Bugis Xin Yuan Ji Fish Soup

Hidden gem. Value for money. Food is good and price is reasonable. Not overcrowded like other more famous fish head steamboat. Their fish head steamboat is a must-try. They usually have some set meals that have things that we like. The set (in the picture) was just $68, more than enough for 4 adults.

Despite not living too far away from Bukit Batok, I did not know of the existence of this eatery until I browsed Google Maps. Located deep in an industrial estate, it is rather inaccessible unless you drive. I'm always on the lookout for new opportunities to sacrifice my waistline to bring you information, so brought my family there for dinner. The entire coffee shop gave a positive first impression. It was clean, well lit, well ventilated with high ceiling, and had ample seating despite being fairly well patronised. From the diners present, you might have mistaken this for being a heartland coffeeshop. We decided to give Bugis Xin Yuan Ji a try. The lady who took our order recommended Nonya Fish Head ($25.80) and Garlic Chives Bean Sprouts (Qing Long Chai Tou Ya)($12.80). We also ordered Coffee Pork Ribs ($12.80) and Cereal Sotong ($12.80). The star of the show was the Nonya Fish Head. The moment each of us took our first sip of the gravy, we felt we had a winner. The combination of spices was refreshing and perked us up. The Nonya Fish Head came with a generous amount of sliced tomato, brinjal, pineapple, onions etc. The Fish Head was fresh. Taste 5/5. Value 4.5/5 The Garlic Chives and Bean Sprouts paired well, and was well executed. Simple, light and tasty. Taste 4.5/5. Value 4/5 Coffee Pork Ribs was tender and had a pleasant coffee taste. Some light caramelisation on the outside whilst being moist inside. We would have preferred the meat to come with bone (it is pork ribs after all), but we were OK with it being "pork nuggets". Taste 4.25/5. Value 4/5 Although the Cereal Sotong dish contained a generous heap of Cereal, as well as a generous portion of Sotong, we were disappointed as the sotong was tasteless. This seemed to be sotong that had been frozen for a very long time. We regretted ordering this. Taste 1.5/5. Value Not Meaningful. Overall, I'll give this 5 stars, especially on account of the Nonya Fish Head. My family is keen to have this again and to try some of their other dishes.