SIN: Yunnan Garden Restaurant

Deep-fried baby squid that went wrong...

Yunnan Garden Restaurant is a Chinese restaurant located at the Galaxis complex of Fusionopolis. Its history dates back to the 1970s as a cafeteria serving staff and students of Nanyang University, which was eventually merged with University of Singapore to form the current National University of Singapore.

The restaurant used to operate a huge-sized branch at IMM, which unfortunately closed down in 2006.

Appetiser

The braised peanuts were a bit dry, but flavourful alright.

Fried Crispy Fish Skin with Salted Egg S$5.80

Taste: 7/10

My dinner began with a plate of the fish skin with salted egg yolk sauce, curry leaves and chilli padi (lit. bird's eye chili). Overall, it was a tad too wet, which resulted in decreased crispiness of the fish skin. Even though it might not be the best out there, it was perfectly edible.

Deep-Fried Baby Squid (Small) S$12.80

Taste: 3/10

I was a mistake when I thought that the deep-fried baby squid doused with sticky caramelised sauce couldn't go wrong. To be honest, I didn't finish the dish as it grew very sweet on the palate halfway through the dinner. Besides that, the pieces of squid weren't crispy at all. Some of them were hard, in fact.

Deep-Fried Yunnan Spare Ribs (Small) S$13.80

Taste: 7/10

I was hoping that the spare ribs could lift my spirit up from the disappointment with the baby squid. Lightly battered before subjected to hot oil, they turned out to be tender alright, but not spectacular. The brown sauce was quite sweet and a bit peppery.

Claypot Spicy Eggplant with Minced Pork and Salted Fish (Small) S$10.80

Taste: 8/10

At last, there was a dish that turned my frown upside down. The eggplants cooked with minced pork and salted were delicious, thanks to the sweet and salty balance. Topped with spring onions, I felt that the dish could be spicier. I only saw two small pieces of chilli padi inside the claypot.

Cream of Pumpkin with Glutinous Rice Ball S$5.20

Taste: 7.5/10

The name of the dessert item suggests singularity of the rice ball. Indeed, there was only one medium-sized glutinous rice ball, which was chewy enough for my liking. The cream of pumpkin could be thicker and richer, but I was glad that it wasn't overly sweet.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 6.5/10

Ambience: 7/10

Service: 7.5/10

Overall: 7/10

The dud baby squid dish aside, I was actually expecting tastier dishes from a restaurant that boasts itself in serving unpretentious dishes since more than 40 years ago. Pika's advice: For interested parties, the restaurant offers All-You-Can-Eat Lunch every Saturday. The price is S$28.90 per person.

Yunnan Garden Restaurant

1 Fusionopolis Place

#02-02 Galaxis

Singapore

(Tue-Sun: 11.00am - 9.00pm;

Mon: 11.00am - 3.00pm)

*Prices quoted are subject to 10% service charge and 7% GST.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)