Hakka Yu @ Northpoint City • Revival of Hakka Cuisine in Singapore? 客语客家菜 ☎ 6908 0622

Hakka Yu Northpoint City | 930 Yishun Ave 2, South Wing, #01-103 Northpoint City, 769098 (opposite the KFC outlet) 🚅 At Yishun MRT station ☎ 6908 0622 ⏰ 11:30am - 10pm

Attended a media tasting at the newly opened Hakka Yu 客语客家菜 restaurant in Northpoint City in Yishun.

Hakka Yu is a big space in Northpoint City mall. And, even though it opened only recently, it was already full house when we were there for lunch today.

There's a lot of curiosity about the brand which originated in Guangzhou city in Guangdong, China. Today, Hakka Yu has over 80 outlets in China, and two in Singapore - one in Jewel (Changi Airport), and this in Northpoint City. Another is in the pipeline opening in Oct 2025 in JEM (at Jurong East MRT station).

They launched us straight into their signature dish.

Intangible Cultural Heritage Hakka Salt-Baked Chicken 客家非遗盐焗 $18.80++ (half) $37.60++ (whole).

My first thought was this was very competitive pricing, especially for kampung chicken in a comfortable, well appointed restaurant in a popular shopping mall.

When the staff lifted the cover of the claypot, we can smell a strong whiff of nice chicky aroma from the steamy hand-pulled chicken. Yeah, the salt-baked bird was so tender that they ripped it with gloved hands instead of chopping it up.

The salt-baked meat was tender firm, moist but wasn't as salty as I expected. There was a slight chicky sweetness especially in the skin. Personally, I prefer it more salty and sweet. The chicken came with bone which I enjoyed chewing on to get at the meat.

Hakka Stuffed Tofu 客家酿豆腐 $12.80++

I like this Hakka style tofu a lot as it was stuffed with minced pork and pan seared to a slight browned crisp outside before stewing in a thicken sauce with soy beans. Nice soya bean taste in the soft juicy smooth inside, layered with porcine sweetness and savouriness from the sauce.

Hakka Traditional Pork Soup (pax) 传统客家猪肉汤(位) $5.80++

I like it that the small soup pot was modelled after the emblematic tu lou 土楼 or Hakka village fortress.

This soup is a traditional comfort dish from the Hakka tu lou 土楼, village fortresses perched on the hills of Fujian and Guangdong provinces in China.

Traditionally, the scum is not skimmed off but enjoyed together with the soup made with pork meat, bone, heart, and peppercorn. The soup tasted savoury, peppery, porcine sweet. Reminded me of Singapore Teochew bak kut teh but milder and not as layered nor as sharply peppery.

Traditional Cantonese Claypot Rice with Cured Meats 广东腊味煲仔饭 $13.80++

I like this claypot rice as the grains were loose and separate easily, tender nutty to the bite, gently savoury sweet from the sauces. The cured meats in the form of lup cheong 腊肠 added umami and savoury highlights. The dish was also punctuated with bits of crunchy browned crust. Personally, if there were more intense savoury flavours and a dash of aromatic oil, this claypot rice could be one of my favourites.

Cantonese Char Siu 广式叉烧 $16.80++

Savoury sweet like candied meat with a nice proportion of fat. Slightly gummy from the caramelised sweet glaze outside, yet leaning more to the savoury salty side. Meat was tender with layer of soft juicy fat.

Claypot Braised Eggplant 鱼香茄子煲 $12.80++

I like this preparation for eggplant. Cut like fat noodles, the fleshy strips sponged up the sauce and its layered savoury flavours very well. It's delicious with the eggplant's own natural sweetness adding to the taste profile of the comfort dish.

Hakka Green Kueh 客家青团 $6.80++

I like this dessert a lot. The glutinous rice ball was thick but it was tasty as it was infused with the subtle herby grassy taste and fragrance of green mugwort weed 艾蒿. The thick skin wrapped mildly sweet red bean paste inside. As for me, I don't mind the thick skin.

Chinese Rice Wine 纯米酒 $42.80++

We tasted two rice wines, one pure rice and another infused with osmanthus bloom floral fragrance.

Both were sweet and mellow with rice aroma. Smooth on the throat and palate, easy to enjoy at just 4% alcohol. I like both, but prefer the pure rice wine (without the added floral fragrance).

Hakka Yu is a welcome addition to the already wide dining options at Northpoint City. It is a comfortable, family friendly restaurant serving familiar comfort dishes, especially if you are Hakka though most of us would have tasted many of these dishes before. Flavours are balanced and leaned to the mild side for my palate. Prices are only at a slight premium over food court, so it is good value in my opinion.

There are still many other dishes on the menu and I can see myself coming back to try them on my own with kaki kaki.

The Hakka clan is the fourth largest in Singapore with 200,000+ members. Hakka cuisine is represented in Singapore mainly by Hakka yong tau foo hawker stalls. Hakka Yu is a welcome addition to the Singapore culinary scene since the last Hakka restaurant Plum Village has closed. Hope that Hakka Yu can lead the revival of Hakka cuisine in Singapore.