  A bird's eye view of HarbourFront and Sentosa sounds fantastic but to enjoy such a panoramic view all 360 degrees without shifting an inch on your own is amazing. The only unforgiving factor lies with the out-of-fashion interior dιcor and withering exterior of the Prima Tower itself. If you are willing to forgo such petty issues, Prima Tower will allow you an unobstructed view of the coastline from any table.

• The Food
  Chef Chan's expertise is honed through the decades to receive much affirmation from the Singapore Tourism Board. A visit to Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant must be accompanied by his 2 signature dishes – Shredded Scallops with Fish & Egg White ($25 - Small / $38 – Medium / $50 - Large) and the Authentic Barbequed Peking Duck ($55). The former dish comes with a generous serving of scallop, albeit shredded, and achieves an ideal consistency that does not overwhelm. Add a dash of pepper and vinegar to taste and you have an unusually tasty alternative from the usual Chinese shark's fin. Be careful not to get carried away with this dish because it is rather starchy and fills you up fast.

  The Peking duck is bound to impress with its gloriously oily sheen and tender meat. The fat ducks at Prima Tower are flown in from America and skinned, sliced and wrapped into individual parcels upon presentation. You can choose to have your parcels wrapped in a rice-flour skin or a yellow egg skin. The yellow egg skin is slightly sweet and much softer than the white rice-flour one, which offers a chewy texture highly contrasted against the crispy duck skin, crunchy cucumber stalks and tender meat. The faint aroma of rice-flour blends in very well with their slightly sweet Peking duck sauce, making it irresistible.

  The Crispy Garoupa with Salt & Pepper ($55) is aptly named, promising a lovely combination of crispy skin and soft, flaky flesh. Heavily seasoned with salt and pepper, the garoupa is a tantalizing flavour of garlic that enhances the freshness of the fish. Diners may choose to have their fish done ‘half-half', meaning their whole fish is prepared in 2 ways – half steamed and half deep fried – to cater for people who want the best of both worlds.

  The Pan-fried Fresh Scallops with Seasonal Vegetables ($40 – Small / $60 – Medium / $80 – Large) was a disappointment compared to its earlier comrades. Fresh whole scallops, wrapped in a layer of minced chicken meat and pan-fried, result in pretty ingots of gold. Although the dish looks tempting, the ingots are drenched in a sauce, making them soggy and less palatable than it appears to be. The minced chicken is too salty, especially against the muted sweetness of scallop, which makes the dish pale in comparison with the first scallop-and-egg-white delicacy.

  Prima Tower revived the situation with a sticky finale of Toffee Banana ($18 – Small / $27 – Medium / $36 – Large), which sounds uncharacteristically out of place in a Chinese restaurant like Prima Tower. Despite the enigmatic name, Toffee Banana is actually an authentic dessert that hails from Beijing. Chunks of warm, mushy banana are coated in a hot sticky caramel that is reminiscent of Chinese malt candy and soaked in ice water briefly. The rapid cooling of sticky caramel results in an extremely crunchy exterior with the banana still warm and mushy within. Customers may also choose to skip the ice water stage and enjoy the stickiness of toffee on their teeth, although Chef Chan advises against anything too sticky for people with dentures.

• The Service
  Service is typical of Chinese restaurants, although they ought to be commended for keeping plates and bowls absolutely spotless. Waiting time is relative to your orders and the dining crowd since Chef Chan and his kitchen are known to take great pride in serving fresh, piping hot dishes.

The SD Food Advisor's Take on Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant
The restaurant's survival throughout the decades is good enough a testament towards its tasty food, despite the unappealing appearance of Prima Tower itself. Some may enjoy the novelty of dining and revolving simultaneously but others may find the experience a giddy one. My advice: if in doubt, be seated facing the interior instead of the windows so that you are less likely to detect the gradual rotation. Personally, it is a shame to miss trying the Peking duck just because you are susceptible to motion sickness or is averse to old buildings – good food, after all, comes at some form of price.