The Place Located near Boon Keng MRT Station, I visited Cheng Hoo Thian Teochew Restaurant (清壺天潮州餐馆 ) recently as a foodie friend alerted us to one of their ongoing 7^th Anniversary Promotion. The interior of Cheng Hoo Thian is quite an old-school style setting, and it is not surprising since it has been around since 1930! That is quite a long history for any restaurant in Singapore, and the 7^th Anniversary promotion refers to the restaurant’s seventh year in its current Boon Keng address as it operated at various other locations previously.  

I read up on some background of Cheng Hoo Thian and learnt that it is also now part of Orchid Seafood LLP since 2018, where its current owner is the original founder’s youngest son Mr Jimmy Koh.  

Mr Jimmy also shared with us things like the hand-written menu hanged on the wall of the restaurant created since 1930 where you can actually peek at the prices of the dishes back then! A little snippet he also shared is that the brand actually started back in 1918 (I suspect not as a restaurant as officially it says since 1930), so the brand is in fact 106 years old as of 2024.

The Food It is so hard to find Teochew restaurants like Cheng Hoo Thian anymore and I was very excited to see an extensive ala carte menu with many traditonal Teochew dishes which I have not heard or eaten before. The ongoing 7^th Anniversary Menu is such a good value, priced at S$690 nett for ten pax with eight dishes. It is good value in my opinion given the type of ingredients used.

Here is what to expect: 

Chilled Cold Crab with Yellow Roe and Double Shell 
The meal started with a traditional Teochew cold dish where you can expect fresh crab roe and meat here. 

Double Boiled Chicken with White Fungus & Mushrooms in Korea Ginxin Soup 
One of the group’s favourite dishes of the night was this hearty soup dish. It is a nice balance of the ginseng taste along with the white fungus, and I just felt like having a second helping of it. The chicken meat is tender as well.   

Barbecue Suckling Pig 
A beautifully glazed suckling pig with crispy layer of the skin. 

Steam Pomfret Teochew Style 
Other than the flavours of the fresh pomfret fish, the broth here is delicious. Some of us ended up soaking our bowl of white rice with the fish broth which is amazing.  

Stew Loffah with Punning Beancurd and Prawns 
The highlight here are the plump and fresh prawns.    

Pan Fried Bombay Duck Omelette Old School Recipe 
Other than the soup, this is also one of the dishes I really enjoyed. I love eggs, and crispy Teochew-style omelette is simply another level. It is also rare to find a version of the fried egg with Bombay duck (this is a type of fish), and I wished I could have another portion.

The texture of the omelette is so good. This should be the only restaurant in Singapore to do their omelette this way according to the owner.

House Special Teochew Siu-Bee 
Do you know there is also Teochew-style Siew Mai? The main difference with Cantonese-style lies in the fillings, where the ones here used dried flounder. The Siu-Bee has not much flavour on its own honestly, which is probably why it is served along with vinegar sauce. Still, a very unique dish I tried and rarely come across.  

Sweet Yam Paste with Mandarin Orange and Gingko Nuts 
The dessert course as part of this special menu is ‘Orh Nee’, and can I say this is one of the best ‘Orh Nee’ I have had for a very long time.

I love the aromatic mandarin orange, and that thick texture of the yam paste is just amazing. I usually find this dessert quite cloying after a few mouthfuls, but I finished it all.  

My dining group was so satisfied with the meal that we thought we needed to try something from their ala carte menu as well, and there is no better dish than the Pan Fried Kuay Teow with Kailan & Radish (S$15/small, S$30/large).

Served and presented like fried carrot cake, the kuay teow lies beneath that crispy layer of fried egg. Imagine the combination of fried carrot cake and kuay teow. I am salivating again.  

Rants Service is a little rough, where one of the staff accidentally spilled something over me while rushing to clear the table. That said, the owner is very passionate about sharing the brand’s story and history with us which I appreciate. 

Will I Return Again? I enjoyed my meal at Cheng Hoo Thian and there are some really outstanding dishes for me like the omelette, fried kuay teow and yam paste. It is also hard to come across a traditional restaurant like this with a longstanding history, and the best part is that the price is also very reasonable for what I had. 

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5
Overall Experience: 4/5

Cheng Hoo Thian Teochew Restaurant OSL 清壺天潮州餐馆 
Blk 34 Whampoa West  
#01-27
Singapore 330034 
Tel: +65 6297 7789 

Opening Hours 
Monday to Sunday: 11:00 am to 2:30pm; 5:00pm to 10:00pm 

Ranted by The Ranter