I find it surprising that good Chinese cuisine - and I mean the China stuff, not local - hasn't made much progress into our food centres and coffee shops. Sure, once in a while, there's a stall that sells Chinese la mian (拉面), or maybe a stall that sells xiao long bao (小笼包) and guo tie (pan-fried dumplings, 锅贴), but if you really want to go Chinese, you'd have to step into a restaurant. (Maybe I just haven't discovered such a food stall yet.) Din Tai Fung (鼎泰丰) is, of course, a rather well-known restaurant. Granted, the food there is pretty decent, but my experiences have always been ruined by the "fast-food" feel that the waitstaff exude. You take a number to enter, place your order while waiting, get ushered to a table, and hurriedly finish your food. At least that's how I felt with the waitstaff running about and quickly clearing the dishes the instant you're done.
Of course, my whole rant about Din Tai Fung is merely a set up for one of my favourite places for a nice, quiet (generally), relaxed Chinese meal. I first discovered Koo Kee Dumpling & Ramen House (高记饺子拉面) a few years ago when a friend brought me there. Later on, they underwent a menu change, and it was then that I discovered, and fell in love, with the Ramen with Double Boiled Ginseng Chicken Soup. Some time back, I suggested this place to another friend, and so, two weeks ago, we finally had our dinner at Koo Kee.
My dining partner had a hearty appetite, so we ordered some dim sum (点心) in addition to our noodles. We settled on the xiao long bao and guo tie.
Steamed Juicy Meat Bun (小笼汤包) - $6
Pan Fried Pork & Chive Dumpling (三鲜锅贴) - $6
Both the xiao long bao and guo tie were good, though maybe the skin of the xiao long bao was a little drier and tougher than Din Tai Fung's. I guess it really depends on how you like it, and to me, I liked Koo Kee's all the same.
My dining partner ordered the Ramen with Spicy Seafood Soup, which she said she enjoyed.
Ramen with Spicy Seafood Soup (辣汤海鲜拉面) - $8.80
I ordered my usual, of course.
Ramen with Double Boiled Ginseng Chicken Soup (人参鸡汤面) - $8.80
And I wasn't disappointed at all. The soup tasted great, with a strong, but not over-powering taste of ginseng and herbs. The chicken was smaller than I remembered, but there were also pieces of pork in the soup, probably to give it a meatier "oomph". The noodles were great too, not too thick, and cooked just right. After I finished my noodles, I continued drinking the delicious soup. Two-in-one! A good bowl of noodles, finished with ginseng chicken soup.
Although we were having dinner at the "peak" dinner period, the place was only about three quarters full. It was also rather quiet, except for the pounding sounds by the chef making the noodles (yes, the noodles are hand-made). The atmosphere was also very relaxed, which is the way I like it. Who likes being rushed through a meal, after all?
Koo Kee remains one of my favourite places to go for Chinese la mian. The good food and decent prices (it would even be fair to consider the food cheap) makes this an appealing place to go to. Yes, I would definitely be back again, and yes, more ginseng chicken ramen for me please!
Koo Kee Dumpling & Ramen House
2 Tampines Central 5
#B1-27 Century Square (map)
Singapore 529509
Phone: 6782 6338
Other outlets:
159 Rochor Road
Bugis Village (map)
Singapore 188434
80 Marine Parade Road
#B1-125 Parkway Parade (map)
Singapore 449269
Links: HungryGoWhere | Yum.sg
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