Have been wanting to check out this new pao fan place and coincidentally stumbled upon it when walking into a random coffee shop for lunch! (Its directly opposite Bugis+.)
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Pao fan is literally rice that’s soaking in soup. I got the mixed fish one (with steamed fish and fried fish) and the seafood one (which had fish, prawns, and clams. They gave quite a bit of seafood, and it wasn’t overcooked at all. (Rare, imo. You could actually taste the clams and the prawns weren’t mush.) The steamed fish in particular was enjoyable because it’s not over-brined and soft bc it’s coated in corn starch, unlike how some other fish soup places are. The soup was tasty - kind of like an enhanced fish soup but with a slightly sweet prawny flavour, evident from the red tinge of prawn oil. It’s extremely drinkable because it isn’t too salty. The rice inside it a mixture of normal rice and some crispy rice bits for pops of texture, and they also put fried egg inside which absorbs the soup perfectly. My only gripe is that the soup was too hot when we started eating it and I could only properly taste the flavours better after it cooled a bit, so I guess just let it cool for a bit.
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Definitely worth a try! Pao fan isn’t common but really I feel like it’s just the rice version of fish soup. It’s a comforting meal for sure, and would be perfect on a rainy day.