I’m really excited that Chinese New Year is just less than two weeks away. It is the time where we get to catch up with our relatives and friends. And of course, the part that I’m looking forward to is eating lots of yummy food.

In recent years, more and more families are choosing to eat out because of convenience and ambience. There are also some that order Chinese New Year Takeaways from restaurants and hotels, to eat at the comfort of their homes. No matter where you are having your reunion dinner, I hope you will have a good time with your loved ones!

If you are still looking for a restaurant to celebrate the occasion, let me help you with some suggestions for Chinese New Year Dinner 2012.

Chin Huat Live Seafood

For a scrumptious seafood feast, go to Chin Huat at Sunset Way for their Chinese New Year Promotion. At $398++ for 10 persons, the set menu comes with Salmon Yu Sheng, Braised Shark’s Fin, Deep-fried Goby, Poached Live Prawns and Steamed Chicken.

105 Clementi Street 12
#01-30 Sunset Way Singapore
Tel: +65 6775 7348

Mandarin Court Chinese Restaurant

This Lunar New Year, Executive Chinese Chef Sunny Kong of Mandarin Court Chinese Restaurant has put together 10 different signature menus ranging from the $98++ per person menu (minimum 2 persons) – which features Salmon Yusheng, Braised Shark’s Fin, Steamed Sea Perch, and Braised Baby Abalone; to an extravagant $1,888++ meal for 10 persons, from 13 January to 6 February 2012.

From their Chinese New Year Takeaway menu, the prosperity Salmon Yusheng for 8-10 persons is available for $108, while the Pen Cai for 5-8 persons is $368.

333 Orchard Road Level 35
Orchard Wing Mandarin Orchard Singapore
Tel: +65 6831 6262

Man Fu Yuan

Over at Man Fu Yuan Intercontinental Hotel, there are 12 different options to cater to everyone’s tastes. The 6 course menu ($108++/pax) – with Yu Sheng, Shark’s Fin, Baby Abalone, Deep-Fried Sea Perch – is ideal for a family of 4.

Should you choose to celebrate your Chinese New Year Dinner Party at home, Man Fu Yuan also presents an attractive takeaway package which includes Pen Cai and Yu Sheng at $358 (DBS Credit Card promotion at $320).

80 Middle Road
2F Intercontinental Hotel
Tel: +65 6825 1062

Chinese New Year Eve, also known as Chu Xi: the day where families gather for reunion dinner.

Imperial treasure steamboat

What’s Chinese New Year’s Eve without steamboat?

On 22th Jan 2012, Imperial Treasure Steamboat at TripleOne Somerset has created special Chinese New Year set menus. For a family of 4, you can have the $328++ menu which comes with Lo Hei, Seafood, Prawns, Abalones, Scallops, Clams, and Desserts.

For those of you who are having an early reunion dinner celebration, the normal set menu for 4 persons is $168++.

111 Somerset Road, #02-21 TripleOne Somerset
Tel: +65 6732 8231

Keng Eng Kee Seafood

For a simple reunion dinner, head over to Keng Eng Kee Seafood Restaurant. There are two Chinese New Year Set Menus at $399 and $499 (for 10 pax). For smaller families, you can order from their Cze Char ala carte menu.

The last I checked, they are fully booked during Chinese New Year’s Eve.

Blk 124 Bukit Merah Lane 1
#01-136 Alexandra Village Singapore
Tel: +65 6272 1038

Paradise Inn

With 11 branches in Singapore, Paradise Inn is the ideal choice for your family reunion dinner. The casual dining restaurant serves good Chinese food at affordable prices.

23 Serangoon Central
#03-15 NEX Mall
Tel: +65 6634 4228

What’s there not to like about Chinese New Year when you get to eat traditional goodies like kueh bangkit, loveletters, pinapple tarts, peanut cookies, and bak kwa?

Yan Ting

One of my favourite Chinese restaurants in Singapore, Yan Ting at the St Regis is the place to go if money is no object.

Yan Ting presents several sumptuous set menus for Chinese New Year 2012. You can choose from the 8 course ($1088++/10pax) which has Salmon Yusheng, Braised Shark’s Fin Soup, Steamed Soon Hock, and Crispy Roasted Chicken; and the 9 course which has Double-boiled Shark’s Fin Soup, Pan-roasted Rack of Lamb, Crispy Peking Duck as the highlights.

There’s also the 6 course set menu at $98++/pax (min 2 persons) for smaller families. The Lunar New Year Dinner menus are available from 12th January to 6th February 2012.

29 Tanglin Road
The St Regis Singapore
Tel: +65 6506 6888

To most people, soup is comfort food. And lucky for me, I am fortunate to have home-cooked soup prepared lovingly by my mom all the time. This probably explains why it has never crossed my mind to step into the hugely popular Soup Restaurant. Until today.

Soup Restaurant probably needs no further introduction; it is a household name for double-boiled soup and homely Chinese fare.

The menu has quite a variety of dishes, which range from meats ($8.9-13.9), fish ($10.9-12.9), seafood ($14.9-18.9), tofu and eggs ($7.5-8.9), vegetables ($7.9-12.9) and boiled soups ($6.9-8.9).

Most customers, though, go for the popular Chinatown heritage dishes, such as Hometown Tofu, and their Traditional Boiled Soups.

A trip to Soup Restaurant would not be complete without sampling their signature Samsui Ginger Chicken ($15.9 for small).

Like any eatery serving home-cooked dishes, Soup Kitchen is a good option anytime you want a light and simple meal. It’s really not difficult to see why they are so popular: decent Chinese food at affordable prices, with many outlets.

I wouldn’t mind eating at soup kitchen, but only if I don’t have to queue for half an hour just to get a table.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Soup Restaurant
1 HarbourFront Walk
VivoCity #02-141
Tel: +65 6376 9969
16 outlets in Singapore

It’s no secret that I love dim sum. I’ve been on a quest to find the best dim sum in Singapore and I’m happy to introduce you to my new favourite dim sum restaurant – Paradise Pavilion at Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC).

If Taste Paradise is a gorgeous fine dining Chinese restaurant with oriental decorations, Paradise Pavilion would be its westernised sibling, with a stunning French-inspired neoclassical ambience.

The restaurant on level 2 of the Marina Bay Link Mall also has an excellent view of the Marina Bay area, making it a great place to watch fireworks.

When you ask around which restaurants serve the best Beijing Roast Duck in Singapore, chances are, people will reply either Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck or Paradise Pavilion. It comes as no surprise as the latter actually constructed the wood fired ovens using apple wood from China. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try the famous Peking duck as there was only two of us during both visits, so I can’t tell you whether Paradise Pavilion indeed has the best Peking duck in Singapore.

What I can tell you is that they have good dim sum, and the lovely interior makes the food even better. You’d think that I’m an expert judging from all the dim sum places that I’ve been to, but no, I’m actually quite ‘safe’ when it comes to dim sum. When I like something, I’ll keep eating it. It’s quite clear by now that there are certain items that I’d always order when I eat dim sum – custard bun, char siew sou, egg tart, custard bun, char siew sou, egg tart…

But I am getting better at trying new things. I figured that it’s probably quite weird if I go into a restaurant and just order baskets of char siew sou, egg tart, custard bun and nothing else.

