Residents of Bukit Panjang are pretty much a lucky bunch — Hillion Mall has lately seen quite a revamp in its F&B tenants of the late, especially with the opening of Common Grill by COLLIN'S, Kebabwala and Wok The Fish! By A-One F&B Group being new concepts that had recently opened up within the mall bringing those living in its vicinity a wider variety of F&B options to choose from. Also newly-opened in Hillion Mall at Basement 2 beside Pontian Wanton Noodles is Nan Yang Dao. Those whom have been following our posts would probably find the name familiar — Nan Yang Dao is a concept that focuses much on serving up Malaysian-style Chinese cuisine that has been around for a while now; their first outlet being situated at the foot of the HDB block at Blk 262 Serangoon Central in early to mid 2022. Since then, Nan Yang Dao has gained a loyal following — the folks had also opened a second location at Blk 119 Aljunied Avenue 2. The Hillion Mall outlet marks Nan Yang Dao’s first concept that has opened within a shopping mall; the outlet at Hillion Mall being the concept with a somewhat more upscale dining environment as compared to their previous locations in Serangoon and Aljunied featuring proper dining chairs with tables with a terrazzo-esque table top. Whilst most of its other locations are decked in a shade of royal green that is pretty prevalent in their branding, the outlet at Hillion Mall maintains a clean look with white walls and mixture of wooden-esque and mosaic-esque flooring — the application of royal green being restricted to the walls and cabinets. For those whom are familiar with Nan Yang Dao’s offerings, the menu served up at Hillion Mall is largely the same as what is being offered at their Aljunied outlet — the menu is being segregated into sections such as Appetisers / Small Bites, Nanyang Platter, Puchong Curry Prawn Claypot, Main Dishes — Stir Fry / Noodles, Signature Trio Mini Noodles, Nanyang Nasi Lemak / Fried Nasi Lemak, Nanyang Rendang Drumstick Rice, Nanyang Prawn Fried Rice, Signature Dishes and Signature Desserts. For beverages, Nan Yang Dao offers a Tea series, as well as Signature 3 Layers Coffee / Tea and other concoctions made from concentrates apart from the usual selection of canned beverages.

We ordered quite a number of dishes during our visit to their Hillion Mall outlet which we have had previously at both their Serangoon and Aljunied outlets in our prior visits made. One dish that we have not had a proper taste previously on would be the Penang Fried Kway Teow — an item which a friend had went for during our second visit to their Serangoon Central outlet. On first look, the Penang Fried Kway Teow from Nan Yang Dao looks pretty much like what one would expect from any other establishment that serves up the same dish — the fried kway teow coming in a light brown hue that comes wok-fried with other elements such as that of fried egg, Chinese sausage, as well as bean sprouts. It also comes with two prawns as well. Digging into the Penang Fried Kway Teow, we note that the flavours of the Penang Fried Kway Teow were pretty decent despite its slightly dry looks — the Fried Kway Teow being lightly savoury with just enough flavour; all that whilst carrying that slight wok-hei that further enhances the flavours of dish further. Despite its rather dry appearance, we would say that the Penang Fried Kway Teow here is laced with enough oil for the Fried kway Teow to be still pretty slurpy but without feeling all oily and greasy at the same time. Amidst all of that would be the other elements that they have included; this includes the chunks of fluffy fried egg and the crunchy beansprouts — the Chinese XO sausage coming at just about the right size to provide a good bite whilst contributing that hint of sweetness to the otherwise savoury plate of Penang Fried Kway Teow. And then there comes the prawns; the prawns came reasonably fresh and again provided a good bite — a rather welcomed addition that was made easy-to-eat considering how Nan Yang Dao serves them peeled to the convenience of their patrons; a thoughtful move.

With their very first outlet at Serangoon Central barely coming up to their first anniversary of operations, Nan Yang Dao seems to be pretty aggressive in its expansion plans — it is no easy feat for an indie F&B establishment to have two outlets open within the same year, and Nan Yang Dao’s latest outlet being opened in a shopping mall is something that comes rather unexpected to some; especially those whom have been following closely with them since the very beginning. It does seem to us that Nan Yang Dao has reached some form of maturity and stability in what it wants to serve the crowd with its concept since its early days in Serangoon Central. That being said, we can’t help but to notice a small discrepancy in the quality of the food served up at Hillion Mall against our previous experience at their outlet in Aljunied and Serangoon; the dishes served at Hillion Mall did seem a little drier in comparison to what we have had at the other outlets, and this was evidently so for the Penang Pasar Malam Carrot Cake that felt like it lacked a little something for all of the elements to gel together. That being said, the slight discrepancy in the quality of food does not seem to be something too stark for first-timers to the brand’s offerings to take notice, though might be worthwhile for them to look into. We also noticed one of their staff wiping the remnants of food left behind by another table onto the floor; something which did not seem to be too pleasant. Nonetheless, these could be teething issues, considering we had dropped by their Hillion small outlet within the first week of their operations. With prices of their food mostly priced below $10 for individually-sized portions of rice and noodles, Nan Yang Dao is a pretty pocket-friendly option for an establishment that is situated within the mall — definitely somewhere that most folks would not mind dining at for comfort food that is close to the heart. We do hope that Nan Yang Dao does look into the small issues as they smoothen out their operations in time to come; but we do wish that they would be able to maintain the standards set by their Serangoon and Aljunied outlets with any new outlets that is to come!