Delicious Dinner at Jiang Nan Restaurant

Post by Chiefeater Luke Soon

Jiang Nan Restaurant is the porky sister restaurant operated by the same folks behind Bangsar Venicia; one of our favourite spots for pork-free Chinese food.

We had quite a few dishes – small portions so we could sample more – I asked Chris the maitre’d if he recommends their sangharmeen (freshwater prawn noodles) or their signature Jiang Nan river prawns. The answer was their house specialty, as sangharmeen can be had elsewhere/outside.

The name Jiang Nan may be unfamiliar but its roots are deeply entrenched in the F&B industry with its older sibling, Venicia Restaurant, a name well known in Selayang and later on in Bangsar.

One may think there’s an Italian link but the restaurant was named after Casa Venicia, the condominium inside which it is located. Venicia Restaurant also operated in Damansara Perdana but they decided to switch to a new name—Jiang Nan—when they relocated to Taman SEA, as they decided to include pork items on the menu.

Family ties also link it with Selayang’s New Tokyo Restaurant, famed for their seafood, as seen with similar menu items, like their Signature Jiang Nam Prawn, sold by the piece with a market price of around RM70 plus.

There were so many highlights- I’d even vouch that no dish was below a 7.5/10.

Clams in ginger scallion

The River Prawns Jiang Nan house specialty style was pristine. Using freshwater prawns, this is pan fried and given a partial crunchy topping with an irresistible dong quai aroma that one cannot resist.

The Braised Pork Ribs with Yam (RM35) is a signature from New Tokyo Restaurant, and can also be enjoyed here in its glorious soft form where mashed taro is paired with tender pork ribs. This was a solid 8/10 for uniqueness + quality of delivery/experience. Flawless – the tender ribs are cooked with the mashed yam, the sauce ensuing can only be described as ‘beyond ricekiller’.

Claypot Kangkung

Sweet and sour pork

Salted butter squid

Pucuk paku pakis

The other dish I’d highlight is their steamed chicken. I personally enjoyed this more than most of the chicken rice offerings in Singapore (and that’s saying a lot). The soya sauce they use, and the ginger and chilli condiments + how tender/succulent the chicken was cooked = 8/10

I’d say all the other dishes are 7.5/10, with exception of the pucuk paku (fern) salad at 7/10. Don’t get me wrong, still a very strong showing.

Chiefeaters Yew Hoong and Maya have been to Jiang Nan for >= 10x in the previous months – so there’s a consistency baseline to start with.

The fish was another feature in the menu – I think it looked like a fried grouper Thai-ish style. Not my cuppa, but will try next time. I also saw a flurry of crabs in their menu, in particular the salt baked style of cooking caught my eye. I am quite sure Jiang Nan’s crab offerings will be better than Fatty Crab’s nearby (sorry!).

So we will be back for that too. And my usual barometer for good Chinese zichar cooking = fried rice. That too. For the first pass, Jiang Nan is a very, very strong 7.5/10 overall – and should be one of Chiefeater’s go-to in Sea Park for Chinese zichar offerings.

Business Hours

Open Daily
11:30 am to 02:30 pm
05:30 pm to 10:00 pm