Simple Cantonese Epicurian Delights
Monday, February 20, 2006
Date : February 18, 2006
Venue : Sum's Kitchen & Hong Kong Roasted Meats
Menu:
Braised Fish Head, Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup, Pork Chops in Sweet and Sour Sauce ( Pai Gut Wong), Crispy Hong Kong Squid with Salt, Poached Spinach with three eggs, Steamed Two-Egg Custard, Stir Fried Frog with Ginger and Spring Onions
The Experience
Located opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre and sandwiched between a Thai Restaurant and a famous Fish Head Curry Stall, Sum's Kitchen is the place to go if you're craving for a relatively simple and yet wonderfully delicious Cantonese meal. Unfortunately for us that evening, we arrived too late to order their famous Roast Duck.
The meat is tender and moist while the skin bursts with flavor. A word of caution though, their ducks are alway fat but they are so good that even a conscious weight watcher like me throws all caution to the wind just to savour them. Just note that once you arrive after 7:30 p.m, consider yourself really lucky if you even see a drumstick at the counter. Other must try dishes would be the Ma Po Tou Fu and the Eggplant Braised with Salted Fish.
When a person dines at Sum's, a dish anyone must try would be the Crispy Hong Kong Squid served with Salt. Unlike most places, the squid maintains its tenderness while the skin is all so crispy and nicely coated with salt and pepper. Very yummy and really to die for!
And the soups! Sum's Kitchen's double boiled soup never fails to impress me. Tonight's soup was Lotus Root double boiled with Pork Ribs. While it sounds plain and typical but what makes the soup here so tasty is that it's boiled with a generous amount of dried ingredients (squid, oysters, red dates) and a piece or two of what I suspect is dried orange peel. However, the soup menu changes on a daily basis so feel free to ask the staff what is the soup for the day.
While I normally never eat Fresh Water Fish for fear of the muddy taste and smell, the braised Fish Head here is so well done that I had no qualms about eating it. And don't get me started on the Steamed Two-Egg Custard! It was absolutely soft and smooth and the Century egg doesn't have a strong ammonia smell or a heavily rancid taste. Extremely delightful.
Last but not least, the sauce for the Pai Gut Wong was pretty sweet and tangy, unfortunately, the pork chops could have been a little more tender. The vegetables and the frog ( 2 frogs at $18) were good but really nothing much to holler about.
Overall, the service has been pretty all right. Like many small restaurants, the quality varies with mood but fortuantely, we've had no bad encounters lately. The worst we've gotten so far was them being so busy that they even forgot to give us tea and take our orders. However, there is a dude there who is an excellent server. He's always prompt, polite and when we asked him for some pork lard that evening and he happily gave us a huge portion. But non-Chinese speakers be warned. The staff converse mainly in Cantonese and Mandarin and their command of English is pretty poor.
Total Bill for 5: Approx $90
Pretty reasonable for Seven dishes, including tea and 7 bowls of rice.
Tannie at 1:12 AM |
