Food picks: Tasty Teochew

Over the years, the cooking at Swatow Seafood Restaurant (formerly Fortunate Restaurant) in Toa Payoh has become better. That is because owner Jimi Tan has been busy recruiting good chefs.

Among them is a former chef from the now-defunct Mong Heng Teochew Restaurant, where he used to cook the popular Wok-fried Crayfish In Teochew Style.

That dish (seasonal price) is now available at Swatow and it is even better than I remember it to be. The crayfish is fried with plenty of egg and onions until everything gets dry and fragrant.

You can smell the aroma as it arrives at the table, and it tastes really good too. The crayfish is not overcooked, while the onions are fried till they turn sweet.

You can also find classic Teochew appetisers here that have become increasingly rare on restaurant menus. These include Chilled Sliced Braised Pig's Head ($8) and Chilled Braised Pork Knuckle ($8), which I enjoy for their succulent texture.

Dimsum such as Crystal Dumpling ($4.50) and Teochew Siew Mai ($4.50), which contains dried fish, are excellent too.

Where: Swatow Seafood Restaurant, Block 181 Toa Payoh Lorong 4, 02-602

MRT: Toa Payoh

When: 8am - 10.30pm daily, dimsum available till 3pm daily

Tel: 6363-1717

This article was first published on Jan 2, 2015.
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