After our last enjoyable zi char session, my colleagues and I were off to another. This time, one of my colleagues recommended his favorite hunt; Peng’s Restaurant. A Teochew restaurant set in the neighbourhood of Hougang.

Making reservation for dinner on Wednesday meant we went straight from work. Reaching slightly after 8pm, we were able to find a parking lot easily. Though one should note the restaurant occupied a unit in the row of shophouses that’s nestled within a private housing estate. So yes, if one is taking the public transport, it would be a 15 minutes walk from Hougang MRT station.

And from the menu (pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7), my colleagues and I ordered:-

1) Peng’s cold dish $38 (small) (topmost) – Normally, I wouldn’t order the cold dish since it more of a wedding banquet dish to me. But the colleague who recommended Peng’s Restaurant strongly recommended this. And on the plate, we had jellyfish, baby octopus, prawn, ngo hiang and century egg. And I loved this dish for the ngo hiang!

2) Liver roll, $10 (small) (above) – My colleague again said this is a must order because it’s their signature, and so we did. Served together with the cold dish (item 1), I got to say this was impressive! I thought it was going to be just a (puny) roll of purely liver, but apparently it wasn’t.

3) Spinach (sauted), $15 (above)

4) Oyster omelette, $12 (small) (above) – Loved how fluffy the omelette was.

5) Chai-poh kway teow (pan fry), $15 (small) (above) – I would definitely recommend one to order this! My first in having this, and its texture is unlike any that I had before.

6) Teochew braised sliced duck, $12 (small) (above)

7) Traditional braised pork with steamed buns, $15 (small) (above)

8) Pomfret, season price (above) – And Teochews are famous for knowing their fishes, and of course for cooking them. So it be a crime if we didn’t order any fish dish. And for choice of cooking, we naturally went with steamed! So good.

9) Sweet yam with pumpkin & gingko nuts, $5 (single serving) (above)

Despite the restaurant’s (slight) inaccessibility (mainly cause they are located in Hougang and I don’t really venture into that area of Singapore. lol), I honestly enjoyed the dinner at Peng’s Restaurant. Actually I am sure my colleagues did too. So yes, I would definitely recommend Peng’s Restaurant! Great Teochew dishes at affordable prices. Would definitely head back (one day soon) to try the other dishes on their extensive menu.

One can say my colleagues and I are really into zi char. After trying Sembawang Traditional Claypot Rice, Long Ji and Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood Restaurant, we were off next to Seng Kee Black Herbal Chicken Soup which was surprisingly located near our office.

And because it’s so convenient to reach the restaurant due to its close proximity (to our office), my colleagues and I have gone at least twice since. Both as walk-ins. However, it’s parking that posed as the biggest challenge. If one is lucky, one would snag a lot just in front of the restaurant. Else, the restaurant recommends parking at the temple located across the street.

To dine at Seng Kee, we were required to place our order at the cashier before the staff brought us to our table in the non air-conditioned space. However, as we arrived at the restaurant after 9pm on both occasions, the dishes with their signature black herbal chicken were all sold out.

Instead, from the menu (pages 1, 2), my colleagues and I ordered:-

1) 银鱼苋菜, $11 (medium) (above)

2) 咸蛋鸡, $13 (small) (above)

3) 排骨王, $12 (small) (above) – Give this a miss.

4) 腐乳炸花肉, $12 (small) (above) – I was impressed with this. Pork was fried to perfection; Crisp on the outside and juicy within. A must try.

5) 豆汁拉拉, $13 (small) (above)

6) 咸鱼炒饭, $6 (above) – This wasn’t on the menu. But 1 of my colleagues must have his fried rice. Thus, this was ordered. And this didn’t disappoint.

7) 腰子面线 (猪肉, 猪肝, 腰子), $5 (above) – Besides being famous for their black herbal chicken, apparently Seng Kee is more famous for their mee sua. However, one really shouldn’t think about sharing the bowl as the mee sua was strictly one portion. One could easily finish the noodles with a few big slurps. And we really enjoyed the dish. Soup was very flavorful with noodles cooked just right. Not too hard nor too soggy. And it certainly warmed the soul as we ate on a rainy night. Keke.

8) Johor 烤焦米粉, $15 (medium) (above) – Available in 2 sizes ($10 and $15). Almost similar to J.B Ah Meng‘s san lao beehoon, but not quite. But I honestly felt Seng Kee’s was pretty good!

Seng Kee is definitely a zi char restaurant worth checking out. Maybe it’s also because my colleagues came at non-peak hours (after 9pm) that we didn’t have to wait to be seated. Which was great of course. Keke.