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2010-08-21
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I made reservations about a week prior to our visit, and was utterly disappointed with the service over the phone. This restaurant is no cha chaan teng (local tea restaurant) or dai pai dong (outdoor Chinese food stalls), and so I expected a little more I guess. When I spoke to the lady over the phone, I asked if I could make a reservation. She then replied with me a 'when? because if it's for dinner we are fully booked till next month'. So I told her I wanted to come for lunch, Thursday, at 11.
Okay, phone conversation aside, our service at the restaurant was acceptable. We actually arrived on the dot and were turned away because their kitchen was "not ready yet" and give them 5 or so minutes. Say whatt????
Now, food!
We decided we would forgo the signature Hainan and Roast Chicken Rice set, and went for a Bak Kut Teh ($88) (for me) and a Seafood Laksa ($88) (for E). These lunch time 'sets' come with a drink too - coffee or tea.
Our sets arrived together, and we tried each other's, to see what we liked/disliked. My Bak Kut Teh was most disappointing, since I was expecting something more herbal and peppery with tender ribs... that it not what I got.
In my dark red soup there were plenty of wolfberries and dates (and even dried lychees) in this soup to make it way too sweet for Bak Kut Teh and resemble the Chinese herbal soup (for the ladies - "bo huet"/help produce more blood). I'm not saying the soup was bad, I just wasn't expecting it to taste so sweet and mask any signs of spices and pepper (if any was added...). Other components included dried tofu puffs (tofu-pok), coriander for garnish and pork ribs that were so dry, tough and chewy I struggled to eat them...
The other parts of my lunch set included a dish of chopped deep-fried dough sticks ("yao-tiu"), a bowl of white rice and some chilli-infused dark sweet soy sauce and a few pieces of bak choy. While the dough sticks didn't not impress, being soggy and nothing like the ones at good local restaurants serving congee, I loved the rice! Each grain doesn't stick to one another, and was cooked perfectly - not soft but not undercooked either...pure comfort with the dark soy sauce. Ahhhh I must make a mental note to ask what brand of rice they use when I return!
E's Laksa was also not what we were expecting, but not bad. Hainan Shaoye's version is spicier than the laksas I've had locally, but same spice-level as they do it in Singapore. The soup however, is very watered-down to a thin broth with a mild taste of coconut only. Now a little mention of other restaurants serving Sing/Malay cuisine - Good Satay in TST East offers a good bowl of laksa that has a very rich broth - too rich to drink but delicious nonetheless. Meanwhile, Sabah Malaysian Restaurant in Wanchai has a hearty curry broth that is right in between Hainan Shaoye's and Good Satay which we thought took first place between the three.
Hainan Shaoye's big bowl of seafood laksa came with toppings of tofu puffs, sliced fish cakes, two large shrimps and some fishballs. These all fared very well, and the two shrimps which E gave to me were fresh and bouncy.
We vowed to return, not for a repeat of the food we had ordered this day, but for the highly controversial Chicken rice meals!
For original post: http://gastronomerr.blogspot.com/2010/08/early-lunching-at-cwb.html
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