Cha Chaan Teng

Dropped by this Hong Kong-inspired cafe in Bendemeer for lunch, and the interior was pretty spacious despite the nondescript entryway. We got the Slider Duo Combo ($20.90) and the Bolo Duo Egg Combo ($13.90), and each combo came with a drink.

For the slider combo, we chose the Larry Fisherman which came with tender and flakey battered haddock encased in soft brioche bun lathered with tartar sauce. Pretty good, pretty thick fish patty, but I thought the mushy peas could stand out a little more. For the other, we chose the Cultspicy which was fried chicken thigh in a spicy-tangy Comeback sauce. This was delicious, from the crisp coating of the chicken to the addictive sauce - highly recommend. The combo came with a generous side of fries which was fantastically crisp and tasty.
The Bolo egg combo was also nice, and we liked the contrast of the sweet bolo bun and kaya butter against the salty slab of luncheon meat. The half-boiled egg was also a nice touch - I saved some of the bolo bun to dip in the egg mix! As for the drinks, the matcha latte was passable but the masala chai latte was really good.

The main downside of the meal was that I thought the pricing could be clearer and the service could have a bit more initiative. There were multiple menus at the table and the waitress could have put in more effort to explain the various selections. For example, she only mentioned that choosing the crabby patty in the slider duo would be an extra $5 after we chose it rather than upfront, and only after paying did I realise the price of each combo I was charged was $1 extra from the menu prices. Was it for the drinks? I thought the lunch set came with the drink? Also, I had to walk up to the open kitchen to grab someone's attention for a refill of water, when it was just us in the eatery. Hence, overall there was cosy ambience with good brunch food, but I would hesitate to return.

Had been wanting to check out Cha Chaan Teng at Lavender Street for quite a while — Cha Chaan Teng had first surfaced at Lavender Street some time back in late 2023 / early 2024, being a bar that is being themed after the nostalgic vibes of Hong Kong in the 1980s. Whilst probably better known for being a bar that operates form the evening, Cha Chaan Teng had finally launched their lunch menu after being only opened exclusively for dinner onwards in mid-May 2024. Having came across various social media posts on the establishment from its evening operations, the environment is a little more subdued in its day time operations — the entire space is being lit in white lighting almost akin to that of a cinema post-screening of a movie; quite different from the moody red / green lit interiors that would make for a great setting for some alcoholic drinks. The interior decor theme is pretty much period correct for the theme that they are going for — while the front sees an emphasis on its wooden furniture and fittings, the further end of the shophouse sees booth seatings matched against tiled mosaic flooring that evokes those retro vibes that they intended to recreate. While the dinner menu is more focused on their sharing plates that would work better for communal dining as well as also on their variety of cocktails, the lunch menu (available from 11am to 3pm, from Wednesdays to Mondays) circles around their noodles, rice and toast items that form the Mains section of the menu; there are also a small list of bites in the Sides section of the menu as well. Only non-alcoholic beverage options are available during lunch hours, which includes items like Kopi, Teh, Yuan Yang, Ovaltine, Milo and Homemade lemon tea, while a lone dessert is also available during lunch service which would be the Soeng Pei Naai.

Both of the mains that we have had during our visit to Cha Chaan Teng for their first week of their lunch service on a weekend afternoon does see a bit of a unique take of their own despite being items that we are very familiar with. Take for instance the Wan Tan Min (Dry); the menu describe the dish to come with elements such as noodles, fried pork dumplings, cha siu, bok choy, spring onions, and pickled chillies. Giving the item a good toss before digging in, we did find that the noodles does come with a savoury note from the oil that it was tossed in. The noodles does come a little softer and less springy than what we had expected them to be, though it does seem that the folks here did not seem to have used the usual egg noodles that we are familiar with in the making of the items. Surprisingly, the Wan Tan Min (Dry) does not come with noodles that carried an alkaline note — something that is a little more typical of Hong Kong-style wanton noodles, while the noodles used are also a bit broader; it is also noted that the noodles here does come with an ending note typical to that of Ee Mian, though way milder with said notes. We really liked the fried pork dumplings that it came with; well-packed with juicy meat that really provides a burst of savouriness as one chews into it — the fried wanton also almost free from grease, and the golden-brown fried wrapper also being absolutely crisp while at it. We also noted that the Cha Siu here was a little less like the typical Cha Siu that one would typically expect for a bowl of wanton Mee — whilst we were expecting something similar to that of BBQ Pork served at a Hong Kong-style roast meat stall, the slices of pork belly here felt rather crusty on the exterior; almost more like oven-roasted pork belly slices that were free from any undesirable porky stench, but also came with a lack of a sweet, sticky glaze that work have made it closer to being actual Cha Siu.

The sprinkling of fried onions added a lightly crisp texture to the entire bowl, while the Bok Choy provides a wholesome and refreshing crunch that gave a balance to the noodles and the meats. The Cha Siu Faan interestingly saw a different type of meat from the Cha Siu that was being served with our Wan Ton Min (Dry); this one seemingly does come with all diced up though was also nothing quite close to the conventional plate of Char Siew Rice out there. It is a refreshing take where the Char Siew does not exactly come in neat slices but more in chunks; the savouriness seemingly similar to that or the local version of braised pork rice but with a dimension of sweetness added on top of it. We had given all three (3) of the sides listed on their lunch menu a go during our visit; the Chee Cheong Fun is one that is likely not to disappoint being just the “Classic steamed rice paper rolls with sweet soy sauce and spring onions”; the thin rice rolls absorbing the flavours of the sweet and savoury soy sauce that puddles at the bottom of the plate that it is served in. The Daan Tart comes in a serving size of a pair; we did find these to be pretty intriguing considering how thin the buttery, cookie-like pastry was so much that it was translucent — one could definitely notice the yellow egg curd that it was holding at the bottom here. While the egg curd comes all soft and wobbly, we did find the egg curd a tad sweet for our liking. For the Bo Lou Baau, patrons do have a choice to have it with a slab of butter, or go for the add-ons such as scrambled eggs or luncheon meat — we went with the default option of butter for our order, with the Bo Lou Baau coming with a crusty exterior that exudes a milky sweetness which we found to hit the spot.

While the Kopi a little sweet but very silky smooth and exudes a slight fragrance of milk, it was the Paau Bing Shaved Ice from the Tong Shui category of the cocktail menu that really caught us by surprise — we were especially glad that the folks acceded to our request on ordering this despite an item only available for dinner service; a cocktail served in a form of a shaved ice dessert, we like how this was a fusion between the Hong Kong-style shaved ice dessert and our local Chendol. The smart use of banana shaved ice, discarded banana rum cream and Shanky Irish Whiskey recreated very familiar flavours with a boozy touch. Despite being a Hong Kong-themed eatery, it does seem that Cha Chaan Teng is an establishment that clearly has its own way of doing things; the dishes that we had tried from their lunch menu does comprises of some elements of surprise especially for the items that are being listed on the Mains section of the menu — the way in which the dishes had been executed might not be how one expects it to be, but still can be regarded as inventive for the sort of establishment that Cha Chaan Teng is known to be. The way in which Cha Chaan Teng has set up its lunch menu also does seem like an attempt to reach a wider audience — their set lunch is priced at $13.90++ that includes a Main, a Side and a Drink; rather affordable way to give Cha Chaan Teng a try whilst giving a number of their lunch time-only offerings a go that might hopefully trigger interests in some to visit them during their dinner service. Looking forward to be back at Cha Chaan Teng someday to give their dinner offerings a go (and also experience the true vibes the space brings as the sun goes down)!