Pin Si Kitchen

Pin Si Kitchen
60 Yishun Avenue 4
#02-V1 SAFRA Yishun

9 Sentul Crescent
#05-01 SAFRA Punggol

http://www.pinsi.com.sg/

Meal

Worthwhile For SAFRA Members, Less So For Everyone Else

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 5
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 5
Service: 7
Value for Money: 4
Spent about SGD $22 per person.


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Established in January 2008, Pin Si Kitchen, also known as Pin Si Restaurant or Pin Si Superior, is a long-standing restaurant and catering business, known for their simple, comfort Chinese cuisine. As a Halal certified buffet and banquet company, Pin Si Kitchen largely caters to the mass market, offering wallet-friendly, decently tasty dishes. Don't expect high quality dishes here, I personally wouldn't go out of my way to visit them again.

Ambience at Pin Si Kitchen is a throwback to days of old... and not in a particularly good way. The decor looks dated, and the place, while clean, looks aged. Shades of cream, white, brown, against wood and carpet, with Oriental designs straight out of the 80s. I like the comfortable cushioned furnishings, spacious layout, and view of the surroundings. But the place feels more old than retro.

Service at Pin Si Kitchen is good, the best thing about dining here. The elderly staff are smart and professional, delivering an old-school style restaurant service. They are knowledgable on the menu, able to describe dishes and offer recommendations, proactive in checking on diners, efficiently clearing away empty / dirty plates during your meal. They assist each other in serving, with one staff presenting the dishes, and another helping to arrange plates on the table. Great!

Food at Pin Si Kitchen is classic Chinese cuisine, including Dim Sum. Because of their Halal certified buffet and banquet, they don't serve pork. Generally, I find taste of most dishes to be below average to slightly above average, passable and edible, but nothing special. Portions are designed for sharing, so communal dining is encouraged. Prices are affordable, but poor value for money for the quality. Budget about SGD $22 per person for a meal here.


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Pin Si Kitchen Superior Exterior

Pin Si Kitchen Superior Interior

Menu Dim Sum

Seating

A cup of Tea (SGD $1.50), refillable. Rather thin and weak though.

Tea (SGD $1.50)

Among the best dishes we had was the Marinated Guava (SGD $Complimentary), an appetizer. The fresh, juicy slices of guava have a lovely fruity sweet flavour, completely refreshing. Highly recommended!

Marinated Guava (SGD $Complimentary)

The Congee Chicken & Century Egg (SGD $4) is warm and comforting. Properly thick and sticky, with good savoury sweet flavour from the chicken shreds and slices of century egg within. The crispy crackers lend a nice contrasting crunch for texture. Good!

Congee Chicken & Century Egg (SGD $4)

Congee Chicken & Century Egg

Felt the Crispy Eggplant With Chicken Floss (SGD $8.80) was decent. The tender sticks of brinjal / eggplant / aubergine have a light delicate sweet savoury flavour, and a light crunch from the crisp crust. Garnished with shreds of chicken floss, which lend a salty savoury flavour. Pairs nicely with the sweet chili dipping sauce here. Good!

Crispy Eggplant With Chicken Floss (SGD $8.80)

The Drunken Chicken In Rice Wine (SGD $8.80) was the worst version I've eaten. The chicken is not fresh, with a firm, tough texture, and a bland taste. The herbal rice wine gravy is much too intense and bitter. Terrible, completely regretted ordering this. Skip this.

Drunken Chicken In Rice Wine (SGD $8.80)

The Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice With Chicken (SGD $4) is underwhelming. While the warm, sticky glutinous rice is nicely sweet savoury and comforting, the ingredients within are scarce. Didn't taste the chicken, mushroom, or salted egg at all. Ratio could be improved.

Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice With Chicken (SGD $4)

The Rice Roll With Assorted Mushroom (SGD $4.50) was really odd. The skin is too thick and clumpy, and we couldn't taste the mushrooms within, though the salty savoury gravy did make up the flavour. There's a light crunch from some fried stuffing within, but that's about it. Not nice. Skip this.

Rice Roll With Assorted Mushroom (SGD $4.50)

The Chicken Claw With Spicy Bean Sauce (SGD $4) was surprising because of the fiery heat from the spicy bean sauce, which has a nice kick. The chicken feet is properly tender and savoury salty. Decent.

Chicken Claw With Spicy Bean Sauce (SGD $4)

The Steamed Crystal Prawn Dumpling (SGD $4.50) is decent enough. The filling of prawn has a nice sweet freshness, but the skin of the dumpling is too thick. Passable and edible, but not outstanding.

Steamed Crystal Prawn Dumpling (SGD $4.50)

Among the best items here was the Siew Mai Chicken Dumpling With Mushroom & Lycium (SGD $4). The juicy chicken meat has a lovely sweet savoury flavour, complemented by the tender earthy shiitake mushroom and fresh prawn. So good, especially when paired with the sweet chili dipping sauce. Highly recommended!

Siew Mai Chicken Dumpling With Mushroom & Lycium (SGD $4)

While I like the light, crisp crunch of the Deep-Fried Chicken Spring Roll (SGD $4), the filling was not as tasty as I'd hoped. The earthy vegetal flavour is rather light, and it lacks the robust depth of savoury notes.

Deep-Fried Chicken Spring Roll (SGD $4)

Loved the Pan-Fried Beancurd Skin With Minced Shrimp (SGD $4.50), with its light, crisp, piping hot beancurd skin, wrapped around the bouncy savoury fish paste and fresh sweet prawn within. Among the better dishes here. Good!

Pan-Fried Beancurd Skin With Minced Shrimp (SGD $4.50)

Pan-Fried Beancurd Skin With Minced Shrimp

Felt the Pan-Fried Radish Cake (SGD $4) was decent, with a light savoury sweet flavour. I like the light crunch of the preserved vegetable bits within the soft daikon radish cake, but I felt the crust could be improved if it was more crisp. Worth ordering!

Pan-Fried Radish Cake (SGD $4)

The Steamed Sponge Cake With Melon Seeds (SGD $3.80) is underwhelming. Texture is off, it's much too light and airy, instead of dense and spongy. Flavour is more savoury sour instead of sweet. However, I did like the contasting crunch of the melon seeds. Skip this.

Steamed Sponge Cake With Melon Seeds (SGD $3.80)

Loved the Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Bun (SGD $3.80), among the better items here. The bun is properly soft and fluffy, and the molten salted egg yolk within is golden, with delicious notes of salty savoury sweet. Really good. Highly recommended!

Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Bun (SGD $3.80)

Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Bun

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