Rasa Istimewa Waterfront Restaurant - Halal Tze Char @ Woodlands Waterfront (With A View of JB Skyline) [Singapore] #halal

My last visit to Woodlands Waterfront Park was when I still had a car and that's almost six years ago! I remember it was a quiet place as there wasn't much development then. 

Things had changed for the better during this prolonged pandemic. In addition to throngs of cyclists making pit stops, many Malaysians who are unable to return home would also drop by to take a longing look at their homeland right across the Johore Strait.

My objective was simpler; it was for dinner and our destination would be an halal eatery that should claim to be the restaurant in Singapore that is closest to Malaysia! 

Rasa Istimewa Waterfront Restaurant; coincidentally, I understand from the Great Kon that the lady boss was our former colleague in Starhub although I personally don't know her, despite remembering how she looks like. 

The unassuming façade might give you the impression that the place would be non-air-conditioned but I would like to assure you that it was! Look at those air-conditioners spaced out every few meters! 

Without further ado, let's proceed with the order! The menu was extensive and covered tze char, western, BBQ and desserts; check them out here.

Cereal Prawn (S) - this is one dish I love to order but were often left disappointed. In the best performing version, you would get good-sized, deep fried prawns that were infused with the irresistible soul of cereals. 

The ones here at Rasa Istimewa, seven prawns in total, were big and fresh and amazingly, with bits of crispy chicken skin camouflaged in the mountain of aromatic cereals. Sadly, the cereals failed to make any significant inroads into the prawns, rendering them as just simple, deep-fried prawns. 

BBQ Stingray (S) - when I was young, I knew this as BBQ fish, which was a direction translation from a Hokkien term, and didn't expect it to come from the beautiful rays! 

Nevertheless, I do enjoy eating them! Freshness is important for any seafood and for BBQ stingray, the deal-breaker is the sambal chilli slathered onto the ray! The above was appetizing, bouncing from sweetness, sourness and spiciness! p.s. a bit too hot for me.

Pineapple Seafood Fried Rice - while more famous in eateries serving Thai cuisine, the reason why we chose this over the rest is mainly due to the fact that it seemed more luxurious as versus to vegetarian, chicken, beef, salted fish.

Super delicious; the fried rice was full of flavor, captivating us with its chicken floss, raisins, pineapple and seafood like prawns, sotongs and large pieces of scallop (as pointed out from the finger of the Great Kon). The only thing left to perfect it would wok-hei, which was strangely lacking. 

Sedap! Marinated Sotong - the word "sedap", which means delicious in Malay, caught our attention and it's like a dare for us to give it a try. I mean, if it is not delicious, why have the word as part of the name of the dish!? Of course, we have had plenty of experience with restaurants / dishes with the word "famous" in their name / dish that didn't make the cut.

Thankfully, the meat of the sotong was tender, not rubbery. The soy based marination sauce was not bad but I think a sweeter flavor would appeal to me more. 

Chicken / Mutton Satay - normally, you wouldn't see me ordering satay in restaurants as they are already pricey on the hawker center level. Honestly, I couldn't remember why we requested for satay. 

But I am glad we did; both chicken and mutton were well-marinated, with nice spices that put them a notch higher than many of their competitors. Chicken satays remained tender and not overly cooked whereas mutton satay, while harder, had crispy edges that were delightful! Peanut gravy was too watery though. 

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Burp! Even though not everything was prefect, it was an enjoyable meal with Alex and the Great Kon. Food as a whole was definitely above average and service was quick and prompt. The restaurant appeared popular despite its remote location and I will recommend making a reservation via here.

Address

6A Admiralty Road West,

Within Woodlands Waterfront Park,

Singapore 757445

Map

As above.

Website

https://www.rasaistimewa.sg/

Other Branches

As above. The Great Kon actually visited the branch at Safra Jurong recently and commented that the food tasted better. Give it a try if you live in the west! 

Pricing

Cereal Prawn (S) - S$30.00

BBQ Stingray (S) - S$14.00

Pineapple Seafood Fried Rice - S$9.00

Sedap! Marinated Sotong - S$16.00

Chicken / Mutton Satay - S$0.80 a stick

(Subject to Service Charge and GST)

Additional Information

After a full meal, have a good walk along the 400-meter long jetty and enjoy the sea breeze and the night view of Johor Bahru, state capital of Johore. The sunset view was said to be stunning there!