Cze Char at Jin Wee Restaurant
S, Y and I met up for dinner at Jin Wee Restaurant in Siglap a few weeks back. Don't be deceived by the name of this dining establishment as it is in reality an old-school Hainanese-run coffeeshop located close to the 24 hour NTUC outlet in Siglap. This place has been around for as long as I can remember and is constantly crowded especially at peak hours so go early to avoid disappointment.
Marmite Pork Ribs
We were starving so we ordered quite a few dishes between the 3 of us. The succulent and tender pork ribs were coated with the savoury yet slightly sweet flavour of Marmite. Perfect with some steamed rice, this is a Must-Try!
Salted Chicken
As I love savoury dishes, I was attracted by the Salted Chicken on the menu. Tasting a little like a cross between salted fish and fresh chicken, the steamed brined chicken was tender, juicy and a little salty although that was mitigated in some small measure by the sweetness of the wolfberries (aka Goji). If you love the salty gravy as much as I do, definitely drizzle some over chunks of chicken and steamed rice for a lovely balance of flavours. This is also a Must-Try!
Four Treasure Tofu
The Four Treasure Tofu though tasty seemed to pale in comparison with the previous two dishes. Served in a claypot and smothered with rich brown sauce, the range of ingredients within this dish provided a variety of flavours to suit the different palates such as the sweetness of sweet corn, snow peas and carrots or fresh squid and prawns for seafood lovers. Worth a try if you like seafood and tofu.
Bitter Guord with Salted Egg Yolk
Bitter Gourd is an ingredient that is not very popular amongst many people I know. I don't blame them as old bitter gourds (the younger ones are green while the older ones have yellow streaks) can be terribly bitter. The tender yet firm slices of young bitter gourd were coated with the savoury and almost creamy sauce made with mashed salted egg yolk. Though still slightly bitter, the bitterness of the bitter gourd helped to counter the saltiness of the salted egg yolks and vice versa. A perfect balance of saltiness and bitterness within a dish. This is also a Must-Try!
Ice Jelly
We were pretty full from all that food but they serve an old school dessert, Ice Jelly, here at Jin Wee. Ice Jelly's one of my favourite traditional Singapore-style dessert! We had to have some. Though the Ice Jelly here is covered with ice cubes instead of shaved ice, the gelatinous chunk that lay below the layer of ice was refreshing and firm. Made from the gel secreted by the seeds of a type of fig when rubbed in cold water, Ice Jelly has a texture similar to Konnyaku. Definitely worth a try as it's getting harder to find decent Ice Jelly in Singapore these days.
The prices here are reasonable. Our meal set us back by about $15 each. (Sorry, I can't remember how much it cost.)
Jin Wee Restaurant (located along the same stretch as the 24-hour NTUC supermarket in Siglap) 928 East Coast Road, Singapore 459117 Telephone: +65 6441-0485 Operating Hours: Daily: 5.30 pm to 8.45 pm