Chin Lee Restaurant has earned itself a loyal customer base since opening in 1973. Offering traditional Teochew cuisine such as Ka Pei Pai Gu coffee pork ribs and classic fried oyster pancake, their fuss-free eatery provides tasty Teochew meals at reasonable prices.
At our restaurant, we provide set menus as well as a la carte options.
Teochew Steamed Pomfret
Teochew Steamed Pomfret is an iconic dish of Teochew Cuisine. While other Chinese cuisines rely heavily on heavy sauces for their dishes, Teochew relies heavily on quality and fresh ingredients instead. Furthermore, its lighter cooking methods such as steaming, poaching or braising make for lighter fare overall.
Its distinctive flavors come from salty mustard and pickled plums, making this dish very popular during Chinese New Year celebrations.
This hearty and healthy fish dish makes the perfect pairing with rice! Packed with protein from the fish, fresh mushrooms and tomatoes provide vegetables, while salty pickles and plums bring minerals essential for good health and Chinese pomfret is an excellent source of iron and magnesium which are both essential elements for proper blood functioning.
On top of its simplicity, this fish dish is also effortless. Simply clean your fish, make some cuts on each side to allow even cooking, lightly score its skin to allow seasoning into its flesh and marinate it for several hours with salt before adding fresh ginger slices, salted vegetables, Hua Tiao wine and Shao Xing cooking wine before steaming it all up!
Chai Por Kway Teow
This stall serves up one of Singapore’s best renditions of char kway teow, drawing long queues every time they serve it up. Their rendition offers an appealing blend of moist, slippery hor fun (wide flat rice noodles) and long cylindrical yellow wheat noodles; combined with tender fish cake slices and chewy Chinese sausage. A drizzle of dark sweet soy sauce adds depth, depth, smokiness, sweetness, saltyness, sweetness as well as tangy zestiness from lime juice add tangy zesty notes. Every plate comes complete with crisp bean sprouts, small blood cockles bouncing around in waves and wispsy eggs for garnish.
This family-run business was started by the grandfather – father of the current owner – back in 1968. They have since run it successfully for nearly 50 years, becoming well known for the consistency in quality and flavor of their char kway teow dishes both wet and dry varieties; with their wet version being known to contain garlicky goodness as well as delightful wok breath!
Malaysian and Indonesian customers especially appreciate their Muslim-friendly version, sans pork fat, which is particularly delicious and filling. While not as rich, every bite packs plenty of wok hei.
Fried Oyster Pancake
Ah Chuan Fried Oyster Pancake is a traditional night market dish from Taiwan featuring generous portions and affordable pricing. A variation on traditional oyster omelette, this pancake uses starch (typically sweet potato starch) mixed into egg batter to thicken it and wrap with small Pacific oysters before being deep fried until golden crisp and seasoned with salt, pepper and savory sauce for flavorful effect.
Teochew Oyster Pancake uses only sweet potato starch and one chicken egg; however, this version adds flour for an airier texture that makes a subtle but distinct difference to its taste and savouriness. Best served with various condiments to boost umami flavors like sweet bean sauce or chilli pepper sauce for maximum flavour enhancement.
Making the perfect Fried Oyster Pancake starts with fresh ingredients. This means shucking oysters and discarding any shell fragments before frying. Heating oil to 350degF ensures crispy breading – using a meat thermometer is best to test this temperature of oil. Once heated, carefully and slowly dip each oyster in batter before carefully and gradually placing it on hot pan until they turn deep golden brown and are lightly crisp before draining on paper towel before removing them from pan for serving.
Orh Nee
Orh nee is a beloved dessert associated with Teochew cuisine, often found at restaurants specializing in it as the final course. Yom lovers should definitely give this tasty starchy pudding a try; but don’t be intimidated by long queues at Teochew restaurants that specialize in it–there are other places you can satisfy your cravings for sweet, starchy pudding!
Garden Pastry & Cake in Aljunied is well known for their Yam Roll ($4.20), which features a layer of cake wrapped around a thick block of yam coated in yam-flavored cream and finished off with gingko nuts. Meanwhile, Rachelrax Cakes are famous for their galaxy cakes; but don’t overlook their Orh Nee Tart ($8.90)- a delicious buttery pastry filled with orh nee and ginkgo nuts that’s certainly worth every calorie.
Keong Saik Bakery is an esteemed local staple, famed for their Mao Shan Wang Cruffins and Burnt Cheesecakes as well as their homemade Orh Nee ($5 for two). Their Homemade Orh Nee is a decadent treat made of buttery crust filled with silky yam paste and chunks of ginkgo nuts – guaranteed to satisfy.
Orhhsome is a newer homegrown brand offering orh nee-based treats, featuring desserts made with yams that have been steamed for 30 minutes before mashers mash, filter and filter again until their texture resembles that of pure creaminess. Each dessert boasts the tart sweetness of ginkgo nuts as an unexpectedly delicious crunch; creamy versions even boast surprising refreshing qualities!