Lu Wei Man Tang (Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre)

Found ourselves visiting Chinatown Complex Food Centre the other day but was pretty much torn on deciding which stall to try considering the many options available there — noticed how the stall that previously was Hot City Seafood Soup in the red colour seating zone seems to have been since been re-branded as Lu Wei Man Tang 卤味满堂. Alongside with the change of name for the stall, the menu has also seen some changes as well — the stall has since removed all of the seafood soup items from their menu, and now seems to be only offering a limited variety of braised dishes; think items such as Braised Pork Belly Rice, Braised Pork Trotter Rice, and Braised Pork Belly and Trotter Rice. Patrons also get opt to order ala-carte portions of the Braised Pork Belly and Braised Pork Trotter; one can also opt to add a Braised Egg to their orders as well.

Going straight for the Braised Pork Belly Rice, we found ourselves adding a Braised Egg at an additional $1 extra. Aesthetically, the Braised Pork Belly Rice does look a little plain; unlike most other stalls where the braised pork belly comes in a shade of dark brown having absorbed all of the goodness from the braising liquid, the pork belly slices do seem a little pale — the rice also seemingly plain on first look. It is also noted that the Braised Pork Belly Rice also comes with a serving of braised peanuts as well. Digging in to the bowl though, we were a little bit more impressed; while the grains here used seemed to be more of broken grains thus carrying somewhat of a more granular texture as compared to the fluffy white rice we are used to getting at establishments that serve up Jasmine White Rice, we found that there was actually a pool of braising liquid that sits beneath the bed of rice. The portion of the braising liquid was sufficient to go around the entire whole bowl of rice; the braising liquid also being actually sufficiently light so it carries a hint of savouriness without being anywhere near salty — very clean flavours here that does not overwhelm the tastebuds yet enhancing the texture of the rice at the same time. Whilst the pork belly does seem to be a little more on the plain side of things here, one thing that they have done well was on how melt-in-the-mouth they were; there is not much effort required to chew through a slice, though there is that thin strip of lean meat that provides a bite — some may lament on how there is still a distinct hint of porky notes here but we found that pretty manageable overall.

It does seem like a shame that Hot City Seafood Soup was re-branded as Lu Wei Man Tang considering how seafood soup (not fish soup) is still a relatively tough find in this part of the island — no doubt we have yet to give their seafood soup a try prior to their re-branding, but it does present one less options to patrons of the hawker centre at best. That being said, perhaps the move of the re-branding is to scale down on the number of items on the menu — focusing on what works for them and their patrons and reducing redundancies. Whilst their Braised Pork Belly Rice does seem to be a little different from what is offered by other establishments serving up similar fare around, we do find their variant rather rustic with some elements being rather well-executed in its own right; perhaps more of a matter of the folks behind the stall wanting to bring a version of the Braised Pork Belly Rice that they know to their patrons whom may also come to appreciate it. A stall that is seemingly run by budding hawkerpreneurs, Lu Wei Man Tang is a stall to try for their interpretation of the commonly found Braised Pork Belly Rice.