One of the most important things needed in traditional Cantonese cooking: Fragrance. Which is why four-month-old Claypotfun (a collaboration between the Jumbo Group, Seafood International and Palm Beach Seafood) comes highly recommended—especially for its staple of claypot rice (choose from minced beef and egg, frog leg, or chicken and mushroom). The dish, which takes up to 15 minutes to cook individually, is slow-burned on claypots and served hot off the stoves. This method ensures that the rice and its condiments retain their flavor and fragrance; the rice is even (almost) good enough to eat on its own. Our claypot rice with salted fish and minced pork came in a portion that was good enough for two, and the robust marriage of tender pork meat and salted fish was as good as it gets. While other Chinese restaurants usually mix dark soy sauce into the dish itself, you have the option of adding this only if you want to as the sauce comes in a separate bowl—a good thing as it was already rather salty, and you’d want to enjoy the aroma before dousing it. Our sides of lettuce with red fermented beancurd sauce and superior soup with spinach certainly complemented our rice well. It was the first time that we’ve had lettuce served this way in a long time, which reminded us of traditional Cantonese way of cooking; while the superior soup was the best we’ve had (trust us—we order this whenever we can at other restaurants). The broth was soupy enough and not too thick, while the texture of the spinach was cooked to perfection and accompanied by red Chinese dates which brought out the fragrance (there it is again!). Our only disappointments dining here were that the place didn’t have any desserts for the day (although it only had two to begin with), and service was average. The wait staff hailed mainly from China, and didn’t quite get our orders in English at the start, although they were generally friendly while trying. Claypotfun is by no means essential, but for those looking for a satisfying meal with a home-cooked feel to it, you probably can’t go wrong here.
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