The skin of the xiao long bao was delicate fine and almost translucent, filled with well-marinated minced pork and pork broth. The pork broth was subtle in its flavours with a hint of sweetness 》$6 / 5 pcs
The Shanghai spring roll was served crispy, crunchy and golden brown on the outside, moist and well-cooked with braised cabbage inside 》$7.20 / 6 pcs
A small Chinese restaurant hidden under an HDB block in Ang Mo Kio that serves pretty good Chinese dishes. Unlike the usual Chinese restaurant, they have limited seatings and menu but are good enough to make you walk out with a satisfied belly. We went ahead to order some of their signature/recommended items such as xiao long bao, pan-fried buns and spring rolls.
The pan-fried buns (生煎包) are my favourite! Pan-fried buns have been a Shanghainese staple that differs from the traditional version of xiao long bao where it holds more soup and is fried upside down - fluffy on top and crispy at the bottom 》$6 / 4 pcs
春卷 ($6) and 醉鸡 ($10) are must try on the menu!
The crispy 春卷 and its flavourful filling goes perfectly well with vinegar. 醉鸡 was very juicy and there’s a lightly gelatinous feel to it. You can taste the booziness of the 花雕酒, definitely better than DTF’s version!
We pre-ordered 生煎包 ($6) when making our reservation. Bite with caution as the scalding soup bursts right through the bun. My family loved it but I guess I just don’t enjoy pan fried buns that much.
We also tried 上海小馄饨 ($3.50), my to-go breakfast when I’m in Shanghai. I absolutely loved it, even though it’s just wanton soup to most people.
梅菜扣肉包 is a must try on the menu! 梅菜扣肉was nicely done, the pork belly was really soft and tender. Dip the fluffy bun in the sauce to achieve a greater gastronomical experience!
小笼包($6), a tad bit saltier than DTF’s, but more flavourful with a more chewy skin. I liked it and thought it was better than DTF’s, albeit sadly, there’s no ginger slices to go with it.
酒酿丸子 really fell short of expectations, cos my grandma used to make this at home. The glutinous rice ball was great (I love all mochis) but the rice wine was too diluted hence resulting in a watery rice wine soup. Could be better if it were more starchy and add more rice wine.
My friend wanted to try this restaurant as she was finding an authentic Sheng Jian Bao in Singapore. We went to Shanghai Ren Jia but unfortunately, she mentioned that the skin in not the same as the one in Shanghai that she eaten.
Tar Pau
Shanghai Spring Rolls 上海春卷 (S$7.20/ 6pcs)
Handmade Noodle (Dry) 排骨鸡丁葱油面 (S$6)
Shanghai Drunken Chicken 上海醉鸡 (S$10)
Chicken Mushroom Noodle (Dry) 香姑鸡丁面 (S$6)
Crispy Pork Strips 椒盐排条 (S$6)
Pan-Fried Buns 生煎包 (S$6/ 4pcs)
Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetable 梅菜扣肉包 (S$5/ 2pcs)
Pumpkin Pancakes 南瓜饼 (S$7.50/ 3pcs)
Glutinous Rice Dumplings in Sweet Rice Wine 酒酿丸子 (S$3)
S$0.30 chargeable for per takeaway container.
Total S$59.10
Call at 2pm to order and was told to collect at 7pm.
Arrived early and could see my order of deep fried spring rolls lying in the container uncovered for quite sometimes.
But food was not ready at appointed time. Finally able to collect at 7.15pm.
Not sure why but the filling in the spring roll was quite mushy.
Shanghai Renjia 上海人家 (景山阁)
Address 🏡 : Blk 151 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, # 01-3046 Singapore 🇸🇬 560 151
Tel ☎️ : 6368 6927
Open ⏰ : Tue - Sun : 11am - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm
MRT 🚇 : Yio Chu Kang (NS15)
Note 📝 : No delivery service. Cash only.
Take bus service 860 from Yio Chu Kang bus interchange and drop off in front of block 151.
flavourful soup which was light, sweet and aromatic. Coupled with beef cubes which melt in your mouth and the smooth noodles. Really really awesome.
