Restaurant Review: Yum Sing! Takes You Back To The 1960s At Clarke Quay, Singapore
PUBLISHED February 4th, 2021 06:00 am | UPDATED February 9th, 2021 04:54 pm
Walking into Yum Sing!, we barely had a second to appreciate its wood-panelled and neon-lit retro interior before being greeted with a cacophonous cheer from the staff: “YUM SING!”
Yum Sing! is a confluence of many uniquely Singaporean aspects, from its food and beverages to its interior. Indeed, every single element of its interior — from the lamps to the rattan chairs to the marble tables — are local design elements that take you back to the joyful “New World” era of the 1960s to 1980s.
This space is also unapologetically gaudy and whimsical, with bold colours and neon lights everywhere — hell, even carousel horse statues jutting down from the ceiling of the main dining room. Suffused with warm lighting and a jazzy, retro-inspired playlist, it’s safe to say that Yum Sing! has left no stone unturned in creating a fantastical, transportive experience.
A short menu comprising the ‘greatest hits’ of Singaporean cuisine completes the local experience, celebrating our hawker culture. For restaurants to venture into hawker fare is bold, but for Yum Sing!, it’s not a matter of surpassing the hawker scene, but rather to bring attention to it and create versions of these dishes that are decent and delicious — and we think they’ve succeeded on all counts.
Get a round of sharing plates for the table, because these dishes are too delish to stop just at one. Their Oyster Omelette (S$12) definitely passes muster — a crispy, starchy egg batter enveloping juicy oysters — and their Salted Egg Prawns (S$12) were succulent and delicious too. But our table’s unanimous favourite was the utterly sinful, snackable Salted Egg Fish Skin (S$8), a heaping bowl of super-crispy flash-fried fish skin coated generously with a salty-but-sweet salted egg yolk sauce.
For mains, Yum Sing! delivers more hawker favourites. We were fans of the Hainanese Chicken Rice (S$10), featuring succulent GG Poulet Free Range chicken on exceptionally fragrant rice and accompanied by a tangy chilli, and the Bak Kut Teh (S$10), with tender prime rib in an herb-forward broth.
Their noodle dishes were well executed too, from a savoury, umami-laden “Moonlight” Dried Beef Hor Fun (S$10) and a creamy Hokkien Mee (S$10) with a generous portion of seafood to a charred and fragrant Char Kway Teow (S$10). Our only criticism is that the hokkien mee and char kway teow cater more to people who like a milder dish — we love a strong, smoky wok hei taste and would have loved a little more.
Wash down your meal with one of their signature cocktails, which also take a cue from some local flavours. We’re wouldn’t necessarily order Singapore Slings but their Yum Sling (S$18), a refreshing, pineapple-forward take on the drink, was a winner. For something a little more complex, opt for the Kopi-O Gao (S$20), a kopi-forward sweet but tart cocktail with a hint of astringency.
Tipplers looking for something simple will also be happy to see a range of spirits, wines, and classic cocktails on the menu. Not up to drinking? Their non-alcoholic beverages are just as nostalgic; we recommend the Mega Milo Dinosaur (S$8) to take you back to your childhood days.
Yum Sing! is located at Block B, #01-06/07, Clarke Quay, 3 River Valley Road, Singapore 179021, p. +65 6261 6463. Open daily 4pm — 10.30pm.
