Zi Char (also known as Zhi Char/ Cze Char/ Tze Char/ Zhu Chao) refers to comforting Chinese home-style dishes cooked upon order, usually eaten at humble local eateries and coffee shops in Singapore.

Every Zi Char stall has different selections of a la carte dishes, and it is perfect for communal dining. The idea is to order a few dishes (or many), and everyone digs in together.

From butter pork ribs, prawn paste chicken wings to spring onion deer meat, here is our Guide to 21 Popular Zi Char Dishes that you will commonly find in zi char stalls across Singapore.

#1 BUTTER PORK RIBS

Butter Pork Ribs are succulent melt-in-your-mouth pork ribs that have been marinated in spices and cooked with butter powder. It is delightfully rich and has a sweet lingering aftertaste.

#2 CEREAL PRAWNS

Cereal Prawns is one of the bestselling Zi Char dishes. The prawns are deep-fried till golden brown, coated in butter cereal (sometimes spicy) before being seasoned with salt, sugar and pepper. And if you request, some stall owners would be kind enough to deshell the prawns for you before frying.

#3 CHILLI CRAB

The chilli crab is our national dish, and ranks number 35 on World’s 50 most delicious foods compiled by CNN Go in 2011. A mud crab is used in this local delicacy, where the crustacean is stir-fried in chilli and tomato sauce. Best eaten with deep fried mantou buns!

#4 CRAB BEE HOON

Crab Bee Hoon is a claypot dish of springy rice noodles with crabs in a milky and sweet broth. The broth is characterised by its peppery taste and slight smokiness. Depending on the stall, some Crab Bee Hoon is actually served in a dry version. 

#5 CURRY FISH HEAD

Curry fish head is a dish that is largely influenced by both Indian and Nyonya cuisine. Typically, a red snapper’s head is used and stewed in a fragrant curry broth together with a myriad of vegetables such as eggplants, tomatoes and ladies’ fingers.

#6 DEEP FRIED CRISPY CHICKEN

As its name suggest, deep-fried crispy chicken is literally what it is. These tender chunks of meat are fried over high heat and sometimes eaten with salt.

#7 FISH HEAD STEAMBOAT

When ordering fish head steamboat, diners can choose from either a fish head or slices of fish meat dunked in semi-sweet soup. The bubbling hotpot lit by charcoal flame usually comes with assorted vegetables and tofu, and is a great dish for communal dining.

#8 FRIED SOTONG

Fried Sotong is a favourite of many and is a ubiquitous dish on many menus. Depending on the hawker, it is basically a dish of fried calamari rings which are usually battered or served with fragrant sauce.

#9 FURONG EGG

Furong Egg aka Egg Foo Young originated from mainland China. This Chinese delicacy is really an omelette with onions and shrimps, thickened with corn starch and served with gravy on the side. Simple but oh so good.

#10 HOTPLATE TOFU

Hotplate tofu is hands down one of the most satisfying Zi Char dishes. Served on a hotplate (hence its name), egg tofu is served atop sizzling egg, minced pork, assorted vegetables and a mixture consisting oyster sauce, light soy sauce and chilli bean paste. Best eaten with fragrant white rice!

#11 MEE GORENG

Mee Goreng inherently exudes both Chinese and Malay culinary styles, though most Zi Char stalls cook theirs the Chinese way. The tangy moist noodles are simultaneously sweet and spicy, hence packing a punch of flavour with every mouthful.

#12 MOONLIGHT HOR FUN

Moonlight Hor Fun (or what we affectionately know as yue guang he fen) is a plate of stir-fried kway teow (flat noodles) with bean sprouts, a selection of seafood and topped with a raw runny egg yolk. The exact ingredients may vary from vendor to vendor.

#13 NGOH HIANG

Ngoh Hiang, otherwise known as Lor Bak, is a Chinese snack served not just in Singapore’s Zi Char eateries but also across many other Asian regions. A meat filling – consisting of various spices and condiments – is wrapped in a beancurd skin, rolled up and fried, and cut into slices. It is usually eaten with a sweet sauce.

