Hey Kee – HK Style Seafood in Singapore

Hey Kee HK Seafood (“Hey Kee”) is a Retro HK Dai Pai Dong-style live seafood restaurant located in Guillemard Village in Geylang. Hey Kee occupied the ground floor of the main building, setting a lively retro Hong Kong theme complete with fish tanks filled with live seafood such as lobsters, crabs, prawns, clams and fish.

Hey Kee

The restaurant dining area is divided into “Indoor” and outdoor. Although you are seated indoors, it is decorated like you are seated outdoors, just like a Dai Pai Dong in Hong Kong. Filled with bright lights, signboard and they even include a barber shop for the fun of it. The outdoor seating is simpler, filled with round tables and red foldable chairs. There are huge air conditioners and retractable awnings to the diners cool and dry.

Outdoor Dining Area

This review is based on our two visits to Hey Kee.

Menu P1

Menu P2

Double Boiled Pig Stomach Chicken Soup with White Pepper [$36.80]. Hongkongers are known for their love of the soup. Therefore, we decided to order one to start our meal. The pig stomach soup is robust, sweet and with a hint of pepper. Unlike the Singapore version, the pepper taste is very mild, it is more soothing than spicy awakening. Meanwhile, the pig stomach is soft with a bit of chewiness.

Double Boiled Pig Stomach Chicken Soup with White Pepper 

Live Clam Black Bean Sauce [$25]. The clams are fresh, plump and juicy, while the medley of cut chilli, onion and a generous dollop of black bean sauce infused a familiar flavour in this dish.

Live Clam Black Bean Sauce 

Deep Fried Cuttlefish with Salt & Pepper [$20.80]. This is probably the dish that I associated closely with Hong Kong’s style of food. The cuttlefish is tender, brownish, and coated with aromatic salt and pepper that almost looks like a curry powder. The version here is very good

Deep Fried Cuttlefish with Salt & Pepper 

HK Street Style Shark Fin [$12.80]. A very generous portion of the HK Street Style Shark Fin. Don’t expect to be served real shark fin here, but the robust and gooey soup is very comforting. LD enjoyed this dish.

HK Street Style Shark Fin 

Signature Braised Lamb Stew with Beancurd Skin [$42.80]. A dish commonly served during the cold season in HK. The lamb is tender, not gamy and fork tender. I like the fermented taste in the gravy, the aroma and it blends nicely with thick cuts of radish. This beancurd stick is still a bit though, it needs more braising time to soften it and absorb the gravy.

Signature Braised Lamb Stew with Beancurd Skin

Temple Street Crispy Roast Chicken (L) [$39.80]. It is one of the dishes that you need to pre-order during reservations. The skin is paper thin, super crispy and coated with crispy garlic. The flesh is tender and succulent, even for the breast. It is one of the yummiest roast chickens I ever tried.

Temple Street Crispy Roast Chicken (L)

Steamed Fish with Chopped Yellow Chilli - Turbot [$108]. This is the first time I have a turbot for steamed fish. The fish is very fat and covered with the chopped yellow chilli. Surprisingly, the yellow chilli tasted sweet and tangy, almost pickled-like. Together with soy sauce, it infused sweet, savoury and umami flavour to the fish.

Steamed Fish with Chopped Yellow Chilli - Turbot 

Red Grouper – Steamed Hong Kong Style. The red grouper is different compared to the turbot. The flesh is firm and bouncy and it did not absorb much of the superior soy sauce.

Red Grouper – Steamed Hong Kong Style

HK Style Sauteed Chives with Dried Shrimp [$23.80] & Sizzling Kai Lan with Dried Prawns in Claypot [$23.80]. Two types of vegetables we tried at Hey Kee. They both have the same characteristics, crunchy and a bit oily. The dried prawns were supposed to add more flavour, but it seemed to be an overkill for me.

HK Style Sauteed Chives with Dried Shrimp 

Sizzling Kai Lan with Dried Prawns in Claypot 

Stir-Fried Lobster with Potato Noodles in Superior Broth – Australia Lobster [$148/kg]. This was a treat from our Thai Friends. The noodle is smooth, silky coated in rich and creamy superior stock. The lobster flesh is firm and bouncy. Well, I enjoy the noodle and the gravy, instead of the flesh of the lobster.

Stir-Fried Lobster with Potato Noodles in Superior Broth –
Australia Lobster 

To the carbs, we tried Supreme Soy Sauce Fried HK Noodles (S) [$12.80] and Signature “Wok Hei” Hor Fun with Beef [$12.80]. Both of them are excellent. The fried HK noodles are thin, silky and loaded with umami flavours from the Supreme Soy Sauce.

