Our Review On Chen’s Mapo Tofu (Downtown Gallery Outlet)
Chen’s Mapo Tofu is a place that we always go to have our meals after our ClassPass Sunday Sessions over at OUE Downtown and they are the rare ones to be opened even at times like 2+, 3+ pm when there’re not many people around. This outlet is also popular and be quite packed during the weekday lunch hours.
Ambiance
We quite liked the ambiance over at Chen’s Mapo Tofu and they have seating arrangements where you can choose to eat and hide in a corner, be in the open, or on high tables with an outside view.
The Menu And What We Ordered
Over at Chen’s Mapo Tofu, they do not have any physical menu and you are to scan a QR Code for the Menu, make your orders and then pay online.
In their online menu, they have selections like Seasonal (Summer 2024), Mains (various Ramen, Dan Dan Mien and Dons), Small Plates and then Drinks.
And for our latest visit, we tried some of their latest items – Mala Aburi Chashu with Kombu Ramen ($17.90), Garlic Saikoro Don Set Meal ($26.90) which came with a Szechuan Century Egg & Tofu and Coke Zero and Duck Karaage ($6.90). The above prices were before the 10% Service Charge and GST. Payment was made through the app.
The Taste
— Mala Aburi Chashu with Kombu Ramen
It took some time for the dishes to be served and the first to be served was this Mala Aburi Chashu with Kombu Ramen (new in their menu) and the Duck Karaage.
The key ingredient was this Mala Aburi Chashu (or Charred Japanese Chashu marinated with Szechwan Mala Sauce). Mala Sauce was not spicy but more towards to sourly-sweet. Chashu was tender with not overly chewy layer of top fats.
The next ingredient that we liked a lot was their Ramen Noodles and each strand was very Q and slurpy. Texture and taste were definitely different from those egg-noodle or from those Ba Chor Mee, Ban Mian noodles.
This dish was also served with a lot of steamed Bok Choy which made this dish well balanced and the texture was soft.
Another ingredient that we liked was their Seasoned Runny Egg. The egg yolk was in between the state of hard and soft and had a tinge of sweetness.
This dish also came with a small bowl of soup (no picture taken). Those small things that were floating on the top were actually garnishes that took one of us by surprise. Other than that, the soup was flavourful but the serving size was a bit too little to go with the noodle.
— Duck Karaage
According to the Menu, these Duck Karaage are Deep Fried Crisp and Juicy Duck Morsels. We tried to google on what Duck Morsels were all about – the results were mainly about dog food. Ha! The correct expression should be “… morsels of duck meat” which would mean a way of highlighting the delightful experience of savoring duck meat in bite-sized form!
This was our first time trying out this dish. The Outer Texture was not as crispy as those Chicken Karaage and it did not have any juice flowing out when we bit through a few. It had a bouncier taste and tasted like those Roasted Duck Meat but without that crispy duck skin.
— Garlic Saikoro Don Set Meal
According to the menu, this Garlic Saikoro Don is made up of Succulent Beef Tenderloin Cubes in Szechwan Spiced Soy Umami sauce, atop Hokkaido Rice, Onsen Egg and Fragrant Garlic Chips. What was not mentioned was that this dish also came with leeks and onions which we took them out.
We did like the Garlic Chips which were crispy and each bite was a strong garlicky taste.
We mixed the runny Onsen Egg together with the Rice which had a good layer of Szechwan Spiced Soy Umami Sauce. This sauce had a tinge of Mala taste but not spicy at all.
The two other key ingredients were the Beef Tenderloin Cubes and Mushrooms. The cubes tasted like those Flamed Beef Cubes (but without the Charred Parts) from the Taiwan Night Markets. The size of the mushrooms was quite big and we could taste a fair bit of sauce.
— Szechuan Century Egg & Tofu
According to the Menu, this Szechuan Century Egg & Tofu is a harmony of bold, spicy flavors and creamy textures which we totally agree. First off, this is a cold dish and it stayed cold when we ate this last. The tofu texture was wobbly like pudding and very silky smooth.
Despite all the unwanted garnishes, we liked the sauce combination which was not spicy but sweet and sour and that mushy century egg taste when ate together with the tofu. A definite must-try if you are visiting Chen’s Mapo Tofu.
How To Get To Chen’s Mapo Tofu?
Address: 6A Shenton Wy, #02-29 Downtown Gallery, Singapore 068815 (Google Maps)
Opening Hours: Daily: 11:15am – 07:30pm
Other Outlet(s): 1 Vista Exchange Green, Star Vista, #02-08, Singapore, 138617
Other Details: