Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Those living around the East Coast area are no stranger to the incredibly popular zi char eatery, Sin Hoi Sai Eating House. The family-run restaurant has been in business since 1978— its first outlet, Sin Hoi Sai Seafood Restaurant, was opened by Madam Yap Sor Khim, and years later, this East Coast outlet was born. This famous restaurant has even been visited by celebrities like Jackson Wang and Chef Eric Teo!
Sin Hoi Sai Eating House offers all your favourite zi char dishes, ranging from fresh seafood to hor fun and prawn paste chicken— I was spoiled for choice as I perused its huge menu. To make things better, they open all the way until 3am, ensuring that your late night cravings will be satisfied.
What I tried at Sin Hoi Sai Eating House
I ordered the Chicken Fried Rice (S$6 for Small), which came with a decent individual portion of fried rice with lots of chicken chunks within.
This was a pretty classic fried rice dish. I enjoyed the light fragrance of the rice and the tender chunks of chicken were satisfying to bite into. It wasn’t overly oily or salty, and acted as a nice yet flavourful base for the variety of other dishes.
The Sweet & Sour Pork (S$10 for Small) is probably one of their more popular options. This dish consisted of small chunks of pork, onions and pineapples tossed in sweet and sour sauce.
You can’t go wrong with this classic dish, and Sin Hoi Sai Eating House pulls it off pretty nicely. The pork cubes were slightly crisp on the outside, each being nicely coated in the sweet and tangy sauce. The pineapples and onions added a lovely punch of flavour too, making this a dish worth getting.
My personal favourite at Sin Hoi Sai Eating House was the Marmite Chicken (S$10 for Small). Each fried chicken chunk was coated in a sweet marmite sauce, which made them super crunchy and slightly sticky.
The blend of sweet, salty and savoury flavours made the Marmite Chicken super addictive, and I easily cleared the entire plate. Definitely go for this if you’d like to enjoy fried chicken that differs a bit from the usual har cheong gai or sweet & sour varieties.
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While the Thai Style Tofu (S$8 for Small) initially looked unassuming, I was surprised by the light crispiness of its skin when I bit into it.
The Thai sauce nicely coated the surface of each piece of beancurd, giving them a slight tangy and sweet flavour. The chopped red onions and cucumbers added an extra dimension of crunch too. Yum!
I also ordered the Hong Kong Noodles (S$6 for Small), a noodle dish tossed in a sweet dark sauce.
You don’t need additional toppings to go with this tasty plate of noodles— every bite was bursting with flavour, as the sweet, savoury and rich sauce coated every strand of the soft noodles. The cabbage bits gave the noodles some added crunch while the meat chunks mixed within were tender.
Finally, I enjoyed the Foo Young Omelette (S$10 for Small) from Sin Hoi Sai Eating House. This dish was as simple as it gets— when torn apart, the thin piece of fried egg revealed bits of meat and shrimps nestled within.
The prawns were juicy while the pork made the omelette more exciting with its slight chewiness. As a whole, it was a pretty standard omelette, with a nice golden colour and an adequate amount of seasoning to make it more flavourful. I wouldn’t say it stood out a lot compared to other places, but it made for a pretty comforting side when paired with rice.
Final thoughts
I can see why Sin Hoi Sai Eating House is so popular— this was certainly one of the most memorable zi char spots I’ve dined at. The home-cooked feel of each dish did not take away from their quality, and though each dish was a bit on the pricier side, they were still pretty well-priced for a zi char restaurant.
I only tried a few of their items, and I would love to return again in the future with more people to try out their other offerings. Sin Hoi Sai Eating House is definitely worth the hype, and worth the travel down to dine at.
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