Yalong Bay Chinese Restaurant 亚龙湾地道小厨 is a small, homely tze cha restaurant at Novena Regency on Thomson Road in Toa Payoh, rated 4.8 from 97 Google reviews. Diners describe a two-man show worth the wait, with reservations advised, and they return for sambal kangkong, crispy hor fun and flaming chicken.
Tze cha cooking is done strictly to order, dish by dish, often by a small crew — which is why waits can stretch and regulars simply phone ahead. The marker to look for is wok hei, the smoky char a blazing wok gives fried noodles; broad, silky hor fun is the classic test, best eaten the minute it lands. Order for the table rather than yourself — a noodle, a sambal vegetable, a fish, sweet and sour pork — and let rice stretch it round.
A real gem for old-school tze cha amid Novena's imported eateries, provided you arrive booked and patient.