I first wrote about Eastern House of Seafood Delicacy in 2014 and since then we have been back there for our family meals quite a few times. The food has always been good and prices reasonable and we like that it is located at the bottom of a secluded block of flats in Chai Chee. They have just relocated and even though they are in the heart of Geylang, their new place still has that “ulu” (secluded) feel and best of all, there’s free parking on the premises!
The owner, Alvin, and his head chef have introduced a few new dishes to entice potential new patrons! The first is a lobster Hokkien Mee ($38.80) made with live Boston lobster!
When we had our makan session there, our kakis were all very impressed with the (no lobster) Hokkien Mee except that some of our kakis felt the prawns were a little too small. Well, for those who want something more impressive, you can now go for the lobster Hokkien mee! The pork lard could be more crispy and the sambal chilli a little less salty, but otherwise the Hokkien mee is our latest “must order” dish on the menu! 4.5/5
Another newly discovered dish for me was the salted egg pumpkin and bittergourd. The combination of the crispy fried sweet pumpkin slightly astringent bittergourd and salty sweet salted egg sauce is a winner for me and this is a dish which even the most strident non-vegetarians would enjoy! The salted egg sauce here is very good and they still insist on using real salted egg yolks instead of the salted egg powder, so the flavour and the texture is very good. It is very balanced and it is properly emulsified so you don’t get oil pooling on your plate. You can order crabs, sotong and prawns with the same sauce as well, but if you just want to satiate that salted egg carving, this dish would give you the most bang for the buck! 4.5/5
Yet another new dish was their tea smoked chicken. This is not commonly found at the zi char but it was another dish that everybody liked the first time we tasted it. The chicken is first marinated and steamed before it is smoked in the wok with tea leaves. The resulting chicken is tender and juicy with the distinct flavour of tea smoke. 4.25/5
Fish head steamboat has always been on the menu but it had never been their signature dish. The fish soup is good enough as a side order but it isn’t a place I would recommend to go just for the fish head steamboat as the soup just lacks that oomph and complexity. 4/5 (here are my recommended places)
However, this new location is the perfect place to enjoy a hearty steamboat , (when you visit, you will know what I mean) so the chef is going to focus on improving it. If he can get it right, I won’t be surprised if it becomes another spot on the foodie map for fish head steamboat.
I know a lot of zi char that have Dong Po rou on the menu, but I have yet to come across one that is worth recommending. Unfortunately, it’s the same with the Dong Po rou on offer here. The pork was melting-ly unctuous but the sauce just didn’t have that “must eat with rice” quality about it. Still, it’s the perfect food for those of you on a ketogenic diet! 3.5/5
Their BBQ sotong has always been a favourite of mine and is a must order whenever we visit. It is still done in a wok but with their open space, I reckon they should just grill it over an outdoor charcoal fire in the future! 4.25/5
There has been a change of chef since my first blog post. In fact there has been two changes. The present chef is from Malaysia and is very good. However, their kitchen is a little small and he is usually the only one cooking, so the food might take a while to get to the table. So, just keep that in mind and don’t say I didn’t warn you that the waiting times can be a little long especially when its busy!
Conclusion
Another place for good and reasonably priced zi char. Their new location in Geylang, with parking on the premises makes it a convenient place for a meal. They are currently also having a 2 for $30 Sri Lankan crab promotion which is worth going for!
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