The Place
Fei Fei Liu, or ‘Fat Fat Durian’ in English, serves Malaysian and Singaporean-style comfort food. The lines are long and the flavors adapted to the Cantonese palate, lacking sufficient levels of the fermented aroma found in maritime Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, if you want to relive the culinary memories of your last vacation down South, you could do much worse.
The Food
The menu shows a clear understanding of the food found in Singapore and Malaysia. The flavors, though, suggest that the cooks have not eaten the real thing, and are merely following a recipe. The restaurant specializes in whole roasted durian, which we do not order on our visit.
First comes the long beans in sambal belacan, aka shrimp paste (RMB29). While the beans are cooked to tender perfection, they unfortunately lack the pungent-y sweetness we expect from the dish. Next is the sambal fried chicken (RMB25), which comes lathered with too much batter and, despite its name, no hint of sambal.
Image via Kheng Swe Lim for That's
The meal begins looking up with the arrival of our mains. The nasi lemak (RMB36), or rice with coconut milk, is steamed to al-dente perfection, colored a striking shade of blue (sometimes seen in Malaysia) and accompanied by decent sambal and roast peanuts. The dish’s excellence, though, is marred by a lack of fried anchovies and the inclusion of a piece of heavily-battered chicken. The Singapore-style char kuay teow (RMB36), otherwise known in English as the fried rice noodles, is sweetish and appropriately greasy, tasting like the real thing.
Image via Kheng Swe Lim for That's
The laksa, while made with the right spices, is all-too-reminiscent of instant laksa mixes you get in Singaporean supermarkets.
In a fit of gluttony, we order a chicken curry baked in a bread shell (RMB55). The chicken is juicy but the sauce too sweet, though credit must be given for the inclusion of ‘curry leaves’ – essential to all authentic Southeast Asian curries.
To wash it all down, we order cendol (RMB22) – a classic iced dessert of short green rice noodles. While we are impressed at the inclusion of sea coconut, the drink has too little palm sugar for the amount of coconut milk used.
Image via Kheng Swe Lim for That's
(Please note: All ordering is done through WeChat, which requires either reading knowledge of Chinese or strong familiarity with the dishes’ appearance).
The Vibe
You won’t find any dusty Southeast Asian antiques or mass-produced batik hanging from the walls. The decor is clean and airy, and the color scheme white and flamingo-pink. Each table comes with selfie-sticks, letting you take pictures of yourself gorging on fried chicken in front of a glass case-enclosing fake flamingos.
A far cry, perhaps, from ordering nasi lemak from a fold-out table in Kuala Lumpur, but as they say: beggars can’t be choosers!
Price: RMB60
Who’s going: homesick Malaysians and Singaporeans
Good for: passable Southeast Asian grub, an unpretentious date
Nearest metro: Gangding (Exit D), 5 minutes’ walk
Open daily, 11am-3pm, 5-10pm; see listing for Fei Fei Liu.
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