Dinner at Tung Lok Classics

One of my uncles lives in New York and flies to Singapore once every few months on business. Every time he visits, we make an effort to have at least one dinner with him to catch up. On his most recent visit, my father wanted to treat him to suckling pig at Tung Lok Classics at Orchard Parade Hotel.

Appetizer: Pickles

Appetizer: Roasted and salted peanuts

Very Chinese-ish decor, but pleasant

The way in which the suckling pig was served was kind of interesting. The reason is that we usually have suckling pig at Carlton Hotel, where it is served on a high silver platter. In comparison, Tung Lok served the pig on a white plate and had these lit candle things on either side of the pig. The flames did not deter anyone from snapping up the pig skin though. It was delicious (although I did feel for the poor piglet).

This may look like just a bowl of plain murky soup, but do not let the picture deceive you. The broth that my father ordered had the deep complex flavour that soup acquires from hours of bone boiling. When we were served the pieces of pork that had been boiled for the soup, I popped a piece into my mouth and the meat was so tender it fell apart without me having to chew. Additionally, the pieces of cartilege were so soft that they almost had the consistency of hard jelly.

Whilst the slice of steamed fish served to me was big, it was thick and its texture somewhat dry and chewy. Unfortunately I think it was overcooked. Otherwise it would have gone well with the delicious gravy.

Some slices of meat from the suckling pig were served to us on a plate. Quite fatty and greasy, but tasty.

We usually order a vegetable dish, and this time it was spinach with three types of eggs.

When the waitress asked how we wanted the rest of the suckling pig meat to be cooked, I asked for something which did not include flour. I should have added sugar to the list of banned ingredients as well, because they fried the meat in a sweetish black pepper sauce with onions and pepers. Nevertheless, the chefs did a wonderful job with the rest of the meat because everyone loved this dish. Even I was so busy eating it that I almost forgot to take a picture of it.

Tung Lok kindly gave us complimentary test-tube fruit-vegetable juice.

I love osmenthus jelly because it is cooling, not too sweet, and the flower petals suspended in the jelly give it a very artsy look. This was also a hit with my relatives.

Probably only my father knew what this layered cake was. My mother, who can usually identify ingredients in food, could not figure out what the orange layers between the sponge were.

On the whole, I think that the food at Tung Lok Classics was good. The dishes that I enjoyed most were the suckling pig, the soup and the jelly dessert. My relatives looked like they enjoyed the feast. Further, the service at this Tung Lok outlet was quite good. The next time we want suckling pig, I think my family will go to Tung Lok Classics at Orchard Hotel instead of Carlton Hotel.

Tung Lok Classics
http://www.tunglokclassics.com/

Orchard Parade Hotel #02-18
1 Tanglin Road
Singapore 247905

Tel: +65 6834 0660

Opening Hours:
- Lunch: 12.00pm - 3.00pm
- Dinner: 6.00pm -10.30pm