Under the dim sum menu, there are eight items under “recommended dishes” section, which I believe is a list of dim sum items that are exclusive to Paradise Pavilion. Unless I am mistaken, most of the other dim sum dishes are also available at Taste Paradise.

Among them, I’ve tried the Pan-Fried Bun with Sliced Peking Duck, Bacon & Pineapple ($5.6), Siew Mai Skewers ($5.8), Black Truffle Chicken Pie ($6), Sesame Pastry with Sauteed Peking Duck ($6) and Crystal Dumpling with Peking Duck ($4.8). I’d highly recommend the Pan-Fried Bun with Sliced Peking Duck and Siew Mai Skewers.

There was silence when the Siew Mai Skewers arrived at the table. Siew Mai on a stick looked mightily impressive. Wow. It tasted even better. The Pan-Fried Bun with Sliced Peking Duck, Pineapple and Bacon was also very good! It was simple, yet very satisfying.

My dining companion was quite taken with the Crystal Dumping with Peking Duck ($4.8), but I thought it was a tad too salty. In any case, it is one of the three dim sum dishes that has Peking Duck.

From the recommended dishes, the Dragon Beard Flaky Roll with Eggplant ($5.6) sounds really interesting, but we had too much food on both visits, so we skipped that.

I like Cheong Fun. Really, I do. But I find it a little disturbing to stuff Cheong Fun with deep-fried veg spring roll ($5.8), so we skipped that and went for the normal Steamed Cheong Fun with scallop filling ($6.3).

I know I shouldn’t judge a dim sum by its name, but I thought it was puzzling to list the Original Steamed Carrot Cake ($4.8) as one of the recommended dishes. Maybe the chefs at Paradise Pavilion have found a way to master steamed carrot cake. In that case, shouldn’t they name it as the ‘Best‘ Steamed Carrot Cake instead of ‘Original‘ Steamed Carrot Cake?

Another dim sum that came with Peking Duck was the Sesame Pastry with Sauteed Peking Duck ($6). Even though I love duck meat, we couldn’t finish the dish.

We were intrigued by the name of the Black Truffle Chicken Pie ($6). I know, we are such superficial creatures. Put anything-black-truffle on the menu and you can get our attention. Sadly, the chicken pie filling wasn’t exactly out-of-this-world good. The puff pastry, on the other hand, was amazing – it felt as though we were in pastry heaven.

The Baked BBQ Pork Pastry was good, as expected. I’ve said it before, and I shall say it again – Paradise restaurant has the best char siew sou in Singapore.

Only the Steamed Custard Bun ($5.5) from Taste Paradise can make my heart go pitter-patter, so boy am I glad that I can now get it at Paradise Pavilion MBFC too. Best Custard Bun in Singapore? Definitely!

It seems somewhat ironical that Paradise Pavilion at Marina Bay Financial Centre has replaced Taste Paradise as one of my top three dim sum restaurants in Singapore. But at the same time, I’m glad that Paradise Pavilion is the one as I’m a fan of the Paradise group of restaurants. It will be interesting to see how much further they can push the culinary boundaries of Chinese cuisine.

For more recommendations, please read my list of best dim sum in Singapore

Singapore Food Blog Review
Paradise Pavilion
8A Marina Boulevard
#02-01 Marina Bay Link Mall
Tel: +65 6509 9308

I’ll be honest. The only reason why I went to Old Hong Kong Legend at Raffles City Shopping Mall was because Royal China was fully booked that day. Surprisingly, they have pretty good dim sum at reasonable prices.

If you have not heard about the Old Hong Kong Group, they currently have four restaurants: Old Hong Kong Kitchen at Novena Square 2, Old Hong Kong TasteMyVillage at Serangoon Gardens, Old Hong Kong Teahouse at Katong Village and of course, Old Hong Kong Legend at Raffles City Shopping Mall.

The dim sum menu at Old Hong Kong Legend has around 20 items, with prices ranging from $3.2 to $5.5 per basket. From the steamed items like Steamed Shrimp Dumping, Steamed Beef Balls, and Steamed Glutinous rice; to deep fried items like Deep Fried Prawn Dumpling, Deep Fried Spring Roll and Deep Fried Chives Dumpling; and baked items like Mini Egg Tarts, Baked Bo Lo Bun and Barbecued Pork Puff Pastry – there are options for every one.

Ever since I tried the Chicken Feet from Tim Ho Wan (One Michelin-Star restaurant in Hong Kong), my opinion about the dish has changed. For me, it used to represent one of those gruesome punishments in Fear Factor, but now, it is more like a yummy dim sum treat. Old Hong Kong Legend’s Steamed Chicken Claws with Black Bean Sauce ($3.2) was the perfect way to start one’s meal.

The Steamed Egg Yolk Custard Bun ($3.2) was good, but not life changing (read: not the best custard bun in Singapore). That said, I’ve paid $3 for one custard bun before, so the ones here are worth a try. Imagine: taste of happiness for merely a dollar each.

Three dim sum items arrived in quick succession: Steamed Glutinous Rice ($4.5), Pan Fried Radish Cake ($3.2), and Steamed Barbecued Pork Bun ($3.2). Except for the Glutinous rice in lotus leaf, the other two items were run-of-the-mill and nothing worth mentioning.

When I was scanning through the menu, the baked items like Char Siew Sou, Egg Tarts and Baked Bo Lo Bun were screaming ‘EAT ME’. Unfortunately, the oven was spoilt that day and we couldn’t order any of them. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced this, but it is not a nice feeling to see something, and not being able to eat it.

Thankfully, the Steamed Shrimp Dumpling ($5.5) and Steamed Pork Dumpling ($5.5) were decent and we quickly forgot about the baked dim sum.

All in all, Old Hong Kong Legend at Raffles City Shopping Mall (City Hall) is a competent restaurant to have dim sum. If not for the fact that there are so many good dim sum restaurants like Royal China, Man Fu Yuan and Wah Lok in the area, I’d come back more often for lunch.

For more recommendations, read my list of dim sum restaurants in Singapore

Singapore Food Blog Review
Old Hong Kong Legend
252 North Bridge Road
#02-18 Raffles City Shopping Centre
Tel: +65 6336 3038

Like many others, I love to find nice restaurants that serve good food at affordable prices. Paradise Inn is a casual dining concept by the Paradise Group, with 11 branches in Singapore.

The food is generally good, and most of the items are priced below $15 (for small portion).

Stand-out dishes include the Braised Vermicelli with Pork Trotters ($12 for small) and the Stewed Pork Belly with Lotus Bun ($2.2 per piece), otherwise known as Kong Ba Bao. We also tried Paradise Inn’s Sweet & Sour Pork with lychee ($10 for small) – decent but not life-changing; and Hot Plate Tofu ($10 for small) which came with preserved caixin and minced pork.

Paradise Inn is a nice and affordable Chinese restaurant to have a simple family dinner. Given that Paradise Inn is a restaurant chain in shopping malls, prices are naturally higher than zi char places. That said, I can see myself going back with my family when we are dining out, especially if we are in a shopping mall.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Paradise Inn Restaurant
(11 Branches in Singapore)
23 Serangoon Central
#03-15 NEX Mall
Tel: +65 6634 4228

313 Orchard Road
#B3-39/40 313 @ Somerset
Tel: +65 6733 0348

For more recommendations, read Paradise Dynasty | Seafood Paradise | Taste Paradise

Tucked at the back of a run-down coffee shop along Upper Bukit Timah Road, Ga Hock Seafood Restaurant is a popular zhi char stall in the west of Singapore.

