Tonny Restaurant

Tonny Restaurant
325 Joo Chiat Road

10 Geylang Lorong 3

http://tonnyrestaurant.sg/

Huat Ah!

Rustic Cantonese Delights

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 8
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $55 per person.


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Renowned Chinese Cantonese chef and Singaporean culinary celebrity Tonny Chan established his eponymous Tonny Restaurant in December 2010, originally in the Joo Chiat area, before moving to the Geylang / Kallang area in December 2012. Tonny Restaurant is known for their homely Chinese Cantonese dishes, reasonable mid-range prices, and innovative touches.

Ambience at Tonny Restaurant is simple, rustic, but clean. The brightly lit place feels vibrant with shades of yellow, white, brown, wood, and red. Simple furnishings are neatly packed within the medium sized floor space, and the enclosed area means ambient noise levels can be bustling. They do have 2 private rooms, which are available with a minimum spend of SGD $500 on regular days, a reasonable amount for 10 or more people.

Service at Tonny Restaurant feels homely and casual. The mostly senior staff are friendly and engaging, and will chat with you. They display good product knowledge, able to briefly describe how dishes are created. I also like that they proactively check up on tables, offering to clear away empty / finished plates, as well as change dirty cutlery. They also regularly come by to top up water or tea for you. Old-school service, good and proud.

Food at Tonny Restaurant is mainly focused on Chinese Cantonese cuisine, with the majority of dishes being homely, rustic, and traditional. That said, Chef Tonny Chan also pushes the modern envelope with a few innovative creations of his own. Generally, I find taste and quality of dishes to be above average, with one or two misses, but otherwise, everything else is good. Portions are sized for communal / group dining. Prices are mid-range for a Chinese Zi Char restaurant, budget about SGD $55 per person for a meal here.


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Tonny Restaurant Exterior

Tonny Restaurant Interior

Seating

Private Room

Us

Festive Happy Yam Me

Chef Tonny Chan, News Feature

Served when diners are seated, the Braised Peanuts (SGD $Complimentary) have a tender, soft texture, with bold salty savoury nutty flavour. Addictive too, really got to watch yourself when eating this.

Braised Peanuts (SGD $Complimentary)

The special for Chinese New Year celebrations, the Spanish Iberico Yu Sheng (SGD $58 / $88) features strips of tender yet smoky salty savoury Spanish iberico ham. These air-dried cured strips of pork ham pair well with the freshness of the vegetables in the yu sheng. Staff helped to portion and recite the prosperity words, and I must say they're professional and creative about it. Also a note; there seems to be a lot of carrot in Chef's version of the dish.

Spanish Iberico Yu Sheng (SGD $58 / $88)

Spanish Iberico Yu Sheng

Spanish Iberico Yu Sheng

Spanish Iberico Yu Sheng

A house signature, the Crispy Yam With Truffle Oil (SGD $16) is Chef's masterpiece in innovative modern culinary cooking. Fine strips of thinly shredded yam / taro are flash-fried, tossed in a house secret sauce, salt, and truffle oil, garnished with spring onions and red chili. Each bite is a delight, crisp crunch for texture, then an earthy savoury salty flavour, making you crave more. Chef's skill is evident as well; the dish isn't oily, being light on the palate, you feel you can eat even more. I can see this pairing well with drinks. Highly recommended!

Crispy Yam With Truffle Oil (SGD $16)

Crispy Yam With Truffle Oil

The Braised Home Made Beancurd With Dried Scallop (SGD $20) features hand formed tofu beancurd. Unlike regular versions, the tofu beancurd here is more spongy and firm in texture. Plated around fresh and crunchy lettuce, coated in a thick, luscious gravy of dried scallops, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Pure comfort food, goes great with white rice. Personally, I would have liked a softer texture to the tofu beancurd, but this will still appeal to most.

Braised Home Made Beancurd With Dried Scallop (SGD $20)

Braised Home Made Beancurd With Dried Scallop

The Claypot Chicken With Chinese Wine (SGD $38) is pure Chinese Cantonese Zi Char comfort food. A whole chicken, partially roasted till it takes on a smoky aroma, is braised in a claypot with Shaoxing Chinese rice wine and salt. The result is succulent, tender chicken meat, with a light savoury salty sweet flavour, that pulls off easily from the bone. The chicken au jus flavours the gravy, making it a burst of umami flavour on the palate. Pairs so well with white rice. Portion is large, and should be shared by at least 4 people or more. Highly recommended!

Claypot Chicken With Chinese Wine (SGD $38)

Claypot Chicken With Chinese Wine

The unique Braised Crocodile Palm With Quail Eggs (SGD $52) was a highlight for us. Served in a savoury salty oyster braising gravy with soft quail eggs and crunchy nai bai / milk cabbage, the gelatinous crocodile palm has a chewy, semi-crunchy, slippery texture. The crocodile meat hidden within is tender and soft, falling off the bone, with robust savoury salty notes. I enjoyed this unique dish. Good!

Braised Crocodile Palm With Quail Eggs (SGD $52)

Braised Crocodile Palm With Quail Eggs

The Braised Ee-Fu Noodles With Lobster (SGD $68 for 4 pax) felt average to me. To be fair, the slippery ee-fu noodles have good wok hei / breath of the wok, with a smoky aroma. The lobster is fresh and meaty sweet savoury, coming out of the shell easily. But overall, the flavours here are really light, and largely becomes one-note the more you eat. I personally think it could do with either more contrast in texture, or a contrasting flavour to keep it interesting.

