In their own words, Westlake isn't a conventional dialect restaurant - they serve "Hokkien, Cantonese and Sze Chuan cuisines", plus a smattering of dim sum dishes and local snacks. Purists may baulk at that, but the story behind their origins is at least quite uplifting.
One may be surprised to know that the founder of Westlake did not have a professional culinary background, but instead was still teaching in a top secondary school in Singapore when he decided to set up this eatery. That is pretty awesome, considering that he managed to come up with a signature dish that has become iconic to Westlake, and indeed, their longevity speaks for their popularity.
I sporadically visited Westlake in my childhood days, as we were fans of their famed kong bak pau. My last trip there was a family dinner in 2010 including my father-in-law, who sadly passed on later that year. It's been 13 years since then, and I was looking forward to returning for a nostalgic meal, in terms of both taste and experience.
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| Westlake Braised Pork with Pau 西湖扣肉包 ($18 for 5) (Recommended) |
It's not a pretty sight I must say - the Braised Pork slices weren't plated as attractively as I'd have liked for photo-taking. But what it lacked in appearance, it more than made up for in taste. The gooey, savoury-sweet braise sauce slathered on the moist & tender meat with an almost-gelatinous skin and fat combination was delicious. This dish typically takes up to 8 hours to make, and it shows. I must say that it leans on the sweeter side though, something that may not appeal to modern taste buds.
I threw in a piece of pork belly, a sliver of iceberg lettuce and a stalk of Chinese parsley in between the pillowy-soft buns, and indulged myself in some reminiscing about yesteryear as I munched away.
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| Westlake Roast Chicken 西湖烧鸡 ($19 for half) (Recommended) |
The Roast Chicken was a well-executed take on a classic Cantonese dish that used to be a Chinese wedding dinner staple. Ours came with a nice, crisp skin with flesh that had not dried out from the roasting process. Add a squeeze of lime and a dash of the salt & pepper dip for a little twist to the taste.
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| Hot & Sour Soup 酸辣汤 ($14) |
The Hot & Sour Soup is another signature here - it comes under the Sze Chuan section of the menu and is supposedly a favorite of the founder and his wife, served with a myriad of ingredients such as wood fungus, tofu and mushrooms. I felt it was quite mild, so it's suitable for those who can't take high spice levels but want something to warm the stomach.
For hot & sour soup, my favorite is still the version from Tong Xin Ju at Maxwell Food Centre.
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| Deep-fried Squid 酥炸苏东仔 ($17) (Recommended) |
We also tried the Deep-fried Squid. If your mind instinctively conjures up an image of baby squids deep-fried to a crunch and then coated in a sweet sauce, you'd have to look elsewhere. They use slightly bigger squids here, which are lightly coated in batter and flour before quick frying to obtain a light, golden exterior while ensuring the interior remains succulent.
I found it very enjoyable and while it's probably not helpful to your cholesterol levels, I would recommend this.
The classic zi char favourite Sweet & Sour Pork is also done well here. The deep-fried pork nuggets are coated in a glistening tangy tomato-based sauce, and of course accompanied with the usual condiments like cucumbers, onions and bell peppers.
The kids' favorite was the Foo Yong Egg which in my opinion was way too oily. It would have been great if they had let it sit a little while longer on a sieve to drain off the excess oil, because it was otherwise delicious with a good assortment of ingredients.
Interestingly, there is a dim sum section in the menu where you can find items such as chee cheong fun, spring onion pancakes and even hokkien popiah. Some of the recipes for these dim sum dishes were actually picked up by the founder during his overseas travels, which explains their appearance on the eatery's menu.
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| Sliced Fish with Kailan 芥兰鱼片 ($15) |
The Sliced Fish with Kailan had interesting ingredients such as bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms, but were a little too sweet for us. I also didn't like that most of the fish slices had fallen apart during the stir-fry process.
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| Sweet & Sour Pork 蜜汁咕噜肉 ($15) (Recommended) |
The classic zi char favourite Sweet & Sour Pork is also done well here. The deep-fried pork nuggets are coated in a glistening tangy tomato-based sauce, and of course accompanied with the usual condiments like cucumbers, onions and bell peppers.
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| Hotplate Beancurd 铁板豆腐 ($13) |
The Hotplate Beancurd is slightly spicy, so do take note if you are ordering this for kids. Nothing mind-blowing, and they spammed plenty of sliced canned button mushrooms, which didn't sit well with me.
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| Mixed Vegetables 罗汉斋 ($11) |
Just like the kailan, the Mixed Vegetables were on the sweet side, though I did like the selection of vegetables used - french beans, black fungus, cauliflower, bamboo shoots and an assortment of mushrooms - which made for a very interesting texture mix during consumption.
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| Foo Yong Egg 芙蓉蛋 ($11) |
The kids' favorite was the Foo Yong Egg which in my opinion was way too oily. It would have been great if they had let it sit a little while longer on a sieve to drain off the excess oil, because it was otherwise delicious with a good assortment of ingredients.
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| Steamed Dumplings 小笼包 ($9) |
Interestingly, there is a dim sum section in the menu where you can find items such as chee cheong fun, spring onion pancakes and even hokkien popiah. Some of the recipes for these dim sum dishes were actually picked up by the founder during his overseas travels, which explains their appearance on the eatery's menu.
We tried out the Xiao Long Bao, which was actually rather flavourful but the soup was conspicuously absent from the interior. We didn't spot any leakage or any torn skin, so perhaps that is how it is done here. But that's missing the essence of Xiao Long Bao, so that's something they could perhaps work on.
They have a full array of noodles and rice dishes here, so we sampled the Westlake Fried Bee Hoon and Yangzhou Fried Rice, which were both good but unexceptional.
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| Westlake Fried Bee Hoon 西湖米粉 ($7) |
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| Yangzhou Fried Rice 扬州炒饭 ($7) |
They have a full array of noodles and rice dishes here, so we sampled the Westlake Fried Bee Hoon and Yangzhou Fried Rice, which were both good but unexceptional.
The eatery is located on the second level of a 40-years-old HDB block, with a spacious outdoor area where the kids are free to run around and some interesting shops littered along the level. The food is admittedly not outstanding, but it certainly exudes an old-school charm that brings back fond memories of restaurants of yesteryear. It's worth a re-visit, and not only for the kong bak paus!
They also offer buffet catering services, so that's also an option to consider the next time you are planning for an event.
Address: Block 4 Queen's Road #02-139 S(260004)
Opening Hours: 11am to 2pm, 5pm to 9pm daily
Date of Last Visit: 20th August 2023
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