Despite its hidden location, Ga Hock has a huge following; many people flock here for a good and satisfying dinner. I only knew about Ga Hock when I asked on twitter for recommendations of the best zi char places in Singapore.

We dived straight into the chilli crabs – which is one of the things you must eat in Singapore.

Ga Hock’s Chilli Crab ($42/kg) was decent, but the gravy was too watery for my liking. That said, it would be a shame to waste the spicy-sweet sauce. The deep-fried buns were the perfect vehicle to soak up the chilli gravy, and we finished everything.

When we eat at zi char stalls, we will always order Har Cheong Kai (prawn paste chicken). I know it is a little boring to order it all the time, but who can resist the gorgeous deep-fried chicken wings?

The Pork Ribs ($10) was equally good. With a lethal combination of the sweet sauce and the irresistibly-tender pork ribs, this is a must-order dish at Ga Hock.

Another popular zi char dish that we would always order is the Hotplate Beancurd ($8). There are no fanciful ingredients; just eggs, mushrooms, beans, carrots, minced meat, and shrimp on a sizzling hotplate. This is simplicity at its best.

Ga Hock Seafood Restaurant is opposite Mindef along Upper Bukit Timah road (near the Shell petrol station).

Singapore Food Blog Review
Ga-Hock Seafood Restaurant
794 Upper Bukit Timah Road
Hup Choon Eating House
Tel: +65 6314 5725
Daily: 4pm – 11pm

I’ll be honest. My visit to Ximending Taiwanese Restaurant at Vivocity was a disappointment. The food that we had was pretty good, but the service from the manager was atrocious.

If you have been reading my blog, I’m sure you’d know that I only blog about restaurants that give a positive dining experience.  I always believe that bloggers must be responsible, and not publish any accusations which might potentially hurt somebody. Restaurants are running a business afterall, and it is difficult to please everyone since we all have different likings.

That said, I decided to blog about this because we enjoyed the food, though, it was a shame that we didn’t exactly had a great time overall.

Right from the start when we first took the menu, the manager persistently persuaded us to go for the pricier items though we had politely refused and specified we only wanted those that we ordered. After placing our order, we asked for ice water and he told us that they only serve it upon request. And again, he tried to convince us to order from the drinks menu. He reluctantly served us ice water after we told him repeatedly and firmly that we didn’t want any drinks from the menu.

Anyway, back to the food. Ximending restaurant’s menu (most dishes are under $20) has quite a few options, and it took us a while before deciding on what to order.

We tried the Taiwanese Salt & Pepper Chicken – a popular Taiwanese street food; Radish & Egg Pancake ($10) – a must-try dish to go along with Taiwanese porridge; and the signature Taiwanese Three Cup (san bei) Chicken ($17.9). We also ordered the Stewed Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables ($9.9), but they only informed us that it was sold-out after we’ve almost finished all our food.

All in all, Ximending restaurant has pretty good Taiwanese food at decent prices, but the service was a let-down. Given that we do not have many Taiwanese restaurants in Singapore, the only places to satisfy my cravings for Taiwanese food are Shin Yeh restaurant at Liang Court, I love Taimei, 4 Season Taiwanese Cuisine (formerly Peng Lai Ge), and Oasis Taiwan Porridge Restaurant.

I don’t think I will re-visit Ximending restaurant again. How about you? Would you go back to a restaurant (with good food) if the service was bad?

Singapore Food Blog
Ximending Taiwanese Restaurant
1 HarbourFront Walk
#01-51A VivoCity
Tel: +65 6376 8018

Mandarin Court Chinese Restaurant (formerly known as Pine Court Chinese Restaurant) has undergone a revamp, with Chef Sunny Kong taking over the helm of the kitchen.

Nestled at the top of Mandarin Orchard Singapore (previously Meritus Mandarin) on the 35th level, the Chinese restaurant has a good view of the town area. It is currently one of my new favourite dim sum places in Singapore.

The weekday ala carte dim sum menu has over 20 items, with average prices between $5 to $5.7 per basket. Stand-out dishes include Steamed Pumpkin Dumpling, Crisp-fried Thousand Filo, Steamed Shark’s Fin dumpling, and Chinese Pancake with Bacon & Pork Floss. Since it was our first time to Mandarin Court Chinese Restaurant, we proceeded to order the popular (but safe) choices.

The Baked Barbecued Pork Pie ($5.7) was quite different from the ones that I’ve had before, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Anyway, they were not out-of-this-world good, but they were tasty, and that was enough.

At $12 for a basket of four, Mandarin Court’s custard buns are not cheap. I was quite hesitant to pay $3 for a bun, but the waitress convinced me that they are well worth the price.

Looks-wise, I’m very sure that this basket of custard bun would win any dim sum pageant. Taste-wise, I thought that it would be perfect if it had a stronger salted egg yolk flavour.

I thought that the Steamed Crystal Prawn Dumplings ($5.7) were average; the translucent skin was slightly torn before we had it.

Given that most places charge around $5-6 for Steamed Cheong Fun, I thought that Mandarin Court Restaurant’s rendition was overpriced at $8. The rice rolls were slightly too thick, and I would probably skip it next time.

Also on Mandarin Court’s dim sum menu, the Steamed Barbecued Pork Bun ($5.70) – sweet savoury char siew fillings within fluffy buns; Steamed Shanghainese Pork Dumpling ($5.70) – piping hot dumplings that were perfect with shredded ginger and Chinese black vinegar; and Steamed Siew Mai (5.70) – the ever reliable dim sum topped with pretty fish roe.

For those of you who want to indulge in a feast, Mandarin Court Chinese Restaurant has a new Weekend Dim Sum Brunch Buffet which comes with 120 items, at $68++/pax.

I feel that Mandarin Court Chinese Restaurant is one of the most underrated restaurants in Singapore. I’d definitely recommend coming here if you are looking for a restaurant in Orchard Road to have lunch.

For more recommendations, please read my list of dim sum restaurants in Singapore

Singapore Food Blog Review
Mandarin Court Chinese Restaurant
333 Orchard Road Level 35
Orchard Wing Mandarin Orchard Singapore
Tel: +65 6831 6262

Operating Hours:
Weekday Lunch: 12pm – 2.30pm
Daily Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30pm
Weekend Dim Sum Brunch: 11am – 12.30pm, 1pm – 3pm

Within the edgy New Majestic Hotel is The Majestic, a modern restaurant with a causal yet classy vibe. The boutique hotel is located in Singapore’s historic Chinatown, a 5-minute walk from Outram Park MRT Station.

Majestic Restaurant is known for their Cantonese cuisine and it has been around since 2006. Chef Yong Bing Ngen (who also runs Jing Restaurant at One Fullerton) is no stranger in the Singapore Food scene. Previously from Doc Cheng’s and Hai Tien Lo, he led Majestic Restaurant to clinch the Asian Restaurant of the Year title during the WGS 2010.

I was at Majestic Restaurant on a Sunday for dim sum brunch. With only 13 items on the Weekend ala carte dim sum menu, there is not much choice. Most of the dim sum are priced at $4.50 for a basket of 3 pieces.

Even though I’ve eaten at many dim sum restaurants in Singapore, I have yet to taste a 10/10 Siew Mai. Nonetheless, I am happy to say that Majestic Restaurant’s Steamed Pork Dumpling is better than the average ones that I’ve had.

