Tian Wai Tian – Famous Streetside Restaurant Serves Comforting Fish Head Steamboat And Zi Char Dishes

I have been visiting Tian Wai Tian Fish Head Steamboat at Serangoon for many years, and their food remains as good as ever!

This street side restaurant serves Teochew-style fish head steamboat using traditional charcoal aluminium pots.

It is extremely popular and will usually be fully packed by 5.30pm, an hour after its opening time.

This restaurant itself is very small, so they normally place tables along the five-foot way and in the back alley.

However, when I went down recently, it seemed that they had stopped setting up tables in the back alley. Perhaps this was because of the COVID-19 situation.

And due to social distancing measures, the restaurant no longer allows groups of four or more to sit at small tables. Therefore, this increases your waiting time if there are not enough tables for your group size.

During my visit, I witnessed this new rule causing some unhappiness with several customers, so you might want to bear this in mind before going down.

Tian Wai Tian Empire

This Tian Wai Tian Fish Head Steamboat (天外天潮州鱼头炉) restaurant at Serangoon was founded in the early 1980s.

Since then, it has expanded to several outlets across Singapore at Jalan Besar (Veerasamy Road), Bedok (Kaki Bukit), Hougang, and Ang Mo Kio.

However, the fish head steamboat at this original Serangoon branch is allegedly still the best tasting, because it is managed by the lady boss who opened this first shop over 30 years ago.

Menu

The restaurant’s signature dish is the Fish Head Steamboat. You can choose from three types of fish, available in fried and non-fried versions:

1. Pomfret (鲳鱼炉)
2. Red Grouper (红斑炉)
3. Bighead carp (松鱼炉)

Pomfret is the most expensive fish, costing between $25 and $45. If you want to order this fish you need to go early because it is usually sold out by around 6.30pm.

However, my personal favourite is the Fried Red Grouper steamboat, which I find to be rich and savoury.

Other than fish head steamboat, the menu also offers a variety of other zi char dishes. Some of the popular options are Prawn Paste Chicken 炸鸡 ($8 to $15), Tofu Prawn 豆腐虾 ($13 to $26), and Cuttlefish Kang Kong 鱿鱼蕹菜 ($8 and $12).

The Tofu Prawn 豆腐虾 is one of the “must-order” zi char dishes. It consists of egg tofu and prawns doused in savoury chilli crab sauce.

There is no GST and service charge.

Note that the menu is completely in Chinese.

How To Order

If it’s your first time visiting, it can be a little confusing and even intimidating because most of the staff will be too busy to attend to you. But don’t worry, you just need to follow the simple steps below:

1. Find a table. If all the tables are occupied, wait near one where the customers look like they are going to be done eating soon.
2. Take note of your table number, leave at least one person to man the table, then proceed to order at the cashier. There will usually be a long queue.
3. When it’s your turn, order your food and pay. Note that payment is in CASH only. Tell the staff your table number and they will serve the food to you later.

Fish Head Steamboat

I ordered the small Fried Red Grouper Fish Head Steamboat ($22) to share with the wife. It was served within 15 minutes in a traditional aluminium pot, with charcoal burning at the centre to keep the steamboat hot.

The broth was a standout winner for me! It had an umami-like taste to it from all the ingredients, along with a lingering sweetness and pleasant smokiness. The smokiness is due to the broth being cooked in a long simmering boil over a charcoal stove in the kitchen.

If you are wondering, the soup base is made from a variety of ingredients like chicken feet, anchovies, yam, sour plum and ginger – now you know why it tastes so good!

There was a generous amount of fried fish given, and it was very fresh and tender. However, be careful of the fish bones when eating.

The steamboat contained many other ingredients like cabbage, spinach, and fried yam. These helped to sweeten and add flavour to the soap.

The restaurant offers free soup refills, but you will need to walk all the way to the kitchen to get it yourself.

I’ve only done this a few times before because it’s quite stressful to weave through so many people while balancing a pot of boiling soup.

Prawn Paste Chicken

The Prawn Paste Chicken ($8) was really good – in fact it is my “must-order” dish whenever I visit the restaurant.

The fried skin was wonderfully crispy and tasty, and the chicken meat was hot and succulent. However, there was only a subtle prawn paste fragrance.

To be fair, they don’t name this dish “Prawn Paste Chicken” on their menu – it’s simply called “Fried Chicken”.

Sambal Cuttlefish Kangkong

I enjoyed the Sambal Kangkong with Cuttlefish ($8) too because there was a generous amount of cuttlefish given, and they were big and chewy!

And it was satisfying to eat the cuttlefish and kang kong (water spinach) with the generous slather of feisty-sweet sambal sauce.

Note that this dish has a non-spicy version, which probably substitutes the sambal sauce with another gravy, but I have not tried it before.

Conclusion

If you are looking to indulge in the unadulterated comfort of piping hot fish head steamboat, Tian Wai Tian Fish Head Steamboat in Serangoon is the place for you. I have been visiting this restaurant for many years, and they have never disappointed me. To avoid the crowd, try to go early before 5pm, or after the peak dinner time from 7pm onwards (though the pomfret will probably be sold out by that time). Unfortunately it is not possible to make reservations.

Tian Wai Tian Fish Head Steamboat (天外天潮州鱼头炉)
Address: 1383 Serangoon Road, Singapore 328254
Opening Hours: Daily 4.30pm to 11pm
Phone: +65 8183 4856

Other Outlets:
Jalan Besar: 638 Veerasamy Road Singapore 200638, Opening Hours: 11am to 2.30pm, 5.30pm to 10.30pm, Closed on Tuesdays
Bedok: 31 Kaki Bukit Road 3 Singapore 417818, Phone: +65 9622 5377
Hougang: 203 Hougang Street 21 Singapore 530203, Phone: +65 8382 3633
Ang Mo Kio: #01-645 Kebun Baru Mall, 226B Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 Singapore 562226, Phone: +65 64513411, Opening Hours: Daily 5pm to 11pm