Friday, August 22, 2008

Pow Sing Restaurant, Serangoon Garden

Pow Sing, chicken
This was an old school restaurant (65 Serangoon Garden Way, tel: 6282 7972 / 6286 4813) that serves, and is known for their Peranakan food and Hainanese styled chicken rice. Part of the reason I was drawn to this place was because of the way it looked and the pictures of dishes that were displayed at the front of the restaurant. Besides, the crowd density indicated that things cannot be that bad. I hoped. In the end, this turned out to be a good call (a revisit in order!) as the food was indeed tasty and prices were very affordable.

Another reason that drew me into Pow Sing was the chicken rice which looked good already from the front of the shop. Behind the glass screen,the chef was carving the birds onto platters for serving. No squashing of the chicken meat with the cleaver in this place. As it turned out, the chicken breast which was ordered was quite tender and dare I say, succulent. Paired with a none too heavy rice that held a prerequisite greasiness and sufficient aroma, I was pretty much already sold.

Still we were compelled to pick some other items from the menu.

Pow Sing, fried tofu
The Nonya deep fried tofu was deep fried egg tofu. Was not bad. If there was additional flavouring added to the exterior of the fried skins, it was lost to me. This dish was recommended by the server as a popular item and I could guess why after the first bite.

Pow Sing, sweet sour duck
This was described as a sweet and sour duck on the menu. We wondered at what the dish was about so we ordered a portion of it. Didn't turn out far from the described name but the sauce wasn't the sweet and sour variety that was commonly stir fried with pork and sliced fish that I had in mind. This was stewed duck in a broth of some spices and shredded onions that were boiled to a pulp. The onions gave the sweet taste but I couldn't identify what made the dish slightly tangy. This wasn't too bad - the meat was just a little tough.

Pow Sing, fried squid
These were deep fried crispy squid. A no brainer with not much that can go wrong. Pow Sing's rendition was quite good. In fact, it was very appetizing after the a squeeze of that juicy lime.

Getting seconds of their chicken rice was a good indication of how much I enjoyed the food. Can definitely see myself making plans to return.

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