Zi Char - a term commonly known and loved by Singaporean and Malaysian, is a place where the food served is taste very similar to what we grow up with, and a portion of them actually reminds us of our mom's home-cooked meal.
Sum Kee started at a coffee shop between River Valley Road and Kellock Road, then moved to Zion Road before they settled at the Yeo’s building just a few years ago.
Please do not expect this place to offer good seafood as they are a restaurant specialized in home specialty food, rather than a specialized seafood restaurant.
There are plenty of free parking spaces around even during the dinner time. The interior and exterior of this place remind me of the many restaurants we see in Malaysia - simple, no frill decoration but functional.
Fancy some caffeine on your meat? Go for their Coffee Pork Ribs! The sauce they used tasted very much like your average coffee-- it's good but not outstanding. The meat from the pork ribs was however very tender, we felt that it would be good if it is the sweet and sour version.
Curry fish head is one of the recommended dishes at Sum Kee, and we decided to try it. The thick gravy they used - similar to the laksa taste goes very well when served with rice. For the fish, they use red snapper which is commonly used in all zi char restaurants as the meat of the red snapper is smooth and tender. Overall, the curry fish head here is more like an average dish, but do order it if you are craving for some curry to go with your rice.
This may look like abalone to you but this is just an abalone mushroom. it was full of oyster sauce taste, but what I love about this dish is that that they still preserve the vegetable crunchiness.
The tofu was fragrant and very silky smooth, lightly fried with the sweet and sour gravy, which the sauce is thickened with eggs. Tastewise honestly I would love it more if they have done it using braised sauce.
This is definitely my favorite dish here! Deep fried prawn ball, coated with a generous amount of cereal was fried perfectly till golden yellowish-- topped up with chili padi and curry leaf, is definitely a recommended dish! The fried prawn ball was very crispy on the outside and tender and on the inside, and yet the prawn freshness is preserved.
Ngoh Hiang was the next dish served-- the outside might look crispy but it was not. They were soft on the outside of the meat inside was loosely packed. A very ordinary dish here.
Fu Yong egg was next, well it was just a thin spread of the fried egg, which I could not taste any egg. It was kind of a disappointment to me.
They have a special dish here called wallet chicken. It is a whole deboned chicken (including the wing and drum) stuffed with glutinous rice, diced chicken meat, peanuts, chestnuts and dried mushroom.
The chicken skin was deep fried till golden brown crispy, but the meat tasted like any other fried chicken you can find anywhere. The stuff glutinous rice inside the chicken reminds me of Bak Chang (dumpling), I would say it's sort of a novelty dish.
Will I return again? Yes, I still would! They have a lot of variety which I have not tried, and I think I've only eaten about 10 percent of what they have on their menu. A plus point of this restaurant is that it is a definitely a good place for family and friends gathering. However, it is highly recommended for you to call for booking prior visiting the restaurant to secure your dining experience!
