On Tuesday night, I visited Joyden Treasures at Leisure Park Kallang and got to try some of their dishes. Being on a Tuesday night, it wasn't surprising when I found that the restaurant was deserted and many tables were empty. I went with my family which we have decided to splurge on some good food and enjoy each other accompany. It only happen when there's special occasion to celebrate. We would have gone broke if we dine like this every day!
The restaurant has a clean and modern look. Apart from the live fish tanks and excessive orchestra background music, it didn't feel like a Chinese eating place. The manager took our orders and he was very professional. He answered all of our enquiries and he was patient and understanding. While we wait for the chef to prepare the dishes, I munched on some achar (spicy pickled mixed vegetables) which was given to each table as starters. It didn't take long before our food was served.
5 Treasures Platter 【五福拼盘】 (SGD 72) |
Starting out we were served with the 5 Treasures Platter. The platter consist of chilled marinated jellyfish, fish cake wrapped in beancurd, prawn salad, pork & prawn roll (hae chor) and spicy squid.
First, I tried the chilled marinated jellyfish. It's very chewy and almost like biting down on rubber. It might be a little too hard for the elders. However, it's definitely tasty enough, a good balance of sweet and sour which was appetising and refreshing at the same time. I was turned off by the spicy squid. It reek of rotten seafood. The chef either didn't clean it properly or they serve us spoiled squid. I tried a few pieces and they all tasted bad.
The fish cake, prawn salad and the pork & prawn roll was tasty but nothing worth mentioning.
Steamed Tri-Colour Egg 【三色彩色】 (SGD 8) |
Although the idea of combining steamed egg with salted egg and century egg has been tried and true but as I have yet to tried it before; it was a rather new to me. I was looking forward to tasting it but was slightly disappointed as it was served cold rather hot. The idea of eating cold steamed egg was weird to me and I didn't enjoy it.
Crispy Fish Skin with Salted Egg 【咸蛋鱼皮】 (SGD 9) |
The fish skin was freshly fried and coated with a generous amount of salted egg sauce. However, to me, it is way too oily, too greasy and heavy. Two piece of this and I have enough of the fattiness in my mouth which I can say is the downfall of this dish. If not, a plate of this wouldn't be enough for me.
Sauteed Carrot Cake in XO Sauce XO 【酱炒萝卜糕】 (SGD 9) |
The smell of XO sauce was so inviting and delicious. This dish was well seasoned and I can still taste the original flavor of the yam in the carrot cake. However, the mouthfeel would have been so much better if wasn't for the overcook beansprout which cooked together with the carrot cake.
Golden Prawn with Citrus Mayonnaise 【橙汁虾球 】 (SGD 21) |
I am too used to having traditional Chinese dishes where I know it would definitely taste good. So when I am introduced with new flavours or creations, I couldn't accept it. To me, paring orange with prawn was a weird concept. Don't get me wrong, it's still delicious and all but I just can't seem to like it for some reason. In my opinion, I think I'll stick with the usual cereal prawn or salted egg prawn.
Grandma's Slow Braised Chicken with Garlic and Chives 【阿嫲老火焖韭鸡 】(SGD 34) |
The braised chicken was by far the best dish. The meat was soft and juicy. Chicken was fork tender and flavourful. The shine on the skin makes the meat even more tastier. The consistency of the sauce was just nice, not too thick or lumpy. The sauce was a little too salty and for the price of a whole chicken, I must say that the poultry was rathersmall.
The fried rice was cooked perfectly. It has a light mellow seafood scent. A very simple dish that doesn't need much seasoning. The flavour was light but savory. It would be better if the fried rice was topped with additional crab meat as I couldn't tell apart from the egg white with the crab meat.
To be exact, it taste exactly like xing zhou mi fen 【星洲米粉】. It is a pretty presentation but I do not understand how the 'clay pot' has anything to do with the dish itself. The vermicelli was a little dry and that was just me. I prefer my fried noodles to be on the moist side. Otherwise, it's a fantastic dish that can feed a crowd happily.
Crabmeat and Egg White Fried Rice with Dried Conpoy【 芙蓉瑤柱蟹肉炒饭】 (SGD18) |
'Gui-Hua' Tang-Hoon with Crabmeat and Egg in Claypot 【蟹肉桂花粉丝煲】 (SGD 18) |
Chilli Crab 【辣椒螃蟹】 (Market Price but it was SGD130 for 2 crab) |
Close up of that big fat juicy claw! |