Chinese/HK/Taiwanese

To add some fibre to our meal, we ordered stir-fried dou miao (without garlic), which was nicely fried to a neither too hard nor too soft texture. The base/gravy used to stir fry the vegetable was also fragrant but did not overpower the freshness of the vegetables. The serving was generous and definitely took many spoonfuls for 2 pax to finish. It was however a little oily for our liking.

As for the side dish, we also ordered an oriental salad that came with a vinegar dressing, as well as some chili oil to give the crunchy vegetables (mainly bean sprouts and kelp), glass noodles and thinly sliced tofu strips some hint of spice. A really refreshing side dish to nimble on as you wait for the main dishes to arrive at your table.

Opted for removal of green onions for this dish. It was fried nicely, with each grain chewy and nicely separated. The egg pieces found between the rice grains were soft and gave this dish its characteristic egginess. Was however a little on the oilier side but nonetheless a comforting dish to have.

Famed for their dumplings, DTF offers delicious vegetarian options like their vegetarian dumplings, buns and fried rice.

The dumplings pictured here feature a nice savory filling consisting of spinach, vermicelli, mushroom, crunchy bamboo shoots and braised tofu. The skin also has the right thickness. Each dumpling is folded perfectly such that it wouldn’t disintegrate upon biting.

Located behind SOTA, GR.iD is a mall that replaced what was previously known as POMO. A few restaurants can be found at the ground floor of the mall and they were all quite lively.

At Isshin Machi, one can find a great variety of Taiwanese dishes, ranging from egg fried rice to their noodles with protein options like chicken cutlets or wantons. I decided to go for one of their vegetarian options, the dry mushroom noodle, and upgraded my noodles for their thicker guan miao noodles. The guan Miao noodles were cooked Al dente, with each strand retaining the perfect bite, and reminded me of dao xiao mian served at Chinese restaurants. The noodles were also coated with a flavorful sauce that most likely had sesame oil added to it. The shimeiji mushrooms were fried well and biting into the mushroom pieces, one could enjoy both the juiciness of fresh mushrooms that went well with the slightly crisped outer surface. Crispy shallots and spring onions were garnishes that helped elevate the flavor profile of this dish. With a braised egg given at the side, this noodle dish is sure to fill your stomach despite being a vegetarian option.

Do try it out if you’re nearby!

Visited Victor’s Kitchen on a Saturday night for dinner and it was quite packed but we didn’t have to queue for seats. Was rather excited to try their HK milk tea (the unsweetened version) but these days, they serve them with sugar only as they are pre-made. While it still retains the tea fragrance characteristic of HK milk tea, I wish they would offer patrons a no sugar version instead.

For our dim sum, we had a bowl of fish with century egg porridge. It came in a larger than normal bowl and was pretty filling for two people to share when you’re ordering other dim sum dishes as well. They gave a few big chunks of century egg and fish slices as well. On top of that, ginger and spring onion strips were also added, likely to neutralize the fishiness of the porridge dish. It’s definitely comforting for the tummy but nothing exceptional.

The fried prawn dumpling was the first dish served to us and as the plate used was big, the dumplings appeared really small in comparison. That said, served alongside tartar sauce, the prawn dumplings did concern a substantial amount of prawn meat and the skin did offer a nice crunchy texture after being fried to a nice golden brown color.

Was personally most excited for the chee cheong fun - with a fried youtiao encasing prawn meat being stuffed between layers of the silky rice roll. It’s a really nice combination of soft and crunchy textures, with the soft cheong fun contrasting with the crunchy youtiao before you reach the innermost layer of fresh juicy prawn meat. At the side, the usual sweet sauce was given but it wasn’t a sauce that would complement well with the cheong fun in our opinion.

We also had a bowl of their XO sauce with steamed carrot cake, which featured strips of radish and lup cheong cubes embraced by soft carrot cake in a bowl. It’s rather unique compared to the usual fried carrot cake pieces at dim sum places. What we liked best about this dish was the XO sauce that came in a metal saucer that we also enjoyed with other dim sum (like the chee cheong fun).

Not pictured, we also ordered their glutinous rice that my partner found a bit too soft for his liking but I personally thought the pillowy soft rice grains were quite enjoyable when eating with tougher chicken meat served in the dish.

While prices are on the higher side, the quality is worth paying for and most dishes are quite authentic. As a bonus, you probably wouldn’t have to wait as long for a table compared to swee choon but the trade off is that you do have fewer options here.

Touched down at Changi in the afternoon and decided to head for an early dinner at Jewel. Having tried Lenu at multiple outlets (Funan, Jem, RWS), we can say that it is one of the chains with pretty consistent standards cross its outlets and a safe choice to go for when you’re craving a bowl of Chinese style noodles. With noodles cooked to a chewy texture (we actually still prefer Tongue Tip’s noodles though), the chili oil vinaigrette provided each mouthful with a delicate balance of spice, acidity and umami. The dumplings were also nicely wrapped with a generous chunk of minced pork. For fans of coriander or spring onions, you may request for an additional serving of these herbs to go with your noodles. The servings at Lenu tend to be quite big and you’re sure to leave the establishment with your tummies satisfied. There is also the ability to top-up your mains with a drink (with options such as green tea and soft drinks) and a side (such as black fungus and braised tofu).

