Shop Reviews

Chin Lee restaurant is a luxurious place; the quality of the food and service is all top-level. The appetizer, which is made of braised peanuts and bean curd, is delicious and fragrant. We ordered the salted egg prawn; it was cooked to a savoury texture, which is a favourite among Singaporeans. The prawn was fresh as well. The second dish was a crispy chicken, which was juicy. Garlic was infused into the chicken to give it a kick. The last dish, which was the lup han zai, was cooked beautifully. They frequently cleared dirty plates and helped to refill our teacups.

The total price for this meal is about $122. Pork Gu Lu Yong: Damn nice. Crispy on the outside and flavourful. The veggies needed to cook more because they had a bitter taste. But the sauce was on point.

A new outlet of Chin Lee Teochew Restaurant (Bedok North) is located at Canberra. This is a posh and cosy restaurant. The staff here is pleasant and friendly. Serving sizes of dishes seem more generous than at their main Bedok North restaurant. Dim sum, set lunches, and set menus are all available at a reasonable price for the quality served. Parking is available. Highly recommended!

Here's the edited review: We wanted to book the Bedok main branch, but it was full, so we quickly called to reserve the Canberra branch. What a nice mall, Canberra Plaza, smacked right between Yishun and Sembawang and right beside the Canberra MRT. Canberra residents are truly blessed! Haha. During my army days in Khatib, this was an empty place. We usually zipped to A&Z Prata, Chong Pang Nasi, or Sembawang SC for Thai food or white bee hoon. Anyway, we heard good reviews about this Teochew restaurant, and we love our Toa Payoh-based Swatow, so we decided to give it a try. We ordered the Or Lua, which was excellent. Very crispy and the oysters were large! The prawn omelette was good. The Shanghai Green was, for me, average – normal Tze Char fare. The salted fish fried rice was quite good. The best was the crispy HK Noodles! We ordered the king version, if I recall correctly. The fish chunky cubes were really fresh and succulent. Not those dry and flaky types. They were really soft and juicy! Damn good! We were told by the manager that the fish was sashimi standard! I forgot what breed it was. We finished the dish in one go, haha. This dish is a must-order, along with the Or Lua. I finished off with my favourite dessert, Xing Ren Toufu with Longan. Prices are a bit on the premium side, but it was quite worth it.

Here's an edited version: They serve fabulous Teochew cuisine! The price is reasonable, the service is good, and the setting is clean and nice. It is easily accessible since it is next to the MRT station. Enjoy! 👍🏻🥂

Food is alright. Average, traditional Teochew-style dining. There is room for improvement to attract a younger crowd. Service staff are friendly. They allow you to make food requests and change your plates promptly. Ambience is classic. Very traditional, old-school Teochew restaurant vibes. Will be back to try more stuff 🌟

Here's the lightly edited review: Pricey Teochew Zichar. Teochew Steamed Pomfret (S) ($75++) – Damn fresh. Crispy Fried King Prawn coated with Salted Egg Yolk (S) ($20++) 😋 – Very nice. Famous Homemade Beancurd ($15++) Stir-fried Kailan with Garlic (S) ($12++) Teochew Kway Teow (S) ($12++) Teochew Yam Paste served with Ginkgo Nut (S) ($5++) 😍 – Traditional and nostalgic. Cover Charges ($2++/pax) – Wet Towel and Tea Snack ($4++) – Heated Braised Peanuts Service-wise, still okay lah.

**2nd Visit:** January 7, 2023 11:45 AM Pre-CNY lunch Food was good all around: prawn roll (hay zhou), 大菜 (stewed mustard), roast chicken, deep-fried soon hock fish, stir-fried asparagus, 炒菜谱粿条, lo hei, and yam paste dessert. **First Visit:** One of the undiscovered Teochew restaurant gems in the North. They offer very good dim sum and other dishes. It's also a tea shop where you can order tea and have a nice chat.

The food is excellent. Service is way above excellent. Seafood Crispy Noodles have a lot of sauce, and the shrimps are huge and fresh. Chicken Feet are so succulent and tasty. Sweet and Sour Pork tastes 10/10, and the Teochew Pork Cold Dish is yummy.

Here's the edited review: We arrived on a Saturday noon. Plenty of tables were available, but we weren't sure if we should walk in directly or wait to be seated, as no one was at the entrance. So, we ended up scanning the safe entry and just walked in ourselves. However, someone did come after that and led us to a table. Both the main menu and dimsum menu were placed on the table, but no one explained the ordering process. We guessed we had to fill out the dimsum menu, but no pen or pencil was provided or found on the table. We ended up having to ask an 'auntie' for one so we could place the order. Basically, you just fill in the quantity in the brackets on the dimsum menu and then get someone to come over to place the order on their iPad. A male manager (we weren't sure if he was a manager, but he was in a black blazer) came over, took the paper, and placed the order, but we didn't hear him say anything at all. There were no interactions, but they were actually very friendly to the seniors dining there, though they seemed to care less about younger patrons. There's a $2/pax cover charge, which includes your choice of Chinese tea (teapot & refillable), a wet tissue, and water. They will serve a small dish of braised peanuts as an appetizer ($4); if you don't want it, you can just tell them. Items ordered: 1) Teochew Pig Trotter Jelly (4 pcs): My husband liked it; it was my first time trying it. The flavor was good, but I'm just not used to eating 'jelly meat' (it's a cold dish). 2) Siew Mai (3 pcs): Normal, nothing to rave about. It contained a small, full-sized prawn. 3) Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice: Normal, not as fragrant as I liked, but my husband 'kinda' liked it. 4) XO Sauce Pan-Fried Carrot Cake: Nicely pan-fried, crispy on the outside, soft and melty inside, but the flavor was not robust. Song Garden has a really nice XO Sauce carrot cake, though, and the one here cannot hold a candle to it. 5) Charsiew Bao: I really liked it because the filling inside was more of the leaner meat, and the bun was very soft. The bao's size was on the smaller side. Servers would help refill our tea whenever they walked by, but I think they could have explained the ordering procedure when they seated us, especially those wearing the black blazers, instead of remaining silent. I would go back to try their other offerings, though, because the food was not bad, to be honest.