The standard dumpling choice that would not go wrong. These dumplings reminded me a little of xiao long baos as there would be a burst of “soup” upon biting into them. The filling itself was very flavourful, albeit on the sweeter side compared to similar dumplings.
Pretty good fare for a neighbourhood cafe. While the dish may not look like much, the chicken was actually really tender with a nice crisp on the outside. The mushroom sauce was pretty decent too and came with a variety of juicy mushrooms.
If you come during lunch hour, their lunch set deal includes an iced tea along with your main!
The ramen itself was ok; not the greatest I’ve ever had and too much spring onions to my liking, but that’s not why you come here. It’s all about the fire and experience! I found out that the purpose of the fire is to impart the negi oil to its signature green onion broth, which also lends the broth a smoky flavour.
Delectable and comforting bowl of handmade egg noodles. The mee kia came moist, well-oiled and intoxicatingly fragrant with the usual trio of plump little wantons. The emaciated char siew was frankly quite disgraceful but with noodles like that, who's complaining? Savoury and sinfully satisfying especially with the fiery spicy chilli!
The mochi donut arrived to our table freshly-fried, evident from the already melting soft-serve. Inside this crispy donut was a thick slab of mochi that made each bite of the donut extremely soft and chewy. It was glazed in a sticky salted caramel sauce. In the centre of the donut (hidden under the soft serve and butter waffle biscuit) were bits of what they called “almond crunch”, which were crumbles that tasted strongly of peanut butter and were more savoury than sweet. The cookie butter soft serve itself was not outstanding as it tasted more like a generic vanilla soft serve than cookie butter, although its creamy texture went great with the hot mochi donut.
This stack of three pancakes was delightfully soft and fluffy. The inside of the pancakes were slightly undercooked, although I must admit I did enjoy that as it went pretty well with the toppings.
Instead of the staple of butter and maple syrup, Brotherbird Coffeehouse serves their pancakes with a yummy blueberry maple compote that had a generous amount of fresh blueberries. But the star of the dish was definitely the whipped vanilla and mascarpone cream. It had the consistency of light whipped cream, but the addition of mascarpone cheese added a nice richness and just the slightest amount of tanginess. The cream also melted into the warm pancakes which just made everything taste even better.
While my all-time favourite blueberry pancakes are from Clinton Street Baking Company, this is a pretty solid contender.
The stew was pretty flavourful, with a variety of ingredients such as carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms. There was also a distinctive flavour of truffle with the addition of truffle oil to the stew. The chicken leg was tender and the meat separated from the bone easily.
The stew was accompanied by a croissant with melted cheese. Perhaps we had waited too long before digging into the croissant, as we found the croissant to be a bit hard. However, that was remedied by dipping the croissant into the stew, as the flakey layers of pastry easily soaked up the gravy. The melted cheese added a nice nuttiness too.
But perhaps, they could have been a tad more generous with the amount of gravy.
The spicy version of Lau Wang’s signature sesame oil chicken features the same tender chicken pieces in a flavourful sesame oil gravy, although this time with the addition of dried and red cut chillis that provided a good amount of heat. The sauce is quite spicy, and perhaps better suited for those with a decent tolerance for spice.
The dish reminded me of stir-fried sambal kangkong dishes you could get from most tze char stalls. The sambal had its distinctive umami flavour and the spicy chilli provided a nice kick. A good choice if you’re looking for some flavourful greens while at Lau Wang.
Lau Wang’s homemade ngoh hiang featured minced pork that was well-seasoned with five spice powder. The addition of diced water chestnuts to the mixture added a refreshing crunch. The beancurd skin wrapped around it was nicely crisped, although just a tad oily, but we guess that’s what makes the ngoh hiang so juicy and flavourful too.
Packed with a generous mix of soft cabbage, lily buds, beancurd skin, black fungus and some vermicelli noodles, the chap chye was cooked in a sweet gravy that also had savoury notes from the use of dried shrimp. It is generally a light dish and a good accompaniment to the other dishes which tend to be more heavily-seasoned.
I have to start this review by talking about how smooth and tender these pieces of chicken are! The chicken went perfectly with the sweet and savoury gravy that had a strong sesame oil flavour to it. It is no wonder that this is Lau Wang’s signature dish. Highly recommended for you to get a bowl of rice to sop up all of that delicious gravy.
