I wasn’t too pleased at having to go all the way to Bee Cheng Hiang’s flagship store at 1359 Serangoon Road yesterday for lunch as it’s quite far from home and I was pretty hungry already. But the experience blew me away. I didn’t even know that there’s such a thing as a Bee Cheng Hiang Grillery, where you can enjoy freshly grilled bak kwa and even have them paired with wines! My goodness! It reminds me of the time I went for an almond cookies baking class and tasted fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies. That taste cannot be compared with anything else; it’s just out of this world! Same for the bak kwa! Why have I been eating bak kwa at room temperature, and has been kept for a few days (or weeks) during Chinese New Year? Bak kwa, like a lot of other things, tastes best when hot and freshly grilled! And best of all, I have to say, is the fact that with the Eatigo promo, all the a la carte food items were at 50% off!
At this Grillery, you can, of course, get bak kwa grilled on the spot and customize it! (1) Choose the level of char you’d like and (2) how you’d like your bak kwa to be trimmed.
And you might just want to get some of those heart-shaped bak kwa for Mother’s Day:
They are going at $34.80 for 600g or $58/kg.
The dining area is rather compact. I think they can accommodate up to 6(?) groups of diners. I love the plush seating and how everything looks so posh. It’s great for business meetings, really.
Some gourmet fusion bak kwa they let us sample:
And there’s “Spa Water” (an awkward name for fruit infused water) you can help yourself to:
I ordered the $14 DIY Sliders (Pork, instead of Chicken) and I liked this the most! You should definitely order this when you visit! It comes with caramelised onions (so yummy!), quail eggs sunny-side up, etc. But the house-made sambal mayonnaise rocks! *You might want to keep some of that for the pasta or couscous, ‘cos those aren’t as tasty.
The BEST sliders I’ve ever tasted anywhere in Singapore, really!
I’m not saying this because I “made” the sliders. They really taste amazing. After the first bite, I was thinking “This is ridiculously yummy!” Love that they provided gloves. So thoughtful! 
The Steamed Egg Custard ($5) looks really pretty! The server told me there are three layers in all so make sure your spoon goes all the way to the bottom and mix them up. So I told her that since there are three layers, then it should be served in a glass cup, no? Then diners can see all the pretty layers at once.
Unfortunately, I think there’s too much going on with this custard. There’s a base of Gourmet Fusion Bakkwa (fusion of pork belly and hind leg) and sauteed caramelized onion, then a body of egg custard with simmered katsuobushi (bonito flakes?) and kombu (edible kelp) and on top, there’s Gourmet Fusion Bakkwa and tobiko. I feel that the ratio of egg custard to all those yummy ingredients should be improved. There’s not enough egg custard in there. In other restaurants, there’s too much egg and too little of the other ingredients, but here, they’re very generous with the expensive stuff but there’s insufficient egg. Ha!
And interestingly, I thought I’d taken a picture of the Seafood Couscous dish ($22) but for some reason, it’s not in my photo gallery. So here’s the pic of my Seafood Aglio Olio dish ($18). The prawn is HUGE and the scallops are yummy BUT the pasta is almost tasteless. Did they forget the salt? Anyway, I think I’ll try the Cappellini Carbonara ($12) or the Chicken Roulade ($22) next time.
And since Mother’s Day is around the corner, do make an advance booking if you’d like to take your Mom here for dinner. The promos are rather attractive:
Call them at 6291 5753.
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We also went to the Royal Sporting House Moving Out Warehouse sale yesterday. Within 10 seconds of being in there, I realised I’m in the wrong place. It’s stuffy and there were many boors in there – men who are happy to bump into you, push you out of their way or say “Excuse me!” as if they are really saying “Get lost!”
Needless to say, didn’t get anything here.
The staff, too, weren’t friendly. Perhaps they weren’t too happy about working on a weekend. They’d rudely tell customers to wait in a certain area (under the hot sun) while they stood near the doors to the building in air-conditioned comfort. I also overheard some of them discussing the day’s takings so far. One person mentioned a “target” amount and another said they’ll probably do “170”, which I take to mean $170,000. Got so much meh?! Who knows. Anyway, they’re not gonna earn my money.
I Googled the term ‘parasitic marketing’ and there’s indeed such a thing.
I thought the banner ad for the warehouse sale for watches was brilliant. People are drawn to the Royal Sporting House sale so they’re here. But they can’t miss these banners as well. So a good number (like us) ended up in that small shop they call a warehouse for watches. We didn’t buy anything but I’m guessing that out of 10 people who walk in there, probably 1 or 2 will buy a watch.
Smart. Very smart indeed.