Monday, February 02, 2009

Two Chefs Eating Place

C says:

Two Chefs is an unassuming little zi char eatery along Commonwealth Crescent, that despite its humble location has received quite a fair bit of good press for good, value-for-money zi char. When we finally tried it out on Monday it was absolutely packed, though I’m not sure how much was attributed to the fact that it was the 7th day of Chinese New Year that day, when families traditionally gather to celebrate the birth of mankind (or something).

Two Chefs was started by two friends from Malaysia who’d worked their way through many a restaurant kitchen for over ten years before finally striking out on their own. Their comprehensive menu reads more like a restaurant menu than a zi char one, yet prices are still within the zi char range (on the low side, at that). Service is also very efficient and, surprisingly for a busy zi char place, very friendly.


One of their signature dishes is the butter pork ribs (they’re called ribs but they’re largely boneless), prepared similar to butter/cereal prawns with a crumbly butter coating and curry leaves. This was very interesting – butter prawns are everywhere but I’ve never had butter pork before. I liked it, but I would’ve preferred the butter coating to be richer and more liquid, rather than a dry crumbly texture. It was also a bit sweeter than I would’ve liked. But top marks for the concept though.


We over-ordered as usual. We also ordered stir fried gai lan, tofu with either enoki mushroom or dried scallop (we ordered dried scallop but ours came with both scallop and mushrooms…), and hor fun with sliced fish and beansprouts. Total was just over $30, which I thought was really good value.

This is a good no-frills eating place serving almost restaurant-quality food at a fraction of the price. It’s also a good bet if you’re looking for dishes that are not bog-standard zi char offerings. My only complaint though, and it’s a big one for me, is that some of the older patrons don’t heed the no-smoking signs. There was a table of old fogies who were happily puffing away, oblivious to the no-smoking sign directly overhead. It didn’t help that the place was packed, and we couldn’t choose to sit far away from the smoking zone. Because I’m so sensitive to smoke, the residual smoke wafting over from the zone, coupled with the adjacent table of oldies, made for a rather unpleasant experience.

A says:

Good food. Good service. It’s not exactly cheap but the portions are generous. Once again we ordered and atetoomuch.

Two Chefs Eating Place
Blk 116, Commonwealth Crescent, #01-129
Tel: 6472 5361
Mon: 5pm - 11.30pm
Tue-Sun: 11.45am - 2.30pm, 5pm - 11.30pm
Closed every last Mon of the month)

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