Yang Ming Seafood is a popular zi char eatery which offers an amazing menu, specializing premium live seafood at very reasonable prices. Tucked away in an unassuming Bishan neighbournood, this fuss-free, nondescript place is bustling with life with diners.

It is not difficult to understand why it is so popular. With a huge selection of premium live seafood including Australian & Boston lobsters, Sri Lankan crabs, bamboo clams, geoduck, Canadian clams, turbot and other fishes, being “spoilt for choice” is an understatement. It is impressive to see a local Zi Char eatery stocking such a huge variety of premium seafood, to say the least.

Yang Ming Seafood may not be a prestigious Chinese restaurant, but we dare say the food quality is good and definitely one that has earned our loyalty. We will go out on a limb to say that Yang Ming Seafood is one of the best Zi Char restaurants in Singapore.

Don’t expect any good service or fantastic ambience. It is a typical zi char place with old-school tables and chairs – you know, the usuals. But you’re in for a good meal, really. Plus, Yang Ming Seafood offers free corkage; you can bring along a bottle (or two) and they will provide the wine glasses at no additional charges.

There are several signatures dishes that require preorder and they include Lobster Chee Cheong Fun, Pig’s Stomach Chicken Soup, Ginger Chicken, Scallop & Lobster Porridge.

Perhaps the most famous dish at Yang Ming Seafood, the Lobster Chee Cheong Fun featured a whole lobster with silky smooth Chee Cheong Fun, fried shallot, fried garlic and premium soya sauce. What a treat!

You can choose between Australian Lobster (S$138/kg) or the smaller Boston Lobster (S$98 for 2 pcs/S$147 for 3 pcs). We had a 1.3kg Australian Lobster and the bill came up to S$180 for this dish.

Their signature pig’s stomach chicken soup (S$68) is definitely a crowd favourite! A whole kampong chicken was stuffed in a pig’s stomach and cooked for hours with white pepper and other herbs. The result? The soup was peppery and rich, while the chicken and pig’s stomach were tender and so tasty.

Another signature soup that requires preorder is the Japanese scallop chicken soup. We’ve heard good things about this too, and can’t wait to try it on our next visit!

The steamed bamboo clam (S$12 each) with garlic, vermicelli and chilli was bursting with flavours. The flesh was plump and juicy, too. Their rendition of this seemingly common dish actually puts many good Chinese restaurants to shame.

There are plenty of fish options available, alongside different cooking styles. We went with a Soon Hock cooked in Hong Kong Cantonese style (S$108). The result was a simple yet beautifully steamed fish; every flake was accompanied with a subtle taste of premium soya sauce and the fragrance of the ginger and coriander.

Another dish worth mentioning is the Har Cheong Gai. Yes, it’s a ubiquitous zi char dish but their version was so delicious, we couldn’t get enough. Well marinated, deep-fried to the perfect level of crisp while retaining the moisture of the meat – superb!

Another dish on the preorder menu is the Ginger Kampong Chicken (S$20 for half chicken). You can enjoy the smooth and tender Kampong Chicken with the ginger dip on the side.

Looking for some crabs? Prices are pretty reasonable, too. We had the Black Pepper Crab (S$102), and it was fresh as much as it was flavoursome.

We also had the Crab Bee Hoon (S$94) on a separate visit and it came with moist and flavourful fried bee hoon.

On the carbs side, we went with the Pig trotters’s Bee Hoon that was a comforting yet delicious dish – both young & old loved it. The wok hei was pronounced and they didn’t sting on the ingredients.

There are still so many dishes from Yang Ming Seafood that we’ve heard about and are highly raved, and we cannot wait for our next visit back. For those of you who are afraid of the heat, they have another outlet in Ubi which has air conditioning. Reservations are highly recommended especially for weekends.

Yang Ming Seafood Bishan
150 Bishan Street 11, Singapore 570150
Tel: +65 8028 9940

Yang Ming Seafood Ubi
1 Ubi Cres, #01-05 Excalibur Centre, Singapore 408571
Tel: +65 8028 2230

If you were only allowed to order one dish from any zi char stall for the rest of your life, we can bet that most Singaporeans would opt for a plate of perfectly fried har cheong gai.

