The Eastern Restaurant (Centrepoint)

Edited on Oct 2013: Closed. 

The Eastern Restaurant, a restaurant located in the heart of Orchard specialises in serving authentic Northern Chinese cuisine. It is tucked away in a deep quiet corner of Centrepoint. It has been located at the same spot for many years. With virtually no signs to guide anyone here, most people would have probably missed or not know of this place. Even we ourselves who had been here before got lost while trying to recall how to get to the restaurant.

I first got to know of this restaurant more than five years ago, way before I started FoodieFC. I remember that the food here was not bad and its Xiao Long Bao was worth a try. So here I am, back here again for its Xiao Long Bao! Visited on a Saturday evening. 

The seating capacity at the restaurant seemed to considerably reduced. Previously, the tables and chairs extend all the way out and there were also tables and chairs under the escalator next to the restaurant. This time, the tables and chairs have been removed.

You may noticed in the above photos that it has a open kitchen concept. You can scrutinise view how your food is being prepared. Moreover, it also assure customers that their food are prepared diligently and hygiene is well taken care of. 

Despite the reduced seating capacity, the Eastern Restaurant was full! Quite surprising, considering the location and lack of signs. 

Clean, air conditioned environment. Even though there was such a crowd, our food was served fairly quickly within 10 minutes upon ordering. 

Wanton with Hot Chilli Sauce (5 Pcs) $6

The Wanton with Hot Chilli Sauce an authentic Sichuan cuisine was very well executed. The use of vinegar and spicy oil caused a distinct difference in taste that made it hard for me to stop at one. The skin of the wanton seemed slightly thicker than the other wantons else where helped hold the fillings in place and adsorb the immense flavours of the sauce. Very spicy and sour, yet addictive. If you are can't take spicy food, you should refrain from ordering this. 

Xiao Long Bao (4 Pcs) $4

The Xiao Long Bao, one of their signature items did not disappoint. The skin was slightly thicker in comparison to the other Xiao Long Baos I have tried. Each Xiao Long Bao contained alot more hot soup in it (more than those in Crystal Jade/Ding Tai Fung). Most probably, the thicker skin was required to hold the soup in place. The hot soup was tasty and well flavoured while the meat was well marinated. The only issue I had was that the skin at the top was too thick. This may not be the best Xiao Long Bao I had, but it was certainly one of the better ones. 

Noodle in Hot & Sour Soup $8

I ordered the Noodle in Hot & Sour Soup, which is another Sichuan Cuisine - spicy and sour. Luckily the sauce used was different from the Wanton with Hot Chilli Sauce. The sauce this time was more sourish and less spicy. It came with diced mushrooms, peas, black fungus, shredded beancurd and meat. The noodles were too hard and could have been cooked for a long period of time. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this dish despite feeling the spiciness towards the end. Kudos to the chef as he got the difficult part right - balancing the taste of the hot & sour soup.

Stewed Beef Brisket Noodle Soup $8.80

The partner ordered the Stewed Beef Brisket Noodle Soup which was one of the recommended items in the menu. The soup was light, clear and flavourful - very forgiving and not salty. Generous serving of beef chunks were given and the meat was stewed till they were incredibly soft and tender. It would have been perfect if the noodles were cooked longer as we felt that it was a tad too hard. 

Overall, the dining experience at The Eastern Restaurant was good.  It's a hidden gem. There's no need to queue even during weekend peak hours. The food that we ordered was delicious. Despite being at full capacity  the service was prompt and efficient. Price wise, it was reasonable. In fact, I would say affordable considering that this is in the heart of Orchard.

The Eastern Restaurant (Centrepoint)

176 Orchard Road

#01-57 Centrepoint

Singapore 238843

Tel: 6736 2638

Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm
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Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 (Raffles City Shopping Centre)

Most of us would have probably eaten at Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 before. But did you know that Din Tai Fung first started out selling only oil?

Din Tai Fung was founded by a man called Bingyi Yang. He opened a shop in Taiwan called Din Tai Fung and sold cooking oil. In the 1980s, when the business went down hill, he and his wife decided to use half of the shop to sell steamed dumplings. Their steamed dumplings were so good that they eventually stopped selling oil and ventured into a full fledge restaurant.

Today, Din Tai Fung is an award winning chain of restaurant with branches in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United States and Thailand. In Hong Kong, several of its branches are awarded one Michelin star.

