SHAO 燒 @ Holland Village | Modern Teochew Tapas 潮汕小馆 — Restaurant in Singapore

REPLY TO MANAGEMENT

1. Fair point, however, at no point were we informed about long/irregular wait times for any of the dishes.

2. I am well aware of the definition of “chili”, however, the waitress told us it would only be “a little bit spicy”.

If a table of 5 finds your dish too spicy, even after we had asked for the least spice possible and were REASSURED by your waitress that it could be done, I hardly think it is entirely “personal preference” as you claim. confiscating another star from you for that response 👁️👁️

3. The squid ink sausage thing is bussin fr, special mention to the XO sauce kway teow too but both dishes weren’t enough to save the night.

ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW Overall - The food takes WAY too long to come out, and its not worth the wait. Furthermore, our waitress screwed up/lied to us about our crab order, which came out to be too spicy and we couldn't really eat it after waiting nearly 1 hour for it to be served. Service left a lot to be desired, as we constantly had to chase the staff down regarding our food. I would only recommend coming here if the place is empty, and for the "Pan Seared Hokkaido Black Ink Cuttlefish Sausage".

TLDR: food takes really long, generally okay but some dishes aren't worth the price. However, NONE of the dishes are worth the wait except the sausage and maybe the XO noodles.

1. Dishes took too long We ordered the following dishes A - Cockles B - Pan Fried Black Ink Cuttlefish Sausage C - Braised Combination Platter D - Pan Fried Pork Jowl E - Crab with Green Chili F - Stir Fried Rice Noodle with Minced Vegetables in XO Sauce G - Stir Fried Kale with Dried Flounder H - Fried Rice with Mixed Seafood

From the time we ordered; A came in about 10 minutes; B and C came in about 16 minutes We ordered D only 30 minutes in, and it came in about 10 minutes E, F, G, and H all arrived roughly at the same time, about 48 minutes after ordering our food. Waiting an hour for all of our main dishes is craZY, no doubt they were crowded, but no effort was made to let us know on the status of our dishes until we prompted several times.

None of us expect to be waiting that long for the food, especially since the bulk of it came at once, rather than being delivered periodically.

2. Messed up our Crab with Green Chili dish When we were ordering, we asked the waitress if this dish was spicy. She said it was spicy, and we then told her if we could make it the least spicy as possible. She reassured us twice that it was possible.

After waiting 48 minutes for the crab, we tasted it. I do not know how else to explain it except that IT WAS TOO SPICY. Our entire group was not fond of it and was extremely displeased that our request was ignored.

3. Actual food review A - Cockles B - Pan Fried Black Ink Cuttlefish Sausage C - Braised Combination Platter D - Pan Fried Pork Jowl E - Crab with Green Chili F - Stir Fried Rice Noodle with Minced Vegetables in XO Sauce G - Stir Fried Kale with Dried Flounder H - Fried Rice with Mixed Seafood

A, B, F are 10/10 excellent C, D are 7/10 nothing amazing, but good G, H are 5/10 aggressively mediocre, nothing special or worth getting E is 0/10 did not get our request right,...

2nd visit:

Raw Marinated Prawns This one slaps! Cold, clean, and bursting with bold flavor. Seafood but make it elevated.

Steamed Black Emperor Fish A showstopper. Perfectly steamed to preserve the fish’s natural sweetness, then drizzled with fragrant HK-style soy sauce and sizzling shallot oil. This was a masterclass in subtle flex.

Beef Ball Soup Handmade with love and springy enough to bounce back. Paired with a clear broth that’s as soothing as your fave playlist..

Pan-Fried Pork Jowl Each bite is rich and packed with flavor. Perfectly seared. Basically pork perfection.

XO Rice Noodles w/ Cai Po A true standout!! It’s giving umami, it’s giving wok hei, it’s giving addictive!

