Joyden Treasures: Home-Style Chinese Food at Kallang Leisure Park – Review

PUBLISHED December 14th, 2015 07:58 am | UPDATED June 8th, 2020 06:33 pm

All too often, family institutions have fallen apart due to a poor transition from one generation to the next.

Well, not for the Ong family behind Joyden Concepts.

Formerly known as West Coast Seafood, the second generation of this multi-tier organization have successfully re-named, re-branded, and expanded one of Singapore’s favourite Chinese restaurant franchises. Making a home in the newly renovated Kallang Leisure Park, Joyden Treasures is the third eatery and largest outlet of Joyden Concepts.

Double-Boiled Seafood Soup in Old Cucumber

Dedicated to time-honoured flavours, the menu is bolstered with a selection of family recipes, allowing guests to enjoy honest-to-good, fuss-free Chinese fare. A good example of the charming simplicity practised at Joyden Treasures came in the form of a Double-Boiled Seafood Soup in Old Cucumber ($14). Arriving in the body of an old cucumber, the heartwarming broth contained juicy mushrooms, fleshy scallops, and fish maw. Like a treasure chest, we unearthed a delightful piece of pork wonton wedged at the bottom of the bowl.

Steamed Red Grouper in Homemade Soy Bean Broth

Another crowd-pleaser was the Phoenix Beancurd Skin Prawn Roll ($16/22/30). Wrapped in fluffy sheets of beancurd skin, a minced jumble of fresh red prawns, salted eggs, century eggs, and cilantro added substance and depth to the individual layers of each roll. The Steamed Red Grouper in Homemade Soy Bean Broth (market price) was, however, disappointing. Steamed in soya milk, and flavoured with fresh ginger, chives, straw mushrooms, and black fungus, the gorgeously silken flesh of the fish was let down by the insipid flavours.

Crispy Fragrant Duck with Lotus-Shaped Buns

Thankfully, the Crispy Fragrant Duck with Lotus-Shaped Buns ($58) upped the ante once more. Carved table side, the mountains of duck flesh from a whole duck were a succulent foil for the lotus-shaped buns, while the crisp skin provided that extra bit of decadence. If you like sambal belachan, make sure you soak every morsel of duck flesh in it for the ultimate flavour effect. The same goes for the Jumbo Prawns in Traditional Dark Sauce ($26/$36/$52). The best way to eat this dish is to drench your prawns and rice with spoonfuls of the addictive gravy.

Jumbo Prawns in Traditional Dark Sauce

Which leaves us with the Traditional Salt Baked Sri Lankan Crab (market price) – a decent alternative to its chilli-soaked or pepper-seasoned sibling. Wok-fried with a medley of salts and spices, the crab is baked for half an hour at a low temperature before all the salt is removed, resulting in a sweetened flavour and hints of wok hei.

Traditional Salt Baked Sri Lankan Crab

Expect Joyden Treasure’s desserts to be of a timeless quality. For example, the Heritage Dessert Duo consisted of Traditional Orh Nee (Teochew-style yam paste, $16/26/36 or $6 for individual); which was satisfyingly hearty, and the Malagao ($4.20 per slice); a steamed fluffy sponge cake.

Aside from dishing out excellent Chinese cuisine, it seems to us that Joyden Concepts’ success can be credited to the family – the older members laying a solid foundation and the new generation building upon it – behind the organization. And we won’t be surprised to see this institution last for many years to come.