Supreme Soy Sauce Fried HK Noodles (S) 

The Hor Fun is just heavenly. Solid “Wok Hei”, yummy seasoning, while the egg, beansprout and sliced beef complement the silky rice sheets nicely.

Signature “Wok Hei” Hor Fun with Beef

Signature Claypot Seafood Porridge [Market Price]. A signature Hong Kong Congee. The porridge is smooth, silky and infused with the sweetness of the seafood. The prawns and clams are fresh. It is a very comforting dish, though it is missing the you tiao.

Signature Claypot Seafood Porridge 

Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple [$22.80 Large]. We ordered this as the finale during our second visit. The deep-fried pork is crispy, while the sauce is sweet and tangy. The use of hawthorn in the sauce shows that they are not messing around with this dish.

Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple 

Service is good, friendly and efficient. However, once all your dishes are served, it can be difficult to get their attention. The boss also comes out to check on the quality of the food and to get feedback from the customers.

Menu P3

CBK verdict: Hey Key serves solid Hong Kong Dai Pai Dong dishes, plus the overall quality of the food is very good and very close to the taste that we get in Hong Kong. Don’t miss out on their Signature Claypot Seafood Porridge, Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple, Steamed Fish with Chopped Yellow Chilli, Temple Street Roast Chicken and the Supreme Soy Sauce Fried HK Noodles. Kanpai!! Cheers!!

Menu P4

Food & Drink: 8.25/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: 7/10

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Budget per Person: $26 - $50; $51 - $80

Hey Kee HK Seafood

102 Guillemard Road

#01-01, Guillemard Village

Singapore 399719

T: +65 9891 0950

W: https://www.heykee.sg/en_SG/

F: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554594802997

IG: @Heykeesg

OH:

Daily 11.30 – 15.00; 17.30 – 22.30

Yu Cun – Claypot Curry Fish Head

Claypot Curry Fish Head

Yu Cun is a local zi char restaurant specialising in Claypot Curry Fish head, using only premium and fresh fish. It was recommended by our friend C, for a quick lunch. 

Yu Cun

A must-order here is, of course, their Claypot Curry Fish Head ($30). The fish head is fresh and covered with lemak rich curry and loaded with ladyfingers, bean curd skin, eggplant, long bean and tomato. The curry absorbs into part of fish nicely, yet it was not overpowering and you can taste the actual fish taste. The low fire keeps the curry warm and nice to eat. Definitely a “rice thief” dish. 

Claypot Curry Fish Head

In terms of spiciness, I find it very manageable (CBK spiciness ratings at 5/10). LD thinks the dish can add extra heat, as the chilli and spice is simply not powerful enough. 

I suggest you order the Fried Beancurd Skin ($3.80). We added it into the curry fish head, let it soak for a minute before taking it out. The beancurd absorbs and carry the rich curry nicely, plus the crunchy texture making it very addictive. 

Fried Beancurd Skin

Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetable in Soy Sauce ($9.90). Yu Cun version of pork belly braised with mei cai. The pork belly is fatty and tender, while the gravy is salty infused with mei cai flavour. However, as a Hakka, I find this dish a bit watery and lacking the OMPH factor. 

Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetable in Soy Sauce

Marmite Chicken Wing ($11.90) is just delicious. The chicken was deep fried till crispy and evenly coated with sweet savoury marmite sauce. I can have the whole plate on my own. 

Marmite Chicken Wing

As we only order limited dishes, I end up ordering Ice Jelly ($3.50) for dessert. A nice and refreshing dessert. 

Ice Jelly

Service is friendly and efficient. Order is placed through tablet instead of the service staff. The restaurant is very open and remains cool even when the temperature was searing hot outside. If you are coming for lunch, I suggest you come around 11.30 to get your parking spot. 

The verdict: A must try place for claypot curry fish head and zi char. From the small batch of the dishes that we tried (4 out of 90 plus dishes in the menu), the taste and quality have been good. We look forward to our next visit. LD will definitely be asking them to increase the spiciness of their curry fish head next time around. Cheers!! 

Menu 1

Menu 2

Food & Drinks: 7/10 

Value: 7.5/10 

Service: 6.25/10 

Ambiance: 6/10 

Budget per Person: $11 - $25 

Yu Cun 

Claypot Curry Fish Head 

147 Upper Paya Lebar Road 

Singapore 534849 

T: +65 6286 0491 

W: http://yucun.getz.co

F: https://www.facebook.com/YuCunCurryFishHead/

IG: @Yucuncurryfishhead 

OH: Daily 11.00 – 23.00 (LO 22.00)

Ah Orh – Traditional Teochew Cuisine

Teochew Steam Pomfret

My first introduction with of Ah Orh Teochew Restaurant was back in 2006. This was before my foray in food blogging. At that time, Ah Orh runs like a neighbourhood restaurant, operated with no printed menu and most of the customers are regulars.