Braised Ee-Fu Noodles With Lobster (SGD $68 for 4 pax)

Braised Ee-Fu Noodles With Lobster

The Pan-Fried New Year Cake (SGD $8) is a traditional Chinese New Year dessert cake, made with mashed lotus seed paste. Chef has used natural food colouring to give it a reddish hue. Being pan-fried, the exterior has a slightly crisp texture, with a smoky aroma and savoury flavour. This clashes with the soft chewy sticky interior, which has a sweet flavour. A little odd on the palate, this was the weakest link for us. Skip this.

Pan-Fried New Year Cake (SGD $8)

Pan-Fried New Year Cake

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Update May-2019: More than 1 year later, and we've returned to Tonny Restaurant for another special occasion. Much remains the same. Ambience at Tonny Restaurant is still a blast from the past, with its clean but dated furnishings. Service at Tonny Restaurant remains friendly and casual, with the staff proactively offering recommendations, and quickly clearing away finished plates throughout the meal. Food at Tonny Restaurant is still focused on Chinese Cantonese cuisine, though the menu has expanded to now feature creative modern dishes, while still capturing the familiar flavours of old. Prices remain mid-range, budget about SGD $55 per person.

Tonny Restaurant Menu 2019

Tonny Restaurant Menu 2019

Served at the beginning when you're seated, the Soy Braised Peanuts (SGD $2) feature deshelled peanuts braised with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, palm sugar, cinnamon sticks, 5-spice powder, garlic, star anise, and oyster sauce. This appetizer has a soft tender texture, with bold salty savoury nutty flavour. Being chargeable, you can choose to refuse this.

Soy Braised Peanuts (SGD $2)

The Crispy Yam With Truffle Oil (SGD $16) is as good as I remember. The thinly shredded, flash-fried yam / taro strips are tossed in a house secret sauce (I detect at least sour plum sauce), salt, and truffle oil, giving it a earthy savoury salty flavour with a delightfully crispy crunch to texture. Garnished with spring onions, white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, and red chili.

Crispy Yam With Truffle Oil (SGD $16)

You know the restaurant is old-school when they have a dish called Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (SGD $18). This appetizer consists of hollow slices of juicy cucumber, on which sits a firm crunchy all-purpose flour wanton wrapper cracker, filled with soft moist egg white cubes, bright flying fish roe gloubles, wispy egg floss, and crisp fried curry leaves. Complex layering of eggy sweet briny salty spice flavours. Yum, enjoyed this. Good!

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (SGD $18)

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Proper Chinese Cantonese Roast Chicken Leg (SGD $14.80), featuring a large, succulent kampong chicken, roasted to perfection. The tender, moist chicken meat comes easily off the bone, and has a delicate salty savoury smoky flavour. Served with plum salt and crisp prawn crackers on the side. Slightly expensive though, for the price, you'll be able to get a half chicken elsewhere.

Roast Chicken Leg (SGD $14.80)

Roast Chicken Leg

Roast Chicken Leg

The Green Dragon Vegetable With Bean Sprouts (SGD $18) features fresh, crisp garlic chives, stir-fried with crunchy bean sprouts, in a light soy sauce and garlic gravy. Has a lovely vegetal grassy sweet salty flavour, very appetizing.

Green Dragon Vegetable With Bean Sprouts (SGD $18)

Green Dragon Vegetable With Bean Sprouts

Green Dragon Vegetable With Bean Sprouts

The Pan-Fried Cod Fish Fillet With Soy Sauce (SGD $28) is served with fresh tender vegetal sweet florets of broccoli, and juicy fruity sweet cherry tomatoes on the side. The cod fish fillets are coated in a spiced batter glazed with dark soy sauce, and have a tender moist flaky texture, with bold salty sweet spice flavour. Tasty, but not great value for money.

Pan-Fried Cod Fish Fillet With Soy Sauce (SGD $28)

Pan-Fried Cod Fish Fillet With Soy Sauce

Pan-Fried Cod Fish Fillet With Soy Sauce

The Steamed Fresh Prawns With Garlic (SGD $28) feature large, fresh prawns, filleted in half, which makes it easy to eat. The flesh comes easily out of the shell, and has a succulent juicy bouncy bite. Bold herbal spice notes from the garlic complement the natural sweet savoury flavour of the prawns. Nice straightforward choice of dish.

Steamed Fresh Prawns With Garlic (SGD $28)

Steamed Fresh Prawns With Garlic

Steamed Fresh Prawns With Garlic

The luxurious Crab Porridge (SGD $8 per 100g, $64 for 800g) features the Chinese Cantonese style of congee rice porridge. Cooked till thick and gloopy with light soy sauce and crab stock, garnished with shiitake mushrooms, wheat gluten, and parsley, the congee rice porridge has a lovely sweet salty savoury flavour from absorbing the essence of the crab. The large, fresh Sri Lankan crab has tender succulent moist crab meat, with good sweet savoury flavour. Staff will show this to the table, then bring it away to be portioned out. Good!

Crab Porridge (SGD $8 per 100g, $64 for 800g)

Crab Porridge

Crab Porridge

Crab Porridge

Loved the Deep-Fried Banana Yam Roll (SGD $12), which features a thin crisp all-purpose flour batter, generously stuffed with a rich creamy thick yam / taro paste filling, and a slice of tender banana. This has a lovely deep fruity sweet earthy flavour, yum. Highly recommended!

Deep-Fried Banana Yam Roll (SGD $12)

Deep-Fried Banana Yam Roll

Deep-Fried Banana Yam Roll

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