Zi Char - Chef Legend Seafood Restaurant

Zi Char - Chef Legend Seafood Restaurant
504 Jurong West Street 51 #01-207

529 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 #01-2345

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chef-Legend-Seafood-星厨艺海鲜/208186605883116

Water Chestnut Beancurd (SGD $8 / $12 / $16)

Decent Heartland Zi Char For Those Nearby

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 5
Service: 5
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $13 per person.


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Chef Legend Seafood Restaurant is a heartland Chinese Zi Char stall that has been in operation since at least October 2011. Formerly located in the Lakeside / Jurong West area of Singapore, they've since shifted completely to the Ang Mo Kio area. Chef Legend Seafood Restaurant is so named because the founder once won a cooking competition, and till today, you can see the pictures proudly displayed at the stall.

Ambience at Chef Legend Seafood Restaurant is shared with the coffeeshop it operates in. Fortunately, the place is clean, spacious, and brightly lit, with decent modern plastic furniture. The signage of the shop is bright, colourful, and eye-catching, which is how we even spotted it in the first place. As a heartland coffeeshop, the place does get noisy and bustling during peak periods.

Service at Chef Legend Seafood Restaurant is decent. Staff are able to converse in Mandarin and English, as well as Chinese dialects like Hokkien. The comprehensive menu can be overwhelming, but staff are able to make recommendations when asked. There is usually a short wait of 10 minutes for orders to be fulfilled, but I like that all the dishes arrive at the same time! I also note staff are efficient are clearing away empty / dirty tables after guests leave.

Food at Chef Legend Seafood Restaurant is typical Chinese Zi Char, with a focus on fresh seafood. They have a good range of signature dishes, usually made with fish. Generally, I find taste to be passable and decent, good enough for people who live nearby, but not worth the effort to travel here. Portions are designed for communal dining and sharing. Prices are very affordable, pegged to most other heartland Zi Char places. Budget about SGD $13 per person for a meal here.


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Chef Legend Seafood Restaurant Facade

Menu

Menu

The Seafood With Fish Maw Soup (SGD $6 / $10 / $15) features a thin, clear, but savoury sweet soup. Good seafood flavour, and the portion of seafood within is decent. The fish maw is slightly dry though, and could have been rehydrated longer. The vegetables are fresh, and lend a healthy crunch. Decent at best, have had better elsewhere.

Seafood With Fish Maw Soup (SGD $6 / $10 / $15)

Seafood With Fish Maw Soup

The King Of Pork Ribs (SGD $10 / $15 / $20) has a fanciful name for the signature pork ribs king, but is also the best dish I had here. Served on the bone, the meat is tender and juicy, coming off easily. The glaze is thick, well balanced in sweet savoury taste with a hint of sour. Can taste a hint of smoky wok hei / breath of the wok as well. Highly recommended!

King Of Pork Ribs (SGD $10 / $15 / $20)

King Of Pork Ribs

I like that the String Beans With Sambal (SGD $8 / $12 / $16) has long string beans that retain its crunchy texture, and the sambal lends a slight savoury spicy kick. Simple dish, but pretty good. We got this plain, but there is also an option for adding minced pork meat. Worth ordering!

String Beans With Sambal (SGD $8 / $12 / $16)

String Beans With Sambal

The Yam Ring (SGD $16) features a nice thick ring of yam taro, fried till crisp. Taste is only average though. Within are nice tender chunks of savoury salty peppery chicken, onions, carrots, bell peppers / capsicum, and shiitake mushrooms. Combination of flavours is good, savoury sweet earthy, just that it's let down by the average yam taro. Decent.

Yam Ring (SGD $16)

Yam Ring

The Water Chestnut Beancurd (SGD $8 / $12 / $16) is a house special, where tofu beancurd is mixed with mashed water chestnuts, then formed into cubes. This gives it a sweet, nutty flavour, which I liked! However, it did seem overly salty on the skin. Otherwise, this was quite addictive.

Water Chestnut Beancurd (SGD $8 / $12 / $16)

Water Chestnut Beancurd

Loved the freshness of the Stir-Fried Milk Cabbage With Garlic (SGD $7 / $9 / $12), a simple dish of nai bai / milk cabbage cooked with garlic. Crunchy in texture, with a light, clean-tasting, vegetal sweet savoury flavour. Nice.

Stir-Fried Milk Cabbage With Garlic (SGD $7 / $9 / $12)

The Salted Egg Fish Skin (SGD $12 / $16 / $22) has a lovely crispy, crunchy texture, and good savoury flavour. While the salted egg yolk gravy and curry leaves flavour is very light, to the point of being non-existent, the overall dish is still quite pleasing.

Salted Egg Fish Skin (SGD $12 / $16 / $22)

The Braised Beancurd In Claypot (SGD $10 / $15 / $20) is generous in portion, a warm claypot filled with soft wobbly tofu beancurd, firm sliced carrots, meaty prawns / shrimp, tender sliced pork loin, sweet eggs, soft white onions, smooth fish cake, earthy shiitake mushrooms, crunchy cauliflower, and a savoury sweet salty braised oyster gravy. Rich in flavour, yet comforting in profile, a classic favourite here. Good!

Braised Beancurd In Claypot (SGD $10 / $15 / $20)

Loved the bold flavour of the Stewed Clam Bee Hoon (SGD $6 / $10), featuring thin rice vermicelli bee hoon noodles, in a rich, savoury sweet peppery gravy of clams, spring onions, choy sum / Chinese flowering cabbage, and eggs. Flavours are nicely balanced, and so addictive. Completely delicious. Highly recommended!

Stewed Clam Bee Hoon (SGD $6 / $10)

Stewed Clam Bee Hoon

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