WANt Food Taiwanese Delights (Holland Village)

WANt Food Taiwanese Delights 恋恋湾味 is probably a name that some would be rather familiar with, especially for those who are working in the Central Business District / Chinatown neighbourhood — the establishment having first opened its doors at Cross Street just right across from Hong Lim Complex in early 2022. Having just been in operations for a year, WANt Food Taiwanese Delights does seem to have established quite a presence within the area — they do seemingly garner a queue especially during weekday lunch service, and is a popular option with office folks whom are working in the area. With them having been past their first anniversary of its establishment, WANt Food Taiwanese Delights had recently opened a second outlet in Holland Village — the same neighbourhood also being home to yet another establishment named Isshin Machi serving up Taiwanese cuisine that had set-up shop in 2022. WANt Food Taiwanese Delights takes over the former premises of Kyushu Pancake which has since moved into a space at Junction 8 in Bishan — the shophouse that is occupied being the corner-most unit at Lorong Liput just across from 2am: dessertbar. Being an establishment that serves up Taiwanese food, the menu at WANt Food Taiwanese Delights features popular Taiwanese eats such as that of Rice (in the form of ala-carte and signature bento), Mee Sua, and Finger Food — the Finger Food section mainly comprises of Taiwanese street food. The variety of drinks available at WANt Food Taiwanese Delights includes Milk Tea, Fresh Black / Green Tea, Taiwanese Winter Melon Tea, as well as some canned drinks as well.

Speak to us about Taiwanese cuisine and one item that we definitely cannot miss at any establishment serving up Taiwanese cuisine in Singapore would be the braised minced pork rice. WANt Food Taiwanese Delights serves up two variants of the braised minced pork rice; there is one that is the ala-carte option which they call the Braised Minced Pork Rice, whilst there is also the rendition that is named the Braised Minced Pork Rice Bento. The version of which they call the “bento” comes with additional elements on top of the ala-carte Braised Minced Pork Rice — these elements namely being the Taiwanese Sausage, Braised Bean Curd and the Fried Vegetable. We also found out that the ala-carte Braised Minced Pork Rice would have come with the braised minced pork, braised egg, preserved vegetables and pickled cucumber slices. Going straight for the braised minced pork, we felt that the braised minced pork was especially well-executed here; rather than serving up their braised minced pork in the form of small chunks of braised pork belly, WANt Food Taiwanese Delights had went with dicing up the braised minced pork pretty fine here — the braised meat and sauce seemingly becoming a slurry to be had together with the bed of rice beneath. The braised meat was especially flavoursome; carried a deep savoury note, while the meat was all melt-in-the-mouth — those whom prefer the meat to come with some bite may feel that they are missing of something here but it was a sheer delight for us to have nonetheless. We only thought that there was insufficient braised pork to go around with the rice. Other elements in the Braised Minced Pork Rice Bento worth a mention would be the Fried Vegetables — crisp and green cabbage that is stir-fried that is especially fresh and garlicky; very delicious.

Having heard quite a fair bit about WANt Food Taiwanese Delights previously, our experience at their new Holland Village outlet was one that was pretty coherent to what we have been hearing about from those whom have visited their first location at Cross Street. The Braised Minced Pork Rice Bento was no doubt satisfying and wholesome — the braised minced pork being especially well-executed, whilst also coming with a wide variety of other elements as well. Apart from the Braised Minced Pork Rice Bento, we had also given the Crispy Cheese and Pork Floss Egg Pancake a go; this was equally satisfying with a crisp pancake that encases pork floss and melted cheese within — an item that is undeniably predictable, but also especially comforting to have being pretty much a crowd-pleaser on its own. With such wholesome and comforting fare being served up at WANt Food Taiwanese Delights, it is little wonder how they seem to have garnered quite a fair bit of popularity with the office crowds in the Central Business District ever since its founding; the crowds have not quite been as crazy at their Holland Village outlet as yet, though we did notice a healthy level of patronage when we visited the outlet on a weekend dinner service they was gradually building when we left. Prices of the food at WANt Food Taiwanese Delights are also pretty reasonable — think $6.90 to $12.90 for a main item there that consists of either rice or Mee Sua; a wallet-friendly option to go for. We would say that WANt Food Taiwanese Delights is a spot that we would consider heading to when we crave for some good Taiwanese cuisine — definitely a spot to check out!