The Custard Bun ($6 for 3) at Majestic Restaurant comes in two options: steamed or deep-fried. Evidently, we had the steamed ones, and it was quite a moment as the molten custard flowed out. Majestic Restaurant’s Custard buns were good, but not great.

Next up, we had the fluffy and soft Steamed Barbecue Pork Buns ($3 for 2).

We also had the ubiquitous Steamed Prawn Dumpling ($4.50 for 3 pcs). As much as I think that Har Gow is boring, there’s something profoundly reassuring to see a basket on the table. The mere presence of it makes you feel that you are really having dim sum.

I had just one Char Siew Sou with buttery flaky crust and savoury Char Siew fillings. They were so good! Maybe I should have gone for a basket of four Baked Honey Pork Puff ($4.50 for 3) instead. Hmm…

I have a soft spot for Roast Duck ($20), and the one I had at Majestic was good. I think the picture of the Roast Duck tells you everything.

It was impossible to stop at one cube of Roast Pork ($12), but thank God the portion was tiny so it made us less guilty of having more.

The Deep-fried Baby Squid ($12) was a great appetiser. It was strangely addictive and we couldn’t stop eating it.

All in all, Majestic Restaurant is a stylish Chinese Restaurant and it is an ideal place for a quiet business lunch. Most of the dim sum items that we had were decent, nothing particularly outstanding. If you are thinking of visiting Majestic Restaurant for dim sum, do note that they only have 5-6 selections on the weekday menu. I’d probably come back again and order their signature dishes from the Majestic Restaurant’s main menu.

Read my list of Dim sum Restaurants | Brunch Places in Singapore

Singapore Food Blog Review
Majestic Restaurant
31-37 Bukit Pasoh Road
New Majestic Hotel Singapore
Tel: +65 6511 4718

Sin Hoi Sai (also known as Sin Hoi San) Eating House has been around for ages and they hold a special place in my heart. When I was a kid, my uncle used to bring me there for dinner every month.

As the years went by, we stopped going there for zi char, but I am really happy to see that Sin Hoi Sai has been doing well. Ask any foodie where you can find a popular Zi Char Restaurant for supper and invariably, the name Sin Hoi Sai at Tiong Bahru will prop up.

Back in the days, we used to eat in the alley under the open sky. They have since expanded to the shop house opposite, increasing their seating capacity.

Even though the standard of the food is still decent, the prices have gone up by quite a bit. It really depends on your perspective though. If you see Sin Hoi San as a Chinese Seafood Restaurant, then their prices are probably quite acceptable.

But for me, Sin Hoi San will always be that place where I had my steamed fish at the “al fresco” area. I feel that their current prices are rather steep for a Zi Char Stall.

Considering the fact that Sin Hoi Sai used to be a no-frills Zi Char place and it now provides air-conditioning in the shop house, I can understand the increase in price. We are also paying more as they are operating throughout the night.

Will I go back to Sin Hoi San Seafood Restaurant? Yes, but only if I am looking for a late night supper place. Given that there are plenty of good cze char places that I have yet to explore, I am not in a hurry to come back.

I am sorry Sin Hoi Sai, you’ve changed. It’s not me, it’s you.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Sin Hoi Sai Eating House
55 Tiong Bahru Road (Opposite Link Hotel)
#01-59 Singapore
Tel: +65 6223 0810
Daily: 5pm – 5am

187 East Coast Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6440 6956
Daily: 5pm – 4am

I have been wanting to try the other Tung Lok restaurants after my previous visit to Tung Lok Classics. When my friend asked me to suggest a place to have Dim Sum for lunch, I immediately thought of Tung Lok Signatures at Vivocity.

Like what I’ve previously mentioned, Tung Lok Signatures serves all the signature dishes from the various Tung Lok Restaurants  – it is like the best of Tung Lok under one roof.

Tung Lok Signature currently has two branches at The Central and Vivocity. Most of the items on the Dim Sum menu are reasonably priced around $4-$5 per basket.

My friend was quite disappointed that the Mini Egg Tart was really ‘mini’. But for what it lacks in size, it makes up for with taste. Oh boy, it was good!

I am more of a Siew Mai person than a Har Gau person. I love shrimp, but Har Gau can be quite bland sometimes. I often find myself staring in disbelief when my friends eat the Steamed Prawn Dumplings with chilli. I know many Singaporeans cannot live without spicy food, but it just feels wrong to have dim sum with chilli.

In any case, Tung Lok Signature’s Har Gau had fresh and crunchy shrimp, but the translucent skin could be better. It seems really hard to find a good Har Gau nowadays.

There are two options when it comes to the Carrot Cake, choose either the Pan-Fried or Steamed version. We had the Pan-Fried one and it was decent.

I was quite puzzled when I read that Tung Lok Signature has Fried Custard Buns on the dim sum menu. I mean, Steamed Custard Buns are very popular, but a fried one?

Apparently, they ‘pan-fried’ the Custard Buns until they get a slightly golden-brown surface. It was pretty satisfying, but definitely not the best Custard Buns that I’ve had.

As much as I love my Egg Tart, Char Siew Sou, and Custard Bun, I will always order Char Siew Bao when I am having dim sum.

The joy of having Xiaolongbao is to put the whole thing into your mouth. Never mind about getting scalded, this is the best way to enjoy it!

I used to have a poor impression of Tung Lok Restaurants. After going to Tung Lok Classics and Tung Lok Signatures, I must say that they have good Chinese food.

Tung Lok Signatures is definitely worth a try if you are looking for a Chinese restaurant in The Central/Vivocity area.

On a side-note, there are many new restaurants in Vivocity and you will probably be seeing my food reviews on them soon. If you’re still feeling hungry after dim sum at Tung Lok Signatures, pop in to neighbouring Max Brenner for desserts.

For more recommendations, read my list of Dim Sum Restaurants in Singapore.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Tung Lok Signatures
1 Harbourfront Walk #01-57
VivoCity Singapore
Tel: +65 6376 9555

Amongst the Crystal Jade Fine Dining restaurants, there are Crystal Jade Golden Palace at Paragon (contemporary Cantonese & Teochew cuisine), Crystal Jade Dining In at Vivocity (modern Cantonese cuisine) and the flagship Crystal Jade Palace at Ngee Ann City.

There are 35 items on Crystal Jade Palace’s dim sum menu, with the usual suspects like rice roll cheong fun, deep-fried shrimp dumpling, baked egg tart, siew mai, har gau, and steamed pork ribs. The prices are very reasonable for a Chinese fine dining restaurant, with most of the dim sum ranging from $3.60 to $5 per basket.

The Char Siew Sou ($4) had buttery and flaky pastry, and I love the sweet yet savoury char siew fillings. I’d think that Crystal Jade Palace’s char siew sou is on par with the ones that I’ve had at Taste Paradise and Yanting restaurant.

There were so many different types of steamed dumplings on the dim sum menu and we were spoilt for choices. Since it was our first time to Crystal Jade Palace, we took the safe option and went for the ubiquitous Steamed Prawn Dumplings ($5). It was fairly decent, the translucent skin was not too thick, and came with fresh crunchy shrimp.

Similarly, the Steamed Pork Dumplings with mushroom ($4.8) were not out-of-this-world good, but they were tasty and that was enough.

