Tsui Wah

Tsui Wah
260 Orchard Road
#02-02 The Heeren

3 River Valley Road
#01-03 Block A, Clarke Quay

https://www.facebook.com/TsuiwahSingapore/

Hong Kong High Tea

Premium Hong Kong Dishes

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 7
Value for Money: 5
Spent about SGD $27 per person.

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Established since 1967, Tsui Wah is a well known cha chaan teng / tea house / tea restaurant, a cultural icon of Hong Kong. Opening in Singapore in June 2018, Tsui Wah carries on their tradition - offering classic Hong Kong dishes and snacks at slightly more expensive prices, targeted at the affluent working class.

Ambience at Tsui Wah has a modern tea house look, with shades of brown, green, white, and black. The brightly lit place is closely packed with modern furnishings and booths, resulting in a lively, bustling atmosphere. I like that there's some view of the streets below. However, I note some lingering cooking odour in the air, which sticks to clothing.

Service at Tsui Wah differs. The junior staff tend to have little engagement, and engage with customers in transactional form. The senior staff have good engagement, checking if orders have been fulfilled and asking for feedback on the meal. I like that they clear finished plates throughout the meal. There isn't much opportunity to display product knowledge though.

Food at Tsui Wah is all about classic Hong Kong flavours. Snacks, light bites, and quick dishes feature; with portions sized for individuals. Flavours are comforting and familiar, though I feel most of their dishes tend to be slightly more salty than elsewhere. Prices are also higher than elsewhere, making it poor value to dine here, budget about SGD $27 per person.

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Tsui Wah Signage

Tsui Wah Exterior

Tsui Wah Interior

The Grass Jelly In Coconut Milk (SGD $6) features a glass of chilled coconut milk with simple syrup, having a delicate earthy sweet flavour. Filled with chewy gelatinous chunks of grass jelly, which lend a soft chew to texture.

Grass Jelly In Coconut Milk (SGD $6)

The Honey Lemon (SGD $4) is warm and sticky floral sweet sour zesty, great for soothing dry or sore throats. Also great for pairing with greasy or full flavoured dishes.

Honey Lemon (SGD $4)

An iconic Hong Kong beverage, the Yuenyeung (SGD $3.50) or yuan yang drink consists of 30% coffee blended with 70% milk tea. Has a roasted earthy sweet milky flavour. I got the hot version, which is smooth, soulful, and warming. The blend here is just right. I also love the cute mug.

Yuenyeung (SGD $3.50)

The English Chips (SGD $5) are thick cut, with the potato having a slightly crisp exterior, and a soft fluffy interior. Sprinkled with salt, these are rather addictive with a salty savoury flavour. Served with a tomato ketchup dipping sauce on the side.

English Chips (SGD $5)

English Chips

A Hong Kong classic, the Toasted Bun With Condensed Milk (SGD $4) is a signature here. Exactly as described, this features a crisp toasted bread, with delicate smoky grainy sweet flavour, drizzled with sticky rich condensed milk, which lends a lovely milky sweet flavour. Compared to the versions in Hong Kong, this is less generous with the condensed milk, making it much less sweet, but still tasty. Worth ordering!

Toasted Bun With Condensed Milk (SGD $4)

Toasted Bun With Condensed Milk

The Amaranth In Fish Soup (SGD $8.50) is a simple vegetable dish to pair with a meal, featuring soft tender amaranth / amaranthus with leafy vegetal earthy sweet flavour, in the house signature fish soup, which is thin but holds robust sweet savoury salty flavour, from the fish bone stock. Goes well with white rice, fried rice, and most noodle dishes, as they tend not to serve vegetables in those. Good!

Amaranth In Fish Soup (SGD $8.50)

Amaranth In Fish Soup

The Chicken Wings In Supreme Soy Sauce (SGD $13) were a disappointment, because they weren't properly cooked. The supreme soy sauce had an unusual burnt bitter sweet salty flavour, like it's been heated too long. And for the price, it's really expensive. Could be improved.

Chicken Wings In Supreme Soy Sauce (SGD $13)

Chicken Wings In Supreme Soy Sauce

Loved the Sweet And Sour Pork (SGD $14.50). The medium sized, chunky nuggets of tender pork, are tossed with crunchy bell peppers / capsicum and soft white onions, in a sticky thick sweet and sour gravy that lives up to its name in equal measure. Finished with chunks of juicy pineapple, this dish was a delight. Better than most versions elsewhere. Highly recommended!

Sweet And Sour Pork (SGD $14.50)

Sweet And Sour Pork

The Scrambled Eggs With Shrimp (SGD $15) were lovely, especially the soft scrambled eggs, with its fluffy soft creamy texture and eggy sweet savoury flavour. The small deshelled shrimp were fresh and juicy sweet, though some weren't cleaned well, which for me was visibly off-putting. But I love the egg enough to want to order this again. Good!

Scrambled Eggs With Shrimp (SGD $15)

Scrambled Eggs With Shrimp

The Wontons With Shrimp Roe In Fish Soup (SGD $9.50) were decent enough. What surprised us was how they managed to squeeze 2 of the small deshelled, juicy sweet shrimp within each flimsy thin wispy wonton wrapper, alongside tender juicy minced pork. The thin but robust fish soup has good depth of sweet savoury salty flavour, and there is some shrimp roe visible on the skins. Warm, soulful, and comforting. Good!

Wontons With Shrimp Roe In Fish Soup (SGD $9.50)

Wontons With Shrimp Roe In Fish Soup

Wontons With Shrimp Roe In Fish Soup

The Signature Pork Chop Bun (SGD $8.50) has 2 slices of fluffy soft toasted bread buns. Sandwiched within is crisp fresh lettuce, a slice of juicy tomato, and a good sized slab of tender pork chop. Nicely satisfying to hold and eat, with its tasty savoury salty vegetal sweet bready flavour. Will order again, as I enjoyed it. Highly recommended!

Signature Pork Chop Bun (SGD $8.50)

Signature Pork Chop Bun

Signature Pork Chop Bun

The Kagoshima Braised Pork Cartilage With Tossed Instant Noodles (SGD $10.50) is a house signature. The standout item is the pork cartilage, which has been braised in soy sauce for hours. This results in a robust earthy salty savoury flavour, with a good contrast of textures; the pork meat is tender soft, and the pork cartilage is crunchy and gelatinous. The springy instant noodles with seasoning lends a salty savoury grainy flavour. Overall, a delicious bowl. Worth ordering!