Special Chicken Hot Pot (Claypot) - 生爆老干妈鸡堡 @ Wan Chai Hongkong Tea Room 湾仔香港奶茶店 [Sembawang Shopping Centre]

For Joyce's birthday yesterday, i was all prepared to splurge on a good dinner but as the fantastic sister she has always been, it is the thought that really matters.

That explained why we were eventually seated at Wan Chai Hongkong Tea Room at Sembawang Shopping Centre. Now, it was not my first time to this particular Hongkong style cafe chain and i must admit my first two visits to its branch at IMM Jurong were hardly memorable as far as food is concerned.

However, i am more than willing to give it another chance. 

The deep fried eggplants with a generous sprinkling of meat floss started as a satisfying appetiser although i wonder how many people can actually resist the temptation of meat floss when egg plants are considered to be pretty much tasteless anyway.

Birthday girl's order was this baked seafood rice with wasabi cheese. I didn't want to appear too greedy so i took just a teeny weeny bite to test out; wasabi cheese was a delicious variant yet the dry bland ice destroyed it by being a severe mismatch for this dish. 

Mine - special chicken hot pot in claypot. 

Key question is why did i choose this when i am not even considered to be a chilli person? Trust me, with over fifteen types tagged under "claypot", only five or six were available! I didn't really have many choices to start with!

Chilli wise, this was the numbing type of spicy typical of Sichuan mala style albeit with a lower intensity. The chicken pieces were tender and most importantly, managed to lock in the essential mala essence. This brought to mind the Sichuan fish i had at S99, which was a great disappointment.

Given my lack of experience in spicy food, i am not sure if i am giving an fair review. Guess this would be a valid excuse to stake out those Sichuan mala restaurants located in Geylang for better exposure! 

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Location

604 Sembawang Road 

#03-12/13, Sembawang Shopping Centre

Price

Eggplants with Meat Floss - $6.50

Baked Seafood Rice with Wasabi Cheese - $9

Special Chicken Hot Pot - $9.80

[Subject to GST. No Service Charge]

Website 

http://www.wanchai.sg