Updated: 9th Dec 2010: This restaurant has been closed.
Minoo had initially planned to visit 2 temples on the same day, i.e. a Sikh temple followed by a Chinese temple. But, we ran out of time after the Sikh temple. So, we gathered again the next day for the field trip to the International Chinese Temple.
The International Chinese Temple is located on Steveston Highway. There is a beautiful Chinese garden in the compound of the temple. When we were there, there was a group of photographers of some photography group from Oregon taking photos in the garden.
We intended to have lunch at the vegetarian restaurant in the temple. Unfortunately, the vegetarian restaurant was closed for renovation for 2 months. So, we quickly came up with a plan B and ended up at Kelong Singapore Restaurant on No. 3 Road.
The restaurant was not too busy on a weekday during our visit. Tables were decorated with batik cloth to reflect it’s South East Asian identity.
For starters, we had roti canai which comes with a curry sauce. The roti canai was flaky as it should be but it was relatively small.
Another starter we had was satay. We had various kind of satay, i.e. chicken, beef, and pork. The satay were served with peanut sauce which came with a small saucer. More sauce would be nice.
Since most of the members of this group have not try Singaporean food before, we ordered quite a lot to try. Their lunch special … is around $7 which is very economical. The above is Hainanese Chicken which comes with a bowl of soup and the common ginger and chili sauce.
Chicken Curry with Rice is $6.95. There were sliced potatoes in the curries. The gravy is just great with the steamed rice.
Minoo liked the above Beef Rendang with rice. The rich gravy goes well with rice again. I had better ones from Seri Malaysia.
Sambal Prawn with Rice is also $6.95. This dish came with deep fried hard boiled eggs, onions, red and green pepper. The hint of sourness stimulates ones appetite.
The group liked the sambal dish so much that we ordered another Sambal Fish with Rice which was also $6.95.
We also ordered an assortment of noodle dishes to try. The above was Laksa which has coconut milk in spicy broth. It is served with hard boiled eggs, tofu puff, prawns and fish cake.
The above Char Kuey Teow or Fried Rice Noodle is also $6.95. It lacked the ‘wok hei’ needed for this dish. There must be some char in the noodles.
It seemed that Mee Goreng or Malay style Fried Noodle was more popular with the group. This is a little spicy and costs $6.95.
We need to have a vegetable dish. So, we ordered a Sambal Kangkong which is a Stir Fried Water Spinach with chili and shrimp paste. Another dish that goes well with steamed rice.
The meal ended in a sweet note with a Pulut Hitam, black sticky rice porridge with coconut cream. This dessert soup is $2.50 per bowl.
The total bill came to just over $100. Not bad for the number of dishes we had.
It was a great dining experience for many who tried Singaporean food for the first time. We should do this more often. We wished one another a great summer and look forward to meet again in September. We also want to wish those who will be travelling to travel safe and have a happy holiday.
I have been curious about this place for a while, I am guessing it’s worth a try then?
HI Elaine: We went to Kelong once many many years ago (before chowtimes days). We were disappointed actually and had never been back there since. It’s Suanne question to answer if Kelong is better in her visit recently. Ben
Your experience there sounds disappointing, Ben.
I’ve only been there twice, both times in the ’90s. Kelong was pretty good by my memory, but those were the days before Banana Leaf, and Tropika was still a cozy, tasty (and economical) operation on W. Broadway and Balacava.
Kelong is not that bad. As far as Malaysian/Singaporean restaurant goes, they are #2 from the bottom. The WORST we had was at Prata-Man. We swore we will never go back to Prata-Man when we asked for sambal and they replied “what is that? we don’t have it”. It is like going to a burger place and they don’t know what ketchup is. You know what I mean? Awful place but amazingly they had lasted so long. Ben
Haha Prata Man! Their “soup” for their chicken rice tasted more like ginger tea…the “roti” was a dense pancake like thing.
I’m perplexed that they’ve been around for 15+ years. I recall the first (and last time) I was there was in the late ’90s when my work required me to be in Richmond a lot. Food was not memorable, and felt expensive.
Hmmm the roti doesn’t look too good and that’s like one of my must haves!
Have been here a couple of times. They definitely lack wok hei esp in the char kway teow. Also had the Hainan chicken, roti canai, curry laksa, and satay. They do get some folks going there on weekend lunches. To meet up and after church crowd.
Their lunch special is reasonably priced. For dinner it was a little pricier. Definitely better value for lunch. The food is passable. Not sure where the cook is from. But unless you really crave Singapore/Malaysian flavored food you can do better elsewhere, IMHO.
Oooooh…I remember that garden at the temple…that’s where I took my wedding pictures years ago…LOL!!! Finally I know what that veggie is called in English…water spinach…I always call it my own way…hollow-choi…LOL!
I’ve always been curious about the Buddhist temple whenever I drive past it on Steveston Highway. After looking at your photos, I’m keen to pay the temple a visit =)
Hi Yakqueen: I would go to the Buddhist temple AFTER they open the vegetarian restaurant. I bet it’s gonna be good and cheap. Ben
Cheap as in free. I think it’s free vegetarian meal at the Buddhist temple if I’m not mistaken. BTW, the receipt still showed the GST charge so I guess the lunch took place before July 1st? So by this time the vegetarian kitchen is probably opened already/
Few years ago, we went to International Buddhist Temple for praying, we thought they provide free lunch (as all Buddhist/Taoist temple should)…but they did not. We decided to eat at the restaurant, however, it wasn’t cheap…we were quite surprised since it’s a temple. I personally don’t go to this temple much because I don’t like the fact it’s too “commercialized”…but it is a GOOD temple to go to…all feng shui is good (according to my mom)…LOL!
You’ll be surprised, many temples, thought the meals are free (by donation), have really yummy food. The best mango pudding I ever had was at Lin Yen Mountain Temple in Richmond…but they don’t always have it.
Quite a number of vegetarian restaurants are opened by former volunteer temple chefs, such as Golden Fortune and Spicy Vegetarian Cuisine…both good!
The veg food at the temple is good. Service not so as it is done by volunteers. It’s
not free, and it doesn’t have the feeling of community you get when you visit a temple in Asia. It is what it is, a commercialized place of worship.
Prata man is not authentic. But not as bad as suggested. It does have a more hk Hainan rice. And it is more like roti pratha than roti canai. Which is possibly store bought. I believe the cook is mainland Chinese lady as is the cook at cafe d’light at Aberdeen. Prob both can cook well, but neither understand M’sia or S’pore food. Neither does the service staff.
I think prata man has a lunch special that is ok value. You get a choice of three items and drink for around 10 bucks.
The kelong roti was kinda hard when I had them. Neither one are memorable.
Yea…don’t expect much service at the temple. And for buddhist/taoist temples in 604…IBT is the only one that charges and is the only one I felt is “commercialized”…
Most buddisht/taoist temples provide the meals free for visitors…but only for lunch as their nuns/monks do not eat hot meals after lunch.
You cannot expect a mainland China person to have the same pallete as Singaporean or Malaysian,Even if you have the same recipe,What He or she thinks is good is not the same as somebody who grew up in Malaysia.For example Filipino food in the Philippines has a lot more salt compared to the one prepared by Filipino Canadians who cut back on it for health reasons.The common complaint of newly arrived Filipinos is food here lacks salt and I find Filipino food in the Philippines is too salty same I guess for Malaysian food and spice here
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