With a married sibling, it can be hard to arrange a reunion dinner with the entire family on the eve of lunar new year, despite the fact that we do meet quite often for family meals throughout the year.
For a few years already, we have opted to eat out instead as my parents wouldn't have to spend their time cleaning the house after we leave, which can be tiring, and exceptionally so given their age now. To be honest, I have never been to this particular tze char stall suggested by my elder sister and my brother in law, who have patronized on quite a number of occasions for their economical and good food; e.g. nyonya fish tail curry at just S$10 would definitely appeal to people like my mom.
I am not too particular about where we would be having our meal; it's just a matter of whether I am going to review about it or not. And in this case, I would since family reviews were relatively positive. Good thing about having a big group; we can order a lot more dishes, which made for a more balanced review on the food. Sometimes, I am stuck in a dilemma; trying one or two dishes out of 40-50 on the menu and didn't like what I was putting in my mouth. Should I review or should I not? Easier to add a caveat or link readers to my food philosophy.
Anyway, the food beckons! And as expected, we relied heavily on the recommended dishes; usually identified by menu with enlarged photos if it's not explicitly indicated, like the above.
Sweet & Sour Pork - there was one period of time that I just couldn't get decent 咕咾肉 at tze char stalls; nowadays, the situation has improved and you get little nuggets of pork fried with a batter that remained crispy despite being coated with the sweet, sour sauce. This version at Fu Lee Seafood was clearly above average. Mango Crispy Chicken - I enjoyed fusion dishes involving food after having some extremely memorable ones from Yi Jia South Village Seafood Restaurant. However, the presentation for this dish didn't seem to deviate from normal crispy chicken; having a few strips of mango on top and classifying it as a mango dish would be so laughable. It was crispy alright with a nice, juicy texture on the insides. Batter was powdery and to me, not something I would enjoy in deep fried food. The sauce underneath the chicken was a chilli concoction that's a tad spicy and no, absolutely no hint of mango except for the few strips of mango that acted more like a decorative topping!
Thai Salad Pork Chop - love how the chef makes something that's sinful in the first place, appear to be healthy in the eyes of diner. The taste was refreshing; salad cream with slices of onions and cucumber over deep fried pork that retained its juiciness. This is something I would order again in future visits.
Cai Pu Homemade Beancurd - surprisingly, I actually prefer the smooth tofu over the cai pu (preserved radishes); latter of which were deep fried until they tasted somewhat bland. I think fresh, lightly fried cai pu would surely make this dish better. Fu Yong Omelette - average at first bite but I am a sucker for onions! Therefore, when chefs put in extra onions in omelettes, as in the case here, I tend to enjoy it better!
Salted Egg Prawns - this would be what I called the classic version of salted egg prawns; the prawns were crunchy and fresh and the batter was immersed with the flavour of salted egg. Deep Fried French Beans - fried with minced meat, these were delicious and absolutely perfect with plain, white rice on normal days when you don't want to overly indulge and just want a plain, simple meal. *put into mental note for re-order in future*
Nyonya Fish Tail - stupid me always assume that when it comes to curry fish, it's always fish head. It never dawned on me that we could always ask for the tail portion! Whatever the case, this was a promotion dish at just S$10 and you can only dine-in.
One word - spicy and that's it. For a fish, I think it's quite worth its value even though there's nothing else that would appeal to me. Now that I am older and more discerning with my calorie intake; I would gladly pay more for way more flavourful curry fish at places like Ocean (Toay Payoh) / Chye Lye (Sembawang). White Bee Hoon - with the famous sembawang white bee hoon restaurant just two kilometers away, I was wondering if this could hold up to its close competitor. Sadly; just not as flavourful as the original white bee hoon at Sembawang which had that miraculous effect of drawing you to clean up the plate in front of you!
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In all, food was pretty good for the price we paid for. Two things to note; there's plenty of room for improvement for customer service although my sister did comment that it's much better at night. Irony is that there's a 1% service charge. Second thing is that food did take a long time to arrive; the first item placed on our table came almost 40 minutes after we ordered.
Address
39 Woodlands Close, #01-65, MEGA@Woodlands,
Within De Tian Coffee Shop,
Singapore 737856
As above.
Menu
Pricing
Sweet & Sour Pork (M) - S$15.00 Mango Crispy Chicken - S$15.00
Thai Salad Pork Chop (S) - S$12.00
Cai Pu Homemade Beancurd (S) - S$10.00
Fu Yong Omelette (S) - S$6.00
Salted Egg Prawns (S) - S$16.00
Deep Fried French Beans (M) - S$12.00
Nyonya Fish Tail - S$10.00
White Bee Hoon (S) - S$5.00
(Subject to GST and 1% Service Charge)
