We were introduced to milkfish many years ago during a trip to Tainan, the milkfish capital of Taiwan. They were cooked and served in several ways, but we liked the simple pan-fried butterflied belly best.
In an attempt to re-create the dish, The Wife bought some frozen belly fillets online. Pan frying the oily fish on the stove was quite a messy affair, with oil splattering everywhere and leaving a lingering fishy smell in the air.
While the flavour of the fish was quite nice, the fishiness was obvious. There were also some scales and bones that evaded the cleaning and filleting process, making our entire eating experience less than ideal.
Since then, we gave up on having milkfish in Singapore and put it on our to-eat list for our next trip to Taiwan.
During a grocery run at the Cold Storage in the basement of Raffles City shopping centre, we noticed a small eatery tucked away in the corner. It was simply named “Milkfish” and primarily sold milkfish, together with other small bites.
The first few times we walked past, it was relatively quiet and empty. Being typical Singaporeans, we assumed that the lack of a queue meant that it wasn’t very good, and so we didn’t give it a try.
But The Wife remained curious, and paid them a visit during a dinner gathering with her female friends. She came back with rave reviews and happily showed me photos of what they had, with the grilled milkfish belly as the highlight.
Given how particular she is with seafood, I knew that it had to be as good as she described. On our next grocery run to Raffles City, we popped by for a quick weekday lunch and had the “Combo for 2” set meal for S$44.00++.
We sat down at around 11.30am and while there were already a few tables and counter seats occupied, it was relatively empty. I noticed that there was a queue divider placed at the entrance, which wasn’t present at the other restaurants nearby.
It became clear why it was necessary during the next 15 minutes.
Throngs of office ladies were streaming in to have their lunch, and the small eatery filled up remarkably quickly. Those that didn’t catch the first seating had to wait in the queue, which, luckily for them, moved at a fairly quick pace.
Service was quick and friendly, and a waitress came by with our individually-wrapped utensils and sauce tray. The first two appetisers of marinated chilled tomatoes and oriental salad in vinegar dressing arrived almost immediately after.
If the oriental salad looks familiar, it’s probably because you had something similar in Din Tai Fung. In fact, after having a few bites, I would say that it’s almost identical in terms of the ingredients and flavour. The only discernable difference is that the version at Milkfish was slightly less oily.
The deep-fried prawn roll arrived soon after, together with sweet sauce on the side. It’s a common appetiser served in Chinese eateries and many buy it frozen from a central supplier, but this was clearly not the case here.
The fillings were generous, fresh and still juicy, so much better than the generic prawn rolls that we’ve had in many different restaurants. We found out that they were made in-house and that many customers actually buy them back to cook at home.
When the rest of our set meal was served, it took a bit of re-arrangement to put everything on our table but it was a comfortable fit. There are several options available when you order, one of them being your choice of carbs. We chose brown rice and thin rice noodles.
Lunch is our main meal of the day, so it was good that the spread was quite generous. All the major food groups were represented and it was a complete meal in itself. The price is not exactly cheap, especially for lunch, but given the quantity and quality, it was definitely value-for-money.
For example, the broth used in the milkfish soup was rich, thick and clearly brewed for a long time to extract the seafoody sweetness. The broth is supplied by another brand, Áo Broth, which retails them in ready-to-use pouches, and I assume that both companies are related.
It’s the type of soup that would be perfect during a cold and rainy day. Perfect just on its own, but made even better with the addition of clams, prawn, mini soft tofu cubes, baby bok choy and a delicious meat patty.
What makes the meat patty special is the addition of Ti Po, or dried and finely-ground flatfish powder that is the magic ingredient in many Teochew dishes. It adds a natural umami note that imparts a seafood punch to anything you mix it with. And this tasty meat patty was no exception.
But the star of the show was the grilled milkfish belly, served simply with a lemon wedge and side of flavoured soy sauce. It was cooked just right, leaving it moist and slightly oily.
If you’ve not had milkfish before, it’s sort of in between a snapper and a mackerel. It has the nice flaky flesh of the former and the rich oiliness of the latter, though in moderation.
We did recall that the ones we had in Tainan were more fatty. Though it could be due to seasonal effects since we were there during winter. Fish tend to store more fat in their bodies to withstand the colder waters.
Despite the slight difference, what we had at Milkfish in Singapore was really good. So good that we went back a few weeks later, just to have the same combo set a second time. Well, it was the second time for me, but technically the third time for The Wife.
During the repeat visit, we managed to ask our waiter where the milkfish was sourced from. He proudly proclaimed that they got their supply from southern Taiwan, specifically Tainan. Which was a pleasant coincidence, since that’s where we were first introduced to milkfish.
We even took a bus out into what seemed like the middle of nowhere, and spent an entire day at a museum dedicated solely to the humble milkfish.
I managed to fish (hehe) out a photo of the pretty interior from 2013. There are many more from that visit, which I’ll share in a future post.
It seems like Milkfish is going to be one of our regular lunch spots moving forward. And we’re not the only ones with the same idea, because clearly, the office ladies feel the same way.
