Lu Ding Ji – Taiwanese Comfort Food at Its Best

A new Taiwanese restaurant has just sprung up in the East. Lu Ding Ji first started out at Oxley Towers in August 2017. It then shifted to Viva Business Park in early September this year. The restaurant is manned by two childhood friends — Nicole manages the backend operations, while Kayne, the head chef, handles the kitchen operations. Lu Ding Ji dishes out delicious Taiwanese food that is very value-for-money. Their menu used to only feature rice bowls and noodle bowls. After relocating, they revamped the menu and included more varieties.

Kayne is a self-taught chef who started cooking since the age of 16. He has a very sensitive palate, and often experiments with dishes and recipes. He’s worked in various industries previously, and has now opened up his very own business. “My recipes are Taiwanese-inspired and locally-flavoured,” Kayne expressed.

The Pork Bowl ($9.50) was highly recommended. A generous amount of braised pork belly rested atop a bed of Japanese short-grain rice. One spoonful of the braised pork and rice got me hooked. The amount of effort put into this dish certainly paid off. The tender meat had soaked up all the braising liquid, which boasted a wonderfully rich flavour. The meat-to-fat ratio was perfect.

Kayne told me that they take their lava eggs very seriously. The lava egg was slightly wobbly, and had a bright orange centre which looked promising . While the yolk wasn’t completely molten, it sure was tasty!

Talking about eggs, may I entice you with the LDJ Crispy Chawanmushi ($8)? It is basically chawanmushi, but fried! “If you don’t try the fried chawanmushi, you haven’t been to Lu Ding Ji,” Kayne exclaimed. They’ve “wasted” about 500 eggs in order to perfect it! That figure shocked me. I gotta admit, the first bite already left a great impression. It tasted exactly like chawanmushi, but kicked up a notch. The thin crust wasn’t too oily, and didn’t break apart too easily. What a unique item, and a must-try!

Lu Ding Ji serves a variety of claypot dishes too. Their Mixed Claypot includes two items, so feel free to select any two from what’s available. I went for the boneless chicken thigh ($5) and pig’s liver ($5).

The chicken thigh exceeded my expectations. It was incredibly tender, and really flavourful. Pairing it with a bowl of hot porridge was so gratifying, I finished every last bit of chicken!

Initially, I thought the pig’s liver was too soft for my liking. After soaking it in the hot gravy for a little while more, the liver became firmer. This dish reminded me of my mum’s cooking, and offered a taste of home. I reckon that most people will enjoy this, especially after a long day of work.

You can now enjoy free-flow porridge or rice with any claypot purchase, during lunchtime. How great is that?! I’m certain that you will leave LDJ very satisfied, and full.

Do share with us your favourite dishes at LDJ, so we know what to try the next time we’re there!

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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