We took a cab to Smith St, Chinatown and walked up and down in the hot humid weather but the restaurant must've relocated. Not wanting to end up eating a disappointing meal, we left Smith St, which, btw, reminds me of Cheng Huang Miao in Shanghai. We ended up on the main road (North Bridge Road?) and by then it was raining and our feet were numb so we settled for one of the 4 chuan Chinese restaurants across the road from The Majestic (not sure if that's a hotel or a cinema or neither). I did feel a little uneasy, but the restaurant was half-full and we were hungry. The China Chinese waitress was friendly. I still hadn't given up on Ba Yu Ren Jia, but Hub and Yi didn't share my tenacious streak when it came to seeking out new places. All I wanted to eat was 'water cooked fish'.
This was where we had the worst meal of our Singapore trip. This was the meal that ended my search for a decent Sichuan restaurant in Singapore. The restaurant didn't look dirty but I did get a whiff of the shabby wooden table and the others ignored me as usual, putting it down to my imagination and super sensitive nose. I wondered out loud that if a restaurant is dodgy in the dining area, the kitchen must be worse but Hub was already chatting with the waitress about the menu. All I longed for was 'water cooked' fish.
Yi's order of a simple cold dish of white tofu with century eggs turned out to be the best dish we had here. It was similar to what my MIL prepares, except there's a drizzle of black vinegar which made this dish very refreshing.
The waitress' recommendation of pork strips and veg in a bean sauce was surprisingly bland. Even Hub shook his head at this, which meant it was pretty bad.
A famous Sichuan dish of 'dry-fried French beans'. This was okay, barely.
Ah, my order of water cooked fish! I think of it whenever I crave Sichuan food.
Where's the fish? This bowl is full of cabbage and there were only about 5 paper-thin slices of fish that tasted soft and bland, even in that oil. I could eat the cabbage, if not for the fact that there was no ma la taste and flavor AT ALL. I put my nose to the oil and sniffed hard, but there was no flavor, not even of the chili oil. I'm sure I can cook a better bowl of water cook fish. This was just oil with no taste and flavor.
When the waitress asked, I told her what I thought, and we left. I thought you should beware of this place too especially since it is located on the busy main road and so is very deceiving. The shop's name is in Chinese only, Zhung Gou Chan Ting meaning Chinese Restaurant. How very creative.
I wouldn't ever eat here again even if it means starving.
9 comments:
Oh dear, imagine walking along Chinatown where heavy construction's everywhere !! I would have sent that water cooked fish back to the kitchen & cancel that order (in case they send a new portion that's being spit!!)
Hmmm ... look very oily
ganache: i wouldn't risk eating spit! do they do tt in sing too? aiya, i shd've asked u where to eat. next time, very soon.
artof eating: it was but good water cooked fish surprisingly don't taste oily. check out my link in my post, in bold red.
a good community service..! to avoid this restaurant..
The tofu + century egg looks good! any idea how to prepare this dish? steam the tofu first or? Tks!
I mean just in case, who knows ?? haha
Is Ba Yu Ren Jia in Mandarin? If I can find this Sichuan restaurant, I'll order the 'water cooked fish' and blog about it just for you! LOL....
Angie, a fellow Sabahan
angie: hey, pls check it out for me/us! if not wrong, the address is 791 north bridge rd. good luck!
denise: i made this a couple of nights ago, n it was good except it wasn't as umami sweet so maybe u can add msg.
1. carefully slip your uncut silky tofu into a bowl of very hot water, let it sit for a couple of minutes n then drain away the water
2. cut the tofu into smaller pieces, put on a plate, top with centutry eggs and cilantro and douse with a sauce made from mixing;
light soy sauce/maggi soy sauce
black vinegar
sesame oil
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