Some parts of the world might be in the midst of opening up for overseas travel given how COVID-19 has more or less become an endemic; that being said, there are still countries that have yet to re-open their doors to the world, and that plenty of eateries have been sprouting up to bring locals the culinary experiences of those places closer to home. There has been some new Hong Kong Char Chaan Teng concepts that had either sprouted up or expanded during this period — the opening of Friends Cafe at The Brooks I in the Springleaf neighbourhood and the new outlets of Legendary Hong Kong at Funan and Rochester Commons are just some of the note-worthy ones over the past two years. Opening fairly recently at Changi Airport Terminal 1 at the Viewing Mall area is Terrace Chinese Kitchen — a brand by the Airport Dining group that operates various eateries and lounges across different airports all around the world (they had also recently opened TGM Japanese Korean Cuisine and Root98 at Changi Airport Terminal 1 Viewing Mall in a unit adjacent to Terrace Chinese Kitchen). The Singapore outpost is however, not the first Terrace Chinese Kitchen concept around — there also seems to be another located in Sydney Airport within the non-public area that serves a menu more extensive than the outlet here. Bringing the masses an option for Hong Kong Char Chaan Teng-style dining at Changi Airport, the Terrace Chinese Kitchen here serves up a menu that consists of sections dedicated to “French Toast, Sandwiches & Buns”, “Hong Kong Signatures” (think street food like the Curry Fishball & Pork Skin), “Hong Kong Style Congee”, “Vegetarian” and “Wok Fried” — they also do have a separate “Create Your Own Cart Noodles” section where one can select their choice of noodles and soup, as well as the sides to go along; each item coming with its own price tag. Beverages available at Terrace Chinese Kitchen includes bottled / canned drinks, Coffee, Hong Kong Style Milk Tea, Yuan Yang and Coke with Ginger & Lemon amongst a few others.

Not sure if it was because we were placing our “bets” too heavily on the French Toast, Sandwiches & Buns section of the menu — the item that we liked most from our visit to Terrace Chinese Kitchen was the French Toast with Syrup & Butter. We liked how the French Toast with Syrup & Butter was done relatively well as compared to the other items that we have had from the same section of the menu such as the Crispy Bun with Butter and Condense Milk (i.e. Foccacia with butter, toasted and drizzled with condensed milk) and the fairly uninspiring Creamy Scrambled Egg Sandwich. In retrospect, we liked how the French Toast with Syrup & Butter comes slightly eggy on the exposed sides; came also with those crispy ends around — never mind that grease from the butter which melted quickly from the temperature of the French Toast; that sinfully savoury goodness just made it all the better with the slight drizzle of sweet syrup that gives it the sweet-savoury touch that it exactly needs. In between the two slices of bread is a layer of smooth peanut butter — the nuttiness further enhancing those sweet-savoury notes that makes it that classic Hong Kong-style French Toast that is simple yet comforting that is best paired with Yuan Yang or the Hong Kong Style Milk Tea; a truly authentic experience to have without having to book a ticket out of the country.

We have came across some reviews giving positive comments on the food served up here; there again, it does feel like we probably ordered the wrong items — the photos often featured a spread of items that are from their “Wok-Fried” and “Create Your Own Cart Noodles” section of the menu which we had completely missed out on. We did, however, feel that it is really difficult to convince us to make a return visit considering the quality of the food for the items we had order — this is especially so for the Creamy Scrambled Egg Sandwich which seemed like a sandwich feature pre-prepared scrambled eggs that seem a little bit on the dry side; almost akin to an amateur attempt for a scrambled egg sandwich. Prices of the food at Terrace Chinese Kitchen are however pretty affordable — most items with the exception of those listed on the “Wok-Fried” section of the menu are priced between $4 to $12; the majority being in the single-digit zone. We wouldn’t be able to guarantee it — perhaps one might have a better experience at Terrace Chinese Kitchen if they decided to go for the “Wok-Fried” or “Create Your Own Cart Noodles” menu instead — still a rather pocket-friendly choice to dine at within Changi Airport without having to resort to dining at the staff canteen / food court.