Zi Char

Idk if I’d call it the best, but I have to admit it’s crazy yummy. What’s exceptional here is the broth the porridge’s served in: it’s creamy, milky — largely from the starch released by the rice but still — and really robust in flavour. It’s very much like a concentrated fish stock I’d say, with lovely hints of sweetness and a nice kick from slices of fried ginger to keep it from feeling to heavy on the palate. The rice is somewhere between the traditional Teochew porridge, with the grains still holding their structure and bite, and congee. Super duper tasty. And get load of that fish! I can’t attach another photo here but trust me, it’s a really big slice. Really really fresh too.

We were told that this is their signature prawns, though what that entails exactly we weren’t told. What I gathered from my first couple of bites, is that the prawns are first deep fried then glazed in stock. So you get that nice, completely edible kinda crispy shell, breaking into juicy, bouncy prawns. But what really sealed the deal for me were the prawn heads: you get that slightly greasy, mouthfeel at first, followed right up by an insanely savoury hit of the stock. It gets a tad salty like 5-6 pieces in, but man it’s downright tasty.

Admittedly, this was pretty darn good. We got ours with an order of red grouper, which came in a clear broth with watercress, seaweed, diced yams, and Chinese cabbage. The soup on its own was great: sweet, not overly salty, very very easy to drink. The fish was super fresh and chopped up in large meaty chunks (much preferred over the usual thin slices) which made it a delight enjoyed with a dab of their homemade sambal. What I found really shiok was they’ve got a full-blown menu of steamboat items (from homemade meatballs to beef shabu with crazy marbling) for you to have with the steamboat, as well as a large zi char menu! Their zi char items are better than average I’d say with a really large variety of seafood items, but if you aren’t too hungry and there’s one thing you must definitely try: it’d be the steamboat.

I honestly really enjoyed the thick curry that was super fragrant, not overly coconutty or cloying (read: not jelak), the fragrant spices clearly coming through; but I was a little disappointed at how there were almost no accompanying ingredients. One of my favourite things about fish head curry is the abundance of veggies in there — usually brinjal, tomatoes, okra even — and I was surprised to find barely a ladle’s worth of veggies in Fragrant Wok’s curry 😕 Still if you ain’t a sucker for the veggies like I am, you’d find the fresh fish and good curry pleasing enough.

Not the best of course, but at S$18 I'm not complaining. There's a lot of meat for the price, and the skin's got a good crisp. Only thing is the meat was dry, and certain parts had a strong porky taste. The accompanying chili made everything better though so no problems with that.

金瓜虾 a.k.a. Pumpkin Sauce with Butter Prawns. Seems pricey at S$12 for 4 balls, but each prawn's actually pretty big. Crunchy, juicy and fresh too. The prawns are coated in a light and thin batter, tasty and surprisingly not at all oily. The pumpkin sauce though: that was the bomb. It's creamy and luscious, yet retaining a tad of the characteristic sandy mouthfeel root veggies have; sweet yet still slightly savoury, with a tinge of curry spice. I don't care what else you order, but if you visit please please please don't leave this out.

Their Marmite Chicken was a simple dish, featuring thin slivers of chicken stir-fried to a crisp, coated in a lovely savoury-sweet marmite glaze. While the pork dishes would beat this hands down any day, I wouldn't mind having this if I had the extra space.

On the side note, so impressed was I with such marmite dishes, I decided to take a leap of faith and tasted the spread straight outta the jar today. Worst. Decision. Ever.

Their pork ribs are fried and cooked perfectly, surprisingly lean and really moist - so you won't go wrong ordering any of many pork ribs dishes. This however, stood out as THE best coffee pork ribs I've had. Aside from the well-prepared pork, the sauce itself was mind-blowing. Sticky and caramelised, the coffee glaze was fragrant and really intense. I've never had a rendition with that concentrated a coffee flavour, so coffee fans this is YOUR dish to try. The Salted Egg Pork Ribs may be most popular, but don't discount this too quick.

Quoting @vanessa_kou here that me too "succumbed to the temptation of my Instagram and Burpple feed". Mine didn't have that photogenic oozy wet yolk, but taste-wise it was spot on. Delicious, rich, and flavourful smokey broth as the base to our childhood mee tai mak (I love calling it mouse tail hehe!), finished with some minced meat, cut veggies and an egg. And the small serving's only S$5?! So. Cheap.

Only gripe's the wait. We waited over an hour for our food. So a heads up, reserve a table and pre-order your dishes for a better dinner experience.

From a popular small zi char stall on the 5th floor of Far East Plaza, the much raved about Salted Egg Pork Ribs was spotted on almost every table - and understandably so. The perfectly fried pieces of pork were crisp despite being drenched in sauce, while tender and moist on the inside. But what most people fall head over heels in love with is the luscious, smooth, sinfully delectable salted egg yolk sauce. It's more savoury than sweet (like other stalls that add sweetened condensed milk) so the salted egg flavour comes out stronger. It is however a tad too watery and creamy for my taste. I'd prefer less buttery sauce, and one with chunks of salted egg.

Still, it is pretty damn delicious.