I have been to Good Year Seafood Village with my family often and have noticed Beng Poh Eating House just next door. However, Beng Poh seemed to lack crowd each time we were there so we didn’t bother trying their food until Uncle Smart posted his lunch photos on Facebook. Steamed shark’s head, that’s what caught my attention! I’m a fan of that dish and usually gets my fix at 83 Seafood in MacPherson Lane.
Recently, I managed to round up a few buddies (most of them living in the western part of central region Singapore) to go there. Although they have been to Ikea Tampines, they still likened the oblique route to Beng Poh Eating House a drive to the kampong (countryside), haha… I cannot disagree as both Good Year Seafood Village Restaurant and Beng Poh Seafood Restaurant are situated in an off the beaten track industrial area, flanked by a number of Chinese temples and funeral homes. It is opposite the two UFOs or funnel-like water towers in Tampines *NEWater Service Reservoir.
Good Year Seafood Village Restaurant and Beng Poh Seafood Restaurant are situated in 17 Tampines Avenue. It is opposite these two UFO or funnel-like water towers in Tampines NEWAter Service Reservoir.
*NEWater is the brand name given to reclaimed water produced by Singapore’s Public Utilities Board. More specifically, it is treated wastewater (sewage) that has been purified using dual-membrane (via microfiltration and reverse osmosis) and ultraviolet technologies, in addition to conventional water treatment processes. The water is potable and is consumed by humans, but is mostly used by industries requiring high purity water. – Wikipedia
Beng Poh Seafood Restaurant @ Beng Poh Eating House.
Noodle dishes are sold during lunch hours.
Satay and hawker-styled BBQ Seafood i.e. Sambal Stingray, Sotong, etc… are only available on weekends.
No aircon inside the shop, outside seating available. No frills but friendly and patient service (we did take a long time to decide our order during my subsequent visit).
Main menu for zi char dishes. There is also a smaller menu recommended by the chef for those who wants something suitable to go with their alcoholic drinks.
Dishes we had at Beng Poh Seafood that night with some repeat orders for certain dishes.
There’s 9 or 10 of us and this was the total bill not inclusive of drinks.
Generally, we were quite happy with the overall taste of the food but I didn’t get good photos so I planned another visit with Jerry to eat at Beng Poh’s since he also like shark’s head. However, that Thursday we visited, Beng Poh was closed so we ended up eating at Good Year Seafood Village (see my future posting). I rearranged another visit after confirming with the lady owner on the operating hours and she said they are opened daily (had some emergency that day). The night Jerry and I finally get to eat at Beng Poh’s was also the day TaeRi was born. I was thinking Jerry might have no luck with the shark’s head meal but thankfully, everything went well at the hospital and so I was able to dine with him after saying hello to my granddaughter.
Sidetracking a bit here on the car parking at the restaurant:
To be exact, both restaurants are in Hun Yeang Road. There isn’t any proper carpark. Most diners park along the asphalt road but further inside/nearer to the shop lots, it is “park anywhere as long as you don’t block others” kind of understanding. Those with big cars i.e. MPV/SUV may have trouble but a skilful driver would know how to negotiate. As for Jerry’s, all I can say that for both trips, we parked at Giant Hypermarket Tampines, took a cab and then walked all the way back to Giant’s after dinner.
Steamed Shark’s Head with crispy Chye Poh 菜脯鲨鱼头 (S$35) had delicious light soy gravy that was scrumptious on our Jasmine rice (50 cents per portion).
Garlic Pork 蒜炸肉 (S$10) – Not as good as the previous round but still better than Good Year’s version (see future post).
In the previous round, the meat was slightly more coated, not as fatty and more juicy.
Qing Long Cai (青龙菜 literally translates to green dragon vegetable) with Beansprouts (S$10) had been flash fried so that they retained crispness yet the funky smell/taste from the bean sprouts, along with their heads and tails, were also ideally removed. This is a light and refreshing treat from the usual more punchy taste of sambal kangkong (a must-order vegetable dish whenever our family eats at any zi char eateries/stalls).
The flavours of Beng Poh Seafood is subtle and can be quite clean tasting (depending on what you’ve ordered). Our bill came up to S$56, not inclusive of drinks (pay separately). I thoroughly enjoyed the shark’s head, more so this time in fact, as the fish had more cartilaginous bits. However, the garlic pork was a tad disappointing (comparing to the first time I tried) even though it was still better than Good Year Seafood Village’s version (both Jerry and I agree on this). Jerry had not tried Qing Long Cai (Miao) before so I ordered it to be cooked with beansprouts. It was a delightful meal at an idyllic kampong environment to end my hectic day that celebrated the birth of my grand daughter!
Beng Poh Seafood
Restaurant 明宝海鲜小厨 (inside Beng Poh Eating House)
Address: 17 Tampines Avenue (Hun Yeang Road),
Singapore 529792.
Operating Hours: Daily
11:30AM – 2:30PM (prawn noodle)
4:30 – 10PM (zi char)