I’ve been following Book Junkie’s blog for quite a while now. I love how she plays ‘tourist’ in our little island and takes time to appreciate the beauty in almost everything she sees.. the buildings, the architecture, the streets.. She pays great attention to the little details and brings the readers through a photographic journey.
Her recent post on Strolling through Joo Chiat made me sit up and think about how I’ve taken the neighbourhood for granted. You see, I lived in Katong for a good part of my life. Thankfully, the Man has also spent a good number of years in the East so we much prefer to stay rooted here. Katong is part of Joo Chiat which is famed for its vibrant Peranakan and Eurasian heritage as well as great street foods. Today, an eclectic mix of other chic restaurants have also sprung along Joo Chiat. But, it wasn’t like that a couple of years back for there was a ‘shady’ part of Joo Chiat with a cluster of dodgy pubs. The parentals would forbid me to hang around the area after dark. Of course, today, the night scene ain’t as rowdy as before.
I hadn’t explored Joo Chiat much preferring to only head back to familiar restaurants that we’ve grown up with. Reading Book Junkie’s recent posts on Joo Chiat and the number of new food places that sprung up made me want to revisit Joo Chiat all over again. But before we try out the new places, we couldn’t resist going back to our favourite traditional Teochew steamboat restaurant – 錦 記 海 鮮 火 鍋 [Jing Ji].
The hall of fame at the restaurant. Loads of local and overseas celebrities have been to the restaurant, but I’ve never seen any of them when I’m dining there.. hehe
The main highlight of our meal is of course the steamboat. Okay, it may look a little strange that our hot-pot only has floating pieces of white stuff in it. Well, that’s because we were waiting for our greens and I didn’t snap the picture when the greens finally came. I’ve blogged about Jing Ji before, so you may wish to check out my older review here.
Must order? The yummy home-made pork dumplings made with fish-paste and the uber-yummy cuttlefish paste glue. Also not pictured here, are the very delicious home-made fish-paste noodles. These are the restaurant’s specialties and you won’t regret ordering them. 
There are also home-cooked dishes available for the ordering if you don’t fancy having just steamboat. The deep-fried eggplant that’s topped with crispy pork-floss is a winner in our books for the batter used isn’t too oily.
Another house signature is the crispy pork-knuckle with the skin deep-fried to a crisp plus meat that is soft and tender. Best enjoyed with a chilled beer of course!
Okay, in my honest opinion and for one of the best steamboats in the East, you gotta come here! The restaurant makes a bold claim- 不好吃不收錢 (loose English translation is: ‘If you think you didn’t have a good meal, then you won’t be charged’). With a claim like that, I guess it’s worth taking a chance yah?
錦 記 海 鮮 火 鍋 Address: 176 – 178 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore 427447 Telephone: +65 6348 8924
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