While many Chinese restaurants have landed in Singapore in recent times, this is one new restaurant in the East of Singapore worth checking out.
Nai Nai Flavor 椿花奶奶 has opened at i12 Katong and Aperia Mall, bringing a specific style of Hangzhou cuisine to Singapore for the first time.
It is also the brand’s first outlets beyond China.
So what’s the difference?
Many regional Chinese restaurants in Singapore lean towards heavy spice or oily profiles, but Nai Nai Flavor is grounded in Hang Bang Cai (杭帮菜), a subset of Jiangnan cooking known for a lighter touch.
They operate with a focus on in-house preparation, meaning items like the dough are rolled and fillings are mixed on-site daily rather than relying on pre-made supplies.
The menu is quite extensive and covers other regional specialties that are difficult to find elsewhere in Singapore.
If you come with your family, you can order main courses, shared plates and dim sum.
These include the Grandma’s Secret Dishes ($16.80 for medium), Seafood Rice Soup ($16.80), Pickled Cabbage Beef Fried Rice ($11.80), Shrimp Fried Rice ($13.80), Curry Fried Rice ($11.80), and Taihu Shrimp & Tomato Noodles ($12.80).
To get a better sense of what Nai Nai Flavor offers, here are some of the recommended dishes:
Grandma’s Secret Dishes 奶奶传承神仙鸡 ($16.80 for medium, $29.80 for large)
This claypot chicken soup is the clear hero of the table. The soup is prepared by simmering for eight hours using a 180-day free-range chicken, pork trotters, and spare ribs.
There’s something else that is special.
A thin layer of beancurd skin is stretched across the top to lock in the steam, and you can peel it back (or break it) yourself to reveal the broth.
The soup is so nourishing because it relies on the natural reduction of the meat rather than a lot of added salt.
The inclusion of corn, cordyceps flower, and mushrooms gives it a gentle sweetness that balances the savoury depth of the chicken.
Seafood Rice Soup 海鲜泡饭 ($16.80)
This Seafood “Pao Fan” is a good alternative if you want something comforting.
The kitchen uses sea cucumber skin, clams, and sweet shrimp to build a clear broth that avoids being greasy.
What stood out to me was the use of katsuobushi (smoked skipjack tuna flakes) to provide a subtle smoky umami that lifted the seafood flavours.
Youbu Style Egg Cake 游埠鸡子馃 ($11.80)
A Zhejiang street food specialty, I found this Egg Cake to be the most unique item on the menu, so put this on your “must-order” list.
It reportedly uses a 1,300-year-old technique where the chef wraps pork and spring onions in dough and then pours fresh egg directly into the pastry while it is frying.
This results in a format that is part flatbread and part pancake, with edges that are properly crisp and a centre that is soft and rich with egg.
Spicy Pan-fried Bun with Tofu 辣味豆腐生煎 ($12.80 for 6 pcs)
This dim sum item is a departure from the usual meat-heavy dumplings.
The filling is a mapo-style seasoned tofu (but not too spicy at all, just a notch), but they also include a small amount of Jinhua ham to add a savoury fragrance.
The buns are fried on a layer of egg, which creates a golden, crispy skin at the base that contrasts with the soft steamed dough on top. Quite an interesting sharing item to order.
Braised Wheat with Jade 翡翠烧麦 ($8.80 for 5 pcs)
These are called “Jade Dumplings” because of their translucent skin and green fillings.
The dumplings are vegetarian and filled with Shanghai greens, tofu, and water chestnuts.
Mixed Rice Noodles with Minced Pork 大师肉臊拌粉 ($8.50)
If you are wondering if this is the usual Zha Jiang Mian, it’s not quite.
The restaurant uses rice noodles which are supposedly more elastic and have more “Q” than standard wheat noodles, and I found the chewiness quite satisfying.
They use a secret meat sauce that functions like a Zha Jiang Mian, mixed with cucumbers, carrots, and peanuts for a bit of fresh crunch.
Yangzhou Fried Rice 扬州炒饭 ($10.80)
The Yangzhou Fried Rice is prepared with soy sauce, which gives the grains a darker colour compared to the paler versions often found elsewhere.
The rice is tossed with ham, carrots, onions, and green peas over a high flame so the grains remain separate and firm.
A dependable carb dish that is not overly greasy and serves as a good base for the shared soups and meats.
Fried Small Wonton 黄金热炸小馄饨 ($8.80 for 12 pcs)
The wontons arrived as a basket of twelve deep-fried parcels.
These are bite-sized and fried until the skin is very airy and brittle, so they shatter easily when you bite into them.
Traditional Style Double Boiled Pear with White Fungus 古法银耳吊梨汤 ($11.80)
I finished with this dessert, which is served with whole snow pears.
The kitchen simmers the pear with white fungus, red dates, and yellow peaches to create a broth that is clear and only lightly sweet (surprisingly).
You would notice that the peach taste is quite strong, as yellow peaches are added for that soft, jammy texture that goes well with the slight crunch of the fungus.
It is the first time this Hangzhou brand has ventured outside China, and they seem determined to prove that handmade effort still matters.
While not every dish will be familiar to diners here, Nai Nai Flavor offers something distinctive, especially for those curious to try a more delicate style of Jiangnan cooking.
Nai Nai Flavor 椿花奶奶
i12 Katong #02-13/14 & #02-26/27, 112 East Coast Road, Singapore 428802
Opening Hours: 11am – 9pm (Mon – Sun)
Aperia Mall #01-57, 12 Kallang Ave, Singapore 339511
Opening Hours: 11am – 9pm (Mon – Sun)
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* This entry is brought to you in partnership with Nai Nai Flavor.
