PUTIEN Restaurant

A restaurant that sells Hinghwa food. Affordable and delicious food is the only thing I can describe about this chain of restaurants. Ordered quite a lot of food for a table of around 10 people.

PUTIEN Style Century Egg $5.90

Comments: This is absolutely delicious. I kept eating and eating and eating. Have to try it, that is of course if you don't like century egg.

Iced Bitter Gourd $4.90

Comments: I love bitter gourd, but the way the bitter gourd is made in this restaurant, the bitterness will go missing. Firstly, the bitter gourd is slightly sliced into strips and "freeze" with shaved ice. Before eating, you have to dip the bitter gourd in honey provided and the cool, sweet taste is enough to appetize your tastebuds

Cold Jellyfish in XO sauce $7.90

Comments: Can't really taste the XO taste. Can order if you enjoy eating jellyfish.

Seaweed with Mini Shrimps $6.90

Comments: Normal tasting

(Autumn Menu) Hairy Crabs Price Unknown

Comments: Hairy Crab only comes once a year. Apparently in Oct is the season of female crabs and Nov is the season of male crabs. The staff here will dissect the crab till you can eat with minimal effort.

(Autumn Menu) Hairy Crab

Comments: I was surprised to find so much roe in a male hairy crab. I can't imagine how much there would be in a female one. The roe is sweet but slightly dry, like eating salted egg.

Braised Pig Intestine $9.90

Comments: The pig intestine is thick and chewy, but the thing is, it is not very tasteful. Maybe needs a bit more marination.

Braised Bamboo Shoot $6.90

Comments: Erm, nothing really special about this dish.

Abalone

Abalone $11.90

Comments: The abalone is slightly marinated. Made just right, not too chewy, no fishy smell. Love the presentation and the taste.

(Autumn menu) Claypot Beancurd in Crab Roe Sauce $13.90 / $20.90

Comment: This is the ultimate comfort food. So delicious, a bowl of rice with this is enough to make me contented. 

Bamboo Herbal Prawn $4.90

Comments: I love this soup. The herbal taste is strong, the 2 prawns given is very fresh and sweet, giving the soup a sweet taste too. Served hot for maximum enjoyment.

Claypot Sea Cucumber with Chestnut $35.90 / $53.90

Comments: This is a must order always in my family, firstly because we like to eat sea cucumber. Secondly, there is a whole assortment of vegetables in there such as broccoli, mushrooms, roast pork, chestnut and a few more other stuff. The gravy is tasty and not too salty.

PUTIEN Sweet and Sour Pork with Lychees $11.90 / $17.90

Comments: Similar to the normal sweet and sour pork found elsewhere, this sweet and sour pork is slightly sweeter because of the lychee taste. If only they made the pork crispier.

Deep Fried Live Squirrel Fish with Gravy $35.90

Comments: To be honest, I have never seen a squirrel fish before. Apparently the head has not much meat as compared to other fishes, but the meat is as delicious as other fishes. Fried perfectly, it's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The sauce is something like the sweet and sour sauce.

Fried Egg Plant with Pork Floss $8.90 / $13.90

Comments: This is one of my favorite dishes in PUTIEN. Although it's suppose to be Fried Egg Plant, but the batter and pork floss covers the taste of the egg plant perfectly that when you eat it, it tastes just like eating a dough fritter "you tiao" that is dipped with pork floss.

Spinach with Salted Egg & Century Egg in Supreme Stock $12.90 / $18.90

Comments: One of my all time favorite dishes, but I normally prefer mine with 3 eggs, the 2 eggs stated and normal chicken egg. The stock is very tasty, the spinach not over-cooked. Can't really go wrong with this dish.

Stir-Fried Yam $10.90 / $16.90

Comments: The yam is sweet and crispy, only thing I did not like about this dish is that the yam pieces are cut quite big. If you eat too fast, it leaves a very dry throat.

The Bun

The Meat

Shredded Meat with Bun $3.90 per piece (Min 2.)

Comments: Don't look down on this dish because this combination is super delicious. Mix with PUTIEN's special chilli sauce, it's really nice. The bun is slightly roasted, so it's crispy and lightly glazed to give it a sweet taste. The meat is very tasty, together with the onion. A really nice dish.

PUTIEN Style Oyster Omelette $16.90 / $23.90

Comments: Tastes very different from the normal oyster omelette or better known as "ao jian". It is fried a bit more crispy instead of fluffy. Does not entice me to eat more after a few mouthful though.

Fried Hinghwa Bee Hoon $7.90 / $15.90 / $23.90

Comments: What better way to end a dinner. Instead of eating those heavy noodles/rice, ordering bee hoon is better as it is not as filling. The bee hoon is also very tasty with the amount of seafood in it. Not too dry too.

Overall review: A great place for a family/business lunch or dinner. The food won't disappoint.  From a small restaurant in Kitchener road to having 7 other outlets now in Singapore, this restaurant really has grown. The do pack in the crowds on weekends, so it's best to call and make a reservation at a restaurant near you.

Details of the place: Putien Outlets

Website: PUTIEN Restaurant

Tel: Please click the outlets link above.

Beng Hiang Hokkien Restaurant

Situated in a small shop house is this famous restaurant know for its Hokkien food. Went there for family dinner one day, and here's a small review of the food we ate:

Cold Dish Combination $35 (S)

Comment: Love the prawn salad, jellyfish was ok. Prawn balls were delicious and the ngoh hiang was nice too

Fish Maw Soup $38 (M)

Comment: As a non supporter of Shark's Fin soup, fish maw soup tastes equally good. The broth is thick and not that salty

Dou Miao $14 (M)

Comment: The vegetables were slightly overcooked and not really much taste

Fried Prawn Balls $16

Comment: Also known as ngoh hiang, these prawn balls is fried nicely, slightly crispy and sweet. Matched with the sweet sauce and it's really delicious.

