SINGAPORE - A gourmet meal made with ancient healing philosophies and herbs may be just the tonic for those seeking the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine but with a modern touch.

At "Red White & Pure" in Singapore, diners can savour dishes prepared with traditional herbs such as selfheal spike and jujube, sip water from Mount Fuji, and end the meal on a sweet note with bird's nest ice cream.

A salad made using traditional Chinese medicine philosophies and ingredients
are seen in this undated handout photo. [Reuters]

If all that goodness is not fortifying enough, you can also could head upstairs for a consultation with the resident traditional Chinese medicine physician who might recommend a herbal remedy or a spot of acupuncture.

Red White & Pure is a new venture for Eu Yan Sang, a purveyor of traditional Chinese medicine in Singapore since the late nineteenth century.

The chic two-level restaurant-cum-spa is located in Singapore's largest shopping mall and looks nothing like the dusty, smelly herbal dispensary that many people associate with traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM.

The spacious first floor has an elegant dining room with an expansive waterfront view and low wicker couches for intimate conversations by the bar. Upstairs, there are rooms for yoga, acupuncture, for weight and skin consultations as well as beauty treatments such as facials with lingzhi mushroom and gold foil.

The menu features organic greens and hearty entree choices such as beef cheek, chicken curry and fish cooked with various ingredients such as tamarind, ginseng, Buddha's fruit, angelica root and reishi mushroom.

Bing Lam, the co-owner of Red White & Pure, created the menu with the traditional Chinese medicine philosophy of foods with warming and cooling qualities in mind.

The "xiakucao", or selfheal spike, that encrusts the salmon served with a dollop of apple juice foam has a cooling effect and will get rid of excess heat in the body and the angelica root in the massamun chicken curry has blood nourishing properties and is especially beneficial for women, waiters say.

Diners can toast their health with hot herbal teas made from Chinese bell flower, honeysuckle, gingko leaves, and mulberry.

"People might have the perception that traditional Chinese medicine means bitter foods, or having seahorses in your soup," said Joanna Wong, head of Eu Yan Sang corporate communications.

"But we serve appetizing and fresh cuisine that's innovative and attractive to a bigger base consumers - not just traditional users of Chinese medicine," she told Reuters.

The modern twist on tradition is popular among customers.

"I like the idea of the modernising of TCM and the fact that it can be incorporated it into modern restaurant culture. The food was good and didn't taste at all like medicine, not that I was expecting it to," said diner Yi Jun Lin, 25.