Chinese Restaurants!

I'm not a fan when it comes to fried food. But these Deep Fried Prawn and Mango Rolls got my eyes all lit up. The crunch is so light, airy and not oily at all! No dripping oil all over your mouth. The noodles that they use to wrap around the filling are so thin! Usually, other similar dimsum dishes use meesua. But this tastes really different! The texture is really good. Probably because that it's exceptionally thin, it's crunchier and less oily! Only gripe bout this dish would be, i hope the mango : prawn ratio can be higher! Otherwise, it's close to perfection. Another must-try at this restaurant.

The steamed charsiew buns are quite passable so you may give them a miss! Stir-fried Turnip Cake with X.O. Sauce is delectable. Portion is huge for that so I would recommend it for sharing among at least 3 pax so that you leave space for more dimsum! The restaurant exudes serenity and peace. Our table faces the bamboos across at the other building and the tables are all spaced nicely apart ensuring some privacy. I'm loving this place &i cant wait to be back for my next visit! Mother's Day maybe? 😉

A spin off the regular hargow! The prawn, carrot and some coriander are wrapped in that translucent skin. The skin is thin yet has a slight chew to it - omg the best skin ever? I love how the coriander gives this dimsum an elevated taste with it's fragrance. It complements the sweetness of the prawn really well.

Another must-try would be their Squid Ink and Seafood Dumplings! The skin has a different texture (slightly thicker) and is made from squid ink! The dumpling is topped with ebiko that sends an added dimension to the dish. The roe pops as you bite into it!

Their Baked Seafood and Morel Mushroom Tarts are pretty good! Really creamy texture that's not too jelat, something novel other than the usual steamed ones.

Pictured: Lobster Dumplings

The presentation itself is already a feast for the eyes! How cute are these dumplings? Placed on a little wooden base, with the thin bamboo handle. It has lobster meat, prawn, caviar, goji etc. The flavours of each ingredient come together to give you a light sweetness, a perfect bite. Not too overwhelming and it leaves your palate clean but wanting more!

The staff here are really attentive, they noticed my dining partner is left-handed and swopped the arrangement of the cutleries around! You dont even have to lift your fingers to refill your tea cup, they do it so promptly. Best of all? They offer to serve 2 pieces for each dimsum we order. The prices are prorated accordingly! SO WE COULD TRY ALL THE DIFF VARIETIES! Double thumbs up for this place.

When this plate of Kurobuta Pork (S) was served, it left our jaws dropping! The portion looked so fine (in other words, pathetic)! BUT, IT TASTED SO GOOD! The red meat is tender yet has a bite to it. It has that wok hei/grilled aroma. Pieces of really well cooked meat that sent pleasures to my palate.

The honey chicken drumlets were yummy too but the sweetness was cloying. Do try their Salted Egg Yolk (SEY) Lotus Chips! Every slice is evenly coated with that slightly creamy yet sandy SEY! Perfect for beer pairing.

Wan He Lou's signature is actually their lobster porridge! The lobster is about 700g (as advised by the staff) and is served in a huge pot of broth. The porridge + broth is good for sharing among 4 pax! The soup isn't overwhelming with the sweetness of the crustacean. It certainly didnt blow me away but I found myself getting 3 bowls of it! Addictive! The texture of the broth with rice was pretty one dimensional. Perhaps they could top it off with some rice crisps..

Both meat were ordered in small sizes, except the SEY Lotus Chips that was in medium. We also got a small plate of stir fried long beans. Together with 1 lobster porridge and using Beyond's 1 for 1 (for the meat dishes), the bill came up to about $120. Not the cheapest for zichar but hey, you get atas food like lobster and kurobuta pork! Also, the place is airconditioned (gst &svc charge applies).

YAY, MY FAV LORBAKPNG STALL HAS SHIFTED FROM SEAH IM HAWKER TO A SPACE OF ITS OWN AT LAVENDER!

Went on a Saturday &it's pretty crowded. We waited for about 15min before getting a table indoors (to escape from the unbearable heat!). The menu has some added items like the chicken rice, taiwanese sausage &bbt!