Har cheong gai is Cantonese for prawn paste chicken, which is literally what it is; tender, succulent pieces of chicken that are coated with a batter comprising of flour and fragrant fermented shrimp paste before being deep-fried to perfection.

There are hundreds of places in Singapore that sell delicious, satisfying har cheong gai, but we have here is a list of the 16 best har cheong gai in Singapore that undeniably outshines the rest.

7TH MILE SEAFOOD

7th Mile Seafood may have closed down due to Covid-19 but you can still get its famous Har Cheong Gai (S$12) from its sister restaurant, Don Quijote Spanish Restaurant.

Fried to perfection, the chicken wings are so crispy and juicy that you can easily finish half a dozen of them on your own.

18 Toh Yi Dr, #01-97
Singapore 590018

21 SEAFOOD 

The har cheong gai from 21 seafood is succulent and fried to crispy perfection. We also like how the chicken is not too oily and the aroma that the chicken brims with is seriously unbeatable.

212 Hougang Street 21
Singapore 530212
Tel: +65 6343 0771
Daily: 12pm – 3.30pm, 5pm – 11.30pm
Nearest Station: Kovan

AH TAN WINGS 

The owner of Ah Tan Wings is surprisingly a 26-year old man who has had no prior experience in the culinary arts. He’s driven by his childhood passion for har cheong gai alone, which is evident from the fragrant, crispy plates of har cheong gai that he pushes out daily.

51 Yishun Avenue 11
#01-40 Yishun Park Hawker Centre
Singapore 768867
Mon to Fri: 11am – 9pm
Sat and Sun: 11.30am – 9pm
Nearest Station: Yishun

1 Kadayanallur Street
#01-03 Maxwell Food Centre
Singapore 069184
Mon to Fri: 11am – 9pm
Sat: 11.30am – 9pm
(Closed on Sunday)
Nearest Station: Telok Ayer

BAN LEONG WAH HOE

We are going out on a limb to declare that Ban Leong Wah Hoe has one of the best, if not the best, har cheong gai in Singapore.

The juicy pieces of har cheong gai served here at Ban Leong Wah Hoe are absolute flavour bombs. They are well-marinated and perfectly fried to a golden crisp and we love the satisfying crunch it makes when we bite into it!

122 Casuarina Road
Singapore 579510
Tel: +65 6452 2824
Sat to Thu: 11am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 11pm
Fri: 11am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 12am
Nearest Station: Yio Chu Kang

FUMAN SEAFOOD ZICHAR

Fuman Seafood Zichar sells a plethora of amazing dishes. However, one of our favourites here definitely has to be the har cheong gai. These wings were chunky and juicy, and we like how they are always deep-fried perfectly to a nice, golden crisp.

703 Hougang Ave 2
Singapore 530703
Tel: +65 6913 7087
Daily: 12pm – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Hougang/Kovan

HOLLAND VILLAGE XO FISH HEAD 

This place is not just famous for its XO fish head! Their har cheong gai has that unmistakably crunchy skin that we all love and underneath that crispy goodness is incredibly tender, succulent chicken meat that we just cannot get enough of.

19A Dover Rise
#01-05 Dover Coffee Hub
Singapore 131019
Tel: +65 6778 3691/9833 1003
Daily: 11.30am – 2pm, 5pm – 11pm
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

KA-SOH 

The har cheong gai here is a tad bit pricier than the ones you can usually find at other places. However, we feel that it is definitely worth the steep price as it is undeniably one of the best har cheong gais we’ve ever eaten in Singapore. Juicy, crispy and fragrant, you will definitely find yourself reaching for another piece in no time.

2 College Road
Singapore 169850
Tel: +65 6473 6686
Daily: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 9.30pm
Nearest Station: Outram Park

Photo Credit: deuxavenue

MING CHUNG 

This no-frills restaurant serves up some solid har cheong gai that is a crowd favourite. The chicken is coated generously in prawn paste and fried to a perfect golden crisp. We love the satisfying crunch sound it makes when we bite into it!

67 Maude Road
Singapore 208348
Tel: +65 6296 3428
Tue to Sun: 3pm – 11.30pm
(Closed on Monday)
Nearest Station: Farrer Park/Jalan Besar

NO. 5 EMERALD HILL 

A cocktail bar in its own right, who would’ve thought that you could find one of Singapore’s best prawn paste chicken here? This is one of our favourite places in Singapore to get har cheong gai, and many people dub is it as the best har cheong gai in Singapore.