And what’s dim sum lunch without Steamed Rice Roll cheong fun ($4.8)? We easily finished it and only decided against ordering another portion as we had other dim sum coming.

When broken with a pair of chopsticks, the Xiaolongbao ($3.9) released the tasty stock into the spoon. Paired with vinegar and ginger, it was satisfying to swallow the whole pork dumpling.

My friend was feeling a little health conscious that day so we went for the Steamed Carrot Cake instead of the pan-fried one. It would not win a food photography competition, but the steamed carrot cake definitely tastes good.

* * *

With the fairly good dim sum at reasonable prices and its convenient location at Orchard road, Crystal Jade Palace has joined my ranks of my favourite dim sum restaurants in Singapore. If you don’t feel like having dim sum, there’s always Crystal Jade Korean Restaurant as well as the more affordable Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao at level four of Takashimaya.

The fine dining restaurant was packed when we went there on a weekend, reservations are highly recommended.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant
391 Orchard Road #04-19
Ngee Ann City Singapore
Tel: +65 6735 2388

Operating Hours: Daily 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm

Ming Kee Live Seafood is tucked among a busy row of restaurants and eateries on Macpherson Road, and they are known for serving good and fresh seafood at affordable prices. Singapore is famous for our Chilli crabs and most people usually bring their overseas friends to popular places like No SignBoard, Palm Beach, Red House or Jumbo Seafood restaurant.

I have been putting off my visit to Ming Kee Seafood Restaurant as it is not very accessible. But my excuse came when my friends from New York were in town, and thankfully the food did not disappoint.

Many Singapore Food Blogs had written on Ming Kee Live Seafood and the Guinness Pork Ribs was highly recommended. Even though I have never had anything similar before, I must say Ming Kee’s interpretation of the Guinness Pork Ribs was excellent. It had a good proportion of fats to lean meat, and every bite was so good.

Almost every table at Ming Kee Restaurant that night went for the signature Triple Cooked Bee Hoon Crab, but we wanted to show the famous Singapore Chilli Crabs to our New York friends, so we gave that a miss.

Like always, deep fried man tou and chilli gravy are the best couple together. All my friends thought that the Chilli crabs ($58.5, 1kg/$45) were exceptionally good, but I felt otherwise, they were good but not great.

Some of the items that we had at Ming Kee were the Stir-fried bean-sprout ($8) with salted fish, and Sambal kangkong ($8). The vegetables were very well-done, and we particularly enjoyed the bean-sprout.

We were quite full by the time the Sea Grouper came ($114, 100g/$6) came to our table.

Steamed Hong Kong-Style, the whopping 1.9kg grouper was amazingly fresh, and meaty. I do feel that it is a little pricey to pay over a hundred bucks for a fish. After-all, you can get more crab and prawns for the same amount of money. However, if you are a big fan of fish, it is worthwhile to order it from Ming Kee Live Seafood.

Ming Kee Live Seafood is an excellent place for fresh seafood, and the prices are pretty reasonable. I will definitely bring my family back to try their other dishes.

Speaking of which, I need some recommendations for good Zi Char restaurants in Singapore, please leave a comment and share with us.

Singapore Food Restaurant Review
Ming kee Live Seafood
556 Macpherson Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6747 4075
// Closed during Chinese New Year from 3rd – 8th Feb 2011

Chinese New Year is one of my favourite holidays. It is the time to eat bak kwa, pineapple tarts, abalone and all the Chinese Delicacies. Although we are about more than 2 weeks away from Chinese New Year, many of the Chinese restaurants in Singapore are already fully booked for Chinese New Year’s Eve Reunion Dinner. For those of you guys who are currently planning for the CNY Dinner, please make your reservations as soon as possible.

Here’s a list of Chinese New Year Dinner Restaurants for 2011

Feng Shui Inn

The Reunion Dinner during Chinese New Year’s Eve is one of the most important meals for the Chinese. This is a time where everyone gets together for a meal to renew and affirm family ties. If money is not an issue, and you want only the best for your Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner — Feng Shui Inn at Resorts World Sentosa may just be the ideal Chinese New Year Dinner Restaurant.

For $1888++ for 10 pax, indulge in the seven-course Chinese New Year Dinner Menu which includes: Lobster Yu Sheng, Bird’s Nest, and the Braised whole Australia Abalone with sea cucumber. The other CNY menu at Feng Shui Inn is $2888++ for a table of 10.

Availability for Feng Shui Inn Resorts World Sentosa

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner (2nd Feb 2011): Fully Booked.
Chinese New Year Dinner (3rd Feb 11): 5.30pm – 7.30pm (Available), 8pm – 10pm (Available)

8 Sentosa Gateway Basement
1-M Crockfords Tower,
Resorts World Sentosa Singapore
Tel: +65 6577 8899

Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant

At Grand Mercure Hotel, Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant has 7 different Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner set menu to cater for every family. The Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner Set menu starts from 14th Jan to 2nd Feb 2011, while the Lunar New Year Dinner promotion is available from 3rd to 17th Feb 2011.

For a family of 4, they have the Harmony 7 course menu at $308++ which includes Yusheng, shark’s fin, sea cucumber, sea perch, and scallops. For a table of 10, there’s the Bountiful Harvest 9 course menu at $698++ and it has the following: Yusheng, shark’s fin, abalone, garoupa, scallops, crispy chicken and prawns.

The Pen Cai [$308 (M), and $538 (L)] is a must-order. It has all the Chinese Delicay within a pot: abalone, scallop, fish maw, goose web, shark’s fin, prawn and Chinese sausage. Forget about the rest, just go for Jia Wei’s Poon Choi and the Prosperity Yusheng ($60++).

If you are staying in the East and still looking for a Chinese New Year Dinner Restaurant, Jia Wei at Grand Mercure Hotel is definitely a good choice. They also have a Chinese New Year Takeaway menu which has nian gao, yu sheng, pen cai and Buddha Jump over the wall.

Availability for Jia Wei Restaurant at Grand Mercure Hotel

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner (2nd Feb 11): 5pm – 7.30pm (Limited), 8pm – 11pm (Limited). Chinese New Year Dinner (3rd Feb 2011): Available

50 East Coast Road 2F
Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel Singapore
Tel: +65 6340 5678

Moi Lum Chinese Restaurant

Moi Lum Chinese Restaurant has two different Chinese New Year Dinner Promotion: the CNY Set menu starts from 22th – 28th Jan, and continues from the 3rd all the way till 20th Feb. They operate throughout the Lunar Chinese New Year, and the cheapest Chinese New Year Dinner Set Menu is $308 for a table of 10 pax, and $518 (10 pax) for the CNY Reunion Dinner. All their set menu include their signature dish: the excellent Majestic Roast Chicken.

Besides the dine-in option, Moi Lum has a very attractive Chinese New Year Takeaway Menu. The Poon Choi is $188 for 6 person, or $288 for 10 person, and the Prosperity Raw Fish Platter for lou hei is available at $48.

Availability for Moi Lum Restaurant

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner (2nd Feb 2011): Fully Booked.
Chinese New Year Dinner (3rd Feb 2011): Available.

38 Maxwell Road #01-01/02 Airview Building Singapore
Tel: +65 6226 2283

Ming Kee Live Seafood

The Chinese New Year Dinner set menu from Ming Kee Live Seafood will be available from the 10th Jan onwards. They have three different Chinese New Year Menus available (for a table of 8-10), with the cheapest being $398, and the other two are priced at $798 and $1398.

