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2013-09-16
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I have been craving for good-old Cantonese cuisine ever since I came back from Hong Kong last year. Those rustic eateries around the corner of Kowloon streets serving up delicious family recipes with Cantonese staffs shouting around is hard to find in Singapore.However, it wasn't long that I stumbled upon Sik Wai Sing Eating House on some food blogs raving about their traditional Cantonese zi char cuisine with flavours of yesteryears.Situated along Geylang Road, the appearance of Sik Wai Sin Ea
However, it wasn't long that I stumbled upon Sik Wai Sing Eating House on some food blogs raving about their traditional Cantonese zi char cuisine with flavours of yesteryears.
Situated along Geylang Road, the appearance of Sik Wai Sin Eating House doesn't look appealing nor raise an eyebrow at first sight but there's more than meets the eye. It retains its rustic charm since it was established in the 50's and today, brother team Steve and Desmond has taken over the business from the old Mr Chia.The restaurant doesn't have a physical menu so the service staff rattled away what's available for today as they only serve their signature dishes passed down from their father who upholds the standard of the food.
Didn't know what to start with first? The Watercress Pork Ribs Soup ($12) is sure a good start as the centre of any Cantonese meal must have a soup as it has been a culture to "yum tong". The post came with a huge portion of pork ribs on a mountain of watercress. It tasted like how my grandma use to prepare it and the taste of soup had a good sweetness from the watercress as long on the right amount of grease from the pork cubes. Having one bowl is certainly not enough!
I've never been a fan of salted fish but the Minced Pork with Salted Fish ($12) was a nice appetizer to begin the meal with. With or without a bowl of rice, the minced pork meat had a good mixture of fatty and lean portions to give it a tender and succulent texture. Flavour wise, thankfully it wasn't too salty as the salted fish slices was only a little for that hint which parents and grandparents would love.
Definitely one of the favourite dishes among my dining partners, the Prawns with Tofu ($20) was quickly wiped up from the dish. Huge and juicy shell-less prawns with hot and tender tofu that melts in the mouth doused with a thick layer of egg gravy, I would simply pour my rice over this dish and clean up every bit of it! The tofu is has been specially deep fried over high temperature oil so it remained crisp on the outside and smooth within.
Without a doubt, the Sliced Beef with Kailan ($20) sure has a good o' "wok hei" aroma. The succulent thick beef slices wok-fried over crunchy green kailan, was mouth-watering and drool-worthy. Although the beef slices were huge, it was just right to the bite and I thought it can be more flavoursome like having some black pepper.
Probably the highlight of the night, the Song Fish Head with Bean Paste ($25) was cleansed every bit off, leaving only the bones behind. Like every Cantonese meal, the fish takes the centrepiece over a communal-style meal as every member helps themselves to the fish. Steamed to perfection, the Song Fish Head was nicely done with a good layer of bean paste, spring onions and shallots sprinkled at the top of it to remove the fishy flavour. I thought it is going to be salty but to my surprise, the bean paste complemented well with the moist and firm fish meat with the light soy based sauce.It was a memorable night dining at such an rustic and old-fashioned Cantonese eatery which brought me back to the eatery I ate at Kowloon. The food was great if you do not mind the stuffy coffee shop style setting without any air-conditioning. The staffs, especially the boss, Mr Chia can be a little poor-tempered and start talking loudly in Cantonese. So when you're over at this family eatery, do what the loyal customers do; order and make your decisions quick, don't ask too many and just eat.
I'm sure your parents or your grandparents will enjoy the flavour so if they are craving for some good Cantonese dishes, do bring them over to Sik Wai Sin to savour the flavour of the good old times.
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