Boneless Suckling Pig $200

Comment: I've tried many suckling pig all over Singapore and I've got to say, this is probably the best suckling pig I've eaten. The skin is roasted to perfection, with the crisp just right and the sweetness coming out from the marination. The fact it's boneless speaks for itself about the skills of the chef.

Oyster Omelette $20 (M)

Comments: A simlar type of oyster omelette to those you find in the hawker centre. The egg is fried crisp and the oyster is big and juicy. Chili is slightly sweet.

Duck with Sea Cucumber in Claypot $35 (S)

Comments: The duck is cooked soft, meat sort of melts in your mouth type. The sauce was savory and the sea cucumber soft and tasty.

Fried Hokkien Noodles $12 (M)

Comments: They call this the original type of fried hokkien mee. Sweet, dark and tasty all at the same time.

Braised Brisket with bun 扣肉饱 $15 (S)

Comments: By the time this came, we were so full, it made this hard to eat. A nice beef brisket is fatty as shown in the picture. If only the sauce was a bit more tasty or more so that we could dip it in to eat.

Buns

Yam Paste $25 

Comment: Much different from the usual yam paste. It has corn in it. Not super sweet. 

Overall review: Not really a fan of Hokkien food, but I would recommend this place just for its suckling pig. A bit pricey though. Food nice but not really fantastic. And dinner time, it's super noisy, so not recommended for small talk

Details of the place: 112-116 Amoy Street Singapore 069932

Website: Beng Hiang Restaurant

Tel: +65 6221 6695

        +65 6221 6684 Reservations is recommended.

The Mayor of Tiny Town

Halloween night and me and my friends were finding a place for dinner before heading to Halloween Horrors Nights 2 at Universal Studios Singapore. A friend's friend then invited me to her restaurant for dinner. Took up the offer since it's near USS and there was a Halloween set menu to set us up for Halloween mood.

Halloween special set menu

Spider's Pumpkin Brew

Comments: Like the chef's creativity. Do you see the spider? Anyway whenever I drink pumpkin soup, I compare it with my sister's version as there are not many that taste as delicious as hers. I found this pumpkin soup a bit diluted but still is tasty.

Monster's Minestrone Brew

Comments: Did not taste it, but my friend said it was ok, tasted normal.

Witches' hair with devil eye

Comments: Presentation looks very nice but I was kinda disappointed by the bland spaghetti and the over-cooked salmon.(I feedback to the boss already)

Zombie's Brain

Comments: I preferred this. Loved the cheese baked rice but the chicken cutlet was slightly dry

Scrambled Eggs & Crab Mayo $12.90

Comments: The scrambled eggs was nice but the crab mayo was not that fantastic.

Hammie's Omelette $13.90

Comments: My friend said that it was a bit bland and did not really like it after a few bites.

Overall Review:  Even though my review is a bit on the negative side, I hope that they will take it in their stride and work out a formula to brush up their food. The outlet is very new, probably about 2 months old, so they would need all the valuable feedback to make their food more tasty. Do support so that they can improve. I will go back again 1 day to try the Braised Pork Belly Rice, and I hope I won't get disappointed.

Recommendation: 5.5/10

Details of the place: 61 Cantonment Road (can park at The Pinnacle)

Website: The Mayor of Tiny Town (the full menu is in there)

Tel: +65 6222 7089

Keng Eng Kee Seafood

Ever since my dad brought me to this place when I was young, I really loved the food there. Affordable and delicious are the 2 words to describe the food there. They have many delicious food there that anything you order will most probably come out good. But there are a few dishes that is a must try, so have a good read:

月光河粉 (translated to moonlight hor fun) $8

Comments: This is a dish that I always order when I'm there. The hor fun is not too dry, the egg is half cooked and mixed up before eating. It has chicken and squid. Not too salty either. I rather eat this than rice.

Stir-Fried Kailan $8

Comments: Normally sambal kangkong would be the number one choice, but that day we did not feel like eating kangkong, so we ordered this instead. The vegetables were crunchy and not too oily which would be really unhealthy

Fish head with Black Bean Paste $18

Comments: This is the best fish head I've tried in decades. The fish is really fresh, the meat is really soft and the fact they put pork lard makes it extra delicious. This is a MUST order!*unless you don't like fish head*

Claypot Tofu $15

Comments: Ordered this because I'm a fan of egg tofu. A normal tasting dish compared to the rest.

Chili Crab $44.50

Comments: A famous dish in Singapore. Their version of chili crab is more of the sweet sticky type of sauce. 

Steamed buns $1 each

Comments: Their buns are freshly made everyday by themselves everyday. Different from the fried buns that most restaurant serve, their buns are soft and kinda melts in your mouth.

Salted Egg Yolk Crab $44.50

Comments: This is actually their signature dish. A personal favorite. I like how their egg yolk sauce is watery and thick with a bit of crab roe mixed in it. This is really delicious.

Overall review: I like this place as they have an air-conditioned area and a normal hawker area. So I suggest you call to reserve a place 1 or 2 days before to reserve a seat. I also really love the customer service there. I think they give better customer service than some 5 star restaurants. Another tip is to reserve the crab if not you may not be able to enjoy it and make sure to tell them to give you a fresh one. They also don't charge GST and service charge, which makes them so much more affordable.

Recommendation: 9/10

Other food to try: Veggie with ikan billis, mingzhu rolls, signature tofu, sea cucumber with duck stew, marmite chicken, coffee pork ribs

Details of the place: 124 Bukit Merah Lane 1 #01-136

Tel: +65 6272 1038