Song Yue Taiwan Cuisine Review: New Home-Style Taiwanese Restaurant At Leisure Park Kallang

Song Yue Taiwan Cuisine is a new Taiwanese restaurant at Stadium

While there are a fair few Taiwanese eateries in Singapore, most of them only focus on popular street food. Song Yue Taiwan Cuisine, however, is an anomaly—the new Leisure Park Kallang restaurant departs from the usual street fare, offering home-style Taiwanese dishes that extend beyond the typical oyster mee sua and fried chicken cutlet. I’m a big fan of the cuisine, so I made my way to Leisure Park Kallang for a taste.

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Food at Song Yue Taiwan Cuisine

Unlike most other Taiwanese cafes and restaurants across the island, Song Yue’s menu comprises produce-driven Taiwanese dishes that are inspired by the countryside. These dishes aren’t particularly common in the city; you’ll probably have to visit a farmstay instead for a similar dining experience.

Served cold, the Pickled Cherry Tomatoes with Sour Plums ($8.90++) was an excellent starter to cool off after settling down at the table. If you’re not a fan of tomatoes, the Winter Melon Pickled with Fresh Passion Fruit ($8.90++) and Pickled Cabbag and Radish ($7.90++) were equally refreshing.

All three house-pickled appetisers were yummy, but I wished the serving portion was bigger for the price I was paying.

Next up was the Traditional Ginger Duck ($19.90++/$36.90++) AKA 姜母鸭, a Taiwan-famous dish that’s all you need on a cold evening.

Featuring uber-tender duck chunks with thick ginger pieces and black sesame oil, this hearty soup dish was absolutely comforting. I loved how the ginger wasn’t overpowering; you could still discern the nutty fragrance of the sesame oil that’s specially imported from Taiwan.

If you love salt and pepper chicken (椒盐鸡), a classic Taiwanese street snack, you can’t miss out on the Salt and Pepper Pomfret with Crispy Garlic Chips ($35.90++): deboned pomfret cut into sizeable pieces, coated in batter, and deep-fried to crispy ends. Don’t forget to scoop out the crunchy garlic chips that are hiding underneath the fish!

This fish was so well-executed, I couldn’t help but return for seconds and thirds. The batter was crispy yet not too thick or heavy, while the simple salt and pepper seasoning allowed the natural sweetness of the pompret to shine.

Another must-try on the menu is the Farm Chicken with Spring Onion ($18.90++/$33.90++). The first price comes with half a chicken, while the latter gets you a whole bird.

I’m a huge fan of spring onion, so I was pleased with the generous mountain of it. Although the chicken skin was firmer than I’d liked, the meat was tender and easy to consume. A bowl of Taiwan Short-Grain Rice ($2++), sourced from Miaoli in Taichung, made the perfect accompaniment to this simple yet delicious protein.

Should you want something fancier, take things up a notch with the Cabbage and Hokkaido Scallop Stone Pot Rice ($19.90++/$32.90++). Personally, I’d rather go for the plain rice as it was already yummy on its own; each grain was firm with a slight chew and a distinct sweetness—you could tell just how premium it was. Nonetheless, the stone pot rice was flavourful as a main—the charred, toasty rice bits, sweet cabbage, and plump scallops made a great combination.

If you’re going for the stone pot rice, the Silken Tofu with Pumpkin and Crabmeat ($18.90++) might be a good addition to the table. Featuring sweet golden pumpkin from Taiwan, this healthy dish was light in flavour compared to the other items we had. I just wished there were more crabmeat chunks for extra oomph.

Another Taiwanese household favourite dish is the Crispy Eggs with Black Sesame Oil ($16.90++): four fried sunny-side-ups cooked in a sweet-savoury sauce that stars the same Taiwan-imported black sesame oil.

I appreciated how the yolks were all runny, while the sides were perfectly crispy, but found it hard to justify the price tag, especially considering the simple ingredients used. Nonetheless, this would be a nice side dish to order if you want something saucy for your rice to mop up.

Then there’s also Ah Ma’s Rice Vermicelli and Taro Soup ($19.90++/$32.90++), which was a highlight of my meal. Fine rice vermicelli from Xin Zhu is served in a hearty pork bone broth, complemented by sliced pork belly, lala, shiitake mushrooms, and sweet taro chunks.

Surprisingly, the rice noodles retained a firm bite despite soaking in the piping-hot soup—this was good news for me as I despise soggy noodles. The full-bodied broth was not too salty too, so I could slurp up every last bit of it.

Ambience at Song Yue Taiwan Cuisine

Song Yue Taiwan Cuisine sits up to 120 diners. The main dining area feels open and spacious, though the seats in the middle of the restaurant might not afford the same level of intimacy as the booth seats by the side. There are also two private dining rooms: one can hold four people while the other can fit 10. There’s a minimum spend of $200++ for the former and $500++ for the latter.

The restaurant sits in a corner of the first floor of Leisure Park Kallang, which is a five-minute walk from Stadium MRT Station.

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The verdict

Song Yue Taiwan Cuisine’s homely fare left a strong impression on me. Though the dishes were nothing fancy, I had zero complaints as they were mostly well-executed, boasting great flavours without being too rich or heavy. Complete with its convenient location and reasonable prices, this is definitely a spot to save for your next family meal.

While you’re there, head to the nearby Levure NaturelleLevure Naturelle at Kallang Wave Mall for thick and fluffy waffles loaded with fillings! Alternatively, if you don’t mind venturing a little further, check out our BlackGoat review for delicious burgers and steaks in Mountbatten.

Address: 5 Stadium Walk, #01-38/39 Leisure Park Kallang, Singapore 397693
Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 11:30am to 3:30pm, 5pm to 9pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am to 3:30pm, 5pm to 9:30pm
Tel: 6988 3322
Website
Song Yue Taiwan Cuisine is not a halal-certified eatery.

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Photos taken by Anthia Chng and edited by Melvin Mak.
This was a media tasting at Song Yue Taiwan Cuisine.