WHY GO

Ying Ker Lou has long been the place to savour hearty and nourishing Hakka-style food, offering healthy fare such as their famous lei cha.

A cold and hot appetiser of drunken chicken Hakka-style and yam abacus are good openers. The drunken chicken is marinated generously with Chinese wine and represents the hot side while the yam abacus is outstanding for its rich flavours and starchy texture.

True Hakka-style cooking is demonstrated with the braised pork belly, served with salted vegetables. A well-braised dish, it has no MSG, with the melt-in-your-mouth pork unquestionably sinful. Though it takes 30 minutes to prepare a plate of steamed fish head with black bean and soya bean sauce, it’s worth the wait as the fish tastes fresh and is well complemented by a thick serving of the black bean paste. Another dish rich in flavours is the sautéed eggplant with fish sauce, or add a dash of spiciness to proceedings with the Hakka soup with chicken.

For desserts, the mango pudding with milk does not disappoint, although health-conscious diners will do well with a hot dessert like a bowl of sweetened mashed yam with gingko nuts.