Food Picks: Favourites from the third wife

Sum Yi Tai, which opened about two weeks ago, means third wife in Cantonese.

It's a fun and trendy restaurant-bar that serves Cantonese favourites such as roast duck ($15), char siew ($12), noodles (from $12) and claypot rice (from $25, serves two) for lunch. At night, it offers Asian tapas.

The biggest draw for me is its daily soup ($6) - it was a watercress soup when I had lunch there last week.

It is served in a teapot and poured into teacups. Typically Cantonese, the soup is pure, robust and unadulterated.

My other picks include the XO Carrot Cake ($12) and Vermicelli With Jumbo Head King Prawn ($32, serves two).

The Cantonese-style turnip cake, or lor bak gou, is cubed and tossed with XO sauce, egg and beansprouts, has plenty of wok hei (wok breath) and a subtle hit of spice while the vermicelli, which has strong flavours of prawn, ginger and spring onions, is extremely appetising.

Where: Sum Yi Tai, 25 Boon Tat Street MRT: Telok Ayer/Tanjong Pagar Open: 11.30am - 2.30pm, 5pm - 1am (weekdays), 5pm - 1am (Sat), closed on Sun Tel: 6221-3665 Info: E-mail dragons@sumyitai.com

This article was first published on March 20, 2015.
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