Over the past few years, the number of Hong Kong style restaurants and char chaan teng (茶餐廳) opened in Singapore has been nothing short but amazing. Tsui Wah, So Good, Kam’s Roast, Mak’s noodle, just to name a few.
Pi Food located at 9 Penang Road (former Park Mall) is the new kid in town. If you are taking the MRT, look for exit B. Once you are on the ground level, cross to the opposite side Penang Road, and you will find yourself in a newly developed commercial building nestled between Plaza Singapura and Fort Canning Park.
Make a right turn and walk all the way to the end of the building. You will be greeted by a restaurant with a sterile-looking décor befitting to the time we are living in. There is literally stainless steel everywhere in Pi Food!
Look out for the Pi symbol.
This place is not well known yet as it is still currently in its soft opening phase. Not much of its background is known but from what I can tell, Pi Food serves authentic Hong Kong food that ranges from barbequed meat, noodles to porridge and rice dishes. I managed to try the HK BBQ set with char siew, Beef Brisket Noodles and Five Spice Beef Tripe.
The char siew was juicy with just the right amount of fat, and I could tell the pork soup that came in the set was cooked substantially long. As for the Beef Brisket and Five Spice Beef Tripe, they were both flavorful and tender although the noodles were too soft to my liking. Overall, the food here tasted exactly like in Hong Kong.
Char siew rice (Honey BBQ pork with rice)
Noodles with beef brisket
Beef tripe, a must try
Pi Food has a separate menu for dinner with more western main dishes and bar snacks / tapas.
During the second heightened alert lockdown, I paid my second visit to try more the roasted duck, roasted Iberico pork belly and stir fried beef noodle (干炒牛河) on the lunch menu. Most of them turned out to be fantastic.
The roasted Iberico pork belly had a good balance of meat and fat. It’s skin was roasted to perfection, not overly crispy or hard. The skin even melted in my mouth, effectively giving the dish two distinct tastes from the skin and meat. As for the stir fried beef noodle, it is as authentic as it could get – with wok hey that one uncle in orange polo tee would approve. I believe the bean sprout, head and tail picked, was cooked separately like some how some of the best restaurants do it. On the other hand, the roasted duck was too dry for my although my partner prefers it that way.
Roasted duck and Iberico pork
You could tell the Gon Chow Ngau Hor (乾炒牛河) is as authentic as it could get from its look
Up close. Look at that beautifully roasted pork skin!
The mustard, chili and plum sauces that go with the roasted meat.
The take away packaging was elaborate and also said ‘Japanese food’, which was missing from the menu. My guess is: This will be offered sometime in the near future.
I will probably update this article again as there are other items in the menu that I would like to try. Stay tuned!
Takeaway packaging
Four types of meat
Cosy sofa
Or steel chair. Your pick
Train is a recurring theme in this restaurant
Am sure the owner(s) loves train
Pi food also operates as a bar in the evening
The set meal comes with a slow cooked soup of the day
They were still adding the finishing touches when I was there
In the evening
Pi Food
Address: 9 Penang Rd, 01-18, Singapore 238459
Opening hours: daily from 11:00am to 10:00pm
Must try: Stir fried beef noodle (干炒牛河), roasted Iberico pork belly, beef brisket and five spice beef tripe.
Google Map link
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