Ah Orh Seafood Restaurant

Teochew eateries are a dime and a dozen in the Lion City but Ah Orh remains one that we will revisit at the drop of a hat.

Its allure can’t be attributed to the far-flung location on the ground floor of an HDB flat at Jalan Bukit Merah, although we admit that there is a certain charm to its vibrant reception-cum- kitchen decked out with canned food. The roaring wok churns out recipes that have been passed down over the years – from its first anchor at Hong Lim Green in the 1950s, to its current venue in the heartlands. The ba bao cai (‘eight treasure vegetables’), a mound of melt-in-the-mouth white cabbages and black moss bathing in a savoury brown broth, is a must, as is the oil-fluffed oyster omelette topped with generous morsels of the mollusk. Meanwhile the mussels tossed in a wok, with sprigs of Chinese celery and curry leaves in a piquant paste, are out of this world.