Eat First 食之为鲜 @ 287 Geylang • Continuing the Legacy of Sek Wai Sin Eating House Est'd 1968 食为先大饭店

Eat First 食之为鲜 | 287 Geylang Rd, Singapore 389336 ☏ 6443 8434 🕑 11:45 am - 2:30 pm | 5:45pm - 9:30 pm (Mon & Tues off)

Came here at the end of a long busy day, just wanting to have a homely meal and chill a little with buddies in Geylang.

Nanyang Siang Pau 1980

Known as Eat First 食之为鲜 now, we always know this by it's old Cantonese name as Sek Wai Sin 食为先大饭店.

They served crackly, flavour saturated aromatic pork lard croutons instead of peanuts while we scanned the menu, and waited for all to arrive 😅 I was the straggler🏃 Sorry pals 🙇

The menu has just 13 items, all familiar, homely Cantonese comfort dishes at competitive prices.

These were the original dishes that made Sek Wai Sin 食为先大饭店 a household name in Singapore since 1968. Founder Chai Kok Hoong has passed on in 2024, and his legacy is ably carried on by his son, Steve, and wife Julia. Steve's mum still helps out at the restaurant.

Buddy checked off seven dishes i.e. more than half the menu 😂

(Steve's brother Desmond runs another restaurant known as Sek Bao Sin 吃飽先 also in Geylang.)

The humble stir fried kailan landed on the table first.

Boomz.

via GIPHY

I was instantly mind blown with my first bite 💥

The leafy greens still had their crunch, juice and flavour overlaid with smokey wok hey, caramelised sauce and lard.

I was shaken from my daze, straightened up, and started to pay attention to the food 😅

Bitter Gourd Pork Ribs 苦瓜排骨. Fall-off-the-bone tender pork ribs and chunks of bitter gourd stewed with fermented bean paste. Savoury sweet profile with a bit of bitter sweetness from the soften fleshy gourd.

Steamed hand chopped pork with salted fish 咸鱼肉饼.

Every Cantonese family have this. Simple marbled pork, chopped, topped with slices of mui heong fermented salted fish, steamed and voila... The iconic well loved Cantonese staple from humble homes to the most exclusive restaurants.

Steamed fish head 豉汁蒸鱼头. Song fish (a carp) smothered with fermented bean paste sauce and lard, garnished with scallion and jullienned chili.

Steamed chicken 清蒸滑鸡. First time I am having this dish.

The dish is made with Anxin chicken 安心雞 which is a French breed raised in Malaysia without hormones and antibiotics.

Just chunks cut from my favourite part of the thigh, soft tender meaty, juicy, with a layer of velvetly smooth supple soft skin.

Chicky sweet and enveloped with subtle savoury flavour with aromatic hints from scallion and ginger.

I love poached chicken, and this indulgent dish is like the whole meal with only the best part, done perfectly 😋

Just passed the half way mark of our dinner. Just whack the food and laugh at cheeky banter.

Bean curd with prawns 豆腐大虾.

Big, succulent, crunchy, sweet meaty, shelled prawns with fried tofu smothered in a thick savoury eggy sauce and dressed with scallion.

Custardly soft creamy inside of the fried tofu.

Watercress and pork rib soup 炖西洋菜排骨汤. Sweet savoury soup every Cantonese knows. The watercress was boiled till the leaves and stems were soft.

Been eating at Sek Wei Sin for decades. The same flavours (though lower intensity of saltiness*), good quality of ingredients, artful execution, generous servings, friendly family crew, simple no frills setting, bare naked walls 😂, everyone who comes here knows everything else are distractions from food on the table.

*I remember Sek Wei Sin dishes used to lean on the too salty side which was how it was, as back then people ate a lot of rice with a bit of robustly savoury salty sides. Nowadays, people enjoy the sides and avoid carbs like rice. So, Steve has toned down on the saltiness. Actually, I like Eat First / Sek Wei Sin a lot more today than ever before.

Hence, this is my first post on Sek Wei Sin (as I won't recommend anything that I don't thoroughly enjoy myself, no matter how famous 😬). I came here for the company and ended up writing a blog post 😂

Still the family restaurant I love.