#14 PORK RIBS KING

Pork Ribs King is known as ‘jing du pai gu’ or ‘pai gu wang’ in Mandarin. The aromatic pork ribs are crispy on the outside and unbelievably tender inside – an absolute crowd pleaser this sure is, and is one common dish in a typical Zi Char meal. Caramelised sugar is used to sweeten the dish, and it is sometimes finished off with a sprinkle of white sesame seeds.

#15 PRAWN PASTE CHICKEN WINGS

Prawn Paste Chicken Wings are more affectionately known by its Cantonese name ‘Har Cheong Gai’. As its name suggests, the chicken wings are marinated in fragrant shrimp sauce, and together with the batter, the wings are deep fried into a plump and juicy state.

#16 SALTED EGG YOLK PRAWNS

Salted Egg Yolk Prawns are our all-time favourite and something that we religiously order since we were young. Prawns are dipped into salted duck egg yolk, before being stir-fried into a golden hue alongside curry leaves, chilli padi and minced garlic.

#17 SAMBAL KANG KONG

Sambal Kang Kong is such a simple but wonderful veggie dish. Water spinach is stir-fried with spicy sambal chilli paste, and the kickass spiciness is what Singaporeans are so addicted to.

#18 SAMBAL STINGRAY

Sambal Stingray is alternatively known by its Malay name, Ikan Bakar. The Chinese would call it ‘mo gui yu’, which literally translates to ‘monster fish’. The seafood is charcoal-grilled, then topped with generous amounts of sambal chilli paste and served with cincalok (Malaysian fermented shrimp sauce).

#19 SPRING ONION DEER MEAT

Spring Onion Deer Meat is more often than not prepared with ginger and spring onion and served on a piping hotplate. Venison is wonderfully tender and drenched in a seemingly simple but complex sauce created from soy sauce, white wine and oyster sauce.

#20 SWEET AND SOUR PORK

Sweet and Sour Pork is possibly the most well-known Zi Char dish amongst Westerners abroad. These flavourful meat chunks – usually pork – are stir-fried with bell peppers and diced pineapple. Crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside, Sweet and Sour Pork is another of our all-time favourite.

#21 YAM RING

The physique of the scrumptious Yam Ring is shaped like a Buddhist monk’s alms-bowl and is loaded with fresh succulent prawns, chicken chunks, carrot slices, crunchy cashew nuts and mushrooms.

Illustrations for ladyironchef by Chen Xuan.

Hainanese chicken rice is Singapore’s national dish, it is a must-eat food when you are here. When you ask locals for recommendations, it is impossible to agree on which is the best chicken rice in Singapore as everyone has their own favourites.

However, no one will deny that Tian Tian Chicken Rice is one of the most famous chicken rice stalls. It even gained the approval of Anthony Bourdain when he was in Singapore.

Tian Tian has expanded from a humble hawker stall in Maxwell Road into a restaurant at Joo Chiat Road. Instead of eating at the hawker centre, you can now choose to dine in comfort, and it also offers a relatively big menu that includes zi char dishes such as Sambal Kangkong ($6), Hainanese Pork Chop ($8), and Assam Fish Slices ($10).

We all have our favourite joints and the truth about which one reigns supreme varies. For me, Tian Tian is one of my favourite chicken rice in Singapore, and I always bring my overseas guests here to try this famous local dish.

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
443 Joo Chiat Road
Tel: +65 6345 9443
Daily: 10.30am – 10.30pm

Maxwell Road
#01-10/11 Maxwell Food Centre
Tel: +65 9691 4852
Tue to Sun: 11am – 8pm

Le Chasseur has been widely raved about in numerous reviews by newspapers, magazines and food blogs. A few of my friends are also huge fans of the food there. They are always talking about this hidden gem of a restaurant that serves good zi char. So when a friend was in town visiting, I decided to bring her there for dinner. And from the first dish, we could not stop singing its praises.

