Thursday, May 31, 2018

Quan Le Yan Seafood (泉樂園海鮮)


The old-school Quan Le Yan Seafood (泉樂園海鮮) is one of those eateries we visit on casual evenings when we want decent casual home-style Chinese food that isn't too oily. This is the secret gem in a near enough neighborhood for me to have eaten there for decades. Initially I didn't know what sort of Chinese food it serves, but after a few years, I figured out that it's a Teochew seafood restaurant of sorts since it doesn't have any dishes of chicken or sweet and sour pork on its menu. It has braised duck and tofu, ngoh hiang and cold crabs.

However, the lady boss told us that this old-school eatery (since 1968) is closing at the end of June, and they won’t be re-opening in a new venue. OHHH. Haizzzz. Another one bites the dust. Then this place is definitely worth a few more meals before June. Its kitchen can be slow on busy nights, and the wait for our food could be up till an hour. BUT, it has consistently churned out whole fish that is steamed to perfection at each visit. To me, that is EVERYTHING that even top restaurants can't do that well. As usual, I don't have any issues with the service here.

That night, we came for its steamed grouper and cold crab. Somehow, the man hadn't eaten crabs this whole year. Hahahaha. He was allowed one crab all to himself then. Look at all that roe. I'm not as interested in crabs as he is. While the eatery has loads of vegetables on the menu, I especially like its version of stir-fried bittergourd with eggs. The kitchen sliced the bittergourd thin and left it still crunchy upon serving. Three dishes made for an awesome satisfying meal.


Quan Le Yan Seafood (泉樂園海鮮)
721 Havelock Road Singapore 169645
T: +65 6273 4960
Hours: Lunch noon to 2pm; Dinner 5.30pm to 10pm. Closed on Tuesdays
[Apparently this restaurant is closing for good at the end of June 2018.]

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