Swa Garden

When I was a child right up till being a youth, I must have attended numerous wedding dinners of relatives and friends or friend's siblings. Wedding dinners were mostly held at restaurants. Everybody during those days knew Sin Leong or Red Star restaurants. They were traditional. 

Due to so called modernisation many places have changed. New and modern are not always better not even good. If you listened to the radio everyday, you can't remember a single song. As we get older, my fear is that even if we do not have dementia, we may not remember much as almost everything or places we knew from our childhood days were removed, changed or gone forever. 

So I was happy to come for dinner at the Swa Garden Restaurant at 540-543 MacPherson Road. The signboard, gates that you see are all simple and traditional. Warning! You either come very early or be prepared to look all over for a car park. There is a nearby public car park at the HDB flats nearby and road side parking. Otherwise, you may have to park opposite at the industrial estate's road side.

Shark's fins. As traditional as it gets.

A typical cold dish.

Roast chicken with keropok. Unmistakable dishes for a wedding night.

Prawn ball which are actually prawns fried in a sweet tasting sauce.

The steamed red garoupa was good. They server pomfret too. A good steamed fish is harder to prepare than plain frying as it is about perfect timing and freshness of the fish. 

And I love to clear up the tiny bits too. This is my respect and appreciation for the fish and for a food well done.

Sea cucumber is good for your health especially for cholesterol. 

Spinach with mushroom and slice abalone.

This is again a typically traditional noodle dish.

This Or nee with "kim kway" or Yam paste with pumpkin was fabulous. Real good stuff. Not many restaurants these days can make this Teochew dessert well.

I would not say this is the best or a top restaurant in Singapore but this is a very traditional restaurant. A no frills restaurant that we could gather for a good meal with family or friends. $388 for a 9-course dinner for 10 but probably 12 could eat. No complain at all. I like it for being traditional and no frills plus its value-for-money.