Shanghai Steamed Chicken Dumplings beat F1
"the closest I'll get to Hong Kong"
Hello friends. So I had to grab dinner. And really, my insides were all heated up from heaty meals and frizzy drinks. Then my tummy sent a message to my brain: Tang Tea House Hong Kong Cafe. Here’s the gist, gang.
"fish soup for the soul"
Sliced fish bee hoon, the cure for days of red meat and red everything. Actually the sans milk version would have been a more suitable cure, but my tastebuds were conjuring up drool to the image of “sliced fish bee hoon soup letak susu (add milk)” as my mouth voiced out the order to the waiter. In case you’re wondering, I managed to refrain from salivating. It took me great willpower to stop and take a picture of the meal when it came, and the wait was worth it. I can now share the image with you, friends. Comparing with the famous Tong Seng Fish Soup (because that’s the other place serving Halal fish soup), Tang’s soup is more flavourful. The bee hoon is more silky and extra points for the unique soup spoon. The downside? Lesser fish slices, higher price ($5 compared to Tong Seng’s $3.50) and longer waiting period. But I do recommend fish soup lovers to try it, the overall portion is good and the soup made my tummy happy. 8)
"not extraordinary but satisfactory"
Sweet & Sour Chicken Rice. It tastes good though the chicken portion could have been more. $5! Give us the chicken! But you can taste the flavour, the vegetables taste good. I’ve had better, but this is good enough if you’re craving a sweet & sour dish.
"oh yeah, the good stuff"
What Tang Tea House is famous for, I reckon. The dumplings are superb. I mean, it’s not everyday I get to eat halal dumplings. Fresh, hot and simmering with soup on the insides. Yes, these are the Shanghai Steamed Chicken Dumplings. For $3, get a taste of Hong Kong, Halal-style. You might also want to try Sway Kow, shrimp dumplings. Fantastic, these dumplings. Question is: How do you eat it?
"suck it good"
Don’t gobble it up, you’ll miss the good part! What you do is pick a dumpling up carefully with the chopsticks (or spoon, for the chopstick-challenged ones), gently put it to ur mouth and suck the juice out of the dumpling! Oh man oh my oh yes! Make sure you’ve sucked it REALLY dry, THEN you can gobble it up. 8) The dumplings come with a funny-tasting soy sauce that does not go well with my tastebuds. You can try it though.
"the inconspicuous black thing"
"something's hiding...can you spot it?"
So I washed the food down with a good hot cuppa Chinese tea. It’s been long since I last had that, which used to be a staple hot drink for me. He had a cuppa cold frothy bandong which was alright. I like the place for its condiments- a tray with soy sauce, cili padi, pickled chilli plus a small box of tissues. Everything’s on the table for you, including chilli sauce and a cup full of cutleries. It was a good dinner for $15.20. “All’s well ends well in my bell(y)“. Oh. Mmm. That was the Corny Quote of the Day.
And yep, F1 Night Race‘s practice session was on television but Shanghai Steamed Chicken Dumplings stole the limelight. Taa, friends.
Rated 4 belly hoos. ya hoo hoo hoo hoo!
Tang Tea House Hong Kong Cafe is Halal-certified, open 24 hours and located at Simpang Bedok.
