Goldleaf Restaurant Tasting Session 2020
185 Orchard Road
103 Amoy Street #01-01
86 East Coast Road #01-02
Opening Hours:
Daily: 11:30am - 2:30pm, 6pm - 10pm
https://goldleaf.com.sg/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from Her Pen And Fork, msginginly, Chubby Botak Koala, Epicurious Caniggia, Purple Taste, and With Rachelle.
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| Reunion Abalone Yu Sheng |
Homely Taiwanese Porridge
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 8
Value for Money: 8
Budget about SGD $30 per person.
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Established since 1971, Goldleaf Restaurant is amongst the most famed Taiwanese porridge restaurants in Singapore, serving up their homely comfort food for over 4 decades. Time almost seems to stand still here, and regulars still flock to Goldleaf Restaurant for their classic, nostalgic dishes. They're also known for their all-you-can-eat Taiwanese porridge buffet at affordable prices.
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| Goldleaf Restaurant Facade |
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| Goldleaf Restaurant Signage |
Ambience at Goldleaf Restaurant is modern and functional. The brightly lit place is sparsely decorated, with sturdy dark wooden furniture lined neatly within the spacious seating area, flanked by plain white walls. When crowded, the atmosphere is noisy and bustling, but quiet periods make it feel like a deserted town. Ventilation and cooling is decent enough.
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| Goldleaf Restaurant Exterior |
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| Goldleaf Restaurant Interior |
Service at Goldleaf Restaurant is efficient and professional. Staff are quick to greet and seat guests, but beyond order taking, there's little interaction or engagement. Those taking orders display decent product knowledge. While they carry out requests efficiently, staff aren't the most attentive, due to the large number of tables to attend to. They clean up quickly when diners leave.
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| Seating |
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| Seating |
Food at Goldleaf Restaurant is focused on Chinese Taiwanese cuisine. Dishes are homely and simple, comforting and suitable for everyday dining. With traditional, authentic flavours, meals here offer a variety of choices, paired with the simple base of Taiwanese porridge. Portions are sized for communal group dining. Prices are affordable, budget about SGD $30 per person for the buffet.
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| Mural |
The folks at Goldleaf Restaurant have created a delicious spread to welcome in the Chinese New Year of the Rat for 2020. These dishes feature on their set menus, with prices ranging from SGD $388++ for a 4-person set, to SGD $888++ for a 10-person set.
Served prior to a meal, the Braised Peanuts feature peanuts braised in dark soy sauce. The texture was a little mushy, though this still holds robust salty savoury earthy nutty flavours. Could be improved.
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| Braised Peanuts |
The Reunion Abalone Yu Sheng features luxurious rounds of bouncy tender abalone, scattered amongst the salad. With a bright fresh juicy crunch from the vegetables, this has lovely vegetal sweet savoury flavours. Nicely enticing, and the replacement of fish with abalone makes this stand out among other versions of yu sheng.
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| Reunion Abalone Yu Sheng |
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| Reunion Abalone Yu Sheng |
The Fish Maw & Crab Meat In Superior Broth has a thick, rich texture to the soup / broth, and is filled with juicy diced cucumber, spongy fish maw, and wispy deshelled crab meat. This has deep savoury sweet earthy flavours, with a hint of spice notes on the finish. Not visually appealing but still tasty. Worth ordering!
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| Fish Maw & Crab Meat In Superior Broth |
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| Fish Maw & Crab Meat In Superior Broth |
The Braised Broccoli With Scallops feature crunchy broccoli florets, carrots, black fungus / cloud ear fungus, and baby corn, along with tender button mushrooms and bouncy fresh scallops. This lovely dish has bright vegetal earthy sweet flavours, with the scallops lending their natural sweet savoury flavours. I enjoyed the clean-tasting simplicity of this. Highly recommended!
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| Braised Broccoli With Scallops |
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| Braised Broccoli With Scallops |
Among our favourite dishes, the Deep-Fried Sea Bass In Sweet & Sour Sauce features a whole fresh sea bass fish, with natural sweet savoury flavour, deep-fried and generously coated with thick sweet and sour sauce. With tender flaky texture, the fish comes clean off the bones, and the crunch of vegetal sweet peas, carrots, and corn kernels lend a nice contrast. Highly recommended!
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| Deep-Fried Sea Bass In Sweet & Sour Sauce |
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| Deep-Fried Sea Bass In Sweet & Sour Sauce |
The Steamed Red Snapper Hong Kong Style is done classic style, with a whole fresh red snapper fish steamed with spring onions and bell peppers / capsicum, in a light soy sauce and dark soy sauce gravy. The fish is tender flaky with clean sweet savoury flavour, complemented by the rich deep salty savoury notes of the gravy. Good!
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| Steamed Red Snapper Hong Kong Style |
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| Steamed Red Snapper Hong Kong Style |
With a smoky aroma, the Pan-Fried Tiger Prawns entice the palate. These large fresh prawns are coated in XO sauce, and have a bouncy bite, but were slightly dry. Still, I like the smoky savoury salty peppery spice flavour. Could be improved.
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| Pan-Fried Tiger Prawns |
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| Pan-Fried Tiger Prawns |
The Golden Cereal Prawns here tend towards the sweeter side, with bold grainy sweet milky flavours. The large fresh prawns have a bouncy bite, and the cereal was tasty enough to pair with other dishes. Wish there was a little more spice notes within. Good!
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| Golden Cereal Prawns |
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| Golden Cereal Prawns |
The Braised Pork Belly With Preserved Vegetables is a filling dish, with its generous slabs of tender juicy fatty pork belly, laid over a bed of soft crunchy preserved mustard greens, which hold deep salty savoury earthy flavour. Being braised in dark soy sauce, the pork belly takes on a robust salty savoury sweet flavour. This dish is best eaten with white rice. Good!
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| Braised Pork Belly With Preserved Vegetables |
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| Braised Pork Belly With Preserved Vegetables |
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| Braised Pork Belly With Preserved Vegetables |
The Stewed Taiwanese Noodles With Crab Meat features long silky soft Taiwanese wheat noodles, stewed with tender shiitake mushrooms and dark soy sauce, resulting in a salty savoury earthy flavour. Garnished with crunchy nai bai / milk cabbage with bright vegetal sweet flavour, and tiny globules of tobiko / flying fish roe which burst with briny salty flavour. I find that adding some chili helps lift this overall flavour. Good!
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| Stewed Taiwanese Noodles With Crab Meat |
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| Stewed Taiwanese Noodles With Crab Meat |
Felt the Yam Taro Paste With Ginkgo Nuts & Goji Berries was weak, because the creamy texture was much too smooth, possibly indicating the use of instant yam / taro powder instead. Has a delicate earthy sweet flavour, with the firm ginkgo nuts and soft goji berries / wolfberries lending herbal nutty sweet flavours. Could be improved.
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| Yam Taro Paste With Ginkgo Nuts & Goji Berries |
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| Yam Taro Paste With Ginkgo Nuts & Goji Berries |
Promising a homely, comforting meal, it's no wonder Goldleaf Restaurant is a draw for many. Will return to Goldleaf Restaurant for more home style Chinese Taiwanese dishes!
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CONVERSATION