The menu is extensive, and you will find that you want to order everything. Perennial favourites include coffee pork ribs ($16), salted fish eggplant ($8.5), fish bee hoon with bittergourd ($7), pork knuckle ($32) and claypot chicken rice ($11)

We started off with the oyster omelette ($9) and stir-fried kailan ($5.3).

Next, we had butter oatmeal prawns ($6/100g). They were very good, but I was told that their BBQ live prawns ($9.6) are even better. Apparently, you need to make an advance reservation for it as they only sell a limited quantity of it everyday.

Everyone was also won over by the claypot rice ($20 for L/$11 for S) – one of the signature items on the menu. You know it is something special when the girls asked for second helpings of carbs during dinner. Definitely a must-order if you are eating at Le Chasseur.

The herbal chicken ($16), on the other hand, was only decent. It is something that I will order once, but not again.

The pièce de résistance was the pork knuckle ($32). Deep-fried three times to ensure the crispiness, it was blow-my-socks-off good. It came with a special sauce made of cucumber, onion, starfruit, and light soya sauce. While the pork knuckle was good enough on its own, the sauce added a slightly different dimension to it.

All in all, Le Chasseur is an air-conditioned zi char restaurant that serves excellent food at very affordable prices. I will definitely bring my friends back to try the other signature dishes.

Le Chasseur
Blk 27 Eunos Road 2
Tel: +65 6337 7677
Nearest Station: Eunos

Zi Char (also known as Zhi Char/Cze Char/Tze Char/Zhu Chao) is a term used to describe a wallet-friendly, home-style cuisine from a Chinese stall, which serves a variety of ala-carte dishes and leaves you spoiled for choice. Most zi char stalls are located in a non-restaurant setting like a coffee shop or a hawker centre. There are also some local seafood restaurants which have air-conditioned dining area.

Here are some of the best zi char restaurants located in the west of Singapore.

Big Eater

Much has been said about Big Eater’s KL-style hokkien mee and crabs. If you are looking for a place to eat in the Jurong West area, make a trip to Big Eater.

Blk 964 Jurong West St 91 #01-342
Tel: +65 6397 0480
Daily: 4pm – 2am

Chin Huat Live Seafood

Chin Huat Live Seafood at Sunset Way serves competent food at reasonable prices. Besides the usual zi char offerings, they also have other unique dishes like Wagyu Beef on the menu.

For people who are staying in the west, Chin Huat is a great place to have live seafood. And you can enjoy your zi char meal in the comfort of an air-conditioned restaurant.

105 Clementi Street 12
#01-30 Sunset Way Singapore
Tel: +65 6775 7348
Daily: 11.30am–2.30pm, 5.30pm–11pm

Fortune Seafood Restaurant

Another Zhi Char restaurant that we frequent is Fortune Seafood Steamboat restaurant along Bukit Timah Road. The no-frills restaurant is air-conditioned but we usually prefer to dine outside.

887 Bukit Timah Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6469 5957
Opening hours: 11am – 2.30pm
Dinner: 5pm – 11.30pm Daily

Ga Hock Seafood Restaurant

Despite its inaccessible location, Ga Hock Seafood Restaurant has a huge following; regulars will go all the way there for a good and satisfying meal. The cze char eatery is tucked at the back of a run-down coffee shop.

794 Upper Bukit Timah Road
Hup Choon Eating House
Tel: +65 6314 5725
Daily: 4pm – 11pm

Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon

Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon is famous for its namesake dish, but not everyone knows that they do an excellent har cheong gai (prawn paste chicken). We are going out on a limb to say that this is one of the best har cheong gai in Singapore.

Jumbo Coffee Hub at Blk 19A
Dover Crescent
Tel: +65 6778 3691
Daily: 11.30am–2pm, 5pm–11pm

Keng Eng Kee Seafood Restaurant

Located in a coffee shop at Alexandra Village, Keng Eng Kee Seafood Restaurant is one of the most popular zi char restaurants in the neighbourhood. Prices have increased quite a bit over the years, but the food in general is still pretty good. Even though it is crowded during dinner every night, the kitchen is extremely efficient and you don’t have to wait long for the food.

