Review: Goldleaf Restaurant

Goldleaf Restaurant, formerly called New Taiwanese Porridge Restaurant--and hence from the name itself--offers Taiwanese-Singaporean dishes that we were lucky to have gotten wind of thanks to Paperkitties who extended the invitation to Gwen and I from the management of Goldleaf Restaurant themselves!

I'm going to be honest and say that I never tried Taiwanese cuisine before. Despite the oh-too-common misconception that I'm Chinese, I'm not, and I didn't grow up eating Chinese dishes and so most of what we tried were quite unfamiliar to me. Thus, I really didn't know what to expect upon arriving, so the following opinion comes from someone who tried most of the offerings for the first time, and I was very well impressed despite my initial doubts.

Located at Amoy Street, it is easily accessible from Raffles MRT or Chinatown MRT, depending on where you're coming from, and since this place is nearby a lot office buildings, you might be working near here so you might want to drop by and try their specialties for lunch or dinner!

I was late, so the girls ordered the drinks ahead for me, and when I arrived, apart from the cold drinks, there was already hot tea served and waiting for me! The sweet potato porridge was also served immediately, and we were informed that the porridge was unlimited! Upon trying the porridge seemed tasteless at first, but that was the point because the rest of the meal would be very tasteful and thus the porridge balances this out.

Fresh Cockles with Chef's Special Sauce

The girls were expecting me to not be overly fond of the Cockles, but surprisingly it was good. It didn't have that too fishy taste and it went well with their chilli.

Minced Pork With Olives

This went well with the porridge and it wasn't too salty either, as one would expect with these kinds of dishes.

Traditional Shrimp rolls

The shrimp rolls were very delectable, and tasted fresh! I ate quite a number as it was very appetizing.

Cod with House Specialty Sauce

I must say this is my favorite among all! I wasn't expecting it to be so crispy on the outside and so soft on the inside, and the sauce had the perfect sweet taste. Must try if you're heading there soon!

Omnomnomonom

3-cup chicken 

This had what I may call "that authetic chinese taste"-- I'm not too sure if it was the basil but it has this tang that most chinese dishes have. It was good, but a bit easily forgettable among the rest of what was served.

Chye por omelette 

The omelette, oh how I loved the omelette! Chye por is salted white raddish and it certainly added the kick to this dish, as bits of it left a lovely crunchy texture mixed with the delicate softness of the egg!

Goldleaf Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables Buns

Usually, the best part about buns, for me, is actually just the bun alone: I love their ultra soft texture and often I would just eat them on their own. For this one though, I finished all as the pork was also soft and the lettuce was very fresh!

Seafood Beancurd Bars

I am starting to notice that most of their dishes are wonderful combinations of crispy and soft--and it goes the same way with the Seafood beancurd. Although, for me I would still prefer the original texture of soft tofu, this variation is also worth trying.

Taiwan Lettuce 

Stir-fried French Beans

Both vegetables were served at the same time and they were quite the opposite: The Lettuce had that salty taste whereas the french beans helped to even out the flavour of the rest of the dishes. Though the girls preferred the french beans, I still liked the lettuce better.

Sambal Seabass

We were asked if we wanted to try a dish with a more Singaporean feel, and we tried the Sambal Seabass. It comes as no. 2 of my favorites after the Cod! The sauce reminds me of bagoong, a type of Philippine condiment made from fish and salt, and like their other seafood, tasted very fresh and didn't have that unpleasant fishy metallic sapor.

Golden Egg Yolk Prawns 

I'd say my tastebuds got confused by these Prawns, as I initially thought they were too mushy, until I realized that the texture was actually the salted egg yolk. As soon as I got used to it though, I took a liking to it as well.

Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Egg Yolk

I was expecting the Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Egg Yolk to be overwhelmingly salty but it wasn't! 

We ate a lot didn't we? OMG.

After stuffing our hearts out with all those dishes, who would believe that we still have room for dessert, and quite a number of desserts there were!

Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts

Red Tea Pudding 

Almond Jelly

Green Tea Pudding 

Herbal Jelly 

Hashima 

Among the desserts, I like the Hashima and Herbal Jelly best!

Service was very good and Karen, our hostess, stopped by to chat with us and share some stories about the Restaurant. It was first opened in 1971 at Oxley Rise before settling permanently at Amoy Street, and the Sweet Potato served with the dishes can be traced back to the hard times in the ‘30s and ‘40s.

Dinner Date!

Thanks so much to Karen for ensuring that we had the best service!

The restaurant itself is very unpretentious, moving from its entrance doors to the interiors, it has a very homey and comfortable feel. I was also quite surprised that a lot of Japanese were there (which is, for me, a good sign. lol) Definitely enjoyed dining at Goldleaf Restaurant and it made me appreciate Asian dishes more! Thank you so much to Goldleaf for their generosity and impeccable service and to Paperkitties who invited us!

I know you guys would also like to try, so from now until 31st October 2013, quote SNAUW and get 10% discount off your bill! Only applicable for food, and minimum spending of $50 applies. Enjoy!!

Goldleaf

New Taiwan Porridge Restaurant

110 Amoy Street Singapore 069930 

T: 6324 8310

F: 6324 8312

E: goldleaf110@gmail.com

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11:30 - 14:30
         18:00 - 23:00