Yummy Palace

Back in the 80s to the 90s, I frequented two restaurants. I would entertain customers there and because they were so good I would sometimes bring my family to dine there too. They were located almost side by side at the now defunct Novotel Orchid Inn. They were Charming Garden and Dragon City. Charming Garden was opened by the father of Mr. Andrew Tjioe, founder of the Tung Lok chain of restaurants and specialized in Hunan cuisine. Dragon City served Sichuan food. Whoever I brought there love the food at these restaurants.

There are good overpriced restaurants but a good restaurant should still be reasonably priced. Needless to say the food must be good. The service should be friendly and reasonably good. There must be ample car park too. After so many years, I have dined at some of the finest Chinese restaurants here at their peak over and over like the above, the old original but defunct Swatow, Hai Tien Lo, Wah Lok, Hua Ting, Crystal Jade, Imperial Treasure, Lei Garden, Li Bai, Man Fu Yuan, Min Jiang, Peach Garden, Tung Lok, etc. There are too many to name but I do not get tired because Chinese food has great variety - Hunan, Sichuan, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Heng Hwa oh it is exhaustive. More importantly, I am happy to discover new ones, unique ones but they must always be good ones. Last year I recommended what I thought was my favourite recommendation - Le Chasseur.

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This year, I recommend what could be my favourite restaurant for the year even though we are only in February.  A good restaurant is one that serves good and delicious food. A very good one has the same but is priced reasonably with value for money. An excellent one is one that has the same but with convenient parking space and is not too far away and that has brought me to this place called Yummy Palace. Even the name is simple but unique as Chinese restaurants used to have names like with something Chinese and ends with Garden, Court, Palace, etc. 

This one ends with Palace but its called Yummy and it is found at an industrial estate like where birds don't even lay eggs there. A grand stairway with two stone lions leads you to this.

The decor is proper and very Chinese indeed. There are also antiques or replica of Chinese antiques on display quite abundantly. 

The usual ala carte menu or set lunches and dinners are available and also special promotion for those who simply loves the exquisite.

I wanted a basic and usual menu set to know how good they are. 

The first item served was the chicken in pig stomach. What a name! Its not as if a pig has swallowed a whole chicken. I last had a good "ter tor tng" at Le Chasseur but this one takes the cake as it is even better. It was in a hotpot and the soup's just like the double-boiled type, thick and strong with bits of mushroom, wolf berries besides the chicken and pig stomach. It is also peppery. 

Very delicious. Must try!  

Marble Goby or "Soon Hock" with their special "yao cham" in a thick and sticky gravy is absolutely great here because you could taste the really hot oil dip it went through where even the bones and fins are crispy. 

What a gem of a dish here.

This chicken is succulent and so well herbalised. At another time I had a go at their roasted chicken which was fabulous. Tender with very crispy skin and that takes skills to do that. 

The Gu Lou Yok or Ko Lo Yok is very special. Its like a fire and storm combo. Maybe fire and snow is more apt. As you know this is crispy sweet and sour pork which went through deep frying and then it was served in ice. First time I saw it I thought it is an interesting contrast. Its like Disney on Ice. I think I shall call it "Pork on the Rocks". All we need is to pour some good old whisky also on the rocks to compliment. Excellent.

Deep fired soft shell crab probably with garlic and other garnishes. Its a little fiery with some chilli powder seasoning.

The easy to eat, healthy and prosperous dish of spinach, mushroom with abalone. 

This is quite common but it is well executed.

The fried rice was filled with shrimp eggs. On another occasion, we had the sausage rice in lotus leaf. That one is delectable. Too fragrant for your own good even as it came last and you are already filled up and you decide to have just a little and after one spoonful you could not put the spoon down. Worse, you will decide to have another bowl. 

If you were just to glance at it, you may not notice this is the washroom for it looks imperial. 

The dessert is an improvised "cheng tng" that comes with peach gum. The dark brown stuff is used in original cheng tng. They called it "Pangdahai" or 胖 大 海?

It is a actually from the seed of the "Sterculia Lychnophora" or the Malva Nut tree. It is believed to have healing properties and to remove heatiness. I know about it because when I was a little boy, my late grandmother would prepare this crack the seed and soak in water and the brown masses start coming up and expanding. 

I browsed through the menu and there are lots of other dishes I have not tried. As I was leaving I saw another table being served lobster porridge. The food list should be enough for you to visit on many more occasions and try all of them and I certainly will. I like the spaciousness of this restaurant. Its like travelling business class. Its business class in an industrial estate.  

I think the restaurant was at one time in Joo Chiat as Yummy Claypot and later relocated to Kalland Pudding as Yummy Recipes and now at 87, Defu Lane 10 as Yummy Palace. From pot to recipes and now Palace! You would have noticed that I have used words like fragrant, delicious, very good, delectable, excellent,  etc. but I did not used yummy. They do most things very well and in their unique way. I brought some sharp-tongued food fiends er I mean friends who has eaten everywhere including around the world and as they ate I just watched their body language and facial expressions. They were chewing, biting and tasting like judges and gently nodding their heads in approval like those live TV talent and cooking shows. They were in unison that it was a great meal and that they will be back. You should make it a must try too. 

I have one word for you - Yummy!!!