Blk 124 Bukit Merah Lane 1
#01-136 Alexandra Village Singapore
Tel: +65 6272 1038
Daily: 11.30am –2pm, 5pm–11pm

Kimly Seafood

Kimly Seafood Restaurant is a tze char chain with many outlets around the island. It is one of the zi char places that we go to when we feel like having a simple and fuss-free meal.

Blk 346 Jurong East Street 31
Daily: 2pm – 1am

Master Crab Seafood Restaurant

Crab-lovers must go to Master Crab Seafood Restaurant which serves a fantastic salted egg yolk crab. Besides the branch at Ghim Moh Road, Master Crab also has several branches in Singapore.

Blk 19 Ghim Moh Road #01-229
Tel: +65 6314 1868
Daily: 5pm – 10.30pm

Two Chefs Eating House

Two Chefs Eating Place is a familiar name for most as it is well-publicised in the media. Most of the dishes are decent, but nothing to shout home about. However, we will return just for the awesome Butter Pork Ribs.

Blk 116 Commonwealth Cresent #01-129
Tel: 6472 5361
Mon: 5pm – 11.30pm
Tue to Sun: 11.45am–2.30pm, 5pm–11.30pm

One of the best food in Singapore is definitely Chicken Rice. For the uninitiated, chicken rice is basically steamed/roasted chicken and white rice, served with chilli sauce, ginger, and dark soy sauce.

Every time I have chicken rice, I wonder why I don’t eat it more often. Especially when there are so many good ones around. Everyone has their favourites, Singaporeans always like to debate on where is the best chicken rice in Singapore.

Of course, I have my own favourite chicken rice stalls, but I’m always on the lookout for new places to try. Chin Chin Eating House at Purvis Street has always been known for their chicken rice, so when I happened to be in the area, I suggested going there for lunch.

For some reason, I was craving for Hainanese Pork Chop, and as soon as I saw it on their menu, I ordered a portion.

I liked Chin Chin Chicken Rice well enough to go back again, although I don’t think they are the best chicken rice I’ve had. Don’t get me wrong, though. The chicken, the rice, the chilli, they are all good. But it just didn’t wow me. The Pork Chop too, was decent, but not life-changing.

If you are thinking of where to eat in the City Hall/Bugis area, Chin Chin Eating House at Purvis Street might just be the place to go.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Chin Chin Eating House
19 Purvis Street
Beach Road Conservation Area
Tel: +65 6337 4640
Daily: 7am – 9pm

You know a marketing campaign is successful when people still remember the slogan after a long time. When you mention Chin Huat Live Seafood, chances are, people will think of the slogan “lobster bigger than little girl” used in their television advertisement years ago.

Chin Huat Live Seafood at Sunset Way, is of course, more than just lobsters. Besides the typical Sri Lanka crabs, they offer a huge variety of seafood and popular zichar dishes.

The restaurant was pretty full when we went on a weekday for dinner. As it was just a casual family dinner, we decided to play safe and order the usual stuff like chilli crabs, deep-fried chicken, and sambal kangkong.

Everyone knows that Chilli Crab is one of the must-eats in Singapore. But to be honest, I have a love-hate relationship with it.

On one hand, I really love dipping the deep-fried mantou into the savoury-sweet chilli gravy. On the other, the amount of work – from cracking a shell that’s as hard as a bulletproof tank; to trying to coax the meat out from the deep end of the shell – doesn’t justify all the work for so little flesh.

More than anything, I am a lazy person who doesn’t like to dirty his hands just for crabs. But fine, I did it anyway. Who can resist the temptation of Chilli crab with deep-fried mantou?

As much as I’d love to try Chin Huat’s signature Golden Sauce Crab, we only had room for another crab and we went for the Salted Egg Yolk Crab ($43 per kg). It was okay. I felt that the salted egg yolk crab would be better if there was more gravy.

I was trying very hard to concentrate when the Dong Po Rou ($16) arrived. They were magnificent – just look at the picture above!

The others commented that the sauce was a little too sweet, but I thought that it was just nice. Then again, I have a really sweet tooth, so don’t take my word for it.

