Oyster Noodle There always seem to be something new and interesting that pops up around Grantral Mall / Grantral Complex @ Macpherson every now and then — a recent trip to the mall led us to knowing about the existence of an outlet of Taiwan Fullhouse 食尚台湾 within the mall. For those whom are find the brand sounding rather familiar; yes, this is the same Taiwan Fullhouse that one can find at Junction 8 in Bishan — they had opened the doors in Grantral Mall / Grantral Complex @ Macpherson just a couple of months ago, taking up a space that is situated right across from the M.Connect food court located near the side entrance of the mall that faces MacPherson Road. The space at its Grantral Mall / Grantral Complex @ Macpherson location is bigger than that of their Junction 8 one — the entire space seemingly decked in furniture and fittings of a wooden accent that gives it a slightly different vibe even amongst similar dining establishments within the same mall. Its menu is split across various sections such as that of Rice, Noodle, Side Dishes, and Curry Rice. Beverages available at Taiwan Fullhouse includes a variety of Taiwanese tea, as well as canned drinks and espresso-based specialty coffee.
Skimming through the menu, we had decided to check out a few of the classic dishes that one would expect to be served up at a Taiwanese establishment. One such dish would be the Oyster Noodle that is listed on the Noodles section of the menu. This is essentially their Oyster Mee Sua dish; whilst Taiwan Fullhouse not describe the elements that come with the dish, one can observe from our order that this is no different from the standard Oyster Mee Sua dish that one would find elsewhere. Giving everything a good mix, we did note that the Oyster Noodle comes with a gravy that is not quite as thick and dense as the Oyster Mee Sua dishes that we had tried from other establishments — the gravy here comes a little runny, though there are also variations of Oyster Mee Sua out there which do come across as quite starchy for us as well. Coming with a bit of vinegar and some ginger paste, we thought that the Oyster Noodle here does come with quite a good balance of zing and tang that keeps things refreshing amidst the savoury gravy and slurpy Mee Sua — this is not forgetting by the reasonably fresh, plump and briny oysters that came along with the dish. The addition of coriander on the top helps to provide a flavour contrast that cuts through the inherent heaviness of the dish. Meanwhile, we had also tried other items such as the Taiwan Minced Meat Rice; this dish is observed to have come with braised meat sauce that features minced meat, whilst also coming with a full braised egg, pickled vegetables and Taiwanese sausage and short-grain rice. Though we liked the consistency of the braised meat sauce where it carried a good savoury note; all that whilst also coming with a good mix of both lean and fatty parts that also did not come with any undesirable portly stench, we did feel that there wasn’t much of an integration between the braised meat sauce and the rice somehow. The other elements were good to have but nothing much to shout about — the Taiwanese Sausage being a bit of a bonus for how it is considered to be something that isn’t necessarily included in similar dishes served up at other establishments.
The Salted Fried Chicken from the Side Dishes menu can be described as the usual salt and pepper fried chicken that one can find at most Taiwanese eateries, though it seems that Taiwan Fullhouse had done its own take by serving it in the style of chicken chunks rather than that of a cut-up cutlet. Considering how the chicken isn’t tenderised like how it should be as compared to that of being in a cutlet format, we did feel that the firmer texture of the chicken and slightly harder batter just doesn’t align with our expectations with the usual Taiwanese Chicken Cutlet that is a bit more crisp and tender. There was however ample sprinkling of pepper and salt here for flavour nonetheless. One item that we would completely skip on though would be the Fried Oyster Mushrooms; the tempura-style batter encasing the oyster mushrooms were simply too thick here, while the mushrooms still carried a crunch — we also note that the oyster mushrooms also easily disintegrated from the fried batter as well. The Wintermelon Tea was a great respite from all of the carbs and fried food that we had ordered; one that came sweet and refreshing and helps to reset the tastebuds for us. We did recall that we previously weren’t too impressed with the food offered by Taiwan Fullhouse when we had first opened their location in Bishan — the same can still be felt with some of the items that we had tried during our visit to their Tai Seng outlet; items that we did feel that could do with some tweaking would include that of the Fried Oyster Mushrooms and the Salted Fried Chicken. That being said, we do feel that Taiwan Fullhouse does satisfy some cravings that we were having for Taiwanese cuisine; the Oyster Noodle being one item that seemed to have hit the spot for us. With all being said, Taiwan Fullhouse does serve as a decent option for those in the Tai Seng area looking for an interesting alternative destination to dine at for those who aren’t too picky about their food.
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