The Salted Plum at Circular Road feels like a breath of fresh air as it settles alongside the rest of the F&B establishment in the area. This place serves Taiwanese-inspired dishes in small plates and rice bowls though affordability might be a question of perspective. I actually went down on 2 separate occasions; once during lunch and once during dinner on the weekend. Lunch was a hectic affair, especially with a huge and hungry lunch crowd vs an average waiting time of 20 minutes for a rice bowl. Yep, you heard that right – 20 minutes. Be prepared to wait!

I was surprised that there was still a decent crowd during weekend given CBD don’t usually see much soul on the street. But the friend received very specific instructions when making reservations. One, all party to be present before we can be seated (which is fair). Two, they only hold the table for 5 minutes. 5 minutes?! You gotta be kidding me right. You expect people to wait 20 minutes for your rice bowl and you only allow 5 minutes holding time?! But then on that day, I was seated once I reached (without my party) and there doesn’t seem like the 5-minutes holding time in place either. So either there was a miscommunication or they are still sorting out their operations

In any case since I was waiting, I decided to get a glass of white wine which honestly feels a little strange to go with the dishes

Rice bowls are priced at $10 each and includes likes of Lu Rou Fan (I mean how can you miss that), Chicken Rice, Salmon Rice and Vegetarian Rice to name a few

Lu Rou Fan $10

Braised Pork Belly, Kai Lan, Sous Vide Egg

Burnt Chilli Chicken Rice $10

Seaweed Chicken Rice with Burnt Chilli & Coriander, Sous Vide Egg

Since I’m gonna be reviewing similar dishes, I shall leave it for later. In short, the rice bowls were decent though portion is relatively small and it might not be very filling. I find it okay lah, since I don’t eat much and finishing it with a cup of coffee post-lunch is enough to fill you. But honestly, if you feel really hungry, this rice bowl is not enough

So moving on to small plates..

Shiny Rice $0.50

Rice Drizzled with Lard & Garlic Oil

Well, it’s supposed to be drizzled with lard & garlic oil.. HMMM

Smashed Baby Potatoes $5

Deep Fried Baby Potatoes, Salted Plum Powder

The fried baby potatoes were awesome. Nice crisp skin with soft filling dusted with the saltiness of plum powder. It felt like the combination worked wonders

Squid $10

Grilled Squid with Five Spice BBQ Glaze, Calamansi

Squid was decent, nothing to rave about

Fried Chicken $10

Sesame & Soy Marinated Chicken, Nori Mayonnaise

Fried Chicken was okay, pretty forgettable

Burnt Chilli Chicken $10

Charred Chicken Thigh Cooked with Loads of Chilli

I actually regretted it once I ordered, cos I don’t know how it will turn out. But surprisingly, it was the best choice. Love the charred flavour and the tenderness of the chicken and the mix of chilli in it. It was really good

Braised Pig Intestines $10

Braised Large Intestines, Haus Saus, Freshly Grated Garlic

Ooh, these intestines. Tasted heavenly delicious

Lu Rou $10

Braised Pork Belly in Special Haus Saus

The pork belly was really tender and the special haus saus makes it even better with the sweet and salty, silky flavour in it

Brussel Sprouts $10

Brussel Sprouts, Sautéed with Salted Pork & Shitake Mushroom

The brussels sprouts were a surprise too. I didn’t know a simple dish can turn out this good

Tau Kwa $10

Deep Fried Tau Kwa & Century Egg Served with Chunky Minced Pork

On the contrary, pretty disappointed in this tau kwa dish. It was just.. like that lor

Salmon Dashi $10

Salmon & Black Fungus Served with Clear Dashi Broth

Something different in the menu. The broth has a slight saltiness, infused with the sweetness of the salmon

Slipper Lobster $25

The five-spice slipper lobster proves to be pretty popular among the party as well. Even though the cook on it wasn’t something we expect, but I like the slight spiciness and the sweetness of the lobster meat

Serving portion on the small plates is what you see it is. It can be relatively small but that gives you another reason to order more dishes to share, especially since some dishes are worth trying. Even though there are a few hiccups during the visits, I do feel that The Salted Plum is still worth returning. They do have the potential to be the next establishment to look-out for, perhaps after some fine-tuning. And to be fair, they did mention they were trying to reduce the waiting time for lunch which they understand it’s important to CBD people

The Salted Plum

10 Circular Rd, Singapore 049366