But if you prefer to order ala carte, go after the 9th Feb to try their famous Crab Bee Hoon ($45/kg), as well as the Guinness pork ribs ($12 for small). Ming Kee serves excellent seafood at reasonable prices — definitely worth a try!

Availability for Ming Kee Live Seafood

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner (2nd Feb 2011): 5pm – 7pm (Filling fast), and 8pm onwards (Available). They only serve the three special CNY Menu for Chinese New Year Eve Dinner

Chinese New Year Dinner (3rd- 8th Feb 2011): Closed.

556 Macpherson Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6747 4075

Seafood Paradise Restaurant

At $368++ for a table of 10 person, the Chinese New Year Dinner Menu from Seafood Paradise is pretty value since it includes Tuna Yusheng, Shark’s Fin broth, seabass, prawns, chicken, vegetables, and ribs. Do note that Seafood Paradise has different Chinese New Year Dinner promotion menu for their Defu Lane and Singapore Flyer branches.

Availability for Seafood Paradise Singapore Flyer
Chinese New Year Eve Dinner (2nd Feb 2011):
Three Seating: 5pm – 6.30pm (Full), 7pm – 8.45pm (Full), 9pm onwards (Available)

Chinese New Year Dinner (3rd Feb 2011):
6pm – 7.45pm (Available), and 8pm onwards (Available)

Availability for Seafood Paradise Defu Lane

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner (2nd Feb 2011): Fully Booked
Chinese New Year Dinner (3rd Feb 2011): 6pm – 8pm (Available), 8.15pm onwards (Available)

30 Raffles Avenue #01-01
Singapore Flyer Singapore
Tel: +65 6336 5101

91 Defu Lane 10
Swee Hin Building Singapore
Tel: +65 6487 2429

Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant

For a family of four, I’d recommend Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant at Holiday Inn Atrium. The Joyful Treasures set is $368 for 4 person which includes Pen Cai (or Poon Choi) with the following ingredients: Lobster, Abalone, Shark’s Fin, Dried Scallop, Fresh Scallop, Sea Whelk, Dried Oyster, Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber, Jelly Fish, Black Mushroom, Sea Moss, Bamboo Pith in a pot.

The Yusheng at Xin Cuisine is topped with edible gold leaf flakes, and the Chinese Restaurant is also well known for their Roasted Suckling Pigs – be sure to try them if you are there for Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner.

Xin Cuisine also has a Chinese New Year Takeaway menu: they have a prosperity family bundle of pen cai, yusheng, suckling pig and nian gao for $800.

Availability for Xin Cuisine Restaurant

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner (2nd Feb 2011): 5.30pm – 8pm (Available), 8.30pm onwards (Available). Chinese New Year Dinner (3rd Feb 2011): Available

317 Outram Road 4F
Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore
Tel: +65 6731 7173

Please call the restaurants to check the availability and make your reservations for the Chinese New Year Dinner asap!

If you are planning for your company’s Chinese New Year Dinner celebration, or friends gathering for Lou hei, most of the restaurants (with the exception of Ming Kee) that I’ve mentioned will be operating throughout the Chinese New Year period (3th to 17th Feb).

For those of you who are already planning for Valentine’s Day Dinner, I will recommend some romantic restaurants in Singapore in my Valentine’s Day Feature which will be out next week.

Reading Food Blogs and watching food shows are among my favorite pastimes. Food blogs with delicious photos and intriguing words have the ability to suck me in for hours, while food shows are somewhat more direct – they make me hungry instantly. I’m sure many of you are currently hooked to Sizzling Woks, the popular food show on the best zhi char eating places in Singapore.

I’m not surprised because I get many requests to blog more about cheap and good Zhi Char in Singapore all the time. Today, I will like to share about one of the Zhi Char restaurants in Singapore that my family always go to: B.K Fortune Seafood Steamboat restaurant. They are located just a few steps away from Bar Bar Black Sheep along Bukit Timah road (towards King Albert Park direction after Sixth Avenue).

Unlike some Zi Char Stalls in neighbourhood coffee shops that charged $40/kg for crabs (prices that are comparable to Seafood restaurants), the ones at B.K Fortune Seafood restaurant are only $30/kg and we paid $56 for two huge Salted Egg Yolk Crabs.

Crabs do not really appeal to lazy people like me. It’s a dish that requires a lot of effort, but offers very little return (in terms of meat) – so you can understand why I don’t really like crabs. But when we eat out at Seafood restaurants in Singapore, I will always go for either the famous Singapore Chilli crab, or the Salted Egg Yolk Crab. And if there’s one thing you should know, Fortune Seafood Restaurant’s Salted Egg yolk Crabs are gorgeous! I’m not going into details about how they taste like, but believe me – they are fingers-licking good!

This isn’t a very pretty photo, but Fortune Seafood’s signature Assam Curry Fish Head ($15) is a must-order dish. The flavours hit you in different waves, first the spicy-and-sourish assam gravy, second the smooth and fresh taste of the fish head – I love it! The assam gravy was so good that I filled my bowl of rice with it.

Amongst the other dishes that we had at Fortune Seafood Steamboat Restaurant, the Sweet & Sour Pork ($10) was exceptionally ordinary – there was too much fatty meat and it didn’t have the right bite.

When eating at Zi Char restaurants, we would usually order the crowd-favorite Hot Plate tofu. But this time round, we decided to throw caution out of the window and went for their Mango Sauce Fried Tofu ($8). It was a disaster. The sauce accompanying the tofu was done the Thai-mango-salad way, but the whole dish was just deep fried tofu (bland and slightly dry) with the dressing. Give me hot plate tofu any day please.

If you have difficulty finding the place, they are located directly opposite the old turf city. Otherwise, look out for the former premises of Brewerkz. Now, it’s your turn to share with me a good zhi char stall in Singapore.

// The name of the restaurant is Forture Seafood Restaurant with a ‘R’, but it seems that there is a common spelling mistake online where everyone calls it Fortune Seafood.

Singapore Food Restaurant Review
B.K Fortune Seafood Restaurant
887 Bukit Timah Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6469 5957
Opening hours: 11am – 2.30pm
Dinner: 5pm – 11.30pm Daily

Champagne Dim Sum Brunch buffet at Cherry Garden

After I took sip(s) of champagne, someone stared at me for giggling, but ten seconds later, she did the same thing. Champagne does funny things to people, and you know what? Weekends are meant for Champagne Brunch!

I never liked the idea of Dim Sum Buffet. Before my virgin attempt at Cherry Garden’s Champagne Dim Sum Brunch, that is. It seemed ridiculous to me that I’d have to fork out 50 bucks just to gorge myself silly, when I could have treated myself better by going ala carte style and probably pay a lot lesser.

But I know better now. Weekend brunch is indeed different from the usual Dim Sum Lunch. On our regular sessions, the practice is to savour a few baskets of our preferred dim sum over a pot of good tea. But everyone should deserve something special for a weekend brunch.

The brilliant minds behind Cherry Garden created a whole new sensation by introducing the pairing of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut champagne with dim sum! The idea of sipping champagne together with the partake of dim sum may come across as peculiar. But hey! Think about it this way – Everyone loves dim sum, and nobody will refuse champagne. Won’t having them together make an extraordinary Weekend Buffet Brunch? Sounds like a splendid way to go, yes?