The Deep-fried Crispy Chicken ($12 for half) was equally good-looking. It’s really difficult to breathe when you have Chilli Crab, Salted Egg Yolk Crab, Dong Po Meat, and Crispy Chicken on the table. I felt as though I was in a room surrounded by gorgeous babes.

Chin Huat Live Seafood at Sunset Way serves competent food at reasonable prices. Besides the usual zi char, they also have other unique dishes like Wagyu Beef on the menu. It is a great place to have live seafood if you are staying in the west of Singapore.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Chin Huat Live Seafood
105 Clementi Street 12
#01-30 Sunset Way Singapore
Tel: +65 6775 7348

For more recommendations, read my Guide to Sunset Way Restaurants

“Where can you find the cheapest crabs in Singapore?”

Irvin’s Seafood Cze Char at River Valley road is probably the place to go. Most of the crabs on the menu – like black pepper crab, chilli crab, butter crab – are available for just $19.9. There’s a catch of course. The crabs are much smaller, around 500g each.

Personally, I thought that it was a good tactic to attract customers. But taste-wise, the crabs that we had were nothing special. Irvin’s Seafood is only worth a try if you a) are on a budget b) want to try a variety of crabs.

The sauce of the Chilli Crab ($19.9 for 500g/$29.9 for 800g/$39.9 for 1kg) was a little too starchy and there was a rather strong vinegar taste to it.

The Salted Egg Yolk Crab ($23.9 for 500g/$33.9 for 800g/$42 for 1kg) was supposed to be Irvin’s seafood signature crab. But again, we didn’t really enjoy it as we felt that the sauce was too buttery and lacked the fragrance of the salted egg yolk.

The Shrimp Paste Chicken ($12.8 for small) was just fine – I mean, deep-fried food always taste good. It’s slightly pricier than normal cze char places, though.

Hot plate black pepper deer meat ($18.8)

Perhaps Irvin’s was having a slightly bad day. Perhaps the crabs were cooked exactly as they were supposed to, and it was because we didn’t know how to appreciate them.

Would I go back to Irvin’s Seafood restaurant again? I don’t think so. While the prices of the crabs are fairly attractive, we didn’t really like them. If I were in the River Valley area, I’d probably head to Spize, Five Star Chicken Rice or Boon Tong Kee for supper.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Irvin’s Seafood Restaurant
397 River Valley Road
Tel: +65 6836 5020
Daily: 11am – 1am

When I was younger, the de facto meeting place for gatherings was definitely at least a cafe, or a nicer restaurant for a special occasion. While I enjoy going out to fancy restaurants, I also like having a simple dinner at a Zhu Chao stall with my friends.

For one of our gatherings, we decided to meet at Tiong Bahru as everyone is working nearby. Since I’ve been to Sin Hoi San Seafood Restaurant, I asked my friend to recommend another eating place in the area, and she immediately suggested Por Kee Eating House – a very popular Zhu Chao Stall at Seng Poh road opposite Tiong Bahru Market.

Like what I’ve mentioned in my Singapore Must-Eats post, Zi Char (also known as Zhi Char/Cze Char/Tze Char/Zhu Chao) is a Chinese stall (in a coffee shop) that serves a variety of ala carte dishes at affordable prices.

The signature Home-made tofu braised with mushrooms is also highly recommended, and this is coming from a guy who only likes hotplate tofu. We also had the famous Champagne Pork Ribs ($16 for small), and it was really good.

As you all know, I’m on a quest to find the best sweet and sour pork in Singapore. Even though I have been disappointed each time, I still continued to try them. Unfortunately, Por Kee’s Sweet and Sour Pork ($12) was only mediocre. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing either.

The food at Por Kee Eating House is good, but not great. Furthermore, the prices at Por Kee are slightly higher than the typical Zhu Chao stalls; vegetable dishes start from $9 (small), and the meat dishes are around $12-16 (small).

I wouldn’t go all the way to Tiong Bahru just to eat this, and even if I am in the area, there are plenty of options to choose from.

Where do you usually eat in Tiong Bahru?

