Lao Beijing: another family favourite

numerous visits spanning several years

The Tung Lok Group features quite a lot on our eating places...many of their restaurants offer excellent cooking, good quality food, at mostly reasonable prices. We love Zhao's Kitchen reviewed earlier, and also Lao Beijing. Their higher brow eateries like Tung Lok Signatures are also excellent, but more pricey.

We eat at the Novena outlet very often...these are a selection based on one Saturday lunch.

Guotie



The name, literally translated as pot stickers, is unfortunate. But these delightful dumplings made of pork and perhaps a bit of prawn filling a hand rolled skin and pan fried are absolutely delicious. Lao Beijing does one of our favourite guotie. Succulent and juicy inside, smooth skin with one side almost burnt to a crisp. Eaten with some sliced ginger and vinegar, or on its own, it is wonderful.

Their shumai is also interesting



Larger than the usual pork filled dumpling, this shumai is made also with pork filling, but the skin is a wonton skin style, and topped with shredded pan fried egg. They do a very good version of Xiao Loong Pau as well...delicious soup within the dumpling, and much better than the ones at Din Tai Fung. We didn't order the XLP this time round.

An interesting vegetable dish followed...spinach in chicken moouse.



Chicken moouse is interesting...it appeared to be chicken meat, ground to a powder, and reconstituted and beaten into a moouse. Then stir fried with spinach and wolfberry. Tastewise, it is not as unusual as it looks or as the description. It tasted of well cooked, tender spinach with chicken. The gravy/soup was very tasty, and it is obvious it is made from superior stock.

Their black pepper beef is beyond reproach



Tender slices of beef - tenderloin I am given to understand is lightly pan fried with black pepper and spring onions. Simple but tasty and works!

Finally, fried rice.



This was very nice as well. Each individual grain of rice was covered with egg. Very fragrant, very well cooked, with great wok hei. Interestingly, there was no trace of grease. Shiok. The large prawns were very fresh and crunchy.


Address:
238 Thomson Road
#02-11 Velocity @ Novena Square
Tel: 6358 4466
Lunch 11.30 am - 3 pm
Hi-Tea 3 pm - 5 pm (only for Sat/Sun/PH)
Dinner 6 pm - 10 pm