Be prepared to wait for your food to arrive though as everything is made to order and do not expect for a wide array of options as there are only several staples in the entire menu. Besides the Sheng Jian Baos, you definitely cannot leave without ordering their Xiao Long Baos ($6), both equally impressive in my opinion. The chef was so confident in his xiao long baos that I overheard him telling another diner that he does not serve vinegar and ginger to go with it as there’s enough flavours in each dumplings from the broth to the pork. That alone is a true testament on the quality of the food.
_________________
Shanghai Ren Jia
Address: 151, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, Unit 01-3046, Singapore 560151
A very homely restaurant for Shanghainese cuisine. There are lots of reviews out there for this place! Have been visiting for at least 4years, standard did drop a tad bit but still good. The bosses are very passionate about their food. The first time i went, and asked for vinegar to go with the xiao long bao's , i was "lectured" about how vinegar is only used with inferior and smelly pork. 😂
Rating: 9/10
Will i return/recommend: Yes/Yes
Pros: Reasonably priced as i believe most items were made from scratch. Not greasy and oily, they only use fresh oil to fry their springrolls. Limited menu items but everything is meticulously made. They have Sheng Jian Bao which is quite rare in SG! Pretty authentic, but slightly altered to suit local tastes; bosses are Shanghainese 👍
Cons: Limited seating capacity. Limited choices of dishes to select from (menu is one sheet front & back)
Price: S$33.10 for items pictured + table fees
Walking into the restaurant, I thought, did 《HDB Tai Tai》come here to film? The 2-page menu presented to us had a picture for each food item available. While deciding what to eat, the waiter kindly asked if we were going to order the highly-raved Sheng Jian Bao, as it takes a bit of time to prepare. We ordered it together with some other dishes: the
Spring Rolls, Wanton soup, Pork chop and chicken noodles, and the Xiao Long Bao. The Wanton soup caught our attention as the small chewy dumplings were dipped in good stock! The pictured Spring Rolls were crispy, and what contained within was a mixture of a cheesy textured white cabbage in wasabi, refreshing experience having it! Although the Sheng Jian Baos were highly raved, I prefer that one we had in Paradise Dynasty...
Went on Hari Raya haji and it was open, and also a few peeps. Only the people who frequent here know they also open on public holidays. The place is airconditioned and its small and cosy. Must gets are the spring rolls and fried bun, they are amazing! pumpkin pancake(?) & the drunken chicken too! im satisfied with everything that we have ordered. Had a friendly chat with the boss too, hes really sincere in his cooking and its a joy to learn more about how food in Shanghai is. I would say the price is affordable and quite worth it since everything from scratch. #BurppleCheapNGood
We came 2 people so the waiting time is quite long. They only accept cash payment so do bring enough cash, if not you may end up walking to 7-11 nearby to buy a thing and get them to help u change money at least 10$. For food, the chicken noodle was so so, spring rolls were rather vegetarian style with a bit meat and veggie soup as inside the filling, xiao long bao filling was ok but the skin was not as thin, so the best was Shanghai Bun (8.4$ for 6 baos). They will serve you Chrysanthemum tea and wet tissue even u dont ask for it and table fee will be shown in the receipt which was $2.4. I guess $2 is for the tea and the rest for wet tissue. I might come back for the yummy Shanghai bun and may try the Shanghai drunken chicken!
Having a meal here feels like I am having a meal at a friend’s house because the boss is really friendly and will share with you more about the dishes when he is free. SHEN JIAN BAO IS REALLY GOOD,the boss simply pan fried their baos with some oil in the pan, covered the lid so that the top part gets steamed. Read more: http://www.misstamchiak.com/shanghai-ren-jia/
Very different from local version. Fried in fresh oil. Fillings are different. The boss even taught us how to eat this the right way.
Rare to have Chinese eateries that take serious pride in making their food. Though the boss is not in his mood today. However the food really nice! This is not your typical customer is king shop.
Usually Xiaolongbao is to be eaten with ginger and vinegar, but this time I learned that if the Xiaolongbao is really nice, you don't need ginger and vinegar as those will overwhelm the true taste.