If you are still looking for a place for your CNY reunion dinner, look no further as I discovered this gem in the weirdest industrial area. When you mention Defu lane, most of us will think of factories selling wholesale goods, or furniture makers and will not think about a good Chinese restaurant. My friend was the one who discovered this place and apparently they have been in business for more than 10 years although they shifted to Defu Lane only in the last few years.
Located deep within the industrial area of Defu lane, it is not easy to spot Yummy Palace but there are multiple small signs along the road directing traffic to the correct building. Housed on the 2nd level of this Self Storage building, carpark is aplenty with both covered underground parking and open air carpark right in front of the building.
From the open air carpark, you can access the restaurant from this majestic flight of steps reminding you of those typical classy Chinese restaurants from the past. The restaurant can be accessed via the lift from the underground carpark for wheelchair accessibility.
The restaurant greets customers with this beautiful classical Chinese gold leaf painted folding screen and traditional red lanterns reminisce of an old Chinese tea house.
When you step further into the restaurant, you can see the continuity of the same red lanterns and hand painted wall murals on the ceilings and pillars giving the entire restaurant a classical Chinese atmosphere.
At the side, there are these semi modern booths which is suitable for smaller groups of 2 and 4 customers. While the booths provide somewhat more privacy, it is still pretty much open and the distance from the next booth is still pretty small. Currently, the private rooms are closed due to the dining capacity limits.
Other than the usual Chinese dishes, there are a couple of specialties to highlight in their menu like this clay pot chicken pig stomach soup and entire grilled piglet which you might not find in the usual restaurant. If you would like any of these 2 specialty, it is recommended to pre-order before your visit for them to prepare as it is not available on the spot.
The pig stomach soup came in a large clay pot which serves to up 6 adults.
The soup is made by stretching the pig stomach and stuffing the entire chicken inside to keep the juices of the chicken in tact and at the same time, stretch the stomach to a very thin layer for easy consumption.
The servers will dish out all the ingredients of the soup for you to also eat as the chicken is still quite flavourful and tender.
The stomach is stretched so much that it is very thin and soft to bite compared to the usual thick slices of pig stomach which could be difficult to chew on. The soup is boiled to a light milky color with strong sweet flavours and light peppery taste from the chicken, stomach, dried scallops and some Chinese herbs. We each had 2 to 3 rounds of soup between 4 of us.
You can see here how the staff cut up the pig stomach evenly and how thin the stomach has been stretched.
On my 2nd visit, I ordered the Kung Fu chicken soup which very interesting came in a clay made tea pot. Soup was then poured onto bowls for us to enjoy the soup. Once the soup is emptied, the ingredients like the chicken and herbs are emptied onto a plate for us to eat. The soup was clear like a consommé with a light brown tone but was incredibly sweet and refreshing. This serves up to 4 persons so for a bigger group, it is recommended to order 2 pots.
The signature roast duck was very scrumptious with the skin roasted perfectly crispy and the meat succulent and flavourful. By just eating the duck on itself, it is on the salty side but when you dip the duck meat with the sour plum sauce provided together, there is a different savoury taste with a light appetizing sour tinge. My family loved the duck so much it was wiped out in mins
The square bite roast pork was also near to perfect as the balance between the fats and meat in the pork belly was carefully selected so each bite had an equal portion of fats and meat so it does not get too oily. The skin was crispy but I would liked it if the fats melted in my mouth like my favourite one in Kuala Lumpur.
This next dish is my personal favourite and I will always order when I visit Chinese restaurants. It is a dish of egg whites cooked with scallops and raw yolks for the extra eggy flavour. This version has an additional of ebiko toppings to add to the crunch texture with each spoon. The flavours are ok but not fantastic as there were better ones I have tasted elsewhere as well.
The golden pumpkin bean curd with crabmeat and enoki mushrooms has a nice homely flavour to it. The flavours are pretty light but tasty enough and would be a great complement with white rice. The crab meat serving can be a bit more generous given the cost of the dish.
The plain stir fry asparagus was quite ok without being overly fried. The asparagus remained crunchy and juicy and the flavours are a little more bland compared to the other dishes.
I discovered this next dish at another Chinese restaurant so when I saw this, we decided to order the fried egg plant with crispy pork floss. This dish is slightly spicy but it is within the acceptable spice level. The pork floss was insufficient in my view and the egg plant slightly soft. In comparison, the flavours of the dish I had at the other restaurant is much better.
Last but not least for desserts, we had the yam paste with pumpkin. The serving was very small even though the price is quite high and there was only enough for 2 small spoons per 4 persons.
Although the consistency was very smooth, it was a tad too sweet for our liking and most importantly, the nice fragrance of the yam was not obvious enough in the paste.
Overall, most of the dishes of Yummy Palace is delectable although their pricing is more on the high side compared to the older traditional restaurants. However, the spacious and beautiful environment is a darling for the elderly and young and the availability of carparks is definitely a plus point. The service staff were also very prompt and friendly to offer any assistance we needed that we are so pleased with them that I have booked my CNY dinner with them for my fussy parents.
Address: 87 Defu Lane 10, #02-01, Singapore 539219
Operating hours: 11 am to 2.30 pm and 6 pm to 10 pm
Bear Travels . Bear Eats . Bear Cooks 