Posted by Veron ·
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goes by the name veron. a definitive leo born august 1, 1984. a solo traveler. loves cats, coffee, sensual music, yummy food and technology. when she's not at her job as an IS developer for the government, she's likely to be out dining, or visiting an interesting art gallery or event.
i often take the bus 63 that plys a route starting from my neighborhood. each time the bus would pass by zi yean restaurant near redhill MRT station. i have been curious about the place ever since it moved here from stirling road, where it had been a popular eating spot for 15 years.
despite its humble location, zi yean certainly does not have humble beginnings. it is run by hong kong-born chef fok wing tin who made his name in the 1990s at empress room in raffles hotel and later xin cuisine chinese restaurant in what is now the holiday inn atrium hotel.
occupying the entire ground floor of a HDB block, this brightly lit restaurant will not easily escape the attention of anyone passing by. it is divided into two parts: an open area dedicated to zi char (home-cooked fare) and an air-conditioned area for more upmarket stuff like bird’s nest and abalone.
as we were there for zi char, we sat in the cool open area which was brightly lit, very clean and very tidy. wonderful! when it comes to meals at neighborhood kopitiam (coffee shops), places where you can dine under sanitary conditions is very much a rarity!
after 5pm, zi yean has a dinner special where 35 dishes go for $5.60 each. we took advantage of this and had a rather good mix of four dishes.
Sambal Kang Kong (Chinese Kale) (????)Price: $5.60
Dish rating:
to our disappointment, the first dish that was served was not well done at all. the sambal kang kong (chinese kale) was bland and tasteless. there was no hint of sambal or belachan (fermented ground shrimp)! the chef could really afford to be bolder in his flavoring. i have had several renditions of this popular vegetable dish at various places, and this was definitely the worst.
Sweet and Sour Fish (????)
Price: $5.60
Dish rating:
Price: $5.60
Dish rating:
not really having any high hopes for the following dishes, i sampled the sweet and sour fish next and got a pleasant surprise! coated in a paper-thin crispy skin, the moist white flesh of the fish was extremely fresh. gone was the usual fishy stench which had been skilfully masked by the tasty sweet and sour sauce. it was good eye candy as well as the dish had been garnished beautifully with tomato, onion, pineapple, et cetera. an instant favorite!
Fried Chicken in Thai Style (?????)Price: $5.60
Dish rating:
even better was the chicken, fried thai style. the meat remained tender and juicy after frying, and was covered in a golden coat of crispy batter. sweet thai chili sauce drenched the chicken, making it extremely savory and delightful. best of all, the chicken didn’t seem too oily. i loved it! the accompanying green apple shavings were somewhat unusual additions to the dish, but made perfect sidekicks anyhow. yet another instant fave!
Deep Fried Home-made Special Beancurd (?????)
Price: $5.60
Dish rating:
Price: $5.60
Dish rating:
the most memorable dish of the night was the deep fried home-made special beancurd (tofu). for someone who’s not particularly fond of tofu, i am somewhat wary when it comes to tofu dishes. well except for tau huay (beancurd custard with syrup) of course. but for something as bland as tofu, how good can the dish get?
as it turns out, zi yean’s home-made special beancurd is every bit as special as they claim. egg had been used to make the tofu, so when i bit into one i could taste the rich egg flavor. the tofu had been deep fried until it had a golden brown, crispy surface which was very flavorful. even more commendable is the texture of the tofu; it’s almost as soft as the tau huay i had yesterday! the tasty brown sauce that had been poured over the tofu is worth mentioning as well. instead of the bland dish i thought it would be, zi yean’s beancurd was bursting with flavors!
Soybean Drink (???)
Price: $1.20
Drink rating:
Price: $1.20
Drink rating:
more beany goodness follows with a tall glass of soybean drink to wash down all the food. once again it is home-made and nutritious.
so that marks the end of a very colorful and sumptuous meal. zi yean serves dim sum as well. one of these days i’m gonna head over there for a nice dim sum breakfast. i’m so glad this popular eatery is now in the neighborhood!
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All the food looks good. I rememeber when I went to Hong Kong the food and the presentation of the food that was presented to me was just extremely excellent. I hope I’ll go there again….making me hungry. View all comments by cynthia
Ahhh yes Hong Kong. I never really did like the place when I went there last year for my birthday trip. But I do agree the Hong Kongers pay much attention to the aesthetics of their food, almost as much as the Japanese! The desserts look like art on a plate. View all comments by Veron
Believe me, I’m amazed at how you are always able to describe the food, to the extend that I’m kind of tempted to try it! A pity that it’s really far from home! Hmm, they always say that tofu dishes are good for the skin complexion. The adults are lying, really. Haha. Tofu’s one of my favourites! Not because of its taste, but for the fact that I don’t have to chew. :P
Anyway, the sambal kang kong looks really bad. I love those with really lots of belachan in them! :D *drools* I’ll ask my mum to cook sambal kang kong one of these days! Hehe. View all comments by Lain
HI!
i stumbled across your blog through the google search function…
hahaa.. i was searching for ‘esplanande’ and it kinda captured ur blog..and so i was captivated to read…cuz of all the foodies… hahaha…
u remind me of a food crazed fren from NUS comp sci who recently jus grad too… caizuan..
congrats on ur employment…
and i’m still lookin for a job.. hiaz… View all comments by Jo
Hey Lain, there are quite a number of “grandmother” stories floating around, like how tofu improves skin complexion (because it’s smooth?), and how eating chicken breast leads to… ummm I’m sure you know what I’m referring to. Haha these are quite interesting but it’s wise to take them with a pinch of salt! View all comments by Veron
Hi Jo, I have no idea who Caizuan is even though he/she is in my cohort. How about you? Are you an SoC graduate too? View all comments by Veron
you really shd have tried the other dishes, they are way better. Get the emperor chicken, savoury and not too salty. The beancurd with chicken and salted fish in claypot as well. You will need rice to slurp up all the gravy in the 2 dishes. Get the yam basket as well, my bf loves it. Oh and the sauteed french beans is also very good, they use baby french beans, which is much much nicer. They do this veg dish better than anywhere else in sg. View all comments by Bernice