Weets Eats: Comfort of Canton comes to town
When Joyden Canton opened its first unit at HillV2 in 2014, I was so in love with the food there.
It was comfort food haven. Dish after dish made me want to snuggle up under a blanket and be fed by my mother's hand.
Its "Sha-Keong" Salt Poached Farm Chicken ($20) remains one of my favourite dishes from anywhere.
The location was an issue for me (the Hillview MRT station wasn't open then), and the long queues and the "walk-in only" rule there (unless it's more than eight diners) didn't help either.
So I let out a cry for joy when I found out Joyden Canton is now in Orchard Road because comfort has come closer to me.
This new outlet has exclusive dishes too, such as the Black Bean, Black-Eyed Pea and Peanut with Pig Tail Soup ($8). Any Cantonese person with a soup-obsessed mother would have had this.
I think my mother's version is superior. But this comes really close.
There is that tinge of orange peel and a hint of herbal notes, with the fatty tail. It's all good, and something I'll order when I go back. Just without my mother, of course.
Also exclusive to Orchard is the Twice-Baked Golden Egg Gratin with Caramelised You Tiao ($18). It's a sweet dish (the youtiao was glazed with honey), but the texture of the gratin didn't appeal.
I also found the Almond and Salted Egg Prawns with Lemon Sauce ($21) too dry and salty. The lemon sauce mellowed it out a little but it wasn't enough.
The "Hak Gam" Olive Fried Rice with Minced Pork and Prawn ($18) was too sweet for me too. But it can be rescued - just remove the pork floss. The olives and dark soya sauce added so much flavour, and the smokiness maade this an incredible dish.
I didn't think I was going to like the Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Homemade Dang-Gui Barbecue Sauce ($19), but the bitterness of the angelica root gave the dish dimensions. The bittersweet sauce should be poured over rice.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now