Steamed pork patty & salted fish with rice ($9.50++) @ Tim Ho Wan, Tampines 1!
Steamed Pork Patty & Salted Fish with Rice, $9.50++, at Tim Ho Wan Tampines 1: minced pork steamed straight onto rice with salted fish, ginger and spring onion.
Steamed Pork Patty & Salted Fish with Rice at Tim Ho Wan, Tampines 1, $9.50++. 🍚😋
What we had ($9.50++):
- Steamed Pork Patty & Salted Fish with Rice, $9.50++
Tim Ho Wan at Tampines 1 is at #01-43/44, 10 Tampines Central 1, on the ground floor right by the Tampines MRT end of the mall. Everyone goes for the baked pork buns, but the rice bowls in the congee and rice section of the menu are the quiet part of the order, and this is the one I keep coming back for.
It arrives in a lidded steamer bowl, and the whole thing is cooked as one: the minced pork is spread over the rice and steamed together, so the pork juices and the fat run down into the grains instead of being ladled over at the end. That is the difference between this and a rice bowl with a topping.
The pork patty itself was loose and coarsely chopped rather than packed into a dense puck, with springy bits of prawn through it and chunks of salted fish buried in the mix. The salted fish is the whole point. It is pungent and intensely savoury, and a small piece carries a mouthful of otherwise plain rice a long way.
Over the top went a heap of shredded ginger, which cuts the richness and stops the salted fish taking over, plus spring onion for freshness. A saucer of soy sauce came on the side for anyone who wants it, though between the salted fish and the steaming juices I did not reach for it much.
It is a homestyle Cantonese dish more than a restaurant one, so it will not wow anyone at the table. It is just comforting, and the portion is enough on its own for one person or shared alongside a few dim sum baskets.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Savoury steamed pork, pungent salted fish and rice that soaks up all of it. Would order again.