Mixed Fruit Pai Refreshing AF, lowkey looks like art.  With plum power totally refreshing Sweet

1st visit

😋Raw Roe Crab Marinated with Shao Xsing Wine in Teochew Style My taste bud and senses are pampered with this h𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘣, 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘰 𝘟𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘩, simply just 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦v𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 the 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘣 and let it's natural sweet-briny juices in the soft meat, overlaid with savoury garlicky flavour satiate all your senses. This was the most memorable dish of the day. Absolutely mindblowing

😋Pan Fried Black Ink Cuttlefish Sausage May not look aesthetically pleasing but is a taste experience like no other! The texture is soft and springy. Unlike most sausages, it isn’t too salty, just the right savoriness and natural sweetness from the squid. The most unique and umami-packed sausage I've ever tasted.

😋Poached Crispy Rice in Seafood Stocks A hearty and flavourful dish that combines crispy rice with tender grouper fillet, scallops, and prawns in a rich and comforting seafood broth. Which I was very happy about because this dish turned out to be spectacular - deeply sweet and delicious and will have you thank yourself you haven’t gone keto! This is undoubtedly another our favourite dishes.

😋Pan Fried Fermented Bean Marinated Chicken in Teochew Style The chicken is cooked just right in time, so the meat is not over-cooked, but very tender and moist, with the fragrance of fermented beans and other spices imparted through the chicken, taking the whole dish up a level.

😋Braised combination platter A classic Teochew mixed platter which included Braised Duck, Pork Belly, Pig Skin, Pig Intestine, and Tofu. An essential element of Teochew cuisine lies in its mastery of braised dish and they nailed it! As a big fan of pig intestine, I dove straight in for that first. I liked that it did not have a strong porky taste. Next the braised duck is enhanced by the aromatic gravy, the duck meat was rich in flavour and tender. Pork Belly is one of the softest, melt-in-your-mouth meats ever and tender to each bite.

😋Oyster Omelette This dish is a must get especially if you’re a big oyster fan and price point is a bonus!! There are so many plump creamy briny oysters which went fantastically with the soft gooey egg. It's an indulgent mix that’s a bang...

This place deserves your attention! I know it when I start salivating when editing the videos and wanting to return for more!

Shao Tapas serves Teochew cuisine with a modern twist on the concept of Tapas dining. They are located along Lorong Mambong at Holland Village and it is their 2nd branch of the original Shao at Frankel Avenue.

Feeling thirsty? They have their own house infused gin (Osmanthus and Dan Chong Gin) which is really refreshing and I love the Osmanthus notes along with the Gin, do give it a try!

I have already posted about their sambal belachan chilli before. But let me say it again, it is da bomb and all homemade without any preservatives.

Food we tasted:

Deep Sea Small Prawns are raw & marinated in their signature sauce. It's so fresh and tastes so yummy.

Deep Fried Baby Pomfret Ahh please take these away from me oooh god, I can't stop munching on these little crispy fishes.

Pan Seared Hokkaido Cuttlefish with Squid Ink Don't let their appearance put you off, these are packed with cuttlefish umami flavour and a hint of sweetness. The texture is springy and this is top class food to pair with drinks.

Poached Seafood Crispy Rice with Seafood Stocks Such a comforting dish with flavourful seafood stock and fresh fresh fresh seafood cooked in it. Ooh man I can have this everyday!

BBQ Yellow Roe Crab The bbq Crab with plentiful orange roe was just decadent and the savory and umami notes was nicely balanced with a hint of sweetness that lingers on the taste buds. The crab meat was solid and still juicy. Just perfect 💯

Grilled Marinated Chicken with Fermented Bean Sauce Well marinated and tasty by itself. However you can elevate it a bit more with the fermented bean sauce.

Orh Nee [Teochew Yam Paste] The consistency of this Orh Nee is more on the sticky side and the yam flavour shines through and it's not as sweet as others that I have tried. Good for those watching their glucose levels.

Overall a superb experience and I am looking forward to return to Shao Tapas! Who wanna go?!

Thank you Germaine and the team for the awesome food and superb service ❤️🫶🏻.

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