Singapore Food Blog Review
Por Kee Eating House
69 Seng Poh Lane #01-02
Tel: +65 6221 0582

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

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a reader, telling me about Master Crab Seafood Restaurant, a cze char place in Ghim Moh near De Burg burgers. The title of her email was: “best crabs in Singapore“. I think that pretty much sums it up.

Anyway, I could not stop thinking about the yummy crabs, so a few days later, I brought my family to Master Crab for dinner. Apparently, Master Crab Seafood Restaurant also has branches in Choa Chu Kang (Sunshine Place), Compassvale, and Punggol.

I was a little alarmed when my family wanted to have the Black Pepper Crabs as we had Chilli crabs recently. Luckily, I managed to convince them that it is a must to try the famous Singapore Chilli Crab since it was our first time at this crab restaurant.

Sad to say, Master Crab’s Chilli Crab ($48/kg nett) was lackluster – I could not quite put a finger to it, but the chilli gravy was kind of weird.

If you go to Master Crab Seafood Restaurant, order their Salted Egg Yolk Crab instead. Covered with a golden-yellow sauce, the Salted Egg Yolk Crab was magnificent. The sauce, in particular, was rich and very tasty. I am certainly not the first person, nor the last, to sing its praises.

It’s been said before, and I shall say it again: crab prices are getting ridiculous in zi char restaurants. I understand why seafood restaurants like Seafood Paradise and NoSignBoard need to charge $40ish/kg as they are paying higher rentals. But it does not make sense to me why Zi Char places are charging the same amount.

Master Crab’s har cheong kai ($8) was not too bad. It had a thicker coat of flour which gave it a nice crispy skin.

We wanted to order something different from what we usually have, so we went for the Deep-fried Youtiao Fritter ($8), which was run-of-the-mill.

The Scallop Asparagus ($15) was nothing like the menu’s photo, it only had a few tiny scallops. For that kind of price, I would rather order two different vegetable dishes.

Master Crab Seafood Restaurant, like the name suggests, is a good cze char place to go for their crabs. The other dishes are pretty standard, nothing outstanding. The other signature crabs on the menu are: crab bee hoon and stewed crab with vermicelli.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Master Crab Seafood Restaurant
Blk 19 Ghim Moh Road #01-229
Tel: +65 6314 1868

Master Crab Compassvale
Blk 277 Compassvale Link #01-13
Tel: +65 6555 6515

Master Crab Choa Chu Kang
Blk 475 Choa Chu Kang Ave 3 #01-31
Tel: +65 6764 9487

Master Crab Punggol Field
Blk 108 Punggol Field #01-01
Tel: +65 6425 8079

Master Crab Punggol Drive
Blk 639 Punggol Drive #01-07
Tel: +65 6425 9435

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

Keng Eng Kee Seafood restaurant at Alexandra Village used to be my family’s favourite Cze Char place. It has been a while since our last visit here so we decided to drop by for dinner last week.

Besides the good food, some of the regulars probably go to Keng Eng Kee Seafood because the Zi Char Stall has an air-conditioned dining area just opposite the coffee shop.

It was a tough call between the Chilli Crab and Salted Egg Yolk Crab, but eventually we went for the latter as it was apparently a signature dish of Keng Eng Kee restaurant.

The sauce of the Salted Egg Yolk Crab ($39/kg) was very thick, and had a subtle spicy taste. I probably had better salted egg yolk crabs elsewhere before, but this was pretty decent.

We wanted to have Hot Plate Beancurd but it was not available on Keng Eng Kee’s menu. But it was not so bad since the Claypot Beancurd was a good replacement.

The Sambal Kangkong was well done. It was spicy but not to the extent of being tongue-numbing. The small portion comes at $6.

I was quite disappointed that Sweet and Sour Pork is also not available under the Pork section. But there are interesting options like Golden Pork Ribs, Coffee Pork Ribs and Claypot Pork Liver to choose from. We were intriguied by the Claypot Pork Liver as not many cze char restaurants serve it.

