Chaozhou Inn - An Invitation

I have not been to a food tasting before. Therefore, when DreamersLoft asked if I was interested, I was both elated and hesitant. Elated because I finally got invited. Hesitant because of the recent saga involving a famous food blogger. After much consideration, I finally agreed.

This place that we had our food tasting is Chaozhou Inn. Looking into the interior, it's like those posh restaurant which you might not want to step into. The ambience looks classy and warm.

 

As I belong to the Hokkien dialect, I have not much knowledge about Teochew food except for steamed pomfret and yam paste. Through this food tasting, I got to know more about Teochew food preparation, what are the more authentic Teochew likenings and the taste. I was in the great company of three others- Precious Moments, DreamersLoft and a lady from omy.sg. Sharon from Fish & Co group, was our host for the afternoon.

The first few items were from their Dim Sum selection (潮式精美点心).The Steamed Spinach Dumpling with Prawn & Dried Scallop 瑶柱菜苗饺 ($4.50) has a smooth and thin skin. With the diced water chestnut, it adds an extra crunch to the dumpling. The dumpling is moist, and the prawn is fresh.

Next came the Braised Pork Belly Bun Chaozhou Style 鲍汁扣肉包 ($3.60). The bun is soft, and the braised pork belly isn't too fatty. The soft shredded yam blends well with the pork belly and the bun. If more sauce is added to bun, it'll be better. The pork belly is so lean I wasn't picky about removing the fats, which I normally will.

The Pan Fried Black Sesame Cake 豆沙煎软饼 ($3.90) combines softness with crispiness. The red bean mochi, topped with black sesame seeds, is pan fried lightly. The mochi is warm and soft, which compliments the crisp and fragrant black sesame seeds very well.

Next, we were served the Double Boiled Old Yellow Melon Soup 八宝老黄瓜炖盅 ($8.00). This soup is very special. The soup is served inside the cut yellow melon. The soup was really very tasty. There are lotus seeds, mushrooms, sea cucumbers and shrimps, all diced to bite size for ease of consuming. We understand that there are a lot of work into preparing this dish.

From the Marinated / Barbecued Selection 烧味卤水, we had Braised Platter Chaozhou Style 潮州卤水拼 ($10.00). I'm not a fan of duck. However, I found that the duck wing and braised duck taste pretty good. At least it doesn't have a strong duck taste. I also tried the gizzard. I found it to be a bit hard though crunchy. I had it with chilli, in case I don't like the taste. The toufu is very silky and smooth. It has that kind of melts in the mouth taste.

I dislike oysters. However, this Battered Fried Oyster 金钱蚝仔酥 ($8.00) is good enough for me to have two! (Can you imagine?) The batter was very peppery and crispy. It could be due to the strong peppery batter that musked the oyster completely. If you are like me, don't take raw or cooked oysters, then you'll have to try this! Likewise, if you are a big oyster fan, then maybe this dish is not for you.

The Steamed Pomfret Chaozhou Style 潮式蒸仓鱼 ($22.00) is really worth the value. The pomfret is enough to feed 10 persons! The broth taste really good! The pomfret is steamed with leeks, tomatoes, mushrooms, veg (tang orh), carrot, sour plum, salted vegetable and shredded ginger. Even though there is a lot of ingredients used, it was just enough that it didn't overpower the clearness of broth and the fish!

They have recently introduced the lunch special which comes with complimentary soup. We tried the Steamed Rice with Spare Ribs 原盅豆豉排骨饭, with Winter Melon soup (soup of the day) 附加每日例汤 ($6.90). The spare rib has a slimy taste, although the black bean sauce goes well with the rice. The winter melon soup is sweet and good too! This lunch special is a wholesome meal itself.

Next, we had Chao Yang Four Treasure Vegetables 潮阳四宝蔬 ($9.00). The four treasures are  mushrooms (button, straw & shitake), beancurd, lotus seeds and chinese cabbage. The chinese cabbage was so soft it melts in the mouth. It also absorbed much of the gravy that makes it very sweet.

The Pomfret Porridge Chaozhou Style 潮州仓鱼粥 ($12.00) is served from a small claypot, which looks like those used to brew medicine during our ancestor times. The soup is very tasty, and the fish slices are very fresh. However, I tasted a portion of the fish head which was very fishy. According to Sharon, all the parts of the fish are used to cook the porridge.

Finally, we came to the dessert (甜品) part. My favourite dessert was served - Yam Paste with Gingko Nut and Pumpkin 福果芋泥 ($4.90). This truly lives up to its name. The texture is very smooth even though it has bits of yam pieces. I like the small bits though. The sweetness is just perfect for me. The combination of pumpkin and gingko nut are just enough to compliment the yam.

Their Homemade Soya Beancurd 桶仔豆腐花 ($4.50 for 2 pax. $7.00 for 4 pax) is served in a beautiful wooden container. The beancurd is very soft and smooth. Good thing that there is no sugar added to it. Eating it without the syrup was truly good for me. However, you can add their pandan sugar syrup, which I find that it's too sweet. There is only a very faint smell of pandan in the sugar syrup, but you can't really taste the pandan though.

Finally, Sharon let us try their latest creation - Sweet Potato Paste with Pineapples ($3.20). Surprisingly, the sweet potato paste is very light. Unfortunately, it was so sweet none of us could take it! The chef told us that butter was also added to it, as we could tell there was more ingredients than what we knew. The pineapples used are canned pineapples.

They have promotions during weekdays. A-la-carte high tea buffet from 3pm-5pm. Adult @ $14.90++, Child @ $8.90++. Lunch specials @ $6.90++. They also serve a-la-carte buffet dinner from 5pm onwards. Adult @ $39.90++, Child @ $15.00++.

Overall, I am very happy with the foods they served. It is those places where you can please your parents or your future parents-in-law. I'm definitely going to bring my in-laws there for a meal.

Thank you Sharon, for hosting this fun and wonderful session.

Chaozhou Inn
80 Marine Parade Road, B1-84D,
Parkway Parade, Singapore 449269
Tel : 6346-6617

(This food tasting was sponsored by Chaozhou Inn).