Datenite @ Nine Dragon Char Chan Teng, The Starling

Last Friday, I suggested to my lahling that we try Nine Dragon Char Chan Teng at The Starling.

When this eatery first opened in 2023, there were long queues which lasted for months. Then as time passed, 2024-2025, the queues died down. Up until then, I never visited.

We were there around 6.00 pm and there were two or three tables occupied. Gone were the days when people thronged here to experience the Hong Kong char chan teng vibe.

The interior is decorated to evoke that nostalgic atmosphere of days gone by with garish neon lights, replicas of old shops and old newspaper clippings plastered on the walls.

Ordering is via QR code and we were given physical menus. The food choices were those typical of char chan teng outlets.

Ice Lemon Tea (less sweet). It was all right and lightly sweetened as requested.

These were our choices as we did not find anything else interesting. 

My partner picked the Black Pepper Pork Chop. It came with generous lashings of sauce. I tried a little bit of the black pepper sauce and found the pepper overpowering. I think this sauce came from a bottle.

My choice was the Sweet and Sour Chicken Chop.

Both our orders were accompanied by rice, a sunny side up egg, coleslaw and slices of tomatoes and cucumber. 

Then I made the mistake of ordering a side for sharing. These Fried (pork) Dumplings were underwhelming and overpriced.

Five pieces of dumplings with their centers all puffed up and generously filled with air. The pork filling was so scant and I suspect no longer fresh as it had an unpleasant smell. No sauce accompanied the dumplings.

Sad to say, our experience as Nine Dragon Char Chan Teng was disappointing. The pork and chicken chop were both hard and dry. The black pepper sauce was awful and while the sweet and sour sauce was fairly decent, there was not enough of it. The pork dumplings were a total disaster.

Based on our dining experience, I can understand why the crowds have disappeared. We will not be revisiting.