While the chicken here is extremely crispy, it is not too oily and dry and goes amazingly well with a beer or martini.

5 Emerald Hill Road
Singapore 229289
Tel: +65 6732 0818
Mon to Thu: 12pm – 2am
Fri and Sat: 12pm – 3am
Sun: 5pm – 2am
Nearest Station: Somerset

ORIOLE COFFEE AND BAR 

Oriole is the perfect place to grab some har cheong gai if you’re in town and you’re craving some of this fragrant goodness. The har cheong gai here is fried to a lovely golden crisp and comes in really generous portions making it ideal for sharing!

96 Somerset Road
#01-01 Pan Pacific Serviced Suites
Singapore 238163
Tel: +65 6238 8348
Sun to Thu: 8am – 11pm
Fri and Sat: 8am – 12am
Nearest Station: Somerset

POR KEE EATING HOUSE 1996

Their signature har cheong gai is a generously coated in fragrant, umami-rich prawn paste that permeates the surrounding air upon being served. The meat of the chicken is also delightfully succulent and incredibly satisfying to bite into.

69 Seng Poh Lane #01-02
Singapore 160069
Tel: +65 6221 0582
Tue to Sun: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 11.30pm
(Closed on Monday)
Nearest Station: Tiong Bahru

SENG KEE BLACK CHICKEN HERBAL SOUP

Aside from their famous Black Chicken Herbal Soup, Seng Kee Black Chicken Herbal Soup serves up some solid har cheong gai that never fails to leave us wanting more. We like how the chicken here is not heavy on the batter, but even so, retains a mouthwatering prawn taste.

467 Changi Road
Singapore 419893
Tel: +65 6746 4089
Daily: 11am – 4am
Nearest Station: Kembangan

SIN HO

Sin Ho’s har cheong gai is almost always sold out every day by 8pm, which speaks volumes of how much everyone loves it! The chicken is perfectly marinated in fragrant, mouthwatering prawn paste which fills our mouths with every bite. We also love how a plate of this goodness is so affordable—no wonder it is always sold out!

216 Bedok North Street 1
#01-75 Bedok North Hawker Centre
Singapore 460216
Wed to Sun: 8.30am – 2pm, 5pm – 9pm
(Closed on Monday and Tuesday)
Nearest Station: Bedok

SINPOPO BRAND

The har cheong gai here is a pile of crispy goodness that we cannot get enough of. We love ordering it with their popular Nasi Lemak Set For 2 and we feel that the chicken goes really well with the rest of the other dishes in the set.

458 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427671
Tel: +65 6345 5034
Sun to Thu: 12pm – 10pm
Fri and Sat: 12pm – 12am
Nearest Station: Dakota

TIAN WAI TIAN 

At Tian Wai Tian, they serve up freshly fried har cheong gai at very affordable prices. The chicken here is delightfully plump and we love how nice and crisp the skin is. This is one of our go-to places for good and crispy har cheong gai in Singapore.

1383 Serangoon Road
Singapore 328254
Tel: +65 8183 4856
Daily: 5pm – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Potong Pasir

TWO CHEFS 

Two chefs har cheong gai has a milder prawn paste flavour which we actually prefer to many other places as it is not too overpowering. We like how the prawn paste taste did not drown out the taste of the freshly fried chicken, making for a well-balanced dish that we thoroughly enjoyed.

410A Sin Ming Avenue #01-01
Singapore 571410
Tel: +65 6451 3812
Daily: 11am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Bishan

YONG TAI SEAFOOD 

The har cheong gai takes on a subtle umami prawn aroma and the chicken was delightfully crispy and succulent. What we loved about it was that it was not coated too heavily in batter, which made it easier for us to chow down on more pieces of this goodness.

130 Sims Avenue
Singapore 387453
Tel: +65 9612 1912
Mon: 5pm – 12am
Tue to Sun: 12am – 4pm, 5pm – 12am
Nearest Station: Aljunied

Read: 22 Best Fried Chicken in Singapore that you have to try at least once in your life.