You can have any excuses for drinking champagne. Allow me to toast a glass in your honor, allow me to toast another glass because it’s the weekend!

… And Oh my juicy Xiao Long Bao, steamed har gau, and steamed dumplings!

With over 50 dim sum items on their menu, Cherry Garden takes pride in presenting their buffet in an orderly fashion for optimized dining pleasure. The items are dished out in individual portions with every allowance for slow appreciation and indulgence in each delicate piece of dim sum. Coupled with free flow of champagne, what better way to spend a lazy afternoon than enjoying the goodness of Cherry Garden’s Champagne Dim Sum Brunch Buffet with your loved ones?

Feel free to make your second, and third orders of the same items that you enjoyed. Technically speaking, this is an all you can eat buffet since there’s endless flow of dim sum. But you probably want to go easy on the dim sum since there’s other main courses to choose from too!

It was a shame that the famous Cherry Garden’s roasted pork wasn’t available on the Champagne brunch dim sum buffet menu. Luckily, there’s the Honey-glazed Kurobuta pork char siew, which was a very competent replacement for the roasted pork. It was sweet, and tender, and extremely juicy. Yum! The braised soya chicken was not too bad, but it was largely overshadowed by the fantastic kurobuta pork char siew.

We also had the Roasted pork ribs in spicy Sichuan sauce from the Poultry section of the Buffet Brunch menu. The portion of the Wok-fried Kurobuta pork was pretty substantial, but it was slightly over-done and had this rubbery taste.

Other than the dim sum items, the Champagne Dim Sum Brunch Buffet at Cherry Garden also offers Sour & Appetizers. Their soups include: Hong Kong style minced pork and shrimp dumpling soup (very delicious), Double-boiled fish broth (light, and refreshing), Imperial hot and sour seafood soup, and the Double-boiled trio mushroom soup.

We didn’t order all of the appetizers as we really had too much food. But some of the signature ones that we had: Crispy eggplant tossed with chicken floss and Braised beef fillet with five spices & Sea Salt.

For completeness sake, they also have a Congee/Rice/Noodle section: Shredded pork and century egg congee, Kurobuta pork char siew egg fried rice and Braised Ee-fu noodles. But no one in their right mind would want to order them. Skip the carbs, and save the stomach for the other good food!

The Crisp Wasabi-aioli prawn with fresh mango and fish roe was excellent. The prawns were fresh and crunchy, while the mango and wasabi sauce added to the intensity of the flavor — it was so difficult to stop eating them!

The Beauty Blogger enjoyed the Steamed scallop with silken tofu in black bean sauce, which was surprisingly meaty. We didn’t order the Crisp-fried shredded squid and Steamed patin fish from the Seafood menu, so be sure to check them out if you are there for the buffet brunch!

The Deep-fried potato dumplings are available on their normal ala carte menu. Stuffed with cheese crab meat and onions, the potato dumplings were crispy outside, and mushy inside. You like the combination of fried food and cheese? You’d like the Deep fried potato dumplings.

The Steamed radish cake is among the 20 items on the dim sum buffet menu.

Joy has many interpretations and comes in all aspects. To some, it may mean a hearty bowl of Cereal with Milk or a sinful slice of Chocolate Cake. To others, it can be having a drink after a long day of work, or having the girlfriends over for a Girls Night In. But to me, Joy is having Champagne Dim Sum Brunch Buffet at Cherry Garden.

If you don’t drink champagne, or find that the $118++ Champagne Brunch is too pricey, you may choose the normal Dim Sum brunch buffet at $48++ per head. Note that the dim sum brunch (without champagne) comes with endless flow of dim sum, but only one order of soup, appetizer, main course and dessert per person, which is available for two seating: from 11am to 1 pm. and from 1.30pm to 3 pm. While the Champagne dim sum brunch has essentially the same menu plus champagne, and the fact that there’s endless flow of everything, and you can feast from 12 noon to 3pm.

// Read my list of buffet restaurants here, brunch places here and dim sum restaurants here.

Singapore Food Restaurants Review
Cherry Garden
5 Raffles Avenue
5F Mandarin Oriental
Tel: +65 6885 3538
Note: This is an invited tasting session.

When it comes to the best Xiao Long Bao in Singapore, most people will usually think of Din Tai Fung, Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, or Nan Xiang Xiao long bao restaurant. Along the sleepy Neil Road at the intersection of Chinatown & Maxwell Food Market, there’s a very popular place that serves good xiao long bao? Try to search for Neil Road, and Google will actually prompt “Neil Road Xiao Long Bao”, or “Neil Road Qun Zhong”.

The Lonely Planet Guide refers to Qun Zhong Eating House as the #433 out of 625 Things to do in Singapore. Are the Steamed Pork Dumplings there really so good?

If you are a superficial or lazy person like me, chances are, you’d have walked past Qun Zhong Eating House a dozen times without noticing it. The place doesn’t look very impressive from the outside, and there’s always a long queue during peak hours.

Before coming here, I heard about the reputation of the ‘service’, or rather the lack of service. Stepping inside, most of the staff were rather grumpy and appeared to be in a hurry. We were actually quite afraid to ask them for water. Okay to be fair, it wasn’t that bad. I asked for water nicely, and they gave it to us without much trouble.

The Xiao Long Baos from Qun Zhong Eating House were much bigger than any of the dumplings that I had before. And it was for a very good reason. They held a lot of soup within the seemingly-thick folds of the steamed pork dumpling ($7 for 7). It literally gushed out when I took a nibble of the xiao long bao.

Is this the best Xiao Long Bao in Singapore? I can’t answer that, but if you like a meaty and thick steamed pork dumpling, with lots of soup, Qun Zhong’s Xiao long bao is definitely the one for you. We also had the Pan Fried Dumplings ($8 for 10), and together with the 7 xiao long bao, and a bowl of zha jiang mian – it was really a lot of food for the two of us.

Other than the Zha Jiang Mian (noodle with minced pork & soya bean paste), Qun Zhong Eating House also serves a variety of Beijing cuisine and food like the Chinese Pizza, Steamed vegetarian dumplings and Hot & Sour noodle.

If you still have room in the stomach after eating the xiao long bao, Dim Joy is just across the street. For desserts, there’s Flor Patisserie, Once Upon A Milkshake and Patisserie Glace nearby.

Restaurant Review
Qun Zhong Eating House
21 Neil Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6221 3060

Oh our love-hate relationship with cravings. It is almost impossible to ignore them, and they always sneak in and catch us unaware during the middle of the night. Sometimes, we don’t really have a choice but to satisfy it.

I was craving for Chilli Crabs a while back, and decided on Seafood Paradise Restaurant at Singapore Flyer since all of us have never been there before.

The Paradise Group of Restaurants have been doing very well recently. Other than their original Seafood Paradise at Defu Lane, and the fine dining flagship restaurant Taste Paradise, they have added Paradise Inn and with the latest being Paradise Dynasty at Ion Orchard.

You know what is the best part about being a food blogger? I get to decide the place, as well as the dishes to order. If you have been reading my blog for some time, you will know that I’m a big fan of chilli crabs ($4.4/100g). Naturally, I persuaded the rest to avoid the pepper crab and go for the deep fried man tou and chilli gravy instead.

