834 Eating House in Woodlands is a neighbourhood zi char shop that has been enjoying the loyal support of residents since the 1990s. The kitchen is manned by the same Malaysian crew all these years.
It's located in a typical small HDB corner coffee shop with not many tables. Obscure, little known except to residents of nearby HDB flats and the Evangelical Free Church nearby. Furnishings are typically kopitiam Spartan, it's public housing hyperlocal Singapore style.
But, overall the food is reliably delicious. It gets crowded during meal times, especially on weekends. So, reservation ☎ 9147 4425 ☎️ 9692 8284 is recommended, especially if you are coming with a group.
Parking can be quite difficult here due to limited slots for non residents.
We start with the chili crab. The crustaceans are live, so no need to say much there.
We like the sauce. It is the older school type - thick, tangy, spicy, with touches of sweet, eggy and crustacean umami from the crab. Flavours are well balanced and intensity is just right. (It doesn't have too much belachan, hae bee nor too much egg which I dislike.)
The chili crab here can eat, can recommend ๐
I didn't eat the mantou, but they were all gone, so they must at least be all right. I heard someone commented that they were not greasy, crisp outside, fluffy inside and perfect with the sauce.
The salted egg prawns were nice too. The creamy sauce was savoury sweet umami of the salted egg type - flavours were well balanced and relatively mild. There were traces of chili and curry leaf.
Nyonya style sauce fish head. Made with fresh angkoli snapper fish. The thicken sauce was sourish sweet spicy. Personally, I prefer a more watery sauce and a higher spiciness quotient but this Nyonya fish is still likeable. In fact, the rest like this a lot, taking time to pick the bones ๐
834 Eating House has one of my favourite har cheong gai in Singapore. They are all battered flats (mid joint) fried till golden brown crisp outside while the inside remains moist and tender. The marinade is savoury but not overly salty (which is my pet peeve with HCG elsewhere).
I like this fried tofu. The browned outside is soft chewy while the inside is just slightly denser than tau huay (bean curd). The fried chai poh is savoury but not overly salty, so it complements the savoury sweet fried tofu well.
Their brinjal stewed in savoury sweet spicy sauce with hae bee (dried shrimp), minced pork and a bit of chili is also nice.
A simple, no frills, gritty, hyperlocal place for lunch or dinner. At 834 Eating House, the flavours are robust but not over the top. The dishes are not overly greasy which is a pet peeve of mine at some other zhi char places. Prices here are fair and food is tasty. This place is a keeper for comfort dishes.
Menu selection.
Written by Tony Boey on 25 Sep 2023
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