Just look at all the oil used to cook the liver! The Claypot Pork Liver ($8) is definitely not for the faint-hearted. But it sure was tasty.

Prawn Paste Chicken is a very popular zi char dish and there are different variations for it. I’ve had very good Har Cheong Kai before, so I was actually looking forward to the ones at Keng Eng Kee. Unfortunately, the Har Cheong Kai ($8) here was quite disappointing: the chicken was very small, and I felt that the shrimp paste marination was rather weak. I’d probably go for the Crispy Roasted Chicken or the Marmite Chicken next time.

I was quite impressed with the waiting time at Keng Eng Kee Seafood. The Cze Char restaurant was almost packed when we were there for dinner, yet they managed to serve most of the dishes within 10 minutes.

The food at Keng Eng Kee Seafood was pretty good and it was a bonus that everything came quickly. Prices are what you’d expect from a typical zhi char place, but the portions served were slightly smaller.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Keng Eng Kee Seafood
Blk 124 Bukit Merah Lane 1
#01-136 Alexandra Village Singapore
Tel: +65 6272 1038

Operating Hours:
Daily: 11.30am – 2pm, 5pm – 11pm

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

Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon is one of the Zi Char Stalls in Singapore that my family frequently visits. But it has since relocated to the Jumbo Coffee Shop at Dover Crescent, so we decided to go to Ming Kitchen Seafood Restaurant at Holland Drive instead.

Do you like prawn roll?

It has always been my favorite childhood dish and I can easily eat a dozen of them at one go. The crisp and crunchy Prawn rolls ($8) are good on its own, but I would prefer to dip it into the sweet and tangy sauce.

In my books, the Shrimp Paste chicken or Har Cheong Kai ($8) is definitely one of the must-order Zi Char dishes. I’m not very good at fighting temptations. Especially not when the chicken is marinated with the fragrant shrimp paste and deep fried to a handsome shade of golden brown.

Even though Ming Kitchen Seafood Restaurant’s rendition was fairly competent, I couldn’t put a finger to what’s missing. This is not the best har cheong kai in Singapore.

The Sambal Kangkong ($6) was extremely spicy. I know it seems nothing out of the blue since I don’t take spicy food very well. But trust me on this, the sambal kangkong here was really spicy. Has anyone tried the sambal Kangkong from Ming Kitchen Seafood Restaurant before?

I’m usually not a big fan of Bee Hoon or Hor Fun. So it’s rather surprising that I had a sudden urging for San Lou Hor Fun ($5) that day. It was decent, nothing extraordinary — I just wished that they would put more bean sprouts though.

* * *

Do you know: Ming Kitchen Seafood Restaurant actually has more than 10 Zi Char stalls in Singapore? I was surprised when I saw the number of branches on their menu, and hey, there might just be one in your neighborhood!

Okay I need some help here. Please share with us where’s the best Zi Char in Singapore.

Hawker Food Review
Ming Kitchen Seafood Restaurant
46 Holland Drive #01-359

The most amazing thing about having a food blog, is knowing the other food bloggers. Besides the food blogs in Singapore, I got to meet up with the KL food bloggers during my trip up north last year, and when I went for a holiday in Australia during December, the good Sydney food bloggers hosted and brought me around for the best food in Sydney.

When Howard & Linda (eatshow&tell) told me that they were stopping-over in Singapore for a few hours before flying to Hong Kong, I knew that I had to bring them to have our famous Chili Crab.

It’s a tough decision trying to choose a place, since there’s so many restaurants claiming to serve the best chili crab in Singapore. I finally decided on No SignBoard restaurant because it has always been one of my family’s favorite place for crabs. As there were 6 of us, the staff advised that we probably need two crabs, so our second choice was the Salted Egg Yolk crab ($40 per kg). It was an irony since No SignBoard is famous for their white pepper crabs in Singapore, but I’m not a fan of pepper. Besides, I know I want the salted egg yolk, and I wanted it immediately. You know, like now!

Drop-dead gorgeous.

Look at that, the golden cluster of the salted egg yolk! I licked off the salted egg yolk coat on the crab pincers, and it simply disintegrated. The sauce reminded me of the salted egg yolk in custard buns, both equally as good but this one was slightly saltier, and very fragrant.

