Riverside Grilled Fish (江边城外) – Super Satisfying Mala Grilled Fish at Raffles City

My current favourite food is mala grilled fish and I decided to check out the popular Riverside Grilled Fish (江边城外) at Raffles City one evening after work.

Riverside Grilled Fish (江边城外)

Riverside Grilled Fish (江边城外) is a popular Chinese restaurant at Raffles City that specialises in feisty mala grilled fish.

The restaurant was started in 2005 by two friends who discovered the method of topping grilled fish with mala sauce when travelling in Chongqing.

They opened their first outlet in Beijing and the business has since expanded to 54 branches across China. The branch at Raffles City is their first overseas branch.

Great Ambience with Decent Service

After locating Riverside Grilled Fish at the basement of Raffles City, I approached a female staff standing at the front.

She stared at me with a blank expression and for a moment I thought she was a customer whom I had mistaken to be a restaurant staff.

“Erm, two persons? Thanks.” I enquired after an awkward one second wait.

“Ok sure, come in then!” she suddenly smiled and turned around to lead me into the restaurant.

Feeling a little confused by her sudden change in attitude, I followed her to an empty table.

I really liked Riverside Grilled Fish’s ambience! The restaurant is tastefully furnished in a charming oriental style, with wooden tables and upholstered wooden chairs.

It has a “riverside” theme with hanging Chinese oil lamps and fishing nets lining the walls. There are even river-themed poetries projected on the wall.

I was impressed by how large and spacious the restaurant was. It can accommodate 150 diners! The restaurant must be doing really well to be able to afford such a huge space at Raffles City.

Once seated, I was given an iPad to place orders. The waitress was very helpful and gave me recommendations on what to order.

After ordering, the food came super quickly, which was great because I was feeling famished after work!

How to Order

The Riverside Grilled Fish menu is pretty easy to understand.

First, I had to choose my fish. There are four choices: Sea Bass ($35), Patin ($35), Golden Pomfret ($38) and Garoupa ($42). I chose Garoupa (石斑) as the waitress said this tasted the best.

Next, I had to pick the sauce. I went with the popular Signature Fragrant Spicy Sauce (香辣味) and selected the “less-spicy” option. Other recommended options are Black Bean Sauce, Unique Sauce, and Mala Sauce. If you want a non-spicy sauce, you can go with the Pickled Vegetable Sauce.

Finally, I had to select the side dishes, which will be cooked together with the grilled fish. I ordered the Enoki Mushroom ($4.80), Pork Belly ($4.80) and Shredded Potato ($2.80). Other options include sausages, lotus root, seaweed, etc.

Garoupa with Signature Fragrant Spicy Sauce

My dish arrived within five minutes (or less) after ordering. I was impressed by the efficiency to say the least.

I loved how tantalising the dish looked! The grilled fish was covered from head to tail with a copious amount of dried chilli, along with some peanuts and chopped spring onions. It was surrounded by the feisty mala sauce.

A fire burning beneath the metal tray kept the fish warm.

I used my chopsticks to scrape away the chilli and picked out a chunk of white fish meat.

It tasted great! The garoupa was extremely tender and fresh, with no fishy smell at all. The feisty spicy sauce had a nose-searing fragrance distinctive of Szechuan cuisine flair. This awesome fish and spicy sauce combination was super satisfying!

And I also liked that it was indeed “less spicy” as per my request, so that I didn’t have to reach for ice water with every single mouthful.

Side Dishes

The side dishes were placed beneath the fish. It was the first time that I was eating Pork Belly with mala grilled fish, and it was surprisingly good. It absorbed the spicy sauce flavour nicely and provided variety to the dish.

The Enoki Mushroom was good too – it’s hard to go wrong with mala sauce and enoki mushroom.

I also enjoyed the Shredded Potato, which had a soft and chewy texture. It went perfectly with the spicy sauce.

Conclusion

On the whole, I enjoyed my meal at Riverside Grilled Fish very much. The mala grilled fish was super satisfying! The fish was fresh and the sauce had an awesome mala fragrance without being overly spicy (this was because I had selected the “less spicy” option when ordering on the iPad).

I went to Riverside Grilled Fish on a Friday evening at 6pm and the restaurant was largely empty except for a few customers. However, the restaurant quickly started filling up once I sat down, and by the time I left at 7pm it was already fully packed. Therefore, make sure you call to make reservations before going down to this popular restaurant.

Riverside Grilled Fish 江边城外
Address: Raffles City Shopping Centre, #B1-06/07, 252 North Bridge Road, 179103
Phone: +65 6352 2035
Opening Hours: Daily: 11am to 10 pm