Lunch at Wan He Lou Restaurant (萬合樓)

65 Maude Road, Singapore 208347

Tel: 6294 8057

Website: http://www.wanhelou.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WanHeLou

Having read some great reviews about Wan He Lou, and psyched that there is another restaurant serving lobster porridge, *Charmaine and I decided to have lunch here on this lovely Sunday afternoon.

Set in a row of shophouses along Jalan Besar, this little Chinese restaurant is not hard to locate. The decoration is so pretty, with a homely but tasteful Oriental style design, Chinese lantern lights all over this cosy restaurant boosting of really good, sincere service.

Just the two of us, but we were given the VIP room to dine in, thank you! We browsed the menu though we already knew we were here for the signature Lobster Porridge.

I took a couple of shots from inside our room while waiting for *Charmaine to arrive. Yes, it was packed with happy looking diners.

Starter of Wasabi Macadamia Nuts (SGD$2.00) was served - not bad , crunchy with a good combination of savoury and sweet and spicy.

The first dish being served was the Pan Fried Kurobuta Pork (SGD$14.90) - a very luscious, homely dish with succulent black pork meat, panfried in a lovely sauce - the meat was tender yet juicy. The decoration comprising of thin wedges of dragonfruit by the side was really pretty.

Next, we had the Crispy Lotus with Salted Egg (SGD$11.90) - paper thin slices of lotus deep fried with salted egg and basil leaves - we loved this as well. The lightly saccharine taste of lotus gave way to salted egg's richer taste, and the basil added hints of spiciness to the dish. Usually I dislike lotus because of its hard texture , but the lotus prepared this way was crispy (true to its name) , like eating lotus chips.

Needing some fibre in the diet, we also ordered a Green Dragon Vegetable (SGD$9.90) stir fried with chopped garlic. We did not kn ow how to describe this dish except it was kind of crunchy, and came with a very slight tangy spice overture, it reminded me a lot of chives.

Finally, the Signature Lobster Porridge (SGD$39.90 for two) was being served, a large pot of broth, rice grains and large lobsters greeted us in a delightful sight.

See, the lobster flesh which we happily attacked later - hmmm, the lobster was lacking in the usual sweetness of lobster though the flesh was of a bouncy fresh texture. *Charmaine did break apart the claws area with the pincer to further exploit the flesh within but I was too prima-donna to do so.

The anticipation was over as we took our first bite of the soup / porridge. We could not understand why reviews described it as being "rich in lobster flavor" and all similar phrases alike. Granted, the broth itself was flavorful and we could tell it was of superior stock, but the ginger taste obliterated other elements in the broth.

Perhaps our expectations were just raised, set by the previous Lobster Porridge experience at Live Orchid Seafood Restaurant, which served superior lobster broth in a very lobster-y flavor. Do read my review here.

Nevertheless, the other dishes were all delicious, and service was very hospitable at Wan He Lou, so do drop by for a meal