This branch of Rong Guang BBQ seafood (the other one is at Alexandra Village) is at the corner of Ulu Pandan Road and Clementi Road. Yes, that area that has been home to a number of restaurants in the past, all of which didn’t survive for very long. I hope the A&C curse doesn’t befall the Rong Guang here, cos it’s quite a good discovery for a late dinner that’s really close to home for us.
I wonder how the two outlets are related. Their name cards are almost identical, down to the menu (in Chinese) printed on the reverse; but both cards make zero reference to the location or even existence of the other outlet. Very strange.
I dare say that the food here was better than the Alexandra branch, but that’s not a very fair statement because the only similar dish we ordered was the seafood fried rice. I found the one here better – it had a better wok hei flavour, and they serve a kick-ass sambal belacan that goes with the rice perfectly.
Instead of the stingray, we ordered the sambal sotong. Although the squid was cooked perfectly – fresh and springy and tender, not chewy or overcooked at all, I don’t think this dish is particularly outstanding. It’s loaded with onions so it’s not very wu hua, and the actual sambal is neither here nor there. It’s not spicy, nor particularly sweet, just a bit blah.
The pai guat wong pork rib, on the other, was really good. This could rival any posh Chinese restaurant – the outside was crispy yet the pork was still tender, and the sauce had just the right balance of flavours. Not too sweet or sour. The dusting of sesame seeds topped off one of the best versions of this dish I’ve had in a while.
This place closes at midnight, so at least now we have a fallback dining option if we need food in the vicinity after 9 pm. The only possible problem may be the parking situation. We were here on a Wednesday night at about 9 pm, and the car park was ¾ full, even though only about 4 tables were occupied. I guess a large table of about 10 accounted for 3 to 4 cars. Parking is free, which is a plus, but I’m not sure if there will be spaces available during peak dinner hours.
A says:
I see parking as a problem at peak hours, but other than that, this place seems like a winner for us. Too bad it doesn’t have the avocado milkshake from AV though.
Rong Guang BBQ Seafood
301 Ulu Pandan Road
Tel: 6468-8290
Open daily 5 pm to 12 midnight
1 comment:
…submitted as a 4 star review on rong-guang-bbq-seafood-ulu-pandan
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