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2013-06-10
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Yong Kee Seafood Restaurant is tucked away in a coffeeshop behind construction sites, at the end of the road. You'd never think to look for hidden gems in a place like this, but lo & behold -this place can really take you by surprise! Environment wise, I'd have to admit that the filthiness of this particular coffeeshop did get to me a little, but for the relatively good food, it's all worth it.There are the signature dishes and we decided to order a few of them -the crispy vermicili, the yom yum
There are the signature dishes and we decided to order a few of them -the crispy vermicili, the yom yum soup, the seafood beancurd and the fried vegetable with hae bi.
The Seafood Beancurd came in a savoury, starchy sauce that was on the whole, tasty enough for me to wolf it down. The tofu is homemade and has a distinct, welcome smokiness. There is also fresh seafood -prawns, fish & cuttlefish with the tofu. While I felt that the cuttlefish were slightly unrefined in an otherwise delicate dish, the flavours for this were well-balanced save for the gravy that was a tad too starchy initially.
While the extraordinary factor of this dish would be attributed to the fried hae bi (Singaporeans are all so used to having hae bi only in our spicy vegetable dishes!), I'll like to point out that the vegetables were also fried in a slightly starchy sauce. Maybe it's the Thai style of zi char but the stir fries seem to be slightly starchier than usual..hmm. The deep fried hae bi reminded me vaguely of lard, and its crisp texture complements the vegetables well -adding a refreshing texture to the whole dish.
The crispy vermicili is the star seller of Yong Kee Seafood. One brilliant idea was formed one fine day and this dish was borne of sheer creativity and talent. It looks an omelet from far but it's actually bee hoon with a deep fried, crisp outer texture. The beehoon sticks to one another and is held by its deep fried top. The bee hoon is also chock full of prawns, fishcake and other delicious ingredients -oh, not to mention the sprinkling of beansprouts and spring onion. Delicious. The beehoon is tasty on its own without being overly salty and the novelty of this dish saves it from the mediocrity of the flavour.
We had expected much more (maybe too much) from the tom yam soup. Being a Chinese-Thai Zi char eatery, we would expect really fabulous tom yum. However, the bowl of tom yum that was served was way too thick, with an overload of curry powder in it. I'm not biased towards tom yum soups that aren't clear even though I have a preference for clear soups, as long as there's a distinctly tangy flavour that's refreshing enough. This soup though, failed in that sense. It was too thick -passing off for a tom yum curry more than anything, and was far from refreshing. The ingredients however, were ample for the $7.As a general rule of thumb, steer clear of the tom yum soup if you dine here! The stir-fries are also quite starchy, so we don't recommend these to people who don't enjoy gooey gravies. We recommend the seafood tofu and the crispy vermicilli -they all have very distinct flavours and textures. Waiting time is pretty quick, and dishes have a wide price range depending on what you order. Expect to pay around $15-$25 per person. They also serve crab here, so it's a cheaper alternative to the usual seafood venues.
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