Marco Polo (Treasury Casino)

Marco Polo’s website describes the dining experience as ‘‘a memorable one’’.

I agree - only my memory tells me not to return.

When I splurged to take my visiting parents for an indulgent Friday night at Treasury Casino’s finest eatery, I was expecting exquisite food, impeccable service and an atmosphere oozing with elegance. I did not envisage having to fend off children’s sticky fingers clutching at my chair as they ran around the table, or a table of dirty dishes in my immediate line of sight for half an hour.

From a battered menu to a dirty fork, there were numerous fine details to critique. Throw in a bleak atmosphere and hardly inspiring decor and our experience was disappointing, to say the least.

When the table of 12, including five noisy children, next to us became too much to bear and we complained, we received no recourse whatsoever. The manager empathised but said the owner insisted on a child-friendly business. Child-friendly is one thing; it’s another to allow them to disrupt other diners with not so much as a polite request to their parents to calm them down.

At least the chef would be happy to know the food was almost without fault.

Peking duck with shallot pancakes and hoi sin sauce ($28) was as succulent as you could expect, while salt & pepper quail with shredded lettuce and Shanghai vinegar ($24) was a new take on an old favourite.

The strong Asian influences continued throughout our mains of black angus beef tenderloin with black bean salsa and shiitake dumplings ($36), king prawns sautéed in galangal and tamarind ($32) and cashew-crusted reef fish fillet with ribbon vegetables and green curry ($30).

While enjoyable, the meals were not as extravagant as you might find in similarly revered restaurants.

My dessert of almond and soy pannacotta with spiced lychee sorbet and strawberries ($14) left me satisfied, but not overly enthused. Perhaps the chocolate soufflé with szechuan pepper ice cream and winter fruits ($16) would have suited me better.

As with every fine dining experience, we tasted the tipple, selected from an expansive global list ranging from $36 to $7500.

Sadly, though, no matter how good the food or wine, it was our neighbours’ children - and the restaurant’s disappointing lack of finishing touches - that we’ll remember most of all.