Chinese

It’s been a while since I ate at Dumpling Darlings but it is still as good when I had lunch there recently! The Lunch Set ($17) comes with a noodles, dumplings and a drink of your choice.

The Sichuan Pork Noodles and Braised Pork Noodles are delicious. The springy egg noodles go very well with the flavourful Sichuan minced meat and shredded pork ragu. The fried shallots and bacon sofrito add a nice crunch and fragrance to the noodles, and the Hanjuku egg is the cherry on top of the cake. Love it!

There is a variety of dumplings to choose from and they are generally good. The original dumplings feature thin dumpling skin with tasty pork and cabbage filling. However, the dumpling with the wow factor would have to be Fried Pierogi, which is a crispy parcel of smoked bacon, truffle potatoes, caramelised onions and cheddar. I’m not a big fan of deep-fried food but this is so good.

The iced drinks are equally good - I love their Grapefruit Thyme Green Tea and Longan Osmanthus Pu-Erh. Overall, this is a pretty good lunch spot in CBD given the quality and portion of the food served - satisfied!

The 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗿 𝗙𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶 𝗣𝗼𝗵 𝗞𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗼𝘄 ($𝟮𝟮 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺) is really good. The kway teow is akin to a springier version of hor fun and the large surface area of the kway teow is thorough coated in chai poh - this is very tasty and fragrant!

The 𝗧𝗲𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝘂𝗰𝗸 ($𝟭𝟮 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹) is actually quite tough and I didn’t quite enjoy this.

The 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗲 is full of flavour and the prawns are coated in a savoury oyster sauce - pretty delicious!

The 𝗢𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 is unlike the oyster omelette found in hawker centres - it is doused in a sauce that can be quite greasy, especially when you are eating it on its own without rice. Personally, I prefer the dry kind of oyster omelette which is crispier and comes with a chewy flour mixture.

𝗧𝗼𝗳𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝗸𝗶 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝗶 𝗕𝗮𝗶 𝗩𝗲𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 is a pretty standard dish, but nonetheless comforting and homely.

I’m a big fan of pork belly, so the 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝘂𝗻 is totally up my alley. The pork belly is soft and thoroughly braised, and they go very well with the warm pillowy buns.

Peng Restaurant Catering Services is a old school Teochew restaurant at 30 Lorong 1 Realty Park. My family went there for the first time and we ordered the 𝟱-𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘂 ($𝟭𝟯𝟴) for dinner.

First up, we had 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗵 which came with ngor hiang, salad prawns, smoked duck and century egg. The ngor hiang is stuffed with chunky bits of prawn, pork and carrots, wrapped in beancurd skin and deep fried - it is pretty good with the sweet sauce that is served on the side.

I had lunch at Tiong Bahru Hainanese Curry Rice & Chicken Rice and one thing that struck me is that the rice is really delicious - it is plump, moist and thoroughly infused with the fragrance of chicken fat.

We ordered Half Steamed Chicken ($13) and Half Roasted Chicken ($13) and although the chicken is cooked through, it remains tender and juicy. The portion is very generous and I like that salted vegetables are served on the side to go with it. Thumbs up for good old comfort food!

The Red Grouper Seafood Soup ($25.90) features a generous serving of red grouper slices, prawns, scallops, clams, minced meat, tofu and tomato in a rich seafood broth. The seafood is very fresh and the natural sweetness of the seafood takes centrestage here. The portion is big enough to be shared by 2 pax, which is quite value-for-money!

The Braised Tofu ($3) is braised thoroughly and very soft.

The Black Fungus Salad ($3) is super aromatic, garlicky and refreshing.