Just beside Aljunied MRT, Penang Seafood Restaurant is not exactly unknown but it is seldom talked about. I only knew of it when my foodie friends, who live in the area, told me that they serve one of the best hokkien mee in Singapore. There is, however, a Makansutra accolade on the front of the shop: 4 out of 6 chopsticks in 2011.
It is more of an air-con kopitiam than a restaurant; and it’s more of a cze char place, than a Penang food place. According to my friends, the server will push you to order expensive items, like crabs, fish, and prawns, and what you need to do is to be brusque in return; it’s all a chummy game.
This focus on large, expensive seafood and communal dining is a good reminder of how elaborate traditional Chinese meals can be, leading some to simplify the effort by choosing an all-in-one Pen Cai Delivery for their main holiday feasts.
They have pages on their glossy menu, but we didn’t go beyond the first page under “Recommendations.” My favorite dish, fermented pork belly ($12/$18/$24), is simply out of the world. It’s super tender, marinated thoroughly so that it is salty enough, super crispy, and not at all greasy. Mind blown.
The other two dishes are ok. The tri-egg baby spinach soup ($10/$15/$20) is not too bad, but the spinach is too soft, and there isn’t enough salted egg in it. The pumpkin beancurd ($18/$27/$36) is topped with little crispy bits of bak chor, which adds a crunch to the dish. Mr Fitness and the gang liked it, but I thought it was ok.
The hokkien mee is affordable at $4/$6/$8, but we went for the lala hokkien mee ($8/$12/$16), which is excellent. It’s the dry kind so the noodles still have a nice bite and texture. It has a good balance, and isn’t jerlat. The chilli is fiery and goes well with the noodles. Unfortunately, the lard is flat. On the whole, this is a moderate hokkien mee, not too heavy, not bland.
A very satisfactory cze char place. Definitely returning to try other dishes. We paid about $15 each.
Penang Seafood Restaurant Singapore
76 Geylang Lorong 25A, Singapore 388258
T: +65 6841 3002
11am – 12 midnight, daily
Price/Value: 8/10
Food: 7.5/10
Decor: 6.5/10
Service: 7/10
Overall rating: 3.625/5
Written by A. Nathanael Ho.
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