Tsui Wah reopens at The Heeren after a long hiatus

HK chachaanteng (茶餐廳) chain Tsui Wah recently reopened its Heeren branch after a long hiatus, sans fanfare. Like many other F&Bs in SG, the myriad of Covid-19 SMMs had forced Tsui Wah to put its operations at The Heeren on hold for a protracted period.

I decided to pay Tsui Wah a visit on New Year's Day – rather fitting given that the reopening of its Heeren branch heralds the dawn of a new era, plus this marks my maiden visit to its Heeren branch. The only other Tsui Wah outlet I've visited is Clarke Quay – when it opened in Jun 2018.

The entrance to Tsui Wah – located on L2 of Heeren, is via Courts located on the ground floor, which could make for some nice pre- or post-meal walking.

Entrance to Tsui Wah via Courts

Tsui Wah entrance

Customers may choose between air-conditioned or al-fresco seating. The former was clearly the preferred option during the day, though I suspect that come nightfall, the latter would make for some interesting people-watching in the heart of Orchard Road, especially with the Christmas light-up.

Air-conditioned seating

Al-fresco sitting

On to the menu, what differed from 3.5 years ago was the expanded range to include the likes of baked rice and sizzling plates. Price-wise, some dishes remained consistent (eg Milk Tea and Condensed Milk Bun), while others had increased by up to S$2 (eg Kagoshima Pork Mixian). We ordered a mix of Tsui Wah staples as well as newfangled offerings.

First up to arrive was the Condensed Milk Bun (S$4) which is one of Tsui Wah's signature offerings. While the bun remained as crispy and tasty as ever, the price point of $4 appears somewhat on the high side for what is essentially two pieces of bread without any meat.

Crispy Bun with Condensed Milk (S$4)

Next up was the Signature Tsui Wah Pork Chop Bun (S$8.50). Unlike your typical round burger, Tsui Wah's pork chop bun comes in oblong shapes, possibly the same buns as the Condensed Milk Buns. Although the Pork Chop bun costs twice as much as the Condensed Milk bun, I would deem the former to be of greater VFM considering the rather well-apportioned slab of pork spanned the entire length of the bun.

Tsui Wah Signature Pork Chop Bun (S$8.50)

The acid test of any self-respecting HK eatery lies in its HK wanton noodles. Traditional HK wanton noodles is of the soup version, but Tsui Wah seems to be cognisant of Singaporeans' proclivity for the dry variety, so it offers both versions. We ordered the Tossed Noodles with Shrimp Roe Wantons (S$11.50) ("tossed" implies the dry version). It was an astute choice – the noodles were tossed with a sauce so delectable that the noodles could be polished off on its own. Nevertheless the plump shrimp roe wantons served as welcome icing on the cake.

Tossed noodles with Shrimp Roe Wantons ($11.50)

Next up was another chachaanteng staple – Baked Fried Rice with Pork Chop in Tomato Puree (S$15). This was a competent dish which again did not stinge on the pork chop – the surface of the baked rice was almost completely smothered with thick chunks of pork chop.

Baked Fried Rice with Pork Chop in Tomato Puree (S$15)

Moving away from the staples to one of the newfangled dishes was Char Siew Scrambled Egg Fried Rice (S$14). This is possibly one of the most visually-appealing dishes in Tsui Wah – reddish-brown charsiew resting against a backdrop of yellow scrambled egg. Not only did this dish stand out with its colour contrast, every component of this dish was executed to perfection too – the pork belly slabs were evenly-charred and juicy, the scrambled egg was done to the right degree of runniness, while the fried rice was bursting with wok-hei.

Char Siew Scrambled Egg Fried Rice (S$14)

We ordered a soupy dish in a thinly-veiled attempt to "balance" out all the other heaty dishes. The name of this dish – Kagoshima-style Braised Pork Cartilage & Wontons in Fish Soup with Mixian (S$10.50) is such a mouthful that I could have finished slurping up this dish in the time taken to pronounce its name. Joke aside, its long name is well-deserved as the dish brims with flavour from the heady mix of pork cartilage, shrimp wontons and fish broth. If you are undecided on what your meat leanings are – this dish alone will put paid to your #firstworldproblems dilemma.

Kagoshima-style Braised Pork Cartilage & Wontons in Fish Soup with Mixian (S$10.50)

Despite 2022 being the Year of the Tiger, it dawned upon us when the Grilled Lyon-Style Pork Chop on Sizzling Plate Set (S$19) was served that the dishes we had ordered were overwhelmingly porcine in nature. As far as VFM is concerned, this Set takes the cake hands-down. Apart from the star of the show – the Sizzling Plate served with two huge slabs of pork, veg and a baked potato, the Set also came with a Toast, a Drink (choice of HK Milk Tea or Yuan Yang), and a Cream Soup. I would even go as far as to say that this Set sufficed to be shared between two persons of average appetites. The Pork Chops were a familiar presence to us by now as they had featured in several prior dishes, but what stood out was the Onion Gravy which elevated the humble pork chop by a few notches. The Toast and Cream Soup were decent sides – on hindsight I suspect the former was meant to be dipped in the latter, though for some reason we did not try out that combination. For the choice of drink I ordered the HK Milk Tea – served in Tsui Wah's signature cute cup which would not look out of place in Beauty and the Beast.

Grilled Lyon-Style Pork Chop on Sizzling Plate Set (S$19)

We had clearly overestimated our appetites as the amount of food ordered turned out to be meant more for 6 pax rather than 4. But instead of focusing on our bursting seams, it could be viewed in a positive light that the new year will be filled with as much abundance as this meal.

Tsui Wah

The Heeren, #02-02

Daily 11am-10pm

No Reservations; Walk-ins only