Thursday, November 30, 2006

Por Kee Eating House 1996 (Air-Con)

Dry Beef Ho Fun

Yes, that is the full name of this place that they seemed to display everywhere...presumably since they opened in 1996 and are proud of the fact that they provide air conditioning? This was actually a totally unplanned visit. We needed something quick tonight on the way home, and figured that we would go check out the new Tiong Bahru Market. But while walking towards it, this restaurant in particular was emanating a rather pleasant smell of grease. So we stopped to eat here (69 Seng Poh Lane #01-02, 6221-0582), a random little local restaurant in the middle of a parking lot, of all places.

Champagne Pork RibsThe very humble and friendly wait staff told us that their signature dishes included some Thai-style fish, cereal prawns, and something called champagne pork ribs. Seeing that I'd never had the last one, we gave that a shot. What are champagne pork ribs, you might ask? Apparently they are pork ribs marinated in champagne beforehand. Actually, I couldn't even really taste the champagne in it, as it ended up being covered up in some dark sweet sauce, which kinda made it like Guinness Pork, but substituted with an alcoholic beverage of their choice (hmmm...Jaegermeister Pork, anyone??). It tasted very similar too, with a greasy sweet taste, and was pretty much what I was hoping for anyway.

We also got some of their dry beef ho fun, which I had a few hesitations about at first, seeing that I hadn't been able to find one locally that could compare to Hong Kong. And the pointless covering of shredded lettuce on top when it arrived further didn't make things look any brighter. But after getting that lettuce out of the way, I was pleasantly surprised to find a very enjoyable greasy taste that was not that much unlike the real deal. In fact, I was surprised that I didn't even need that Cantonese red chili oil stuff with this. Wow...nice job.

So this ended up being a totally random yet decently pleasant experience, which is always nice to have. It's good to note that they are open late too (with a discount during the wee hours), so maybe it's a place to hit up again one of these days. Maybe one of these days, it will also be worth it to finally make it to the new Tiong Bahru Market...let's just hope that another one of these side restaurants doesn't distract us from reaching there.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey! You've finally discovered this place. The tze char is pretty good. You should try the standard items such as hor fun and just a dish of fried vegetables.

Do try Sin Hoi San facing the main road, in the vicinity. SHS has a branch in Siglap but the original outlet serves pretty good seafood.

hugewhaleshark said...

Mmmm. This place is a local institution, man. Good find!

Feng said...

You must try their house tofu- it's excellent because they prepare the tofu from scratch, and it's simmered with snow peas, fish maw, and other delectables in a homemade sauce- it's just sublime!

Anonymous said...

I had dinner at Por Kee with my family last nite and we were all very disappointed with their signature dishes: champagne porkribs, cereal prawns, thai-style steam fish.
The porkribs are oily, tough and covered with more fat than meat! Cereal prawns and fish served are not fresh at all! I tot being such a famous tze char place, they should at least use fresh ingredients for seafood!!!

When we feedback to the waitress, she said oh, they must have mixed fresh and 'unfresh' prawns for you!! God, what a letdown it was last nite and I will not go back again after spending $175 on such horrible food!!

Anonymous said...

Cereal prawns were not fresh as some of prawn heads were detached from their body? Doesn't it signifies food not fresh?

Porkribs were like rubber.

Overall not good and disappointed. Won't go back again unless they improve...