You’ll find no shortage of places to find food in the Bugis area, especially not when you have slews of restaurants lining the rows of shophouses along North Bridge Road.
The area is filled with many eateries that open until late, especially ones that specialise in Sichuan hot pot, grilled fish pots and ma la xiang guo. If you’re unsure of which one to step into, just know that you can’t go wrong with Jin Jin Eating House.
Tried, tested and given numerous stellar reviews, Jin Jin Eating House is one eatery that rarely disappoints. The food is exceptional for its price point and bound to satisfy even the most fickle of preferences. There, they serve a wide variety of Chinese food from honest noodle dishes to ma la xiang guo.
Tan Tan Noodle
A classic Sichuan street food, we could not resist ordering ourselves a bowl of the Authentic Tan Tan Noodle (S$4.50) to share. Fragrant, spicy and slightly numbing, their rendition stays true to the authentic Sichuan recipe.
The base of the sauce comprises vinegar, chilli oil, peanut sauce, sesame paste, seasoned minced pork, fermented mustard green (ya cai) and simple seasonings like salt, sugar and possibly MSG—what’s Chinese food without it, right?
We were very impressed with how it was prepared and how fresh, delicious and nicely textured every single component was. The pork was flavourful with a very pronounced saltiness courtesy of the ya cai, the sauce was fragrant and savoury with a spicy, numbing kick that is bound to make you sweat.
Before you tuck in, be sure to mix everything well to coat every strand of noodle in the sauce!
Mild Braised Beef Shank Noodle
As far as beef noodles of any sort are concerned, the two fundamental aspects that make or breaks it is the richness of the broth and the tenderness of the beef. For the case of Jin Jin’s Mild Braised Beef Shank Noodle (S$5.50), it impressed in both departments.
Considered an offcut, the shank is a lot tougher, often requiring slow cooking in order to break down the muscle fibres. In this dish, it gets simmered in a flavourful beef broth for long periods of time, intensifying its beefy flavour and making it pull-apart tender.
The umami-dense broth is tasty on its own but a dollop of roasted chilli oil really improves the flavour tenfold.
Sichuan Sour & Spicy Noodle
Among their many crowd-pleasers, the one dish we noticed many people ordering was the Sichuan Sour & Spicy Potato Noodle (S$5.50). Without much hesitation, we followed suit. The broth was rather mild in flavour although it did have a pleasant sourish tinge to it. The spices and aromatics were prominent, giving the noodles fragrance and the soup an added depth of flavour.
The texture of the potato noodles was rather interesting too. It was translucent with a certain chewiness to it that is almost comparable to jelly. If you suck at using chopsticks, you’ll find eating it challenging because it’s slippery and difficult to pick up.
Disclaimer: Uncover Asia made an anonymous visit and paid for their own meal.
Address: 496 North Bridge Road, Singapore 188739
Opening Hours: 6AM – 3AM (Daily)
Contact: +65 8812 1121
Nearest MRT Station: Bugis
Read our guide to supper spots in Asia.
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