Nan Yang Dao 南洋岛 @ Thomson Plaza — Restaurant in Singapore

Nan Yang Dao started by Malaysian Chef Jackson Chu with brothers Wee Liow and Vincent Liow, specialises in dishes from different parts of Malaysia, such as Penang fried kway teow and Penang assam laksa. The Malaysian cuisine embodies a rich fusion of diverse culinary traditions, just within a short span of few years they opened a number of outlets to share the authentic flavors.

We started our meal with their staple snacks like muffin, polo bun and egg tarts.

The combination of flaky fragrant pastry crust cradling the creamy, rich custard fillings were simply yummy.

Puff Pastry Egg Tarts 酥皮蛋挞

The custard is mild sweet, smooth and silky in texture. It has a hint of vanilla that gives the egg tart a pleasant aromatic note that complements the creamy custard perfectly.

The combination of the sweet, crunchy topping and the soft, buttery bread creates a harmonious blend of flavors and textures. When enjoyed fresh and warm, with a cold slice of butter melting into the bun, it is an indulgent treat that is both comforting and satisfying.

Butter Polo Bun 酥皮牛油波罗包

Kopi butter offers a rich and indulgent coffee experience that is both comforting and satisfying. The combination of strong coffee and creamy butter creates a unique flavor profile and a smooth, velvety texture that is enjoyable to drink.

Nanyang Kopi Butter 南洋古油咖啡

A a delightful and refreshing drink that offers a harmonious blend of flavors. The bottom layer of grass jelly provides a subtly sweet and herbal flavor that pairs well with the more robust and slightly bitter taste of the black tea in the middle layer. The top layer of creamy milk adds a rich, smooth finish that balances out the flavors beautifully. When combined, these layers create a complex and satisfying taste experience that is both sweet and slightly savory, with a pleasant herbal undertone from the grass jelly.

3 Layers Milk Tea Grass Jelly 三色奶茶仙草

A good recommendation by Nanyang Dao for our dinner. The Classic Stir-Fry Beef Hor Fun is not only presentable and perfectly done with the "wok hei" flavours. Every bite was in consistent flavours and the pieces of Beef were not gamey. Ingredients were simple with onions, vegetables, beansprouts and carrots.

Classic Stir-Fry Beef Hor Fun 金典干炒牛河

The Lala Bee Hoon is a delicious and satisfying dish with the strands of Bee Hoon soaking up the Superior Broth. Its balance of flavours and pleasant Bee Hoon texture makes it a favourite among us. Through the dish's simplicity in preparation, Lala Bee Hoon is still an impressive dish for its rich and savoury flavours. The bowl of Lala Bee Hoon was good for sharing as its generous portion may be too much for a single pax. The aromatic flavours from the Chinese Wine and cuts of gingers elevated the dish too. They have the Chinese Wine separated from the dish and we can include them according to our preference.

Superior Clam Bee Hoon Soup 上汤啦啦米粉

The Nanyang Dry Chicken Curry with Plain Rice was rich and delicious. The gravy was thick and comes with a tad spiciness. The chicken was tender and the curry was aromatic.

Nanyang Dry Curry Chicken with Plain Rice 南洋干咖喱鸡饭

The curry paired well with the plate of white rice and half a boiled egg. The potatoes were boiled to soften and tasted good.

Ending our meal on a sweet note. The icy Chendol is a staple dessert in Singapore / Malaysian Cuisine. The pandan-flavoured green flour jelly, coconut milk and red beans were served over the shaved ice creating a harmonious balance of sweet, creamy and refreshing flavours.

Chendol 煎蕊

With the use of the caramelized taste of the palm sugar syrup aka Gula Melaka, it blends in beautifully with the slight saltiness of the coconut milk. The ice makes the dessert refreshing while the pandan jelly adds a subtle aromatic sweetness to each bite.

Food totally suits our tastebuds. On top of that, the staff are friendly and approachable despite working in a fast-paced environment with full...

Reached at 7:30pm on a Sunday and it was about 80% full. Placed an order at 7:40pm for 4 dishes (3 Noodle+Gravy dishes), a plate of Fried Carrot Cake and a sharing platter, for a total of 5 items. As for my order, I requested to change the prawns to pork, as I was a little allergic (rash).

