With their main branch at Jalan Besar, we decided to drop by and try the dishes. As with the standard Chinese restaurants, they provided the usual braised peanuts and wet tissues, both of which have cover charge.
The restaurant had Chinese themed decorations with red walls and wooden floors to dress the restaurant up in traditional colours. With an overall oriental vibe, it was decked in wooden floors, antique decorations and traditional styled chairs as well.
Mushrooms Baked Salted Egg Yolk
Starting off with this mushroom dish which was coated with salted egg yolk leaving it crunchy, and fragrant. The mushrooms were great to start off and served to whet our appetite leaving us anticipating what else lies ahead.
Stewed Pork w Preserved Vegetables
Next up, we had the amazing stewed pork with preserved vegetables, otherwise known as Kong Bak Pau (扣肉包). The stewed pork was served with buns and we were busy putting the soft and juicy pork belly between the buns. The flavour was intense for Singapore standard but if you’re a fan of more heavily seasoned food, it would likely suit your taste.
Egg White w Scallop & Crab Meat in Brocolli
This was a dish that looked and tasted amazing! A healthy dish, it was really soft and smooth and had a great mouthfeel. The egg was soft and silky and had a delicious savoury flavour and goes really well with rice.
Beijing Flavoured Crisp Duck
The duck was roasted well, having a crispy skin exterior, though the duck itself was stringy and a little dry. The duck, similar to the stewed pork, had a strong intense flavour profile that did not really suit the Singaporean palate. The dish, when paired with the spring onions, and cucumbers and wrapped in popiah skin was decent at best. If you’re a fan of stronger and saltier dishes, you can probably give this a try once, though the meat itself was a little on the tough side. If you’re not a fan of the heavier China-styled cooking, this is probably a dish you should give a miss as it might be too much for your palate.
Xiao Long Bao
We’ve tried the xiao long bao as well as the dumplings in cabbage as well and both were so good that we forgot to grab a picture of them. Both dishes hit the right spot, satisfying our Singaporean palates and left us craving for a second serving. Do give the xiao long bao and dumplings a try as they would be worth trying and will be sure to heighten your experience here.
Pickled Fish
As a seafood dish to balance out our meal, we had the pickled fish dish, otherwise known as 酸菜鲜鱼. The fish was tender and fresh, in a pickled vegetable-based sauce that helps to balance the flavour profile of the fish to keep it sour and spicy at the same time. However, the fish had quite a bit of bones and was a hassle to consume. If you’re a fan of fish and aren’t lazy to debone the fish, have a look at this dish as it’s sure to keep you satisfied, but if you’re too lazy to slowly remove the bones, you might want to skip this dish.
Hand in Hand Beijing (手拉手)
Overall, the meat dishes here tend to be a little stronger in flavour so do look out for the meat dishes if you are not a fan of the saltier heavier styled cooking. The dumplings and xiao long bao were really awesome and totally worth a try. You’ll probably want to give a try to the egg white with scallops and crab meat in broccoli but we were left with split as some felt that the dish was great but not worth the price tag.
