Riverside Grilled Fish 江边城外 – Fun if you are adventurous enough

Riverside Grilled Fish 江边城外

Rafflescity at City Hall MRT

One of the bigger names hailing from China with more than 40 outlets country wide, Riverside Grilled Fish has found a large cosy corner at Rafflescity. Ironic it is when I am actually quite intolerant of mala, abhorrent of Sichuan cuisine as I am not in favour for a torturing spicy cuisine that sometimes conveniently lack of fragrance, or rather overpowered by the overdose of capsaicin and pepper! Why would such cuisine exist when balance is obviously off the equation, the question I am always bewildered at. Well, but when made more refined by the more upmarket establishments, things are usually quite different and therefore the urge to give 江边城外 a go.

How it works here – choose your fish, then one of the 9 sauces that you like and then any toppings that you want to be stuffed underneath. Sea bass chosen over here. And for non mala fans, only one out of the 9 will suit us, as I chose the black bean sauce for the grilled fish to be smothered in. The friendly Taiwanese waitress knows the palettes here well, and seems to advise according to our accent as she must have known the locals can’t take these spices well. So a big nono for non mala fans as there is no spicy levels to choose from, just so as to retain the authenticity of it. $35 topped with sausage ($4.50), tofu sheets ($4.50), beancurd skin ($3.50), Green radish ($2.50).

Though the mala was forgone, that bean paste sauce tasted robust enough, lifted up by the adequate amount of spice in it. That redness in the sauce is indeed acceptable, that is able to accentuate the sweetness from the tender, moist sea bass that is still reeking of a beautiful smoke.

This Sichuan flat noodles, which I tried once in Sichuan couldn’t catch my attention at all with a pretty weak consistency in those translucent noodles. While the texture remains brittle here, its more refined preparation made it more palatable. I would have finished it if only that fragrant peanutty sauce was used solely without that mental chilli oil to interfere with the entire bowl. But well, respect is given to the origin of this dish. $4.80.

Egg fried rice, so much to finish in one tub.

Pan fried rice cake with Soya Powder. Very dense, highly compacted and topped off with a fragrant layer of egg, made into a enjoyable dessert when sprinkled with that lightly sweetened soy powder. $6.80.

It was an exciting and fun experience for me even after tailoring it to yield a milder experience which I thoroughly enjoyed!

Verdict: A good restaurant. 4.0/5.