Chuan Ji Bakery Hainanese Delicacies Review: Legit Hainanese Dishes At MacPherson

My understanding of the culture and food pretty much ends at Hainanese chicken rice. That might be the main reason why I was so eager to visit Chuan Ji Bakery Hainanese Delicacies . Glancing around the small eatery, I was drawn in by a wall of framed photographs, a few of which seemed like they dated way back to the colonial years of Singapore.

Food at Chuan Ji Bakery Hainanese Delicacies The Hainanese Flaky Biscuit ($3.80) , in addition known as the ‘Hainanese mooncake’, is a rare treat that cannot be found back in Hainan. The first taste to hit me was the distinctive aroma of tangerine, before the complex mix melded together into a savoury, sweet, tangy, and peppery combination.

The round kueh was served to us piping hot and blanketed with white coconut flakes. To further bring out the distinctive pandan taste, the kitchen boils the kueh together with pandan leaves till they are cooked and ready to be coated in coconut.

Even with the sweet sugar coating my mouth, the kueh didn’t feel too cloying since the proportion of chewy skin to filling was just right. I found that the best way to eat it was to pop the whole thing into my mouth, and let the warm, decadent centre burst through the fragrant pandan skin. Once again, the kueh was made fresh, and served to us with the sweet aroma of caramel mixed with coconut wafting off it.

The kueh was amazingly soft and gelatinous, and was also deliciously sweetened by the gula melaka. I’ve as well noticed that the cut of meat was also much thinner as compared to Western pork chop.

When the plate was first served to us, the gravy was a viscous, clear sauce that blanketed the pork chops. But shortly after we started eating, the gravy had soaked into the pork, making the pork slightly soggy, and leaving us with only a little bit of sauce to drench our rice.

Another one of Chuan Ji Bakery’s popular dishes is the Hainanese Beef Stew ($8.50) . The stew looked super rich with its thick consistency, and the bowl was packed with a generous amount of ingredients including beef chunks, carrots, and potatoes.

Popping a chunk into my mouth, I let out a sound of satisfaction as the piece melted in my mouth, coating my tongue with the comforting flavours that were absorbed into the meat. The stew is best enjoyed with a bowl of rice as it gets a tad bit salty after a couple of spoonfuls.

Ambience at Chuan Ji Bakery Hainanese Delicacies Located in MacPherson Mall, Chuan Ji Bakery Hainanese Delicacies is a 12-minute journey from Tai Seng MRT Station. The verdict Through this visit, I was charmed by the owner’s commitment to sticking to his family’s roots and sharing that heritage with others through his dishes.

Before I visited Chuan Ji Bakery, I had never even heard of the Hainanese mooncake before, much less the culture behind it.