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.
Jean Deng
5
We made a reservation for three people at 1 PM, but when we arrived, they didn't have a smaller table available and gave us a big round table, which I thought was suited for 6-8 people. We ordered their famous Oyster Pancake, Roasted Chicken, Beancurd with Shimeji Mushrooms and Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, Prawn Balls, and Teochew Kway Teow. Except for the Beancurd dish, which was nothing to shout about, the others were pretty good. The Sweet and Sour Pork, to me, is one of the best I've had; it was crispy on the outside.
The service staff were okay, but as we were non-Chinese, the waiter kept talking to us in Chinese until another staff member who spoke English helped us. Special mention to the staff member, Peggy, who was not only pleasant and helpful but gave us impeccable service. One thing to note is that the restaurant charges a $2 per person cover charge for tea, water, and a packet of wet wipes. I think they should do away with this, be flexible, and only charge a nominal fee for water if the customer doesn't want the wet wipes and tea, like many other restaurants.
Janine Tan
4
Enjoyed the various dishes we ordered as recommended by the staff. It was our first visit at this outlet. The ambiance is cosy and the service is good and efficient. All the Teochew dishes we had were delicious. For those who like dim sum, this restaurant serves it too. We will certainly be back again to try it soon.
Alex Por
5
Here's the edited review:
"Great atmosphere. The restaurant is well-designed, looks great, and makes dining much more comfortable. Food and service are great too. I found the chair a bit hard to sit on, which made my back feel a bit uncomfortable after a while, but overall everything is great."
Christine Ang
4
Not salty, and this is good. Healthy cooking. It wasn't crowded, so the staff kept coming to our table. The food is good, but the business isn't attracting a big crowd. Maybe they could do more promotions.
Hock Chye Lum
4
It's a hidden gem; I only discovered this place now, even though they've been here for almost two years (open during COVID-19). It's actually a sister restaurant of their main restaurant in Bedok. It's family-friendly, with mostly round table settings, easily accommodating 6-12 people. This place can be very crowded, so be there early to avoid disappointment. It's very spacious, has a nice ambiance, and is comfortable to dine in.
It's a Teochew restaurant, so you must try their signature dishes. Chilled Teochew Pork Trotter Jelly, Homemade Teochew Prawn Ball, and Teochew Kway Teow are some of the must-try dishes. There is currently a promotion for an extra value set available only for weekday dinners, which is truly value for money. You can choose from fish/prawn, chicken/duck/meat, and veg/tofu/omelette, served with rice, soup, and tea/water. All dishes tasted great, and the portions were decent for four adults. Especially the coffee pork ribs; they were tender, juicy, and flavorful. The Kway Teow also had 'wok hey'.
The only disappointment we experienced was not receiving our oyster omelette (蠔煎) order at our table during our 45-minute dining time (6:45 PM - 7:30 PM). We're not sure if they missed our order, but they claimed that it was still in the order queue even though we had finished our extra value meal. We simply had to give up in disappointment. You can't expect a customer to wait for an oyster omelette for another 30 minutes when they have already finished their dinner. Perhaps they just couldn't cope with the order and didn't mind losing one or two customers along the queue, as they would still sell it to a later customer (likely with a shorter wait time). That's a 2-star rating for Service. Hopefully, I can try it on my next visit (with a more reasonable waiting time).
Pang Lay Chi
4
Good place for trying out Teochew food. The steamed pomfret cost us $105 and could have been much better as it was tough and not tender. What a pity, since steamed Teochew dishes are supposed to be their signature. I liked the gelatinous pig trotter as it was very well done. The qinglong vegetable was good too, as were the Zhejiang pork ribs. We also ordered salted vegetable soup, which felt very homely. I did not quite like the fried oyster omelette and the fried Teochew kway teow, though a friend highly recommended them. We were a party of five, so it was fun to try the different dishes. It was my second time, and my first for dinner.
Darren Koh
3
Had an assortment of dim sum for lunch. Overall, pretty average. I reckon the cooked food might be better. It was quite crowded during lunch hour. The charsiew pau was probably the best of them all.
Chee Wen Lim
5
Authentic Teochew Cuisine.
Saturday Dinner. Luckily, we had made a reservation as the place was almost full. Being first-timers, we ordered a fair bit from the recommended list.
Food was served very fast, and they asked if we wanted to slow down the pace. However, the last three dishes did not come until we asked again. 😅
I would say the food was within our expectations of good Teochew cuisine, and portions were good. The only exception was the Teochew kway teow; the 'L' portion was hardly enough for 8 of us.
Rachel Yeo
5
A newly discovered little gem in the far-flung Canberra Plaza! Chin Lee Tea and Dine Restaurant serves up the most delectable of traditional Teochew favourites in a gracious setting highlighted by the impeccable service of its genuinely friendly and caring waiting staff. The decor is a classy hue of grey, matched by its silver-grey brocade-like tablecloth, with well-spaced tables accented by minimalist Chinese brush paintings. Truly a lovely, calm respite far from the madding crowd, with an ambience exuding cool calmness. The food was perfection itself, and every dish delighted! Indeed, there should be advisories drawn up on the addictiveness of their Coffee Spare Ribs, fresh succulent crispy mayo prawns, and their ngoh hiam sio bee! However, good as the food was, what stood out a mile for me was the gracious hospitality. It has been a long time since I have encountered "magic cups" – glasses and cups that were refilled quietly, magically, even before you noticed that they were emptying. My first visit was just to while away a small dim-sum lunch whilst waiting for some photographs, but you would think I was visiting royalty given the gracious and attentive service that greeted me in a restaurant busy with the lunchtime crowd. I returned that same evening with my mum – and we both had a feast! And we left with this little tune ringing in our hearts:
"Lovely, never, never change,
Keep that breathless charm,
Won't you please arrange it?
Cos I love you,
...just the way you look tonight!"
(Lyrics from "The Way You Look Tonight" by Dorothy Fields/Jerome Kern)