汕園潮洲酒樓 Swa Garden Restaurant ........ an enjoyable family dinner

I wouldn't know Swa Garden Restaurant if not for the God of Fortune. He had blessed one of my aunties and of course she got a little windfall. While she got the money luck, we got the 'makan' luck. We were all invited to Swa Garden Restaurant to share her spoils. Swa Garden restaurant is a traditional Teochew restaurant that is located along Macpherson Road, opposite Harvey Road. I didn't have much expectations of the food at first but it turned out quite delicious. We had a 10 course dinner for 24 people and the total bill was about S$580. The 2 big steamed pomfrets that we ate was S$150. This made the cost on the rest of the food relatively economical.

鱼鳔上汤 Fish Maw Soup

The fish maw soup is a typical Teochew dish. Swa Garden's version is not too starchy and taste really good with the black vinegar. It didn't have the fishy smell that was due to the fish maw when it was not prepared well.

潮洲卤鹅 Teochew Braised Goose

One of Swa's signature dish is the Teochew Braised Goose. The goose was thinly sliced and braised till a good tenderness. Don't be fooled by what looks like a pile of sliced braise goose. Underneath the pile were the braised tofu. The slices of goose were still sufficient enough to go around.

川椒虾婆球 Fried Spiced Crayfish Ball

This crayfish dish didn't look as good as it taste but was polished up in double quick time. The crayfish was still tender and sweet inside while the spice gave it a good 'kick' to the taste.

Deep Fried Chicken and Duck in 'Money" Bags.

This super crunchy deep fried "money bags" wrapped with chicken and duck must be the joy of all the kids at the table. Be careful, this is very oily stuff. The base of the money bags seemed to be soaked with oil but it was delicious nevertheless.

五香 虾枣 Deep Fried liver roll and prawn balls

This dish seems to be the must have dish whenever there's a family dinner in Teochew or Hokkien restaurant. The Deep Fried Liver Roll was something quite different from the minced pork roll that may look similar on the outside. The prawn balls wasn't as impressive though. It just taste slightly better than the frozen prawn balls sold in the supermarket.

八宝素菜 Stewed Eight Variety Vegetables

With so many fried dishes, this appetizing vegetable dish was most welcome. The eight ingredients in this Teochew vegetable dish are fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms, cabbage, bamboo shoots, sea weed, chestnuts, lotus seeds, dried bean skin.

鲳鱼 Teochew Style Steamed Pomfret

Our fresh pomfret was steamed Teochew style, with tomato and plum. This Teochew style of steaming fish resulted in a pool of soup rather than sauce which is light enough that can be drunk straight up with a spoon. The pomfret was very big and it ended up half cooked. We had to get it sent back into the steamer. Apart from this glitch, there's nothing I can complain about this Teochew style fresh steam fish which absolutely indulged me.

Freshly Made Siew Mai 烧卖

The freshly made siew mai was some how ordered as my aunty though that there wasn't enough food to go around. Absolutely wrong! Nevertheless, these siew mai still all got gobbled up by the 'bottomless pit' formed by our 24 men strong appetites. It still taste good even though all of us should have already reached the edge of diminishing marginal returns for any food that's to be dished out.

汕园果条 Swa Garden Fried Kway Teow

At the 9th course, it's the Swa Garden Signature Fried Kway Teow add some carbos to the proteins that we've eaten. The kway teow was fried with bits of preserved vegetables (chai bo).

金瓜芋泥 Sweet Yam with Pumpkin

Another typical Teochew dish, our last dish and dessert, is the yam paste with pumpkin. The yam paste wasn't as smooth as some that eaten, like the one at New Taiwan Porridge at Amoy street.

I noticed that the cold crab was also their popular dish as this dish was seen on most tables. Apart from that, there's no corkage if you bring your own wine to go with your meal.

Thanks Jeslene for recommending this restaurant and thanks KaKa aunty for the treat. HY and I had an enjoyable Teochew style dinner. May the God of Fortune knock at our doors again.

540 Macpherson Road

(Opposite Harvey Road)

Singapore

Tel : 65 6744 5009