Mong Hing Teochew Restaurant
Mong Hing is one of the most underrated and unassuming restaurants I've had the pleasure of reviewing.
The decor may be dated and ambiance is admittedly gloomy and depressing, particularly on weekdays when the restaurant is barely occupied, but the refined food and attentive, old-school service here shines through the gloomy atmosphere. The staff constantly refilled our glasses of iced-water (it could be because iced tap water costs 70 cents per person), and changed our plates for fresh ones whenever it got filled with fish bones. Food was stellar, and in line with the simplicity of Teochew cooking, very little artificial seasoning was used as the focus of the dishes was on the freshness of the ingredients.
Unbeknown to the younger set, this Teochew stalwart has quite the history, having been set up back in the 50's. It's a full house on weekends, and you'll do well to make reservations as it's usually packed to the brim with extended families.
We started off with the Seafood Fish Maw in Thick Soup ($7 per person), a lot lighter than the Hokkien version at Bee Heong, but no less flavoursome. Freshly shredded crab meat is used in Mong Hing's Teochew version, lending sweetness and texture to the already chunky soup.
Of course we wouldn't miss out on the Teochew classic and a Mong Hing specialty, the Sliced Pomfret Porridge ($40 for an entire pomfret), which turned out to be a humongous pot of porridge. This could have fed 5 hungry persons comfortably. Please note that this dish usually has garland chrysanthemum and coriander leaves in it, we asked them to hold those greens off in our version.
The porridge had such clean and clear flavours, we felt it was even better than the Imperial Treasure version.
Pomfret slices were very fresh, with a smooth and flaky texture and very delicate sweet meat. If we had one grouse, it would be that the fish was a bit bony. But then again, pomfret is not exactly the most fleshy of fishes.
We also supplemented our already very filling meal with Sauteed Diced Chicken with Spinach ($16), a tad oily but otherwise with very little seasoning, which was appreciated. Chicken was juicy and bouncy and tasty without being salty.
We were served a plate of complimentary chilled watermelon and honeydew as palate-cleansers to end off the very wonderful meal.
Mong Hing Teochew Restaurant
No. 371 Beach Road
Keypoint #01-18/19
Tel: 6223 4588
Open daily from 11am to 3pm; 6pm to 11pm
Website: www.monghing.com.sg
The decor may be dated and ambiance is admittedly gloomy and depressing, particularly on weekdays when the restaurant is barely occupied, but the refined food and attentive, old-school service here shines through the gloomy atmosphere. The staff constantly refilled our glasses of iced-water (it could be because iced tap water costs 70 cents per person), and changed our plates for fresh ones whenever it got filled with fish bones. Food was stellar, and in line with the simplicity of Teochew cooking, very little artificial seasoning was used as the focus of the dishes was on the freshness of the ingredients.
Unbeknown to the younger set, this Teochew stalwart has quite the history, having been set up back in the 50's. It's a full house on weekends, and you'll do well to make reservations as it's usually packed to the brim with extended families.
We started off with the Seafood Fish Maw in Thick Soup ($7 per person), a lot lighter than the Hokkien version at Bee Heong, but no less flavoursome. Freshly shredded crab meat is used in Mong Hing's Teochew version, lending sweetness and texture to the already chunky soup.
Of course we wouldn't miss out on the Teochew classic and a Mong Hing specialty, the Sliced Pomfret Porridge ($40 for an entire pomfret), which turned out to be a humongous pot of porridge. This could have fed 5 hungry persons comfortably. Please note that this dish usually has garland chrysanthemum and coriander leaves in it, we asked them to hold those greens off in our version.
The porridge had such clean and clear flavours, we felt it was even better than the Imperial Treasure version.
Pomfret slices were very fresh, with a smooth and flaky texture and very delicate sweet meat. If we had one grouse, it would be that the fish was a bit bony. But then again, pomfret is not exactly the most fleshy of fishes.
We also supplemented our already very filling meal with Sauteed Diced Chicken with Spinach ($16), a tad oily but otherwise with very little seasoning, which was appreciated. Chicken was juicy and bouncy and tasty without being salty.
We were served a plate of complimentary chilled watermelon and honeydew as palate-cleansers to end off the very wonderful meal.
Mong Hing Teochew Restaurant
No. 371 Beach Road
Keypoint #01-18/19
Tel: 6223 4588
Open daily from 11am to 3pm; 6pm to 11pm
Website: www.monghing.com.sg
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