Menu Page 1

We kind of stop going to Ah Orh for no particular reasons and only start to visit them last year. Amazingly, the restaurant still looks the same, but now they have a printed menu and the service staff seems to be friendlier compared to the last time.

Menu Page 2

Appetizer here is Crispy Silverfish ($5). Crispy, salty and addictive. Good to eat on its own or as umami booster for a bland dish.

Crispy Silverfish

Cold Crab (Seasonal Price). One of the signature dishes here. Female crabs are used for this particular dish as it has sweeter meat and the roe is just delicious, especially when you dip it with the sweet orange sauce. I recommend that you pre-order this dish during your reservation, price about $75 per kg.

Cold Crab

The Roe

Chilled Jelly Pork ($12, $18, $25). One of the almost extinct Teochew dishes and you can only find this in a selected Teochew restaurant. Served chilled, you can taste the braising sauce and the crunchiness in the jelly. It is served with a tangy chilli sauce to help reduce the richness of the dish.

Chilled Jelly Pork - Large

Double-Boiled Winter Melon Soup ($35). We had this during my Mother in Law’s birthday celebration. It is one of LD’s favourite soup. Double-boiled with seafood and pork stock, the sweetness from the winter melon just rendered into the soup. Each serving is good for 6 to 8 pax, but don’t expect lots of broth.

Double-Boiled Winter Melon Soup

Double-Boiled Winter Melon Soup

Sliced Braised Duck ($13, $18, $25). Tender and succulent duck meat, well infused with the braising sauce. One thing for sure, the fats from the skin helps the meat to retain its juiciness. It served with braised pork belly and braised beancurd, they are equally delicious.  One of the best braised duck dishes in the market.

Sliced Braised Duck - Large

Prawn Roll ($13, $18, $25). Crispy with generous fillings. The prawns are fresh, together with the chestnuts give crunchiness to this dish. The pork fillings are generous; however, I find the texture a bit mushy.

Prawn Roll - Medium

Prawn Roll Fillings

Crispy Chicken with Sotong Paste ($18, $32). Ah Orh only makes small batches of this dish every day. So better place your order during reservation. It required superb skill to remove the chicken skin without breaking it. It is then spread with thick sotong paste and deep fried. The result is a paper-thin crispy skin, chewy yet tender sotong flesh and an awesome presentation. According to LD, this dish is very traditional and will slowly disappear as not many chefs are able to acquire the knife skills and it is very labour intensive.

Crispy Chicken with Sotong Paste

The Paper Thin Skin

Teochew Steam Fish (Seasonal Price). Perfectly steamed Pomfret in Teochew style. The fish is fresh and I like the firmness of the pomfret flesh. The broth from the plum, tomato, spring onion and chilli make the tangy broth an appetizing proposition. One of the must order dish in Ah Orh.

Teochew Steam Pomfret

The fish option is not limited to the above version, Ah Orh also offers different type of fish, such as grouper, red snapper, mullet, seabass, song fish and threadfin. For the cooking style, they have Hong Kong steam, deep fried, sweet and sour, and braised fried.

Teochew Kway Teow ($10, $13, $18). The thick silky hor fun exudes a solid dose of wok hei. It is fried with a top grade of soy sauce, together with chai poh (preserved turnip) and garlic, making this dish very appetizing.

Teochew Kway Teow

If you still have some space for desserts, order the Orh Nee / Yam Paste w Gingko Nuts ($13, $18, $25). The texture of the yam is slightly rough and dense. You can taste the fibre from the yam in each bite together with the gingko. The sweetness level is medium. It is good but not the best version of the Orh Nee.

Orh Nee / Yam Paste w Gingko Nuts  - Large

The décor of the restaurant is simple and aged. It seems the priority is given to the food instead of the décor. Service is friendly and efficient.

Overall, I am glad that we have made a few visits to Arh Oh in this past one year. As more of the traditional restaurant closing its door, it is time to enjoy those remaining few. The Teochew Food here is delicious and it uses the freshest ingredients. The price is value for money. Definitely worth a visit if you are looking for a Teochew Restaurant. Cheers!!

Food & Drinks: 8.5/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: 6.5/10

Ambiance: 6.25/10

Budget per Person: $26 - $50

Ah Orh Seafood Restaurant

115 Jalan Bukit Merah

#01-1627, Singapore 160115

T: +65 6275 7575

OH: Daily 11.00 – 14.00; 17.30 – 22.00