Went to Tung Lok Seafood at Arena Country Club last Sunday 7pm for dinner with my family. There were a total of 9 adults and 2 children. We opt for the ala-carte dinner buffet at $38.80++ /adult, $28.80++/child as we thought its value for money.

Initially, 3 of us arrived and ordered first as the rest will be joining us shortly. When the rest of our family members arrived, the initial food we ordered also arrived but we discover that the portion is only for 3 pax as initially only 3 person was around. So we ordered the salmon sashimi and cereal prawn again and also other new dishes such as the steamed fish, drunken prawns, duck, some dim sum, vegetables, etc. That was around 7:30pm. To our surprise, we were told that the more expensive dishes we ordered, such as the salmon sashimi, cereal prawn, steamed fish, duck, drunken prawn were sold out!! Only other dishes such as the vegetables, pork rib, carrot cake, etc were available.

I told the person in charge that most of the dishes that they claimed were sold out we have not even tried once! And even for those that we have ordered the second time, its because the first time round they only gave a small portion enough for 3 person because initially only 3 were present.

I told them its supposed to be a buffet where we can eat as much as we want but now we have not even tried the dishes once and you told me its sold out. What's this? 

Its ridiculous! I can't believe Tung Lok, such a reputable restaurant, can do such thing.

The last straw came when we ordered dessert and they told us that the almond longan is not available, just like the other dishes we ordered earlier. Later while I was bringing my child to look at the fishes in the tank and happened to pass by a fridge with glass door outside their kitchen, I saw many bowls of almond longan in it !! That really made us boils!!


Normally, I am quite lazy to write reivew but this time I feel that there is a need to alert other diners to beware of such practices at Tung Lok Seafood in order not to get conned.

Had dinner at Tung Lok Seafood @ Arena Country Club, a rather obscure club (if you even call it a club) just opposite SAFTI MI. Strangely enough, the same stretch of low rise buildings also host a go karting track and a huge burger king outlet.

The place is quite a size and can easily fit up to 200+ people. However, the interior is a little dated but still presentable nonetheless. Definitely more suited to family dining than business meals.

Homemade Beancurd with Spinach - Sitting on a bed of spinach and topped with mushrooms, this dish lacked consistency. Some pieces of beancurd had a nice savoury taste but some were just outright bland. Pity really.

Sweet and Sour Pork - While I will admit that the sweet and sour pork had a nice smoky taste to it, the meat to flour proportion was greatly skewed in favour of the flour, which was a real bummer. Not to mention that portions were tiny for $18++.

Stir Fried Kailan - Drenched in light, mildly salty gravy without being overcooked. Very decent.

Roast Chicken - Served with the de facto crackers, the roast chicken boasted razor thin crisp skin coupled with tender flesh and a generous splashing of salt. Only gripe I had was that the meat could have been juicier. Still good though but nothing compared to what I had at Lung King Heen of course.

Deep Fried Prawns with Wasabi Mayo Sauce - Apparently Tung Lok came up with this dish many years ago. I am not sure how accurate this piece of information is but the prawns were really quite good. Huge, crunchy and coated in a thin layer of flour with a mild tolerable level of wasabi. But it's $52++ for a large serving for 9 pax.

Horfun with Prawns - Although each of us managed to snag a huge prawn each, the hor fun itself lacked wok hei but I did like the not too starchy gravy with generous amounts of egg. But at $40++ for such a small portion, I'm inclined to think that it's quite overpriced.

Total bill for the 9 of us stood at $238 with a 20% discount. Sure, we were all stuffed at the end of it (courtesy of the ever reliable bowls of rice) and food quality was generally above average, but I wouldn't term it value for money. Portions were less than generous and honestly, none of the ingredients in our dishes were anywhere near expensive. But still, if a family dinner is at hand and you would like an "established" brand name with decent food and prices that won't break your bank, Tung Lok Seafood may just appeal to you. See all my pictures here.

One of our usual must-haves is the Stir-fried Crab with salted egg yolk and curry leaves (warning to those on a diet). As far as I know, not many places actually carry this method of cooking their crabs. So, if you love custard and salted egg yolk, be sure to try this at TL seafood. The gravy is succulent and taste just as good on its own.

Drunken Prawns The prawns are fresh and sweet. Paired with a broth so tasty and fragrant. Definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Coffee Pork Ribs Tender yet slightly crispy on the edges, the ribs were easy to eat and does not tug at the teeth. In addition, the taste of the ribs was unique, tasted of burnt caramel with a tinge of coffee ending.

Sambal Balachan with Potato leaves Fragrant and nicely fried. If you’re a spicy fan, do remember to try this for that extra kick!