By 8pm none of our dishes had arrived, not even the appetizer platter. Then around 8:10pm the first dish of White Beehoon came. Then about 5 minutes later my brother went to ask why the gravy dishes didn't come out together, as it was odd. They checked for us, then Fried Carrot Cake came out 5 minutes later at 8:20pm. Then we asked for the remaining 3 dishes. Then almost 10 minutes later the last 2 noodle dishes came out. It was strange having the gravy dishes served almost 20 minutes apart, as only 1 person could start first and the rest just watched that person eat. We expected the other noodles to come next, but it was the Carrot Cake instead.

And then for my dish of Sheng Mian, I realized the kitchen didn't replace the prawns with pork, but just removed the prawns altogether. The manager explained that they usually just gave 4 slices of pork and 2 more if the customer requested for a swap. She insisted that there couldn't be just 4 pieces, so I showed her there were only 4 small slivers of pork. And in any case, giving 2 small slivers of pork in exchange for 2 medium-sized prawns is honestly a rip-off. The manager got more pork added quickly, which was really kudos to her.

It was then we inquired where the last dish was, and they insisted it was coming out. We finished around 8:45pm, and the Deep-fried Platter was still no where to be seen (1 hour already), so we asked them to cancel it. At this point my brother highlighted to the manager that all the tables after us had their dishes served together.

As we made our way to the counter to pay, suddenly the platter was served to our table. We told them we already cancelled it but my mum insisted to pack it and go, just to be nice to them.

Service was below par. And I need to mention only the manager and one senior-looking female staff had the commin sense to actually expedite orders. The younger staff just stared blankly every time we asked where our orders disappeared to. Oddly there was only 7 chopsticks in the cutlery container with no Chinese soup spoons, and when we asked for one more chopstick, one of the waiters just passed us another container, and it also had just 7 chopsticks inside (coincidence?)

As for the food, no wok hei, taste was rather bland, and frankly overloaded with MSG. The Tze Char places about 5 mins walk away at Jalan Todak are more deserving of the price. Or if you are willing to travel for these kind of Nanyang Heritage dishes, I'd choose Great Nanyang Heritage Cafe at Tanjong Pagar. about 20% more, but definitely...

I visted the place twice. For the first visit, I wanted to give it a 4 star. The 2nd visit, 1 star. Hence it should be a 2.5 star.

The first time round, I ordered the big bowl curry noodles, which is rather authentic. That was why I visited the 2nd time recently, and was deeply disappointed by this visit.

First the food. I ordered this dish called the hua dan yuan yang 滑蛋鸳鸯. Those who have been to Malaysia and tried this dish, would know that it is supposed to be a delicious dish, with beehoon deep fried to a crispy keropok-like texture, layered with pan fried hor fun on top, drizzled with umami filled egg sauce with ingredients. It is amazing because you get the best of everything in terms of texture (crunchy beehoon, slippery horfun and egg sauce), wok hey, and umami. Many Singapore tze char stalls do not offer this dish, even though they may have Malaysian chefs, maybe it is too much of a trouble, or maybe because of costs. I was delighted that Nan Yang Dao offered this dish and ordered it, and imagine my disappointment when the dish arrived and i found limp beehoon (definitely was not deep fried at all) beneath the horfun. This coming from a restaurant who offers 'authetic' malaysian dishes. It felt horrible because if this is not cheating, then it is pure laziness on their part, which is damaging to their intent to sell authentic dishes because they do offer other food that looks authentic. In my opinion, if they do not want to offer the real thing, they should totally just take it off the menu.

It was probably a bad timing for everything during my 2nd visit, because the staff at the entrance, despite having eye contact and despite having no other thing to do as there were few customers (it was slightly before 5pm), just stood there and stare into space until i asked to be seated. However, the male staff that helped me with the order was very friendly and helpful. When i walked in, the floors were dangerously slippery from whatever they mopped the floor with.

I really want an eatery that offers authentic malaysian food to do well and i hope they can do better over time, and if they have no intent to improve certain dishes like the yuan yang, remove them, so that it doesnt result in false hope then disappointment.

(There are tze char stalls in Singapore that offer authentic Malaysian-style yuan yang, if anyone...