Swatow City — Restaurant in Singapore

Visiting Swatow again, but this time with a twist for which every Wednesday night, Swatow City @ Bukit Batok HomeTeamNS hosts open mic sessions from 6.30–9.30pm. 🎤

Swatow City is located on the 2nd level of the club, welcoming guests with a glamorous entrance framed by warm lighting and an inviting archway.

We settled ourselves down and were served with the nicely packed chrysanthemum drinks packed by the restaurant in a nice bottle.

We began with the Teochew Specialities Trio Combination Platter, a must-try at any Teochew restaurant. It featured Chilled Jellied Pork Knuckles, Crispy-Fried Handmade Prawn Roll, and the unique Crispy-Fried Pork Liver Roll, each showcasing the essence of traditional Teochew flavors. The platter was accompanied by sweet sauce and chilli sauce on the side, perfect for enhancing the flavors of each bite.

Teochew Specialities Trio Combination Platter 潮州三彩拼盘 - $32

Skipping the rice for carbs, we opted for Ee Fu Noodles instead. Despite its simplicity with mushrooms, beansprouts, and chives, the noodles were undeniably delicious, carrying that comforting wok-kissed flavor in every bite.

Ee Fu Noodle with Mushroom

Here comes a series of chef’s specials. The Braised Pork Ribs with Bitter Gourd in Preserved Black Bean Sauce brought a familiar comfort, reminiscent of classic Cze Char dishes found in the heartlands. The flavors were well-balanced, not overly salty, making it enjoyable even on its own without white rice.

Braised Pork Ribs with Bitter Gourd in Preserved Black Bean Sauce 鼓汁凉瓜排骨 - $23

Besides the array of tantalising dishes, the highlight is also the Open Mic Session every Wednesday, where diners can dedicate songs and sing over the microphone, adding a lively and engaging touch to the dining experience.

Sichuan Chicken with Dry Red Chilli came with crunchy cashew nuts and carried a savoury kick. It wasn’t overly spicy, though the flavours could have been more deeply infused into the meat.

Sichuan Chicken with Dry Red Chilli 官保鸡球 - $23

Next up, the Prawns with Creamy Lime Sauce, juicy battered prawns, deep-fried to golden crisp, then coated in a rich, tangy lime sauce and finished with a sprinkle of roasted sesame for extra fragrance.

Prawns with Creamy Lime Sauce 西柠奶油下 - $24

Crispy Fish Coated with Sweet Golden Syrup, this dish instantly reminded me of a Chinese New Year snack. If I wasn’t told it was fish, I could have mistaken it for the familiar syrup-coated treat, with its addictive crunch and caramelised sweetness.

Crispy Fish Coated with Sweet Golden Syrup 酥烤鱼柳（四川） - $20

Stewed Eggplant with Sambal Chilli, a comforting dish that evoked a nostalgic taste of home-cooked food, with tender eggplant soaking up the spicy, savoury sambal.

Stewed Eggplant with Sambal Chilli 辣味茄子 - $18

Stewed French Beans with Minced Meat (Sichuan Style) – a delightful dish with a sweet and tangy balance, appetising with every bite. Stewed French Beans with Minced Meat (Sichuan Style) 干扁四季豆 （四川）- $18

Overall, these were the dishes we ordered, a delightful spread with a good balance of noodles, vegetables, seafood, and meat dishes.

No meal feels complete without desserts. We ended with the Teochew staple, Orh Nee with pumpkin and ginkgo nuts not too sweet, just to our liking

Teochew Orh Nee with Pumpkin & Gingko Nuts 潮州金瓜白果芋泥

We also shared the Fresh Mango & Pomelo Sago, a refreshing and satisfying way to complete the meal.

Fresh Mango & Pomelo Sago 金枝玉露

With Chef Specials featuring both Teochew and Sichuan dishes, plus an open mic on Wednesdays, it’s no wonder the place...

This is the CNY Premium Abalone Fortune Pot set, which consists of the pen cai (盆菜), herbal chicken, glutinous rice, yu sheng and 2 containers of fried fish skin. Generally, the taste was okay, just that everything was a tad salty and left everyone craving for more water after the meal. Could see that premium ingredients were used for the pen cai, but that was to be expected given the price tag. Yu sheng was refreshing with a generous serving of salmon. The sweetness and saltiness level of the glutinous rice was probably the most extreme I ever had. Herbal chicken was... herbal. The biggest letdown was probably the staff and their misinformation. Before I ordered, I called to check with the staff if the pen cai needed to be heated up after I collected it. I was told that it would take 10-15 minutes to heat up. So, I ordered to receive from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, with some time allowance given for heating up of the pen cai before starting the reunion dinner. At 5pm on collection day, a staff called to inform me to collect at 5.30pm, as they needed to heat up the pen cai. I said okay, as it saved me some time from heating up. When I went to collect at 5.30pm, I still had to wait for another 15 minutes. During the handover, we specifically asked the staff if the pen cai was already heated up. The staff said it was and dared us to touch them. As the pen cai was sealed nicely in a thermal insulation bag, and the rest of the food looked warm, we trusted the staff. Reaching home, we found the pen cai to be cold. Not room temperature cold, but fridge-cold. It felt like it was just taken out from the fridge. We proceeded to heat up the pen cai, which was finally warm after 60 minutes later. It could have taken longer if we had not decided to forgo the aesthetics and mix the ingredients so that the food items can become warm faster. If not for the constant reminders that it was for a happy occasion, tempers might have flared among the hungry. Though the food was okay, the overall takeaway experience was a letdown. Never would I order pen cai again from this restaurant. The taste lingering is...

Scallop Dumpling. Nothing to shout about. Not bad, not great.

Char Siew Cheong Fan. Nothing to shout about. Not bad, not great.

Fish maw soup. This should be the default for Shark's fin soup lovers. It tastes the same. With the addition of Shark's fins, millions of them sink to the ocean bed and, drown.

Hae Zor Tastes great, but I found it a little too fine in the grind. Chunkier will be better. We both tasted Corn, but couldn't see any kernels or traces of it anywhere, be it the skin wrap or, stuffing. Lovely to the extent that Carl wanted to order another round, after 2 desserts.

Teochew style steamed Garoupa. Nice. The broth was light, as should all steamed Teochew fish be.

Stir fried Asparagus. With the addition of Macadamia nuts, it became elevated in ratings.

Carrot cake in X.O. sauce. Fantastic. The taste of Turnips charges from the moment it enters your mouth.

Roasted Duck with Truffles. Good tasting overall, but you'd need to be those Truffle hunting pigs to really taste it though.

Orh Nee. Me like. Really shiok. Maybe I'm just a sucker for Orh Nees.

Tau Suan. Ok. This one really stumped us both. The taste that we get from those regular dessert stalls and the ones served here are on the opposite end of spectrum. The ones served here wasn't as starchy. The taste had Orange peel (guessed by Carl), had Osmanthus (guessed by me), which confused us. We had to check with the front of house and, it was confirmed as correct. Man. We felt so darn proud of ourselves for being able to pick out the mystery taste. This is a super must try. Maybe get 2 servings after a serving of Orh Nee.

Service was very attentive, maybe from the lack of customers, but we observed that the majority of patrons were above sixty years of age. We felt really young there, until a child and her helper came. Reality set in, and again, we became middle aged. Darn it. Short-lived happiness, for...