Gunkee Claypot (灌记砂锅) from China @ Chinatown in Singapore

I visit Singapore Chinatown occasionally and one thing that always made me curious would be the large group of customers waiting patiently outside Gunkee Claypot, in the relentlessly hot and humid Singapore climate. 

My elder sister was as curious and we decided to check out the restaurant for a birthday lunch! To beat the queue, my younger sister made a reservation so that we didn't have to endure the outdoor heat. True blue Singaporeans love air-conditioning! 

Should you be unfortunate, please help yourself to the complimentary fans and also the free servings of iced sweetened water; latter was thirst quenching.

If you walk past Gunkee Claypot, your eyes would be drawn to this line of claypots. I don't deny that this was a sight that piqued my curiosity too. What's brewing within? We will know very soon! 

Interior of the restaurant, which hailed from Henan province in China and said to specialize in Hunan and Hubei cuisine. Not that it matters to me since taste should always be the determinant. 

Table setup; bowls and plates gave traditional Korean vibes. 

Without further ado, let's start with our meal.

Heilongjiang Wuchang Rice - now, when it comes to Hunan food, a bowl of rice is a necessity! Some dishes can be sauce-based and you will thank me for having rice to balance out the flavours. 

Bean and Eggplant in Claypot - not bad tasting with the chopped long beans and eggplants that were cooked just right, and a well-balanced soup. p.s. when eating in a large group, vegetables would be a must. If I have my way, let's just attack the meat. 

Honghu Lotus Root with Superior Pork Broth - remember the line of claypots? They were the vessels for this signature dish of Gunkee Claypot.

Don't assume that it would just be all soup and maybe a pathetic serving of lotus roots. Once you scoop using the ladle, you would be surprised to see a generous amount of thickly cut lotus roots and pork ribs! 

Thick broth tasted rich and would have been very desirable should a thunderstorm be raving in Singapore then! Pork ribs were tender and I guess my least favorite would have been the lotus roots which were sliced too thickly and didn't feature the crunch I personally like. And super filling.

Black Tiger Shrimp Balls with Vermicelli Pot - the massive doses of minced garlic swarmed the taste buds, making every bite sickly palatable, and the prawns were fresh with a yummingly crunchy texture. 

Salted Egg Yolk Shrimps - Batter was cloying, and overly thick without the sweetness that would have balanced out the saltiness. I think local tze char stalls would have done a much better job, although they would also be aware of local taste buds. 

Cumin Roasted Ribs - do you like Chinese skewers, also known as chuan chuan? These would be like the gigantic version! Taste was not bad, even though boneless would be preferred!

Black Truffle Beef Scrambled Eggs - want an interesting scrambled egg? Go for this one! Egg was fluffy with the iconic, appetising truffle aroma, and the thinly sliced beef was soft and springy! 

Sweet and Sour Chicken - note, not pork! While the batter wasn't crispy in the way I would have liked this, the meat was alright, and reminded me of sweet and sour pork when I was a kid, albeit with an orangey, zesty aftertaste. 

Red Hawthorn Pork Ribs - yes, another pork rib dish! To be fair, I didn't know the lotus soup had pork ribs! Anyway, the ribs were amazingly good and coated with a sour sweetness sauce that was most appetising! Shiok! 

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Would I be back? Yes, if no queue. 

If yes, I would go for Xiang Xiang instead. 

Address

277/279 South Bridge Rd, 

Singapore 058826

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Website

https://www.gunkee.net/

Pricing

Heilongjiang Wuchang Rice - S$1.60 

Bean and Eggplant in Claypot - S$14.90

Honghu Lotus Root with Superior Pork Broth - S$24.90

Black Tiger Shrimp Balls with Vermicelli Pot - S$22.90

Salted Egg Yolk Shrimps - S$27.90

Cumin Roasted Ribs - S$22.90

Black Truffle Beef Scrambled Eggs - S$19.90

Sweet and Sour Chicken - S$22.90

Red Hawthorn Pork Ribs - S$25.90

(Subject to Service Charge and GST)

Additional Information

While there was no ice cream or packets of snacks as desserts after our meal, there was this self serviced area where you can help yourself to a few things! 

Firstly, you actually don't need to buy drinks as you can help yourself to the roselle, chrysanthemum tea etc. We didn't know until we were already done with all all the main dishes, and I was literally stuffed. 

Most customers were more aware of the dessert section where you can freely take the ice jelly, including complimentary toppings like grated peanuts, raisins etc, and drizzled with brown sugar.

Thinking it would be similar to our local ice jelly, I was taken aback after putting a scoop into my mouth. It was bitter, and hardly edible without the brown sugar!