there is no charm left in this place and when outside you sit squeezed on the walkway or in between parked cars. what is that all about?  yes, if the food was over the top good  it would make sense, but it isn't.  hyped up ribs were just that and chewy, and the other dishes can be enjoyed easily elsewhere, with better location, ambience and service.  service, ah yes, there is getting your food quickly and there is 'service', with some friendliness, smile or attempts to help.  not so here.  very disappointing.  on balance not recommended.

http://kennethtiongeats.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/por-kee-eating-house/

There are food places that are just famous for one-dish, and Por Kee is one of them.

The champagne pork ribs (5/5) are transcendental. Made from some unholy combination of (as far as I can discern, and this might be completely wrong) – champagne, sweet sauce, huao diao jiu (glutinous rice wine), sugar, coffee – it just coats the juicy pork so lovingly.

Get it in the short rib variety. The long rib variety is too troublesome and features too much striated flesh, leaving shreds between your teeth. You want a pillowy texture, get the short ribs. Pillowy mounds of fat.

Proust loved his madeleines. I say, get me to Por Kee.

The house special tofu has good texture and taste. (3.5/5) I had it in a seafood claypot bowl, which featured a cornstarch based brown sauce, as is de rigeur in Chinese cooking. The sauce isn’t great, but the tofu is good.



The Thai-style fish (4/5) is also good. Leave it to simmer with soup for 20 minutes in front of you, and the fish gelatin will come out. Recommended.

Bamboo clams (3.5/5) (or Atlantic jackknife clams) with garlic are also decent, but generic.

Who are you kidding, you’re here for champagne pork ribs.

My friend brought me and a few other friends to try out this place which he had patronise for many years!!

Dun expect too much of a ambience, thou its a restaurant, its a old and simple setting restaurant that is nostalgic, clean and not too crampy.

Food

1) we are highly recommended by my friend the champagne long pork ribs, it was big and very flavorful, its well seasoned on the outside while the meat is tender and retaining the original pork flavor on the inside!!

(recommend to have it cut into half if you want to try out other dish)

2) the steam thai fish was also highly recommended, this is the first time i saw this kind of presentation, the fish was steam and set on a special made metal plate with fire below (like mini wok), a seperate big bowl of thai spicy and sour soup was served together. The waitress will pour the soup onto the fish like a fish soup!! The taste was not too spicy but more towards sour.

My first taste was that it was too sour but quite addicting especially after eating all the food which was quite heavy flavor, this warm and sour soup is definitely a must have after all the good food which make you feel you want to eat more!!!

3) fu ru sweet potato leaves (fermanted beancurd with sweet potato leaves)

we always try to have a green on the table and i'm not a fan of fu ru especially with greens but this restaurant make me change my view!! not super fantastic but definitely better than elsewhere.

4) homemade beancurd was not too saltly but flavorful, you could still taste the beancurd taste despite the sauce was quite flavorful :)

5) crispy chicken was a recommendation as well but i have eaten better one elsewhere, the skin is not too crispy and the breast meat is a tad too dry. thou something to praise about is that you'll find little or not fats below the skin!! :)

(well i only try it once while other dishes i've eaten a couple of time, maybe i'll give it a try other time)

6) mango pudding with coconut, this dessert i quite like it, not too sweet and with mango cubes with the thick coconut!!! thou my friend thinks it too simple.

7) the chilli was quite good

Something I must praise about this zi char restaurant beside the good food is the service, i'm quite a picky guy when it comes to service. To be frank, i didnt expect much from this old restaurant especially when i saw the waiter and waitress are dress causally, quite old and didnt really care about you when you enter.

But to my surprise, their service was excellent, polite, prompt, specially thoughtful, offer to change our plates even we didnt ask for it. We had a ice-cream cake for the bday boys and the knife was difficult to cut was it was frozen, the waitress actually took a long metal knife and a pot of hot water for us!! (putting a lot of well-known restaurant to shame)