The Eastern Restaurant:10 Years & Counting

The Eastern Restaurant

@ The Centrepoint, Orchard

13 September 2011

7.30pm

It’s been almost ten years. And they persevered.

Our city has evolved with the intrusion of modernity but traditions will always remain for the young to breath a fresh stale air of the past.


Regulars who appreciate Shanghainese cuisine or adores their Xiao Long Baos come back to The Eastern Restaurant again and again.

We bloggers were invited to relive the nostalgic moment of good traditional chinese cuisine. I always get fascinated when I see bloggers at work. It is as if the egg yolk resting in that dish is a shining bright star.

This was the first dish I’ve tasted. First impression last as I recalled the roasted lingering taste of the long green beans which was fried lightly with garlic. It goes perfectly with a bowl of white rice.

I was plesantly surprise to see 4 Xiao Long Baos sitting nicely on a huge piece of lettuce. Placing the dumplings on the lettuce prevents the thick skin of the buns from sticking to the bottom. Once it sticks to the bottom, there’s a high risk of losing all the goodness from the soup that is stored in the Xiao Long Baos.

Never forget to dip the Xiao Long baos into vinegar served with shredded ginger for that extra oomph.

Minced Pork Meat Fried Bun. An explosion of minced pork flavour with skin so tender and slightly crisp.

Surprise surprise! Where had all the small chinese tea cups gone? This giant glassware can contain more chinese tea to loosen up your throat if you gorge down too many Xiao Long Baos.

I’ve eaten warm and hot white chicken meat with steam rice before but I haven’t tried eating one which was served cold. To my surprise, the cold slab of chicken meat appears to be more tender after storing in the frigde. Even cold food could taste great in chinese cuisine.

Liu Sha Bao. How could you not order my favourite custard buns? But this little bun does not produce the volcanic oozing effect of custard when I poke a hole and press it down with my pair of chopsticks. I would love it if it the whole bun was filled with hot creamy yellow custard that would cause an explosion when your teeth sunk into it as you take a bite. It was one of the raves in the restaurant but it didn’t got me too excited after tasting the skin which is a little tough and dry.