Dong Bei Ren Jia 东北人家

5th time back here and I can tell you that their food quality has consistently been really good. They are one of the rare shops where their vegetable dishes are really worth mentioning 😍

Their Di San Xian ($8) is a must order here. I have been ordering this each time I come here and it's always been so good! The vegetables are stir-fried very well to their right doneness, and the sauce has a good mix of sweet and savoury that is simply addictive. If you love your eggplant, theirs were very well executed.

The Stir Fried Chilli Cabbage ($8) was another hit. The fresh crunchy cabbages absorbed the flavours well, and I liked how it had a tinge of numbness that was well appreciated. Lovely flavours coming from the chilli oil they used too!

Just in case you haven't had enough potatoes from the first dish mentioned, the Potato Dry Pot with Pork ($12.50) was another lovely sharing dish. There wasn't much pork to begin with (it's not the main ingredient anyway) but if you can find them, they were lovely with its tender meat 😍 the potato pieces were just slightly snappy with a creamy inside which was delicious. Liked how it was drenched in a spicy savoury sauce which is perfect with rice!

Definitely coming back here again very soon 😂

Old favourites and great new finds at Dong Bei Ren Jia.

Salted Egg Pumpkin 蛋黄焗南瓜
-I usually go for their Caramelized Sweet Potato so it is my first time having this. It didn’t really feel like a dessert item but it was super moreish with the salty-sweet combo. Love that the tender chunks of pumpkin had a thin (lightly crisp) batter as well as an even coat of savoury salted egg.

Old favourites and great new finds at Dong Bei Ren Jia.

Stir-fried Shredded Pork With Soy Paste 京酱肉丝
-A little heavy-handed on the seasoning for the pork but paired wonderfully with the sheet of beancurd, shredded leeks as well as crunchy strips of cucumber which served to balance the richness. Savoury and sweet, the soy flavour is also strong and fragrant.

Old favourites and great new finds at Dong Bei Ren Jia.

Enoki Mushroom With Cucumber Salad 黄瓜拌金针菇
-A surprisingly good appetiser, the varying crunchy textures were really pleasant. Tangy (yet not overly so), it served as a refreshing start to the meal. The ingredients were also well ‘marinated’ in the savoury dressing.

We had a really satisfying and wallet-friendly lunch for 7 pax at Dong Bei Ren Jia 东北人家 recently!

We ordered:
- Sautéed Hot and Sour Shredded Potato with Green Pepper 酸辣土豆丝 ($6)
- Green Bean Noodle, Carrot and Cucumber Salad 东北大拉皮 ($8)
- Shredded Cabbage 手撕包菜 ($8)
- Fried Vermicelli with Minced Meat 肉末粉条 ($10)
- Sautéed Tomato with Egg 番茄炒鸡蛋 ($8)
- Double Stir-Fried Spicy Sliced Pork 回锅肉 ($14)
- Sweet and Sour Pork 锅包肉 ($14)

The food is great - I truly enjoyed every dish that we ordered. Special shout-out to the hot and sour shredded potato that is crunchy and refreshing, the fried vermicelli with minced meat that is super garlicky and very fragrant, and the sweet and sour pork that is different style from the tomato-based 咕噜肉 found in zichar stalls. The thick and tender pork cutlets are fried and coated in a sweet and sour sauce made from vinegar and sugar - love this!

Would love to come back again!

I boycotted Dong Bei Ren Jia after experiencing a bad attitude wait staff many months ago. Finally, I am back, and while service is still relatively subpar, I have decided to look past that and focus on the affordability, variety and flavours of the food. Hence, the next time I am back again in the future, I will come with a better managed expectation.