A friend, immensely surprised by the fact that till date I had not had a meal at Tai Cheong Bakery before, decided on the prompt that it was time I gave this place a shot, and go there for a proper meal.
If my friend was surprised by the fact that I hadn't yet tried, I was even more surprised by the level of enthusiasm about me having not yet tried.
After all it wasn't that I hadn't had their tarts and pastries before...
But, of course, as I soon found out, having a full meal there is another matter altogether.
It's not just the decor, or the ambience, or the menu.
It's everything.
You don't realize it at first even though, honestly, the char chaan tang vibe of the place should give you a clue. There're traces of Hong Kong's presence on the walls, the floor and even the tables itself, where underneath the glass-topped table you find little postcards, mahjong tiles and tourist-type of paraphernalia.
The decor's a little reminiscent of 60s and 70s Hong Kong though.
At least that's what I feel anyway.
Can't say for sure if the menu's just as reminiscent- it would take a local to tell me just that- but the menu today at Tai Cheong here in Holland Village included dishes like Macaroni Soup, Noodle Soup, Scrambled Egg with a host of additions to choose from, Curry Rice where you could have Chicken or Beef, and Cheese Baked Rice. Something else they had was Silky Egg Rice.
What made the foods here interesting were that you had lots of choices, and had lots of add-ons to choose from.
Like with the Scrambled Eggs, where you could have a choice of Chicken Chop, Spam Fries, Cheese, Ham, Corned Beef, and Cheese & Chicken Chop together.
With the Curry Rice, you could choose the Beef Brisket or the Chicken.
With the Macaroni Soup, you could have it with Shredded Chicken or Three Eggs/ Luncheon Meat or Three Eggs/Ham.
I had thought we'd go only for the curry chicken as I'd heard that the chicken pieces were no tiny bird, that the curry was solid with the perfect blend of sweetness and creamy, tasty curry powder spice, and that there were generous pieces of potatoes in the curry.
But my friend thought we should also try the Baked Rice, so Cheese Baked rice with Beef, Truffle & Mushroom Cream it was.
No kidding you, it was SO good.
You'd think this be just an ordinary dish of rice and beef slices mixed with cheese of various kinds and thrown into the oven.
But here at Tai Cheong (maybe what with them being a bakery), they got the texture, temperature, and heat distribution pat perfect.
Inside the very, very hot dish the rice was fluffy and warm with the truffle & mushroom cream evenly distributed all over, so much so that every mouthful included not just the warm grains of soft rice, but also the thick, warm cream oozing between the grains.
For bite there were the beef slices, which, whilst I had feared they might be overcooked hard, turned out to be incredibly soft, full of beef flavor, and surprisingly easy to chew.
What I liked most about this dish was the cheese on top of the rice.
You know how it's like if you've ever had cheese baked rice where the cheese doesn't blend with the rice, where the cheese literally can be peeled off the bed of rice below, and where both the cheese and the rice don't taste good whether together or even separate.
Tai Cheong here gave you zilch of that (slipshot) (cookie cutter) experience.
What's more, the cheese- crusty on some sides, melty on others, went so well with both the rice (and cream) and the slices of smooth, tasty beef.
Had I not been starting to feel a little full, I would have gone for spoonful after spoonful after.
Especially since the curry chicken was remarkably rich in flavors and taste, tummy-warming, even cozy. it wasn't as thick as I thought it might be, and I had a lovely time savoring the curry as if I were sipping on a soup.
I'm definitely going back for either one of these dishes whenever I'm back at Tai Cheong.
Maybe I'll try the Silky Egg Rice or the Cheese Baked Rice with Pork Chop and Tomato Gravy- the Pork Chop sounds interesting.
And I'm not going to miss out on their savories nor their bakes either.
I'd be silly to.
If I'm not going for the Buttered Toasted Bun with Condensed Milk or the Coconut Cream Bun- both of which I have not yet tried- I'm going back for the egg tart- which I usually do because the crust is crisp and buttery and the filling isn't very sweet- the Hong Kong Egg Milk Tart, and the savory Chicken Pie as well.
