Have been following Jin Yu Man Tang Dessert ever since their days at The Flow along East Coast Road — more or less also a destination which I would go for if I am craving for some Cantonese-style desserts whenever I am in the East. Naturally quite intrigued when they had first announced the opening of their new outlet at 291 South Bridge Road, which is a distance away from Chinatown MRT Station and also a stone’s throw away from Maxwell Food Centre, and the upcoming Maxwell MRT Station on the upcoming Phase 3 of the Thomson-East Coast Line once it is officially open. Taking over the former premises of the standalone outlet of Zion Road Big Prawn Noodle (the stall at Zion Riverside Food Centre is still in operation), the folks at Jin Yu Man Tang Dessert had done a total revamp of the space to include a front porch area that gives a segregation between the indoor dining hall, as well as the small outdoor dining area at the porch. Whilst the new outlet only features a dining area on the ground level as opposed to one that is split between the ground floor and a mezzanine level as per the outlet at The Flow, both outlets are decked in a similar style where wooden furnishing and fittings can be found amidst the largely white-coloured interior — though done in a way that also incorporates some form of oriental flavour but tastefully done for a modern touch. Just like their outlet at The Flow, the menu spans across various categories — the main focus here would definitely be on their Cantonese-style desserts which includes items like their Signature Ginger Milk Pudding, Peach Gum, Grass Jelly, Double Layered Milk, Sesame Paste etc., though finger food such as the Secret Sauce Chicken Wingette are also available. For those looking for something more substantial, they do also offer a limited selection of Chee Cheong Fun (think Mixed Sauce Chee Cheong Fun), and some noodle dishes as well. The menu here at South Bridge Road is said to be the same as the one served at The Flow, though the only outlet-exclusive item would be the tea menu, where patrons can opt for a pot of tea to enjoy with their choice of food items.

Hadn’t really tried the Sweet Glutinous Mixed Rice Balls with Chrysanthemum before at The Flow so decided to go for this instead. Coming with ginger soup, they have also included chrysanthemum flower alongside five glutinous rice balls of mixed flavours to go along. Taking a sip of the ginger soup, the ginger soup is light and refreshing — liked how the soup here is pretty clean without having been sweetened; there is a light hint of spiciness that slowly “warms up” to the throat here as one sips through the entire bowl, though it is of particular note that the floral infusion of chrysanthemum does not quite pull through here somehow. Of the five glutinous rice balls, two of them are of the “crystal” sort with sweet potato filling, while another two contains peanut fillings — the remaining rice ball contains black sesame filling. The glutinous rice balls do seem to be more of the commercial sort which is can be bought from supermarkets; they were decently bouncy without being overly sweet in general.

Jin Yu Man Tang Dessert has come quite a bit in its journey in the F&B scene in Singapore — having started quite a number of years ago, they have sailed through the period where restrictions were imposed on dine-in establishments due to the pandemic, whilst also becoming a rather popular choice for Cantonese-style dessert in the Katong neighbourhood. It is pretty heartening to see how they have come so far — their strongest suit perhaps being in their Signature Ginger Milk Pudding where it used to be served right in front of the patron with theatrics similar to what one would expect at a fine dining establishment. Whilst there are no new items being served in the menu at their South Bridge Road outlet during the time of our visit, this new outlet does serve as a more convenient location for those who have yet to visit the one at The Flow to try them out — probably also the outlet that I would head to if I am craving for their Signature Ginger Milk Pudding in the future as well!