Address: Amoy Food Centre #02-119, Singapore

My family - we are simple people and creatures of habit. My parents have a few favourite haunts which they always patronise when they crave home-cooked food without the need for cooking at home. Lu Tian is one of them. Ta-dah!

I’ve eaten at Lu Tian since I was a child and it used to be located at this old food centre by the sea at Shenton Way (sort of opposite the present Lau Pa Sat). More than 15 years later (ok, so I’m no spring chicken), the same couple (erm… I assume they are a couple) are still behind the stall, with the husband (erm…I assume he is the husband) toiling behind the stove.

Usually, the service is fairly slow (and business also fairly good). However, as we were there on a lonesome Saturday night, the place was practically deserted and the food arrived pretty quickly.

Our favourite Lu Tian dish, which we order every single time we eat there, is the sambal crayfish. In my parents’ book, crayfish is a big deal - an exalted seafood of a higher order than crab, and slightly lower than lobster (but only just). The special thing about Lu Tian’s sambal crayfish is that it doesn’t come in the shell, so you don’t have to expend any effort into extracting the juicy flesh.

Perhaps I’ve grown up or my tolerance level for spicy food has increased. But the sambal just doesn’t have the kick it used to have when I was a kid. Nonetheless, it was tasty.

Apart from the sambal crayfish, we also ordered the fried tofu, sweet and sour pork cutlet, a seafood soup and a vegetable dish. I was not particularly impressed with any of them. The fried tofu was cut too thickly and not fried enough, so that the healthy soy taste overpowered me. As the fried tofu came in a soupy sauce with seafood, the seafood soup became a case of déjà vu (or should I say, déjà mangé). Phew, bland food overdose.

The stir-fried vegetable dish was satisfactory. I didn’t dislike it, but it’s vegetables - how tasty can that be (unless it’s fried in lots and lots of sambal)? I’m not quite sure about this, but I think it’s Chinese leeks. Here’s a picture of my token vitamin intake for the day.

The sweet and sour pork cutlet looked promising when it arrived, all smothered in a orangy sticky sauce. However, there was no tangy, sour taste to the sauce (it was more like ketchup) and the pork cutlet was tough. This was my least favourite dish.

My father footed the bill, but from experience, I’m pretty sure it was cheap (i.e. well below $50).

All in all, a simple and unpretentious dining experience. Perhaps it’s nostalgia.. or loyalty…or the sambal crayfish, but I’m sure we’ll come back again for more. We always do.