Zi Char - Wee's Family Coffee Shop

Zi Char - Wee's Family Coffee Shop
117 Bedok Reservoir Road #01-50

https://www.facebook.com/Wees-Family-Coffee-Shop-黄家咖啡店-1575714932657044/


Tasty, Straight Forward Zi Char, Done Right

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 7
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $13 per person.


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Opened by ex-banker Milton Wee in September 2015, Wee's Family Coffee Shop offers decent Chinese Zi Char from their heartland location in the Bedok Reservoir estate. Word of mouth has gotten around, and Wee's Family Coffee Shop is usually packed on weekends, and advance reservations are recommended!

Ambience at Wee's Family Coffee Shop is like the typical open-air, void deck coffee shop, functional and casual. At least their place is brightly lit, and since they operate mostly in the evenings, they do benefit by setting up tables and chairs around their neighbour's shops, which are all closed in the evenings. This allows for ample seating!

Service at Wee's Family Coffee Shop is better than average for a coffeeshop. Some of the staff are family members of Milton Wee, and they normally take orders. Solid recommendations, good product knowledge, friendly, rather patient, and they do go out of their way to accomodate requests. Milton Wee himself also makes a point to engage customers. Good!

Food at Wee's Family Coffee Shop is mostly Chinese style Zi Char. They have a few stand out dishes which most people order, and these are normally hand made in-house by the chef. While their signature dishes are usually delicious, their other dishes on the menu are only average. Portions are designed for communal dining, and prices are similar to other Zi Char outlets, budget about SGD $13 per person for a meal here.


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Even with additional seating, the place is usually packed on weekend evenings, thanks to their wallet-friendly prices, and straight forward food that is both tasty and fuss free.

Wee's Family Coffee Shop Facade

Wee's Family Coffee Shop Menu 01

Wee's Family Coffee Shop Menu 02

Noted the White Rice here has a texture which is firmer and less sticky than usual, which gives me the sense that their fried rice here is possibly quite good! The spicy Sambal Belacan is solid in taste, having a good amount of fiery heat!

White Rice, Cut Chili, Sambal Belacan

The Hand Made Prawn Roll (SGD $8 / $12 / $16) is hot and crisp outside, meaty and juicy within. The minced pork, prawns, and small cube of water chestnut is a classic combination, decently done here.

Hand Made Prawn Roll 01

Hand Made Prawn Roll 02

The Sambal Sweet Potato Leaves (SGD $6 / $7 / $8) was slightly underwhelming. While the vegetables were fresh and green, the sauce is not as spicy, as it should be, resulting in a semi-plain tasting dish. Skip this.

Sambal Sweet Potato Leaves

The Home Town Beancurd (SGD $10 / $15 / $20) is pretty in presentation, decent in taste. Specially made with soy beans, the tofu is soft and wobbly, but the star is the thick, savoury sweet braised shiitake mushrooms and black fungus gravy. Topped with straw mushrooms and fried enoki golden mushrooms, which lent a nice crisp contrast to texture, this dish was pretty good!

Home Town Beancurd 01

Home Town Beancurd 02

The Prawn Paste Chicken Wings (SGD $8 / $10 / $12) were very good! Piping hot, fragrant, the skin is properly crisp and tasty, while the chicken meat within is juicy and comes off the bone easily. Perhaps lacking slightly in the prawn paste flavour, which isn't as pronounced as I would have liked, but the dish is still quite solid.

Prawn Paste Chicken Wings 01

Prawn Paste Chicken Wings 02

The Salted Egg Yolk Prawn Balls (SGD $16 / $22 / $30) are so named because chef has completely deshelled fresh, whole prawns, leaving only the meat behind. Stir fried in a yummy salted egg yolk paste, which is thick, crisp, and sticks well to the prawns, giving them a salty, savoury flavour, yet the prawns still remain sweet and moist within. Highly recommended!

Salted Egg Yolk Prawn Balls 01

Salted Egg Yolk Prawn Balls 02

The Supreme Pork Ribs (SGD $8 / $10 / $12) was meaty, well marinated in the sweet, sticky sauce, yet the savoury taste of the fresh deboned pork ribs still shines through. Pretty good, though the portion is a little small.

Supreme Pork Ribs

The Red Grouper Fish Steamboat (SGD $45) is a highlight here, and seems to be very popular. A large, steaming hotpot of fresh red grouper fish chunks, lots of lettuce, wolfberries, soft Chinese tofu, tomatoes, spring onions, seaweed, and ginger, all stewed in a light, savoury with a hint of salty fish broth. The soup / broth is warming and comforting, utterly satisfiying, while the fish is fresh and meaty, coming easily off the large pieces of bone. Very good dish!

Red Grouper Fish Steamboat 01

Red Grouper Fish Steamboat 02

Red Grouper Fish Steamboat 03

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