Din Tai Fung was brought into Singapore after Breadtalk Group won the franchise rights. The group also won the franchise rights to operate Din Tai Fung in Thailand. Currently, there are 14 Din Tai Fung branches in Singapore.

I visited the Din Tai Fung branch at Raffles City Shopping Centre (which is just next to City Hall MRT station) on a Saturday evening. As usual, there was a crowd waiting outside the restaurant waiting for their numbers to be called (this is a norm during weekdays too).

For those who have never been to Din Tai Fung, here's a tip. There is no need to queue, instead you should approach the counter, inform the service staff how many person you have and get the order form (with the queue number written on it) from the staff. After that you can fill in the form, according to the dishes you would like to order. You should also ask what is the estimated waiting time. If the waiting time is long, you can consider walking around before coming back to check if your queue number has been called.

Although the restaurant had a considerably large sitting capacity, the place was full. We waited half an hour before our queue number was called. Simple, clean yet classy ambience. In addition, I like their open kitchen concept. Its great to see how the chef prepare our food! 

In another corner of the restaurant, the place had a classy oriental feel. 

Its great that they had Chilli, Vinegar, Soya Sauce, pepper and toothpicks on every table. It makes it so convenient for customers and at the same time, free up some bandwidth for the serving staff to concentrate on other things. Win-win situation. Crystal Jade use to provide these at every table too. However during a recent visit to their Plaza Singapura outlet, I noticed that they had removed them.

The ginger slices immersed in vinegar is a must have when ordering their Xiao Long Baos! 

Oriental Salad in Special Vinegar Dressing $3.50

The Oriental Salad in Special Vinegar Dressing was superb! It is my favourite appetiser at Din Tai Fung! Whenever I patronise Din Tai Fung, I am definitely order this! It's made of seaweed, beansprouts, strips of spicy bean curd and rice vermicelli. The ingredients are then mixed and tossed in their special vinegar dressing. It's very refreshing and addictive as each ingredient gives a different texture and flavour. A must order. 

Steamed Pork Dumplings $6.80 (6 pcs)

The Steam Pork Dumplings aka Xiao Long Baos (XLB) are one of Din Tai Fung's signature dishes. The XLB were filled with pork fillings and rich and tasty juice. Although the skin of the XLB was wafer thin, it was able to hold the juice.  Each piece of XLB is wrapped with a minimum of 18 exquisite folds.  Do handle the XLB with delicate care to avoid breaking the skin. In addition, be caution not to scald your mouth when the hot juice ooze out. The XLB are best eaten with ginger slices and vinegar. 

Fried Rice with Shrimps & Eggs $10.80

Fried Rice with Shrimps & Eggs $10.80

The Fried Rice with Shrimps & Eggs is another of my favourite dish! It was executed perfectly. You would be amazed to find out that the it consisted of just rice fried with shrimps, eggs and spring onions.

The shrimps were fresh with sweet succulent flesh. Each grain of rice was well coated with flavour from the egg, spring onions and shrimps. In addition, they did not stick to one another and was not lumpy. Kudos to the chef for his skills (heat control, timing and frying). 

Special Braised Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket $11

The partner ordered the Special Braised Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket. The beef soup was incredibly rich and well flavoured. However, the beef meat was disappointing. Several big chunks of beef meat were given. Although the meat were well flavoured, they were too tough and chewy. To put it simply, it was hard biting through the meat. Moreover, certain pieces had a thick layer of fat on it.

What I thought was amazing was that Din Tai Fung has so many branches in Singapore. Yet, somehow they manage to maintain the consistency of the food across all their branches. No matter which branch you patronise, the food taste the same! Not an easy feat to achieve.  Although the Special Braised Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket was a let down, the rest of the dishes were perfect! I will certainly be back for more! 

Do note that Din Tai Fung does not accept reservations. Please click here to view the locations of the other 13 Din Tai Fung outlets.

Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 (Raffles City Shopping Centre)

252 North Bridge Road 

#B1-08 Raffles City Shopping Centre

Singapore 179103

Tel: 6336 6369

Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 11am - 10pm

                         Sat to Sun 10am - 10pm

Website

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J.M. Chef 侨美食家 (China, Guangzhou)

J.M. Chef 侨美食家 is a Cantonese restaurant recommended by my colleague. It first started out in 1985 in Sha Mian island 沙面岛 and has since expanded to other parts of Guangdong Province. The restaurant is well known for their fresh seafood and Roasted Pigeon. Visited the restaurant at Sha Mian island. It is a tiny island surrounded by water. One can cross over from the city to the island by any of the three  pedestrian bridges. 