Service was also efficient - our food came shortly after we placed our orders online.

Visited Gong He Guan after a dinner at Chinatown Point, which was located a short walk away from Chinatown MRT. It was a popular spot but we thankfully didn’t have to queue for our seats. One of their staff was also really kind, and offered us extra chairs for our bags. The deco of the place reminded us of Hong Kong, with traditional wooden chairs and tables.

We ordered two of their cold desserts to share. The rock melon with sago was refreshing, with a milky base beneath shaved ice. We believe that some coconut milk was also added to give it extra fragrance. The partner really enjoyed the milky taste of this dish. The other dessert we got was the mango gui ling gao, which similarly came with shaved ice. The gui ling gao cubes were bitter and contrasted well with the sweet mango cubes.

Do give this place a try if you’re looking for a lighter dessert as the servings aren’t too big and won’t leave you feeling overly full even if you had a meal before. Prices aren’t exactly cheap though but the taste is authentic and the ingredients are fresh. For those who prefer warm Chinese desserts, they also have items like sesame paste and tang yuan.

Located a few minutes walk away from Yishun MRT, this Chinese restaurant offers Heng Hua cuisine at an affordable price when compared to higher end establishments like Putien.

For $4.50, the serving of the Heng Hua beehoon was generous - one can find clams, prawns, pork belly, peanuts, tau pok, mushrooms and vegetables to accompany the chewy ultra-thin strands of bee hoon. We also enjoyed the chili served at every table, which was slightly sour, garlicky and does pack a punch.

On top of our mains, we also ordered the deep fried fish that came in three huge pieces. The pieces were well-fried, with crunchy sides and were not overly greasy when one bites into the meat. That said, it can be a bit dry for those who prefer tender and more juicy cuts of fish.

This place is also rather popular so it is advisable to visit during non-peak hours, especially if you’re coming in bigger groups. Other dishes we tried but not pictured were the fried mee sua, oyster omelette and lor mee.

Of the dishes we tried, this was probably one of our favorite as the noodles were cooked to an al dente texture. Apart from the minced meat in braised sauce, there were also braised tofu cubes sitting above the chewy noodles. The sauce was however rather oily and they could have drained some of it away before serving.

While it looks quite similar to the fried rice from DTF, we found this dish to be slightly underwhelming. It wasn’t too bad, as the rice grains were chewy and there was fragrance from the eggs elevating it. However, it is probably a far cry from the fried rice you can get from DTF or King of Fried Rice in terms of the wok hei and flavor.

Famous for their pan-fried pork dumplings, we ordered a serving of 4 to share. Free flow chili oil and vinegar could be found at the side of each table and ginger slices were given with this dish. While the charred bits of the dumplings were slightly crispy, these dumpling were pretty ordinary. Cutting through the skin of the dumpling, there was some pork broth that oozed out and the amount of meat given was also decent. While nothing to really fuss about, we believe that there are nicer pan-fried dumplings elsewhere.

Visited this place at Jurong Point on a Monday evening and didn’t have to queue for a table for two. Really enjoyed the thin noodles with prawn dumplings (4 dumplings were given); each dumpling had a substantial filling of meat covering a fresh prawn, which offered varying textures in one bite. The dumpling skin also had a nice bite to it, unlike some places that leave their dumplings boiling in broth for too long and the dumpling skin becomes overly soft. The dry version ($9.5++) of the noodles also came with some kai lan, as well as some sweet and savory sauce on the side that you can mix the noodles with. We really liked how chewy the noodles were and you could also mix in the chili oil from the jar placed on every table. A bowl of savory soup was also given if you opt for the dry noodles.

As for dim sum, we had a plate of chee cheong fun and prawns ($6.8++) and snowy char siu pau ($6.5++ for 3). The chee cheong fun was delightfully tender, with each piece (total of 6 pieces) containing a prawn each. For added umami, you could once again add some chili oil to these silky rice rolls. As for the char siu pau, while we wished that the outside had more crisp, the filling was decent. The “snowy” version of the pau had a layer of flaky sugar above each bun like what you would get from a polo bun but this is way less crusty as you can tell from the color. If you prefer a less sweet version of this bun, you may want to choose the regular char siu pau instead, since the filling itself already carries a decent amount of sweetness.

We both really enjoyed the HK milk tea ($3++ each), which came without sugar (but sugar packets are given on the side). The tea was really fragrant and smooth, with the ratio of milk to tea being just right. We strongly recommend you to get this together with your mains!