Oversea Restaurant (Restoran Oversea), Shaw Tower Beach Road
Malaysia's arguably most famous Cantonese restaurant has landed in Singapore. I was real excited when I first saw the signboard put up when driving along Nicoll Highway. This meant I didn't have to drive 300 kilometers (x2 for a return trip) to get my braised pork belly with salted fish in claypot fix.
Upon a quick due diligence check, the Singapore branch is owned by the same people helming the Malaysian outlets and the chef is brought over from Malaysia as well. This is why the food here is consistent with the quality at their Malaysian restaurants. Prices are relatively costly, but one way to see it is that we're saving money and time spent travelling all the way to Kuala Lumpur.
The restaurant opened over the Chinese New Year period and has since seen brisk business every night of the week. You'll do well to make reservations because they do a full house every night. Also, as with the Malaysian original, pre-ordering the char siew and roasted duck, and maybe the soon hock, is a must. These sell out like hotcakes.
We started off with a mixed platter of Barbecued Pork and Roasted Duck ($20), which is a must-try. This is really one of the best, if not the best, roasted meats I've ever tasted. They were unbelievably succulent, tender and well-flavoured.
The Char Siew is so popular that it's completely sold out by 7.30pm on a Wednesday night, so make sure you order a portion of it in advance when making reservations for dinner. The char siew had a perfectly honey glazed coating, charred to perfection with just the right amount of smokiness. This was sliced very thick, but softer in texture than other barbecued pork. The honey glaze complemented, rather than overwhelmed the natural sweetness of the caramelised pork, and oh, before I forget, the discernible layer of fat in every slice is utter decadence.
The Roasted Duck was also incredibly juicy and very very very fresh, probably the freshest version around, and it had nary a gamey taste. This was flavoured very well, salty and full without being overtly so.
The Braised Sliced Pork Belly with Salted Fish in Claypot ($16), another specialty, was kept sizzling hot by the mini fire below.
The shavings of fatty pork belly, with lashings of a rich gooey oyster and salted fish gravy, is best eaten with steaming hot plain white rice for full effect.
The Stir Fried Assorted Vegetables ($14) eggplant, lady's fingers and baby french beans is simplicity at its best, coated in a dried shrimp and mildly spiced oyster sauce. There was a smoky goodness to the greens which walked the fine line between a fresh crunch and softened comfort.
Update 1 April 2013: Oversea Restaurant is closed its shutters and exited Singapore. The new restaurant in its place, Grouper King, is reportedly retained the char siew chef so you may still get that awesome char siew that Oversea Restaurant is so famous for.
Oversea Restaurant
(Restoran Oversea)
100 Beach Road
#01-27 - #01-37
Shaw Leisure Gallery
Shaw Tower
Tel: 6294 2638
Upon a quick due diligence check, the Singapore branch is owned by the same people helming the Malaysian outlets and the chef is brought over from Malaysia as well. This is why the food here is consistent with the quality at their Malaysian restaurants. Prices are relatively costly, but one way to see it is that we're saving money and time spent travelling all the way to Kuala Lumpur.
The restaurant opened over the Chinese New Year period and has since seen brisk business every night of the week. You'll do well to make reservations because they do a full house every night. Also, as with the Malaysian original, pre-ordering the char siew and roasted duck, and maybe the soon hock, is a must. These sell out like hotcakes.
We started off with a mixed platter of Barbecued Pork and Roasted Duck ($20), which is a must-try. This is really one of the best, if not the best, roasted meats I've ever tasted. They were unbelievably succulent, tender and well-flavoured.
The Char Siew is so popular that it's completely sold out by 7.30pm on a Wednesday night, so make sure you order a portion of it in advance when making reservations for dinner. The char siew had a perfectly honey glazed coating, charred to perfection with just the right amount of smokiness. This was sliced very thick, but softer in texture than other barbecued pork. The honey glaze complemented, rather than overwhelmed the natural sweetness of the caramelised pork, and oh, before I forget, the discernible layer of fat in every slice is utter decadence.
The Roasted Duck was also incredibly juicy and very very very fresh, probably the freshest version around, and it had nary a gamey taste. This was flavoured very well, salty and full without being overtly so.
The Braised Sliced Pork Belly with Salted Fish in Claypot ($16), another specialty, was kept sizzling hot by the mini fire below.
The shavings of fatty pork belly, with lashings of a rich gooey oyster and salted fish gravy, is best eaten with steaming hot plain white rice for full effect.
The Stir Fried Assorted Vegetables ($14) eggplant, lady's fingers and baby french beans is simplicity at its best, coated in a dried shrimp and mildly spiced oyster sauce. There was a smoky goodness to the greens which walked the fine line between a fresh crunch and softened comfort.
Update 1 April 2013: Oversea Restaurant is closed its shutters and exited Singapore. The new restaurant in its place, Grouper King, is reportedly retained the char siew chef so you may still get that awesome char siew that Oversea Restaurant is so famous for.
Oversea Restaurant
(Restoran Oversea)
100 Beach Road
#01-27 - #01-37
Shaw Leisure Gallery
Shaw Tower
Tel: 6294 2638
Comments
So sorry to hear you had a bad experience at this restaurant because it was one of the more memorable meals I've had for a while. What happened?
expensive roast meat but standard far from kl
Nor worth the $$$$