We’re always on the hunt for cheap and good food, and we’ve certainly found it at De Classic Golden Spoon. (Don’t mind the cheesy name.)
In the revitalized neighborhood of Tiong Bahru, home to hip spots like 40 Hands and Books Actually, it’s reassuring to find old school gems like this one.
We got right down to business at this tze char joint with dishes like stir-fried broccoli with garlic ($10) and coffee pork ribs ($15). Our vegetables arrived looking a healthy shade of green, topped with a generous sprinkling of chopped garlic. While it’s undoubtedly a simple dish, these fresh veggies were still firm and frankly done just right (with enough garlic to put off a vampire for at least a few days). The ribs proved to be another well-executed staple, if a tad sweet for our tastes, but with a discernible coffee taste that prevented it from being too cloying and incredibly tender as well.
We also went with our waiter’s recommendation of their signature crab mi fen ($5/100g). When he appeared with a giant Sri Lankan crab, lounging on a bed of mi fen and a sea of soup, we braced ourselves for some serious seafood action. The rich broth was especially satisfying when paired with the strands of vermicelli and crab meat. But it was our discovery of the obscene amount of roe that really got us.
Unfortunately, our decision to try the fried chicken with pumpkin sauce ($16) proved a little less successful. While the chicken was crisp, the texture of the pumpkin sauce reminded us too much of baby food; although to be fair, the flavor itself was by no means lacking. Definitely a winner for the evening was the staple of baby squid with rojak sauce ($12). It was a dangerously addictive combination of sweet and salty jam-packed into a sticky sauce that coated crunchy bits of baby squid to perfection.
Service here is pretty good, attentive and not as brusque as you might expect at eateries like these, but we all know that’s not why people come here. For a hearty dose of comforting tze char classics, this is a sure bet.
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