Singapore food blogger Veronica Phua spent $1,127 for a meal at an eatery in Geylang, Sin Huat Eating House, which she describes as being worth every cent.
Here is what she said
Anthony Bourdain helped put Sin Huat Eating House on many a gastronome’s wishlist many years ago. And I couldn’t be happier to return because it had been too long since my last visit in October 2021 with @makanfuku.
With the exception of myself and organiser @terence.jee, our group that night was made up of first-timers, including a few Thai friends.
Our level of excited anticipation, however, was pretty much on par.
Knowing and accepting what to expect when dining here is key to having an awesome time. Patience is a must as there is a lot of waiting involved – from when you can place an order to when the food arrives.
This is because bossman Danny handles nearly everything himself. It looked to me like his sister is only in charge of straightforward tasks such as taking orders for drinks, distributing cutlery, serving the dishes and collecting payments.
The other lady (a friend told me she is Danny’s wife) chipped in to assist when she was not tied up with manning their “zhap chai png” stall.
Since Terence’s parents love Danny’s cooking, he’s been here several times, and knew to come prepared with alcohol and boxes of tissue. Don’t worry about bringing your own wine glasses if you intend to drink – Sin Huat can supply those.
After we busied ourselves with merry conversations for slightly over an hour, the food began arriving in the following order without too much of a wait in between:
- Otah – Made in-house, the mousse-like spiced patty was deeply aromatic and loaded with chunks of fish.
- “Gong Gong” – The snails were tender, succulent and flowing with juices. But what really made the dish a success was the fabulous dip that was sweetish, spicy and garlicky all at once.
- Scallops – Uber fresh and smothered in a lip-smacking black bean sauce, I reckon this is a must-order if you like shellfish.
- Steamed Squid – Insanely delicious! Besides the unapologetic amount of garlic, it was the texture – so remarkably tender, buttery-soft even, that blew me away. Can’t imagine a more perfect accompaniment than the tangy chilli sauce. One of my faves from this meal.
- Parrot Fish – Initially, @terence.jee and I were reluctant to order fish because we had heard from some people how expensive it can be. But we took the leap and went with bossman Danny’s recommendation anyway. Best decision ever. The catch of the day was revealed to be exquisite. Praises were sung, most loudly by the fish-lovers among us.
- Garlic Steamed Prawns – Butterflied and laid on a platter with a truckload of garlic, the naturally sweet prawns were awe-inspiring. @misssnatty’s unbridled enjoyment of the garlicky crustacean juice sauce was particularly fun to watch.
- Steamed Frogs with Brand’s Essence of Chicken – A classic that not many places serve these days. You bet we slurped up all that potent sauce in between gobbling the delectable frogs.
- Signature Crab Beehoon – For our table of ten, Danny was right on the money when he said three crabs would be enough. There was no faulting the perfection of the crustaceans but to be frank, the thin rice noodle’s the real star. Every “wok hei”-full, moist strand was saturated in the crustacean juice reduction, so it smelled and tasted like a million bucks.
- We played a guessing game of how much the bill would be. To our surprise, at $1,127, it turned out to be much less than all our guesses. @huatkaliao declared himself the winner as he was the closest at $1,400. @eechong wasn’t the only happy and relieved one to be completely wrong with his highest guess at $2,000.
- My verdict: The food is worth every cent. And it is best to visit Sin Huat Eating House in a bigger group because it works out to be better value, plus you get to try a wider variety.
- Thank you so much for cooking for us, Danny. Grateful to Terence for getting us together for this feast and to Christopher for the bottle of red. @luxebelly, it’s really nice to dine with you again in Singapore.