Chao Shan Cuisine @ Raffles Place

It’s time for another Teochew restaurant, and this one came recommended by one of my nieces who happened to be working close by and frequented the place.

Being Teochew, my family is always on the hunt for good Teochew cuisine. Teochew cuisine is very different from other cuisine given the emphasis on freshness of the ingredient with very little else. Chao San Cuisine 潮汕林 is exactly that – freshest ingredients with little condiments and simple cooking.

Teochew Cold Crab 潮州凍膏蟹

The best Teochew Cold Crabs are made with crabs filled with “Gor”. We had to pre-order so that they kept some for us as it is limited in supply/

“Gor” 蟹膏 has been mixed up with “Neng” or crab roes 蟹卵, which are the eggs of crabs found in both male and female, or “Bau” 蟹卯, which is the semen of male crabs. “Gor” is the liver of moulting crabs, which are storing the extra fats to help them moult. So think of it like foie gras of crab.

The natural sweetness of the crab gor was beautiful to each mouthful, the natural umami and creaminess filing the palate. This made the crab meat second-class, even though it was firm and sweet as well.

Pork Liver Roll and Pig Skin Aspic 豬肝花+豬皮凍

Called “Nek Puay Dang” in Teochew, Pig Skin Jelly 猪皮冻 is made by boiling pig trotters and skins with braise spices to a gelatinous reduction that is placed in the fridge to cool and solidify into aspic. Pork Liver Roll 猪肝花 is a classic Teochew appetiser that is almost lost. In addition to the crispy taste of fried ngoh hiang (five-spice meat rolls), it was characterised by the addition of pork liver and refreshing jicama. Both items were delicious and devoured very quickly by the hungry horde.

Roast Suckling Pig 烤乳猪

We preordered a whole suckling pig to celebrate the joyous occasion, and it didn’t disappoint. In my humble opinion, their roast suckling pig stands out as one of the best in Singapore, boasting an impeccably smooth, glossy, and irresistibly crispy skin that was not greasy. The meat under the skin retained its tenderness and juiciness.

Oyster Pancake 蚝煎

Called “orh luak” in Teochew, this is a simple yet difficult to master dish. Many Teochew restaurants offer this but fail it getting the recipe right – right ratio of egg and potato starch, and doneness of the oysters. I am glad that this version was not too bad. The pancake texture was consistent and crispy, the oysters were plump and juicy, and cooked just right. One of the better oyster omelette in town.

Braised Goose 卤水鹅片

Goose makes its reappearance in Singapore only recently when Taiwanese geese were allowed to be imported. I have no idea why this particular poultry was not allowed, so as Teochews we were so deprived of our favourite dish – Braised Goose 卤水鹅片. When I heard they had this delectable dish on the menu, I made sure we had this for our lunch. I was quite disappointed as the goose was dry and overcooked. Just like the one I had at Chui Huay Lim, the best part of the dish was the braised bean curd 卤水豆腐 below the goose.

Poached Baby Sotong 白灼苏东仔

Fresh baby sotongs simply poached and served with soy sauce. Nothing fancy, nothing great too.

Teochew-style Steamed Pomfret 潮式蒸斗鲳

For Teochew-style steamed pomfret, you need a fish that’s around 1.2~1.5 kg. White pomfret has been under rapped for being an “unhealthy” fish. There were reports about cholesterol level of scaleless fish being higher than even red meat. That’s totally groundless, the scaleless part. But because pomfret is not a deep sea fish, it is more susceptible to surface pollution. This fish has been on our family table for every occasion, happy or sad. So for this joyous day, we ordered one too. Teochew style of steaming fish is a technique where the ingredients are steamed with the fish, as opposed to Cantonese steamed fish, the sauce is added after the fish is steamed separately. This resulted in a very soupy steamed fish that we can pour the sauce onto rice. 

Chives with Prawns 韭菜白炒海蝦 

Yellow chives 韭黄 are chives that deprived of sunlight during germination and growth, resulting in the yellow appearance due to the lack of photosynthesis. They also lacked the nutrition of chives, so would be considered a reject. Nevertheless, the prudent Teochew uses this as a vegetable for seafood, given the same texture as chives but not as pungent. Prawns are made in heave with chives, and no ginger is needed.

Black Olives Steamed Female Crab 黑橄榄蒸羔蟹

The crab was filled with crab roe, but the dish was a complete fail. The salty black olives used were the ones that we eat with plain porridge. Imagine the amount they have used, the steamed crab was really salty. And the two did not go well together. Not recommended.

Teochew Fried Kway Teow 潮州炒粿條

I don’t know when it became popular among Teochew restaurants in Singapore. Teochew Fried Kway Teow is unlike the hawker char kway teow – it is usually whiter and the ingredients are chopped kailan and savoury dried radish 菜脯 . This kway teow was full of wok hei and flavourful. Each piece of kway teow was distinct, which is very important for good char kway teow.

Orh Nee with Ginkgo Nuts and Pumpkin 金瓜白果芋泥

And finale to any Teochew banquet is always Sweetened Yam Paste or “Orh Nee”. No pork lard in the dessert, and not too sweet. The best ones have to be sweet and oily. The liquid in this one was cloudy too. Not one of the best, not even close. 

The ambience reminded me of Lee Kui – full of chatter (a bit too loud, and we were contributing factors too), yet oddly comforting and familiar. There were some good stuff like the cold crab and roast pig, and there were misses. Overall, a good Teochew tzechar store, but stewart of Teochew cuisine it is not.

Chao Shan Cuisine 潮汕林
17 Phillip Street #01-01/02 Grand Building, Singapore 048695
Tel : +65 6336 2390

Visited May 2024