Rule number one when it comes to ordering Chilli crab:

Always, always specify the size of the crab to the waitress. Unfortunately, we were too hungry that night and actually forgot to mention that. The poor crab that arrived on our table was undersized – it was just slightly more than 700g, which was barely enough to satisfy our cravings. But everything was forgiven when we dipped the huge deep fried buns into the gravy. There was silence for a few minutes as everyone focused on the crab (& the mantou with chilli gravy).

Another must-order is the Crisp-fried Crystal Prawns with salted egg yolk ($16/small). The one that we ordered only had 5 small prawns, please go for the medium portion ($24) at least.

Hotplate Tofu ($10/small) is one of my favorite dishes when I dine at Zi Char or seafood restaurants. Don’t we all love the sizzling sound coming from the hotplate? The tofu, the minced meat, and the egg tasted perfect together! The one here had additional preserved cai xin to give it a different twist.

Whenever Sweet & Sour Pork appears during dinner, everyone will always turn their head towards me. It is as though there’s the words ‘sweet and sour pork’ written on my forehead.

Other than the rather small portion, I’d think that Seafood Paradise’s rendition was very close to the one that I have been looking for. In short, it’s one of the best Sweet & Sour Pork in Singapore that I had in recent times. With the pineapple and lychee adding to the sweetness, the pork was extremely crispy yet not too oily. Every bite was so good! I managed to get a few extra helpings while everyone was busy with the crabs.

Looking for a Chinese Seafood restaurant to bring your overseas friends for our famous Singapore Chili Crab? Check out Seafood Paradise Restaurant next time!

Which is your favorite seafood restaurant for Chilli crabs?

Restaurant Review
Seafood Paradise Restaurant
30 Raffles Avenue #01-01
Singapore Flyer Singapore
Tel: +65 6336 5101

91 Defu Lane
10 Swee Hin Building Singapore
Tel: +65 6487 2429

This is my first visit to Crystal Jade.

Okay please stop staring at me as though I’m a weirdo. When I mentioned on twitter that I have not been to Crystal Jade before, everyone gave me the ‘what-is-wrong-with-you’ reply.

I can understand the reactions, since there are so many different Crystal Jade restaurants in Singapore. From the fine dining Crystal Jade Palace restaurant, to the family-oriented Crystal Jade restaurant, Crystal Jade Korean Ginseng Chicken & BBQ or the causal dining options like Crystal Jade Kitchen and Crystal Jade La Mien Xiao Long Bao – there are options for everyone.

So when I finally stepped into Crystal Jade La Mien Xiao Long Bao at Ngee Ann City, there was a slight tingling sensation in my stomach. ‘Hello Crystal Jade, I’m finally here!’

There were so many items to choose from the Crystal Jade’s menu, and it took us a while before we decided on the Xiaolongbao, Zha Jiang Mian, and the famous Fried rice.

I have heard a lot about Crystal Jade’s Steamed Soupy Pork Dumpling ($5 for a basket of five). Apparently you can have unlimited servings of xiaolongbao if you go for the Crystal Jade Steamboat Buffet at Holland Village. But no thank you, I really don’t fancy having twenty baskets of xiaolongbao at one go.

We shared the five dumplings between the two of us, and they were gone in an instant. I was greedy and impatient, so I dipped it with the light soy sauce and ginger and placed the whole dumpling into my mouth — that was a huge mistake. The stock gushed through and burnt my tongue when I took a bite, but it felt so good.

We were stunned by the portion of the Noodle with Minced Meat & Mushroom in spicy sauce ($7.50) when it arrived on the table. I liked how the spicy-sweet sauce entangled itself with the la mien.

I’m not sure if my memory is playing a trick on me, but I actually prefer Din Tai Fung’s fried rice. While the portion of Crystal Jade’s Fried rice with prawn, chicken & ham in Shanghai style ($10.80) was impressive, it lacked a certain wok-hei flavor. In short, not the best fried rice that I had before.

* * *

It’s actually not difficult to understand why Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao is doing well. The food is decent, and they are reasonably priced. It is probably around $10-ish per head to have a proper dinner here. You know what? I’m going to try out the Crystal Jade Palace restaurant for dim sum next.

Which Crystal Jade restaurants have you been to, and between Imperial Treasure or Crystal Jade, which one do you prefer?

Restaurant Review
Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
391 Orchard Road #04-27
Ngee Ann City Singapore
Tel: +65 6238 1661

When our dear friend Kenny was in Singapore for work recently, we were having a headache where to bring him for dinner — until someone suggested Cafe De Hong Kong at Balestier.

It’s always good to have a friend in town as it provides us with the perfect excuse to pig-out. It’s also a not-so-regular dinner outing for a group of lazy food bloggers.

Cafe De Hong Kong’s Nan Yu Roasted Crispy Chicken ($17 half chicken, pre-order required) is very different from the usual ones. For one, it wasn’t exceptionally crispy, nor was it extremely tender. But it stood out with the use of fermented bean curd to marinate the chicken, giving it a very different twist. While I didn’t like this dish, the rest of the folks enjoyed it tremendously.

The Pumpkin Paste & Salted Egg Golden Prawns ($22) was excellent. Each of us had a huge prawn that was coated with the rich salted egg yolk sauce. It was succulent, meaty and there was a subtle spiciness hidden within the robust sauce.

I felt that the Braised Lamb Brisket ($20) had a strong gamey taste, but the rest thought that it was acceptable and they went on to finish the whole pot!

The only vegetable that we ordered for dinner was the Braised Long Beans ($10) and it was much better than I expected.

The Fragrant Fish Roe Fried Rice ($10) was listed as one of Cafe De Hong Kong’s signature dishes and I was wondering what’s the big fuss about it. I mean, fried rice is just fried rice, how good can it be?

The porportion of grain – fish roe was evenly matched, and every mouthful of the fried rice was accompanied by the flavorful and crunchy red roe. This is definitely worth a try!

Dear God, or whoever in charge of wishes, I know I haven’t been very faithful when it comes to praying, and it isn’t nice for me to come to you only when I need something. But please, let the Sweet & Sour Pork ($10) be good.

There was a strong vinegar smell lingering in the air when the waitress brought the plate to our table, the appearance of the Sweet & Sour pork looked promising. Everyone stared at me to see my reaction as I was the one who insisted on ordering this dish. I took a piece with the chopsticks and placed it carefully into my mouth.

The first impression was not too bad, but after taking a few more bites, I concluded that it wasn’t what I was looking for.  According to the others, they found the Sweet & Sour Pork too sweet, which wasn’t an issue with me. But it wasn’t crispy nor crunchy enough. Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder if I am seeking something that does not exist.

I almost fainted when the two French Toast came to our table. It was huge, and sinful! For a second, I was wondering if I should eat it. But I finally succumbed to temptation under peer-pressure. It was very good – definitely one of the best French Toast in Singapore!

Cafe De Hong Kong is somewhat like an upmarket zi-char stall in a Chinese restaurant setting. The restaurant was almost full when we were there on a weekday night, so you can guess how popular they are. While I am not totally convinced with all the raves that they are getting, Cafe De Hong Kong is probably an option to consider for dinner if you are in the Balestier area.

Restaurant Review
Cafe De Hong Kong
586 Balestier Road #01-01 Eastpac Building Singapore
Tel: +65 6255 3865