Opening Hous

Awards won and also photo with celebrities who visited the restaurant.

So many pigeons!

No wonder J.M. Chef is known for their fresh seafood! So many water/fish tanks!

Besides the normal fishes, prawns, calms, mussels, abalones and lobsters, they have silk worms, water beetles, turtles and snakes (yes alive)!

Menu Cover

Two sets of chopsticks. One set for common use; taking of food from the main table to put onto the plate. The other a personal chopstick; to put it crudely, for putting food directly into your mouth! =P

Chinese Tea

Chinese tea, a must for any meal in the land of China. Like the tea pot. Makes me feel like drinking more tea just so that I can refill it.

Braised Peanuts

Braised Peanuts as we waited for our food.

Roasted Pigeon (2 pieces)

Pigeons are small tender birds, known as a delicacy among the Cantonese. They are known to provide good nutrient and has less fat compared to chicken. 

We ordered 2 Roasted Pigeon, 1 each. The Roasted Pigeon were cut into quarters. This was my first time trying a Pigeon and honestly speaking, I was thrilled! Have been wanting to try it for a long time! 

The Roasted Pigeon arrived piping hot. The outside (skin) was very crispy. Inside, the meat was tender, moist, tasty and very fragrant. I think it was roasted then deep fried just before serving as the skin was very crispy. Another plus is that it was not oily. The downside was that it was not meaty enough! Overall, it tasted  almost similar to roasted chicken, the difference is that it was more tasty and fragrant!

Roasted Pigeon (9 pieces)

It was so good, that I just had to visit this place again on the very night before I depart from Guangzhou.  I went with a group of 9 people. Hence there was 9 Roasted Pigeons. This time, asked for the uncut version so that we can eat them in the most enjoyable way; using our hands. Shiok! 

Steamed Bun Stuffed with Crab Meat and Sauce RMB30 (S$6)

The Steamed Bun Stuffed with Crab Meat and Sauce is what we call Xiao Long Bao (XLB) back in Singapore. It was disappointing. The skin was thin, however there was no sauce in these XLB and the meat was tough.

Pan-fried Steamed Bun Stuffed with Meat and Vegetable RMB24 (S$4.80)

The Pan-fried Steamed Bun Stuffed with Meat and Vegetable was delicious. The downside was that it was too oily.

Stirred Fried Vegetable

Sautéed Rice Noodles with Vegetables RMB38 (S$7.60)

The Sautéed Rice Noodles with Vegetables was well fried and fragrant. Taste similar to our fried Kway Teow. Again, the down side was that it was too oily which was a turn-off towards the end of the meal. 

If you are visiting J.M. Chef 侨美食家 , visit this at Shamian island. This is their main branch. In addition, their seating capacity is huge. Needless to say, I am recommending the Roasted Pigeon! The rest of the dishes are just average.

J.M. Chef 侨美食家 (China, Guangzhou) 

52号 Sha Mian Nan Jie, Li Wan Qu

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510130

Tel: +86 20 8121 7018, +86 20 8121 7168
Opening Hours: Daily  8am to 230pm, 5pm to 4am
Location
Directions: Take MTR to Huangsha station (Line 1) and go to Exit D. There is an overhead pedestrian bridge nearly by that links to Shamian island. 

Location

A - J.M Chef 侨美食家

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Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant 竹園海鮮飯店 (Hong Kong)

This is our last lunch in Hong Kong. We did not have dim sum during this trip and were searching for a dim sum restaurant near our hotel. In the end, we found this restaurant called 'Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant' located 10 minutes walk away from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR.

Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant is a local seafood restaurant that has been around a long time. It is known for its fresh seafood at reasonable price and generous portions. As you enter the restaurant, you will notice many fish tanks filled with a variety of seafood such as lobsters, crabs, fishes, crayfish, calms, frogs and prawns.

Entrance of Chuk Yuen Seafood (Tsim Sha Tsui)

The entrance to Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant is easy to miss as it has just a small entrance. The restaurant is located at the basement and has a huge sitting capacity!

Dim Sum Menu (a)

Dim Sum Menu (b)

They have an English menu for customers which is not a common practise as most restaurants only have Chinese menu. All you would need to do is tick and indicate the number of plates of dim sum you wish to order. 

