Nong Geng Ji Vivocity

In the last few years, many different Chinese restaurants and cuisine establishments have opened stores in Singapore. The first trend was the spicy grilled fish and Sauerkraut fish which has died down, and the next was the spicy bbq skewers completed with mala soup and stir fry. The latest fad is traditional Hunan cuisine, with the newest kids on the block like Xiang Xiang Hunan cuisines and Nong Geng Ji

As one of the first Hunan cuisine restaurants since 2009, Xiang Xiang has an established clientele, but with the entry of Nong Geng JI, the largest Hunan restaurant chain in China with 100 outlets, Singaporeans quickly shifted their interest to the newest contender. Nong Geng Ji opened their first outlet in 2023 on Collyer Quay and has since grown to 7 outlets across the island, which is already half of Xiang Xiang

Visting the outlet in Vivocity, I managed to get a table as I avoided the peak dinner timing which usually sees long queues. As an open concept restaurant, it is quite stressful to be seated nearer to the entrance with eyes from the queue staring at you eat so I was glad to score a table right at the back hidden from sight. The menu offers both spicy and non spicy options and are traditionally Hunan styled

They were also offering beverage promotions, so we got the Majestic Jade Tangerine and the Signature Lemon Tea, which were served in these huge 1L cups, which was great for putting out any fire on the tongue. Each drink cost us less than SGD 5, which is more than worth than any bubble tea

The dish we had to order was the stir-fry pork with abalone and chilli at SGD 35, which is pricey due to the inclusion of abalone. Served in a copperish plate, the serving was enough for sharing and good for 1 person if it is the only dish. They were generous with the spicier green chilli, and the pork was tender and packed with flavour. I felt that the abalone did not really add any additional layer of flavour to the dish, and I would have opted without it. The dish paired well with rice as it was salty by itself

The next dish attracted me due to the colourful picture; spicy chicken offals was fried with chilli and preserved green long beans and fresh chives. The dish was too spicy for me, and I had to take sips of water in between to manage the burn. There was a good mix of savoury and sour notes from the offals and long beans, which made this a unique dish. In terms of texture, the crunchy offals matched well with the soft beans

As most dishes were spicy, I ordered one which was not spicy to balance up the meal, and that was the beancurd skin with eggs, which cost SGD 22.66. When the dish was served, it really did pale in comparison in both the presentation and the color. The dish came with a small amount of soup, which was bland yet flavourful with the original taste of soy and eggs. There was no additional flavourings to the dish, and as a soy bean lover, I enjoyed the dish, which helped to cleanse the palate from the spice of other dishes. My nephew, on the other hand, found the dish too bland, with only the soy eggy flavour

Last but not least, we wanted a vegetable and went for the most convenient choice, which was the stir-fried cabbage with pork lard at SGD 18.35. This dish was surprisingly the best dish we had that night and really surprised us. The doneness of the cabbage was perfect, with it being soft yet crunchy, and the pork lard coated the vegetables with just sufficient oil and soy sauce to make the dish flavourful and juicy. The pork lard gave the dish an additional fragrance, which made it the perfect dish with their wuchang rice. While other dishes were nice, this was cooked almost perfect

Overall, the dishes were authentic but slightly higher on the price tag. I loved the cabbage very much, and the drinks were also extremely thirst-quenching for their spicy dishes. One of the main selling points for these Hunan restaurants is also the use of Wuchang rice, which is extremely fragrant and delicious when paired with their spicy and savoury dishes

Address: 1 HarbourFront Walk, #01-51A VivoCity, Singapore 098585

Opening hours: 11 am to 10 pm