Old Chang Juicy Pan Fried Bun 老张灌汤生煎

Have been pretty big about Shanghai-style pan-fried buns for a while — there has also been a recent boom in such establishments that have opened all across the island as of late; this includes the likes of Shanghai Tan Pan-fried Buns 上海滩生煎包 that had opened their second location at Clementi fairly recently, as well as the expansion of Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao 上海情怀 across various food court stalls all across the island. There is also 王府点心 Wangfu Dimsum that had recently set up shop in the one-north neighbourhood as well. Was quite intrigued to have come across the existence of Old Chang Juicy Pan Fried Bun 老张灌汤生煎; a stale that is located in the Eureka Taste food court within block MD-6 in the compounds of National University Hospital (NUH). The location of MD-6 within the compounds of NUH is not particularly easy to find for those whom are unfamiliar with the locality, though it could be found across the road towards the end of the main lobby building of NUH if one keeps walking around the permiter of the main lobby building on the exterior — MD-6 is the building with a rather wide-flight of steps leading up to it beside the sheltered walkway to MD-11; the nearest MRT Station being Kent Ridge MRT Station in the Circle Line. The ordering counter for Old Chang Juicy Pan Fried Bun can be found towards the right of the entrance separate from all the other stalls located in the food court, though the area designated for collection of orders is shared with the pasta stall. As with most establishment that serves up Shanghai-style pan-fried buns, Old Chang Juicy Pan Fried Bun does also offer a variety of noodle dishes that compliments their pan-fried bun offerings as well.

Considering how we have headed to Eureka Taste to give both Old Chang Juicy Pan Fried Bun and another stall a go, we decided that it would be a better idea for us to order the Signature Mixed Pan-fried Bun rather than to opt for a set under the Hot Deals section of the menu; that being said, the sets in the Hot Deals section of the menu presents itself as a more value-for-money option for those whom are looking to try out different categories of their offerings in one go — the set comprising of pan-fried buns, a main course and a salad. Opting for the Signature Mixed Pan-fried Bun sees a portion of four (4) buns being served on a single plate — the “mixed” referring to the combination of two (2) of their Signature Pork Pan-fried Bun and two (2) of their Signature Prawn Pan-fried Bun. Between the two different types of Signature Pan-fried Bun that are available here, our preferences leant slightly more towards the Signature Pork Pan-fried Bun — both Signature Pan-fried Buns came with a bun with a firm and slightly chewy texture on the top; all whilst coming with a crusty browned bottom without the bun itself feeling particularly dense or thick.

That being said, the Signature Pork Pan-fried Bun was more memorable for how it seemingly contained queue a bit of broth here — they certainly were not messing around when they had mentioned about the buns being “popping” and “juicy”. In fact, we did have one of the buns ended up squirting directly on our other hand; all whilst still containing enough broth within the bun for our enjoyment. The meat filling comes soft but firmly packed; pretty tender, while the broth provided an aptly savoury note to the entire bun. In retrospect, the bun for the Signature Shrimp Pan-fried Bun came with somewhat of a chewier bun and lesser broth — that being said, the addition of shrimp also provided a contrast of texture for the meat fillings by adding a firm bite amidst the tender and juicy meat. Having tried a number of places that serves up pan-fried buns across the island, the Signature Pork Pan-fried Bun from Old Chang Juicy Pan Fried Bun does leave quite an impression for us considering how it is pretty well-executed and comes with all that squirting broth that makes it also pretty fun to have — it is just a little bit of a pity that the operating hours of Old Chang Juicy Pan Fried Bun are limited to weekdays from 11am to 6pm; a little tough to get to, but well worth checking out for those that can do so!