Being one of the more recognised names in the seafood restaurant scene, it is pretty surprising to find one of Ah Yat Group of Restaurants’ latest concepts hidden in a rather odd spot at Far East Plaza; Ah Yat Kitchen is the group’s newest venture, and has taken over the former premises of now-defunct Sakura Asian Cuisine in the mall. Unlike the other Ah Yat Group of Restaurant’s establishment which has a focus on more formal and communal Chinese dining with an emphasis on seafood, Ah Yat Kitchen’s menu does seem to be more casual — think items such as BBQ Pork Wanton Noodles, HK-style roasted meats, and Dim Sum on their menu; something more conceptually similar to a Hong Kong Char Chaan Teng overall.

Being one of those who must have the Chee Cheong Fun dish in any establishment that serves dim sum, we had to get the Crispy Cheong Fun with Shrimp for how this variant sees the Chee Cheong Fun encasing deep-fried prawns — the variant here seemingly also comes rather aesthetically pleasing with the addition of Ebiko and coriander to add more colour to the dish. The light soy sauce that is usually drenched over the dish also comes served on the side here — a move that we actually preferred though it may seem to be a tad odd at the start. For one, the Chee Cheong Fun here is smooth silken; we also appreciated how the rice roll was rather thin for a variant that encloses a deep-fried item within. As one takes a bite, the golden brown batter encasing the shrimp shatters; all light and crisp while the shrimp inside carries a good bite being pretty chunky and rather fresh. While some would have preferred the light soy sauce to be poured into the plate directly, serving it up on the side alleviates the problem where some parts of the Cheong Fun may not get the sauce if it was drenched over the top — here, one can easily scoop up an ample amount of soy sauce using a spoon and pick up a portion of that Cheong Fun using the chopsticks; put them together so that there is just sufficient light soy sauce to give it a savoury note that further elevates those flavours even more. Needless to say, this was one of our favourite dishes during our meal here.

It is interesting to see how Ah Yat Group of Restaurants have ventured into the casual dining scene — perhaps the way forward for them considering the impacts that COVID-19 had brought to the F&B scene especially towards restaurants that cater to communal dining. Nonetheless, Ah Yat Kitchen is a pretty affordable spot to hit for a decently-priced meal in the Orchard area — majority of the items being priced below $10 with the exception of some HK-style roast meat items that are mostly below $15; a rather competitive price point against the other establishments situated in the same building. Ah Yat Kitchen also offers afternoon tea sets that features light bites and drinks from $5 to $7 as well. This seems to be a spot that is likely to attract the office folks and shoppers alike for a relatively pocket-friendly meal in Orchard — a spot that is worth keeping a look out for.