Wo Wo Dian: Famous 130-Year-Old Sichuan Restaurant Opens In Raffles City

Wo Wo Dian is a new Sichuan restaurant in Raffles City

Founded in Sichuan’s Mianyang city over 130 years ago, Wo Wo Dian is a restaurant with a rich history of selling traditional pork buns and rice noodles in China. This famous restaurant has now arrived at our shores, bringing its offerings to Singapore.

The restaurant’s first overseas outlet can be found in Basement 1 of Raffles City Shopping Centre. To commemorate their first overseas venture, the menu has also expanded on top of their signature handmade pork buns and rice noodles to include appetisers and sharing dishes. 

Wo Wo Dian offers two types of pork buns: the Traditional Pork Bun ($8.90++) and the Traditional Sauced Pork Buns ($7.90++). Something special about their pork buns is that they use traditional sourdough to make the skin, instead of using typical flour. This technique prevents the skin from being too thick while containing all the meaty ingredients.

Another signature item recommended by the servers is the Classic Chicken Broth Rice Noodles ($14.90++). This dish features silky rice noodles imported directly from Mianyang, chicken, kelp, and chickpeas. 

The noodles are super light and slurpable, and have a similar texture to thick bee hoon. The broth was rich and flavourful, having been simmered for hours. It is a comforting and hearty dish, but I found it slightly salty towards the end.

If you’re a spice-lover, order the Boiled Pork Belly With Spicy Sauce ($25.90++). Served with pork belly, potato slices, dried chilli, and garlic, this dish is guaranteed to let you feel the heat!

Although the generous amount of Sichuan peppercorn left my tongue numb, I couldn’t stop munching on this. And while I found this to be quite oily overall, that’s nothing a few mouthfuls of rice won’t solve.

Lastly, Wo Wo Dian also offers sharing dishes such as Crispy Bamboo Shoots ($6.90++), Mouth-Watering Chicken ($10.90++), and Kung Pao Eggplant with Shrimp ($22.90++). The Crispy Bamboo Shoots were my favourite of all three as I found it to be a palate-cleanser from the other dishes that were stronger in flavour. It had a crunchy texture and was quite refreshing. 

If you’re around the area, why not try Wo Wo Dian for yourself? Note that there is usually a queue during lunch and dinner hours, so come down earlier to avoid the crowds! 

For more Chinese fare, check out our Chen’s Mapo Tofu review, a restaurant selling Michelin-approved mapo tofu. For desserts, check out our Cinnabon coverage, an American bakery specialising in Cinnamon Rolls. 

Address: 252 North Bridge Road, B1-13/14/15, Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore 179103
Opening hours: Daily 11:30am to 9pm
Tel: 6513 5598
Wo Wo Dian is not a halal-certified eatery. 

Photos taken by Paula Formantes.
This was a media tasting at Wo Wo Dian.