Hand over your passports, nobody leaves Singapore without trying Chili crab.

Photogenic it is not, but in the mouth, one struggles for words, and everything is forgiven. There’s different renditions of Chili crabs, with each claiming to be better than the other; so how do you actually define what’s a good Chili Crab? I like it slightly sweet, and spicy. I like to dip my beloved deep-fried mantou into the thick and awesome gravy, pour a whole bowl of it onto the white rice and finish everything.

Six deep-fried Mantou please, no wait, make it twelve. Okay, give us another six more. Oh those incredibly delicious, tiny devils.

Coming from a poor chili eater, I find the Sambal Kangkong extremely spicy. Herein lies the question: do we like sambal kangkong because it is hot, or do we like it hot so we like sambal kangkong?

Anyway, I like my sambal kangkong to be hot even though I can’t take chili very well. And the one here, is damn hot.

I’m not sure about you, but it seems to me that people always order Cereal prawns not so much because of the prawns, but rather they like the crispy cereals. I’m not going to talk about the niffy gritty part on how to peel a prawn, forget every single thing that I’ve said – just swallow the whole prawn.

Without a doubt, Chili Crab is the face and ambassador of the Singapore food scene, and No Signboard has the best chili crab in Singapore – because I like them. And no, we are not going to start the controversial debate on ‘where is the best chili crab in Singapore’. Whichever crab you like, is the best crab.

If you have hang around for long enough, you’d know that I’m not a big fan of steamboat, so it’s always an once-a-year thing for Chinese New Year reunion dinner. Most reputable fine-dining Chinese restaurants are probably fully booked by now; so instead of having steamboat, how about Seafood for Chinese New Year? Sounds like a plan to me.

Restaurant Review
No Signboard Seafood
414 Geylang Road
Tel: +65 6842 3415
Daily 12pm – 1am

Seng Kee Black Herbal Chicken Soup is located just opposite Kembangan MRT station. I happened to chance upon this zi-char restaurant because my friends had cravings for their mee-sua.

So another venture into the east side of Singapore for LIC, as i stay in the west and the east is so far away. But there are simple too much good food in the area, so you will be seeing more food from the east in the future!

The zi-char store has all of its seat on the street, its rather cooling but when bad weather comes then it will be very difficult as i don’t think there are much shelter from rain.

The store has quite a few selections of fish available for customers to choose, and with the method of cooking the fish. But we didn’t have any fish because we ordered crab already.

Mee Sua ($3.50)

The rendition of Mee sua at Seng Kee comes in a stronger flavour than the normal ones, with ingredients like pig kidneys, mushroom in it. The mee sua is smooth and silky to the mouth.

We had 5 bowls for each of us, and i saw most tables ordering this dish and at $3.50 its definitely worth a try.

Egg Omelette ($8)

$8 for an egg omelette dish at a zi-char store might be a tad too expensive, if I’m not wrong egg dishes usually are about 6 bucks? Nevertheless, the egg omelette is quite good and we finish it very fast.

Crab Bee Hoon ($38)

The crab bee hoon is usually done in soup, but here at Seng Kee they do it “dry”. We were quite shocked at the size of the crab when it came because usually crabs at zi-char stores goes in the region of $30 for 1kg?

But the one that we had is $38, and the small crab that we had is definitely not 1kg. I felt ripped off as the price tag is certainly too expensive for the size of the crab.

The bee hoon is not bad though, as it absorbs all the essence of the crab and all the juicy wet part is at the bottom of the bee hoon.

Total bill including drinks for 5 person comes up to $76.80. At initial look, for a zi-char store and considering we had 5 person, its definitely not expensive. But, looking at the amount of food that we had, the crab bee hoon was definitely over-priced.

I’m not too sure about their other dishes as i have not tried them and it will not be fair to judge base on this experience. But their mee sua is worth a try, do give their crab bee hoon a miss.

Seng Kee Black Herbal Chicken Soup
467 Changi Road