Hairy Crab Menu

As it is the hairy crab season, we were actively looking for hairy crab when we were in Hong Kong. Hence, when we saw that this restaurant serves hairy crab, we decided to order 3, half for each of us. We did not order 6 as we had already ordered too much food. (eating hairy crab in Singapore can burn a hole in your pocket. The best place to eat hairy crab is in China, where it is cheap and good!) 

Chicken Feet in Chinese Herbal Soup HK$30 (S$5)

I like eating chicken feet / claws. But I must admit this is the first time I had such a dish/dim sum; Chicken Feet in Chinese Herbal Soup. Surprisingly, this dish is a cold dish. I am a fan of herbal stuff and also chicken feet. Hence, of course, I would strongly recommend this dish! 

Look at the amount of herbals being used in the Chicken Feet in Chinese Herbal Soup. There was just a little amount of soup in the bowl (as shown in above picture). Nevertheless, I drank up almost all the soup. The soup was very strong in herbal taste. If you are not a fan of herbs, this is a dish to avoid. 

Steamed Rice Flour Roll with Barbecued Pork HK$19 (S$3.16)

The rice flour roll was thin and smooth, was an average dish. 

Steamed Rice Flour Roll Up Crispy Stick HK$19 (S$3.16)

The Steamed Rice Flour Roll Up Crispy Stick was delicious. Outside was soft and smooth. Inside was crispy and rough. 

Baked Barbecued Pork Pastry HK$22 (S$3.66)

Crispy pastry on the outside, inside filled with fragrant barbecued pork. 

Steamed Creamy Yolky Bun HK$16 (S$2.67)

The Steamed Creamy Yolky Bun was average. the custard inside was more solid than liquid (should be molten) and not aromatic. I prefer the Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun at Victor's Kitchen in Singapore.

Pan Fried Turnip Cake with XO Sauce HK$19 (S$3.16)

The Pan Fried Turnip Cake with XO Sauce was on the oily end. Despite that, this dish was delicious! Slices of chilli was added to give it a slightly spicy taste. By the time this dish arrived, we were already quite full. 

Steamed Mini Meat Bun HK$19 (S$3.16)

The Steamed Mini Meat Bun or Xiao Long Bao (commonly called in China and Singapore) was disappointing. Not much soup in the bun. The skin was too thick. 

Steamed 'Siu Mai' Topped with Crab's Seed HK$22 (S$3.67)

The Steamed 'Siu Mai' Topped with Crab's Seed was also disappointing. In addition, the meat had a weird after-taste. 

Deluxe Shanghai's Crab HK$198 (S$33)

The Deluxe Shanghai's Crab is what we commonly call Hairy Crab (steamed). If you noticed, the picture above only shows half a crab. Well, the reason was because we ordered 3 hairy crabs, but there were 6 of us. When the waiter arrived with the crab he noticed this and immediately asked if we were sharing. We replied yes and the waiter took the dish back. When he came back, we noticed that there was 6 plates. In each plate, there was half a crab each. Each plate had the same number of legs (4), same number of pincer (1) and half the body! What a service! Everything has been cut up nicely. 

The roe of the hairy crab was good! Delicious and sinful! I am a fan of hairy crab! Although, I have tasted better ones from Shanghai, this was my first and only hairy crab in 2011. Hence, I was satisfied!

Moreover, each of us were given a set of 'tools' to assist us with eating the hairy crab.

Hot Face Towels

When we went into the toilet, we saw this (above photo) next to the sink. When we opened it, we saw that there were hot face towels in it! I am won over by the service in this restaurant, when the staff cut and spilt the hairy crab equally. With this hot towels, it blew me over! I am amazed over the little things the restaurant pay attention to give customers a good overall experience.

To conclude, Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant provides very good service and good food! The must order if you visit are Chicken Feet in Chinese Herbal Soup, Steamed Rice Flour Roll Up Crispy Stick, Pan Fried Turnip Cake with XO Sauce and  Deluxe Shanghai's Crab (if hairy crab is in the season). 

Food for thought: it has been a long time since I entered a restaurant in Singapore that provides good food and good service (to the extend of this restaurant). When was the last time hot towel was given to you in a restaurant? Hmmm, I can't recall.  

Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant 竹園海鮮飯店 (Hong Kong)

Basement, HK Pacific Centre

28 Hankow Road

Tsim Sha Tsui (Near Tsim Sha Tsui MTR, Exit C1)

Tel: (852) 2722 0633

Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 11am - 12mn

                          Sun 10am - 12mn

Website (for the rest of the outlets)

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Location

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