Red Lantern Seafood 红灯笼海鲜馆 (Eunos)

Whilst we had been checking out mamak establishments all around the island for the vibes and their Roti Prata offerings to see how each establishment differs from another, we have also been cracking our gear to find something that is of an equivalent nature when it comes to local Chinese cuisine. One sort of an establishment that can be found all across the island are zichar-style establishments that one would be able to find almost in most neighbourhoods. Given our liking for salted egg / cereal / buttermilk chicken dishes, we had initially wanted to use Salted Egg Chicken as a benchmark — it was only later that the realisation of not all zichar stalls serve Salted Egg Chicken Rice started to kick in, though it is the case that all zichar stalls would serve Sweet & Sour Pork with Rice as an individually-portioned dish. One thing noted also is how Sweet & Sour Pork Rice typically belongs to the “safe” category at zichar establishments that would not go too wrong, and is pretty much a quintessential local Chinese dish that we also grew up with. Red Lantern Seafood 红灯笼海鲜馆 belongs to a chain of zichar stalls that one can find in several coffeeshops islandwide; locations they appear on Google Maps for the brand includes places like Telok Blangah, Ang Mo Kio, Teck Whye (in Choa Chu Kang) and more — the outlet hat we had visited being its Eunos outlet at Blk 2A Eunos Crescent within the Kimly coffeeshop. Making our order at the counter, the level of service rendered by the staff here aren’t that different from most zichar establishments — the no-nonsense approach with interactions intended to be kept at a really bare minimum; nothing offensive or wrong to be honest. Payment is taken upfront upon order, and cutleries with the patron’s choice of chili would be served to the table with the dishes served to the table once it is ready.

There wasn’t much of a wait needed for the food to be served. Arriving the table being all piping hot, there is a good proportion of meat and rice being served up here. Coming together with the pork would be a good mix of other condiments such as pineapples, cucumbers and onions — all accompanied with a loan chunk of tomato. We really would not say that the rice was anything noteworthy, but there was definitely ample sauce to go around the rice to say the least. In comparison to most establishments that we have been to, the sweet and sour sauce does feel a little watery but was of a good balance of sweet, tomato-ey notes with a slight tang. Where the pork is of concern, this was also of the sort that was a hit to our tastebuds — there is some crispness on the exterior of the pork, but the meat comes sufficiently tender inside. There is undeniably a meaty note that comes along with it; but this www not one that was particularly intimidating since it starts off with those sweet and tangy notes from the sauce first — the inclusion of the other elements like pineapple, cucumber and onions provided a slight crunch for texture, with the pineapple adding a zing to compliment that of the sauce. The sambal chili which we requested for provides a saltish, yet zingy note from the calamansi — adequately spicy and should do well for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness; best to be paired with the rice. Overall, we would think that the Sweet & Sour Pork Rice at Red Lantern Seafood might be a good benchmark to pitch similar dishes from other establishments against — they offer a variant of the dish that most details are well taken care of; not the most version, but not one that we can complain about either that we would not mind having again if in the ‘hood some day.