Two Chefs

For Mothers' Day this year, I decided to dispense with my usual practice of buying mom a glitzy meal and wrapping her an ang pow. Instead, I enrolled her in a one-day char siew making class and took her out for a simple lunch at Two Chefs.

Two Chefs is located in a dingy coffeeshop at the void deck of a HDB block in the Commonwealth Estate. Although I had made prior reservations, we were unceremoniously seated in a awkwardly positioned table beside a drain teeming with cockroaches. Worse still, because there was a wet market in the close vicinity, the constant presence of pesky houseflies was an unwelcome menace.

I was nursing a bad headache and was too famished to think of an alternative dining venue. Hence, I quickly caught the attention of the sweat drenched owner and ordered a portion of butter pork ribs, sambal sweet potato leaves, house special beancurd, cockles, herbal chicken and fried seafood horfun.

The food arrived within 15 mins, which was a welcome relief of sorts.

First to arrive were the butter pork ribs. We were intrigued by the powdery crumbs generously sprinkled over the ribs. The crumbs tasted like a mixture of cereal, butter and cheese and were highly addictive. Hubby clearly enjoyed this dish and greedily licked up every single crumb (only to complain of a bad sore throat later in the evening). Mom however was not very impressed and felt that the meat was a tad too tough.


The next dish to be served was the house special beancurd. This was undoubtedly the most well received dish. Although it didn't look very appetizing on first sight (brown gooey mess), the rectangular cubes of tofu were so smooth and silky that I almost fooled myself into thinking I was eating tau huey.


I vividly recall my mother feasting on plates of steamed cockles (dipped in piquant sambal) during my childhood days. It thus seemed like a no brainer to order the signature steamed cockles with garlic and chilli especially for her. Unfortunately, many Singaporeans have since sworn off cockles for fear of contracting Hepatitis A. My mom was no exception. She threw a fearful glance at the cockles and only ventured to gingerly eat a few pieces after much cajoling. Not wanting to waste the dish, I tried a piece myself (although I don't eat cockles) and found it to be refreshingly light and delicately flavored.


Mom is an advocate of all things green and leafy. With her around, it is not possible to have a meal without vegetables. When the sweet potato leaves arrived, I was quick to dole out a huge serving on her plate. There was nothing spectacular about this dish but at least it was well executed. The serving was generous and the sambal boasted sufficient punch.


The much raved about satay prawns were not available. We thus took the owner's recommendation of herbal chicken. It was regretfully one of the worst versions of herbal chicken I had ever tasted, with a bland stock and coarse strings of meat. We couldn't bear to finish the dish even though we still had space in our stomachs.


The seafood hor fun was equally disappointing. Although brimming with ingredients (fresh prawns, fish slices, vegetables and pork), I could barely detect the wok hei undertones in the charred noodles and found the gravy rather bland.

The final bill came up to SGD49, which is excellent value considering what we ate. However, I would have gladly paid more for lesser food and improved execution.

Sometimes, less is more.

Two Chefs Eating Place
Blk 116, Commonwealth Crescent
#01-129
Tel: 6472 5361