Chinatown

I’m taking a break from the hotels, fast food and avant-garde eateries to pay homage to the long-standing institutions that have been serving up traditional fare for generations. I’ve been fortunate to have had a chance to experience the authentic best from not one but two cultures as I am of mixed descent. For this entry, I took a trip to Chinatown!

Lee Tong Kee – 278 South Bridge Road

This restaurant is more or less an institution with a history spanning more than sixty years and criss-crossing two countries. Hardcore Ipoh Hor Fun connoisseurs wax lyrical about the silky-smooth texture achieved through a combination of expert technique, fine rice flour and the unique properties of water from the Malaysian state. Lee Tong Kee is as close as a Singaporean could possibly get to that legendary mouth-feel, short of booking a flight. In fact, I would say texture is the focus at this eatery, from their signature noodles to the tender chicken and even dessert. As with most well-established restaurants in this area, you’ll have to excuse the somewhat grumpy service and the occasional botched order - one of the few times I overlook such things - if you want to slurp up a delicious bowl of history for little over a shoestring ($28 for a table of two).

The Lee Tong Kee KL Style with Cai Xin and Bean Sprouts in Special Sauce ($5.20) is a true masterpiece of carbohydrate-laden comfort food. Few pleasures come close to the sensation of slurping up a perfectly – and I mean perfectly – smooth flat rice noodle, there is something singularly gratifying as it slips past your lips with the barest hint of resistance; no sexual innuendo intended. The noodles also readily absorbed the flavours of its thick, hearty sauce.

The Lee Tong Kee Special with Chicken and Prawns ($4.80) features the same silken noodles soaking up a truly amazing umami broth given character by a dash of black vinegar.

I’m guessing that the lightness, sweetness and richness of the Shui Kai Soup ($6/9/12) were accorded by a combination of prawn and soybean stock. The massive dumplings were filled with whole shrimp and generous amounts of minced pork, diced mushrooms and carrots along with water chestnut chunks for crunch. This soup – typically served as an accompaniment to a heartier main – was filling to the point of being a meal in itself.

The Lee Tong Kee Tender Chicken ($8/14/18/24) was lean and tender with the oyster sauce treatment that they pioneered and which is now mimicked inferiorly island-wide as the quintessential method of serving “white” or boiled chicken. A touch of their chilli sauce bursting with garlic pungency and an accent of lime renders this must-try beyond divine.

Another must-have is the Hong Kong Style Steamed Egg ($3.20) which is nothing short of amazing despite being a newer addition to the menu. A perfect proportion of egg yolk to white diluted with water results in the perfect texture straddling solid and liquid which just melts in the mouth. The ginger sauce – typically poured over the steamed egg in a slipshod fashion – was ingeniously mixed in prior to steaming to render it truly one with the custard.

Spring Court Restaurant – 52 Upper Cross Street

Another veritable institution of Chinese cuisine, Spring Court is touted as one of the first true Chinese semi-fine-dining restaurants still in existence today after over eighty years. This place has been associated with reunion dinners and grandparents’ birthdays for generations so it’s the go-to place for the traditional favourites. Your bill will likely shoot to indulgent levels if you opt for the more luxurious items but this would be one of the better places to do it. A light dinner for two came up to $140.

The Traditional Xiamen Popiah ($6.80) had a good chilli zing as well as generous amounts of neatly layered turnip, hard-boiled eggs, crab and parsley all wrapped up in a chewy skin.

The Roast Chicken with Minced Prawn ($38) was good but a rip off considering the tiny portion. Five spice powder was rubbed into the skin for a flavourful crisp and a layer of fish cake was slipped underneath it. A tangy plum sauce would have been the ideal accompaniment to the somewhat greasy meat, or perhaps some salad cream.

The Fried Crab and Chicken Liver Roll ($8.80) had a complex flavour and texture amalgam between the rich and gritty liver, mealy and buttery salted egg yolk as well as soft, sweet flakes of peeled crab encased in a crunchy pastry shell in a nest of crisp lettuce and doused generously with caramelly sweet sauce.

The Mini Buddha Jumps Over the Wall ($45), the supposed pinnacle of Chinese flavour sophistication and luxury, was my extravagance. The quintessential gourmet “treasures” were all represented: gelatinous sea cucumber, crunchy sharks’ fin, creamy blubber, chewy abalone, earthy shitake mushroom and tender chicken that soaked in the flavours of an amazing gooey soup with so many elements in such artful harmony that taking it apart for analysis would be blasphemy.

Next to that, a somewhat lacklustre Sharks’ Fin with Crab Meat Soup ($28) really paled in comparison with a bland stock that had to be sloshed with an almost equal amount of vinegar to be rendered tasty.

Tong Heng Bakery – 285 South Bridge Road

Leong Sang Hong Kong Pastries – 18 Sago Street

Traditional Chinese pastries are another one of my weaknesses and one is truly spoilt for choice in Chinatown for many of these bakeries have a loyal band of customers keeping their ovens warm and pastries flying off shelves after well over half a century.

Gai Zhai Beng is my kryptonite in snack food form, the innocuous biscuits taste downright fabulous due to a sinful mixture of refined flour and lard given oomph by a liberal dose of five spice powder.

Buttery, flaky Lotus Paste Puffs, sweet-savoury Char Siew Sou and the definitive Egg Tart with its delicate custard and rich pastry are impossible to resist. A stop at each bakery yielded enough breakfast options to last me the rest of the week, simply freshened in the oven or toaster and enjoyed with strong, black coffee.