Wan He Lou (萬合樓) - Battle of the Lobster Porridge @ 65 Maude Road [Jalan Besar]

After that memorable bowl of lobster porridge at Orchid Live Seafood, i did an online search and found another restaurant famed for the same dish; Wan He Lou!

As you could have probably guessed, it took me a really long time to finally give it a try; thanks to the Great Kon who suggested this place for dinner a week ago.

I am cutting to the chase by diving straight into food! There is only so much i can say about ambience and decor given my limited vocabulary. Oh, i do like those bird cage lanterns hanging from the ceiling. 

Crispy Lotus with Salted Egg

Frankly, these would make for a fantastic ready-to-eat snack while watching a movie and we thought sales might just fly if they are to be put in convenient vacuumed packs! 

Key seller was definitely the yummy layer of salted egg flavouring encompassing the thinly sliced lotus roots! Granted it wasn't as excessive as the salted egg crab from Yijia; it was still formidable in its own right as something we would enjoy munching on. 

Pan Fried Kurobuta Pork

I am not a person who places brand-name meat as top priority since the usual increase in prices doesn't really commensurate with a much better taste. But this pan fried kurobuta pork took my breath away with its tenderness and juiciness! 

Yellow Gravy Crab Meat Tofu

At first look, the green gelatine stuff wasn't exactly 'right' for tofu and we were proven right; it tasted like jelly on tofu and was too weird for liking despite a gravy filled with pieces of crab meat!

Green Dragon Vegetable

Said to be one of the signature dishes on the menu that was rarely served in other dining establishments, this was indeed unique even though i found it to be more chive-tasting. I honestly don't mind chives; so long they are not in such big portion. 

Signature Chicken

A better name would be signature chicken drumlets; to name it as chicken and then to see unsatisfying drumlets being served was quite a letdown. They were not fantastic although the dark, savoury sauce wasn't too bad. 

Tofu Pudding (Tau Huay) Ice Cream

What would be the image in your mind when you hear of this tau huay ice cream? For us, it was obviously not ice cream IN tau huay; which was exactly the case. It didn't help that cheapo chocolate ice cream was used and to think we paid S$3.90 for it! Thank god we only had one! 

Signature Lobster Porridge

Star for the day and the one dish i was really looking forward to!

Compared to the epic one i had in Orchid Live Seafood, the broth was richly flavoured yet only lightly infused with the most important essence that makes or breaks the dish; the lobster. Boiling the porridge with ginger might help to bring out the flavour. 

On the lobster meat, the texture was a bit mushy and i wondered if it was as fresh as those served in Orchid Live Seafood which were taken straight (alive and kicking) from the glass tanks.  

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Location

65 Maude Road

Opening Hours (Daily)

Lunch: 11am till 2.30pm

Dinner: 5.00pm till 10.30pm

Reservation

6294-8057

Website

www.wanhelou.com

Price

Crispy Lotus with Salted Egg (S) - S$11.90

Pan Fried Kurobuta Pork (S) - S$14.90

Yellow Gravy Crab Meat Tofu (S) - S$13.90

Green Dragon Vegetable (S) - S$9.90

Signature Chicken (S) - S$11.90

Tofu Pudding Ice Cream - S$3.90

Signature Lobster Porridge (350g) - S$29.90

[Subject to 7% GST]