We got the 3 bowls set ($15) which comprises of a mini lorbakpng, chicken rice, mee sua &a drink of your choice! We chose the brown sugar fresh milk which is stated as 人气! Also, another lorbakpng set ($8) which has a regular bowl + braised cabbage. Food were served pretty fast, all within 10 min.

The lorbakpng is still as gooooooood! The pork has a good ratio of fats that melts in the mouth yet isnt too greasy. The flavours pack a whole lot of punch. That braised goodnesssss~ Rice is soft and fluffy, just give that bowl a good stir &send spoonfuls of yummy goodness down!! (Personally, i prefer to request for more spring onions to make it perfect!) I would suggest getting a mini bowl if you're getting sides to go along. The regular bowl may not seem big, but it gets really filling. Cabbage is well braised &completely nua like how i like it. But flavour wise, pretty flat &so-so. So was the brown sugar fresh milk; lacked the scent of brown sugar. Pearls were chewy thou!

Two other stars of the meal were the meesua &the rather unassuming chicken rice! The meesua tasted like they're handmade (reminds me of ahzong) &their pig intestines were sooo goood (brings ahzong's to shame cos theirs are like rubber tyres)! Oyster was alil overcooked, hence didn't burst in the mouth. That chicken rice looked so plain.. BUT ITS LIGHT FLAVOURS WERE WELL-LIKED. Quite a huge contrast to lorbakpng with strong flavours but do give it a try! The chicken shreds were tender and exudes a light scent with the browned onions.

No service charge &gst too! Go get going!

A halal chinese la mian place! (Another one that i know of is Yizun Noodle.)

The portion is generous and can be shared between 2 girls of small appetite. Tried the zhajiangmian &it does not pack as much punch as i was expecting. Less salt definitely which is healthy. The meat sauce has cubes of carrots, potatoes &radish. Wishing that it comes with shredded cucumbers too (really love it cos it pairs so well with the thick gooey gravy, giving a refreshing crunch). Nothing much to shout about Nuodle's version. Noodles are okay but could be more QQ.

As for the seafood noodles, the soup is quite light &tasty. The soup that accompanies the zhajiangmian has a light herbal taste too.

Priced at around $10, i guess i would prefer other lamian stalls..

THE COLD CRAB WAS DELICIOUS! The roe was of an exceptional texture, not the usual dry/powdery kind. It's creamier and has a much lighter "fishy" taste (as some may call it). As it's served cold, it makes a really good &refreshing appetizer. Flesh is sweet and chunky despite the relatively smaller size of the crustacean (as compared to sri lankan mud crabs).

The other dishes like the braised duck &chilled wine prawns equally deserve a double thumbs-up! Every dish feels like they've been carefully prepared. Get chope vouchers to get bang for your buck! #Burpple pls get them on Beyond!

This is their rendition of Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan! Instead of the usual minced pork, here they present to you a glorious slab of pork belly. It's tender and has a good fat-meat ratio. I could taste the star anise used to braise it. Also, do stir the sous vide egg into your lard rice! It gives that beautiful, slightly creamy and smooth texture.

This bowl costs $11.55 aft svc charge; a little steep for a bowl of lu rou fan but considering that it's a hipster one, could be a good weekly indulgence for lunch!

They’ve prawns of various sizes for you to choose from! The prawns are fresh &have roe (ohyay)!

The soup, however, was lacking in richness, sweetness from the prawn heads &that kick.

You may wish to try the stir fried prawn beehoon! It’s simmered in the soup til reduction. They also have this special Malaysian black chilli to go along with it.

Tender duck meat makes it really decent! However, it falls pale in comparison with Dian Xiao Er’s as the herbal scent was lacking. Crispy skin was also not evident.
One good thing was that the duck wasn’t too fatty.

Their menu reminds me of the food I had in China, especially the mala baby lobsters! we had the salted duck which is salty (duhhh) but real fragrant! My dining partner commented that it tastes like CHICKEN (thats how tender it is)!!

Another must-order would be the Roasted Duck Bao (looks like xiaolongbaos on the menu). It drips great braised gravy, light and yet bursting with flavours. Hidden under the skin is a ball of well-minced duck meat.

The seafood soup has really fresh fish paste, beancurd skin, prawns &half a flower crab. You can taste the sweetness of the sea in the milky fish broth.