October 27, 2022
吃淂福 Chiderful
There was a time when the amount of songs you can store or record is measured in minutes (45, 60, 90 , 180 minutes) rather than in gigabytes. That was when I used to save up to have pop songs like Pet Shop Boys' West End Girls and Alan Tam's Love Trap (爱情陷阱) recorded on cassette tapes at a music shop in City Plaza which was then a haven for shoppers as the shopping mall pulled in crowds with its affordable clothes from Hong Kong during its heydays in the 80s.
These days the forgotten mall is more like a wholesale centre for cheap clothing and fashion apparels; and a social meeting place for Indonesian domestic helpers during the weekends.
Who would have imagined a happening Tze Char eatery in this forgotten mall? A makan friend Kiat was tipped off by his aunty, who lives nearby, about the good food from this one-man-show Tze Char place. He came, tried, was wowed by the food and quickly made plans for us to check this place out.
Like me, first-timers would have a hard time locating the eatery in the mall. The unit is located at one quiet corner on the second floor, near an exit that leads to an overhead bridge across Tanjong Katong Road, connecting City Plaza and KINEX.
You would not find anyone to show you to your table or take your order when you first arrive as most likely Kelvin Lim, the owner chef, would be busy in the kitchen, which takes up a good half the unit space.
The menu is surprisingly quite expansive with many interesting dishes for such a small one-man setup. I have visited the place twice, tasted 10 over dishes (pictures not taken for some) by Kelvin and I love most of them. If I have to name a few, the fish head soup, sambal prawns and roast herbal chicken are on top of my list.
You can tell he has very good understanding of flavour and ingredients and I am impressed how everything is prepared from scratch by the former RWS Chef de Cuisine. His cooking talent shines through the dishes, from the way they are presented to how they excite our palate. He is quite a culinary genius.
Bear with the waiting time during peak hours and the lack of service (take your own cutleries, drinks etc) and I am sure you will have a good time here.
These days the forgotten mall is more like a wholesale centre for cheap clothing and fashion apparels; and a social meeting place for Indonesian domestic helpers during the weekends.
Who would have imagined a happening Tze Char eatery in this forgotten mall? A makan friend Kiat was tipped off by his aunty, who lives nearby, about the good food from this one-man-show Tze Char place. He came, tried, was wowed by the food and quickly made plans for us to check this place out.
Like me, first-timers would have a hard time locating the eatery in the mall. The unit is located at one quiet corner on the second floor, near an exit that leads to an overhead bridge across Tanjong Katong Road, connecting City Plaza and KINEX.
You would not find anyone to show you to your table or take your order when you first arrive as most likely Kelvin Lim, the owner chef, would be busy in the kitchen, which takes up a good half the unit space.
The menu is surprisingly quite expansive with many interesting dishes for such a small one-man setup. I have visited the place twice, tasted 10 over dishes (pictures not taken for some) by Kelvin and I love most of them. If I have to name a few, the fish head soup, sambal prawns and roast herbal chicken are on top of my list.
You can tell he has very good understanding of flavour and ingredients and I am impressed how everything is prepared from scratch by the former RWS Chef de Cuisine. His cooking talent shines through the dishes, from the way they are presented to how they excite our palate. He is quite a culinary genius.
Bear with the waiting time during peak hours and the lack of service (take your own cutleries, drinks etc) and I am sure you will have a good time here.
吃淂福 Chiderful
810 Geylang Rd, #02-73 City Plaza, Singapore 409286
Opening Hours
1:00pm - 9:00pm
Closed on Mondays
