I had dinner at Wan He Lou recently, a newly-opened Chinese restaurant at the Jalan Besar/Lavender area that features Lobster Porridge as their signature dish. Situated on the first floor of a renovated shophouse, Wan He Lou’s menu showcases an array of seafood dishes prepared in traditional and contemporary Chinese methods.
The exterior of Wan He Lou. Notice the sign that reads no GST or service charge.
Lobster Porridge 招牌龙虾粥
Being that this is the restaurant’s signature dish, it is a must try. First time having lobster porridge and I enjoyed this as the broth is robust while the lobster is deliciously fresh. The natural sweetness comes through and the meat is tender, not overcooked one bit. It is luxurious yet very comforting at the same time. One bowl can serve two to three people comfortably.
Pan Fried Kurobuta Pork 香煎黑豚肉
When this dish arrived on the table, the appetizing aroma had me salivating readily. The pork slices are juicy and very tender, with yummy caramelized corners. This reminds me of 京都骨 (Peking-style Pork Chops; a fave of mine) where the flavor is predominantly on the sweet side.
Salted Egg Crispy Lotus Root 鲜蛋脆莲藕
Salted egg-coated anything is always a crowd-pleaser and this totally hits the spot for me. The lotus root has a nice crunch, and the salted egg coating is a great savory-sweet combination. I highly recommend this!!! They are super addictive, I couldn’t stop reaching for the plate and I seriously could snack on this all day.
Green Dragon Vegetable 青龙菜
I don’t know about you but I had never heard or seen or tasted Green Dragon Vegetable before; the name alone sounds so intriguing and mythical! Turned out this vegetable is a hybrid of green and yellow chives, although it doesn’t have the strong chive flavor that turns some people off. If I were to describe its texture, it’s sorta stringy and very easy to eat as it’s leafy and light. Definitely more interesting to order this than the usual veggie variety.
Special Dessert of the Week: Pumpkin Puree with Red Date
Chinese desserts always fascinate me and I got to try this original creation from Wan He Lou’s chef — a cold sweet puree of pumpkin puree with red date jam. Frankly if I wasn’t told of the name, I wouldn’t know there’s pumpkin in there as the flavor is undetectable. Nonetheless this was a great way to round out my meal as a palate cleanser and I imagine this is also a healthy dessert as pumpkin and red date = fiber/roughage, right?
The award-winning Chef Lau behind Wan He Lou’s interesting menu. I kid you not, Chef Lau is a Gold Award recipient in the Olympic Chinese Cuisine Culinary Competition – one of the many awards that he has gotten in his culinary career. He humbly asked me to comment on the food he made for me, to which I frankly replied I had nothing to criticize or nitpick on as everything tasted great!
I found the food at Wan He Lou enjoyable because nothing was too greasy or heavy. Considering the quality of food and serving portion at Wan He Lou, I don’t find the prices there to be grotesquely overpriced either, compared to big name seafood restaurants. I kinda wish this restaurant would open till late as I think the Lobster Porridge and Salted Egg Crispy Lotus Root would be so awesome for supper. ;)
I plan to go back there again as I’d love to try the other interesting dishes on the menu, such as these I spotted: Lobster with Pineapple Sauce 黄凤梨龙虾, Green Ginger Fish 青姜茸蒸鱼, San Zha Sauce Prawns 山楂汁虾球. Don’t they sound delicious already to you?