Hi there
Looking for tranquility atmosphere while dining your favourite local delights? I have just the right place for you. 🙂
When the Chui Huay Lim Club opened the Chui Huay Lim Bistro cafe & bar back in end last year, I have tried out their dishes and have long wanted to go back to try more dishes. They serve fantastic local delights at affordable prices.
And they have consulted Chatterbox ex chef in their menu and you can see just how good it can be, and better still at a fraction of the price!
They offer all day dining which is a combination of local and western fare and it is located at Newton area, near Newton circus, sitting among the posh condo is the Chui Huay Lim Club which house the Teo Chew Club.
I am telling you, you will have no idea at all that they actually serve really affordable and great food, and you can be a little intimated to just enter the premises alone, but rest assure it is open for public, so you can enjoy this wonderful meal with a great ambience, just relax a little during lunch. 🙂
On our first visit there were already crowds there, as it was the first opening day, many people went there to try it out.
There are lots of lush greens from the bamboo that sits comfortably around the vicinity and you only see the occasional cars passing by into the carpark.
We sat near the window and although it is not any fantastic view, it is still really nice to have a once in while not the hustle bustle squeezing through wall of people lunch experience in markets or coffee shops.
During this lunch, we tried out their signature dish which is bak kut teh set ($8.80++), chicken rice set ($8.80++) and also lobster laksa ($13.80++)
Bak Kut Teh come with two large pork ribs, very tender and infused with the savory soup. The soup is not as peppery as I thought it will be as it is a clear broth, not the herbal kind, but has that hint of garlic infused in every slurp. 🙂
But on that day, it was not served piping hot, so at that time I couldn’t really figure out if it is an execution mistake. However, on my second visit, it was served in very hot broth, and it tasted excellent, hit the right spot!
Youtiao (Fried dough) that serve with it was mediocre, nothing to shout about but is a good carbo sides to go with and I did enjoy dunking into the soup and smeared it with dark soy sauce there after. 🙂
Portion is large and I have difficulty finishing the big bowl of rice that come with it too.Â
There is also sides of braised soy pork cubes with preserved muicaivegetables – yummy!
Next is the chicken rice, again on this day, the chicken rice looked a little messy, but on second visit it was on perfect setting, taste like, it was really good!
The chicken was really tender and I don’t see any red bloody undercooked bits which is kind of my pet peeves. I think given the first day, their service needed a lot to iron out, but honestly the taste was good.
It also serves with the grated ginger, which is my favourite when mixed with chilli sauce and soy sauce. 🙂 A great balance of sweetness and saltiness in every bite!
Decor is chic and the use of the lightings does exudes a different vibe while dining there. It may just surprise you that you can actually find these kind of places in a Teo Chew Club. 🙂 Oh You can also choose to sit at regular chair seatings or sofa seatings too.
As you can see, the first day was filled with many office workers so this place indeed has its fair share of fans and now I know the reason of it. 🙂
Okay back to the food, next it was my order of the lobster laksa, it comes in a large bowl with quail eggs, fish cakes,  tau pok (fried beancurd), half a lobster immersed in a fragrant spicy laksa broth with cooked-just-right rice noodles.
Given the price, Lobster served was really generous, I was all excited when IÂ was eating this large piece of lobster meat, enough said. It was cooked just right, easily taken out from the lobster shell and flesh was juicy and fresh.
However if I may add in any improvements, I hope the quail egg can be half of a regular hard boiled egg instead, so that you can go with the oh so yummy laksa broth and also some sprinkle of laksa leaves with also a spoonful of chilli paste will make it near perfect.
They also serve a variety of western food as well, but my lunch buddy told me that it was not as good, so I didn’t try it, not that I mind, I am just as happy tucking in my local delights, which is just about what other tables are ordering. 🙂
Service wise, I must say it was pretty bad because it was the first day and if we have known that it was the opening day, we might have opted for other places, as we know there will always be too many execution issues lingering and we were spot on. There was no sequence in the queue system, and you never know when you will get seated, so there were arguements, orders were late and also wrong items were served, but one big kuddos for them is that they rectify problems swiftly.
For example, one order from the next table was sent to our table by mistake, and we didn’t know as we ordered the same, the manager came in swiftly and apologise and although took the dishes away and give back to the right table, they offer them discount, that shows how sincere they were. 🙂
And after all the chaos, just so why I said tranquility, is because I have been back there again and the crowd was much lesser and the ambience was so wonderful, day light shining in and tucking in your wonderful local delights, having nice chat with all the lunch buddies, made me so happy just thinking of it. 🙂 Of course price is also a main factor, how can you get chatterbox level kind of chicken rice at this price?
Their signature dish is bak kut teh, nashi lemak, lobster laksa, curry chicken, Char Kway Teow, and I also see many people ordering dessert like chendol and tuan suan too. Rubbing my hands for my next visit. 🙂
Happy Dining!
RESTAURANT REVIEWS : CHUI HUAY LIM BISTRO CAFE AND BAR AT CHUI HUAY LIM CLUB
Locations : 190 Keng Lee Road Singaopore 308409 (Turn in from Newton Circus)
Tel : 6253011
Operating Hours : 7am – 1030pm (All Day Dining)
For latest news on restaurants, supermarkets, food fairs, or simply check out some of my simple recipe ideas & reviews, please visit us at singaporesupermarketrecipes.com or subscribe to our mailing list for more details.
Cheers,
Dawn