Dong Bei Ren Jia is a Chinese restaurant at 22 Upper Cross St in the heart of Chinatown, Singapore, rated 4.3 on Google, with updates shared through its Facebook page. The name translates roughly as "Northeastern family home", pointing to the cooking of Dongbei, China's cold northeast.
That regional food is a different beast from the Cantonese roast meats many visitors expect of Chinatown: think hand-pleated dumplings, sour-cabbage stews, crispy sweet-and-sour pork and cumin lamb, all dishes built for sharing and built to satisfy. Portions in this tradition run generous, so order fewer plates than you would at a dim sum house and add more if the table is still hungry. A dependable sign of a good one is a dining room full of Chinese families and students, and dumplings are the real test: properly hand-made ones arrive juicy, with plain vinegar for dipping.
For a taste of China's northeast in the middle of Singapore's Chinatown, this Upper Cross Street address is a natural place to start.