Skip to content

Putien Kitchener Road – Affordable Michelin Star restaurant Singapore

Putien Kitchener Road (莆田)is located on the fringe of Little India.  This one Michelin Star restaurant listed in the Singapore Michelin Guides 2016 and 2017 does not have a five-star location. It is good that the Michelin folks have spotted this restaurant that is away from the usual gourmet pockets like Keong Saik or Orchard Road.  Putien Kitchener Road is the original Putien restaurant.  From there, the Putien restaurant chain has spread to 12 outlets in Singapore and many more overseas. We had been to some of their other outlets such as Putien Ion Orchard, but not the main restaurant.

(莆田) Putien Michelin Star restaurant

As each Michelin star award is specific to the particular location of a restaurant, we thought it was time we paid a visit to the mothership, Putien Kitchener Road.   The restaurant is located right on the main road. There is no parking here but they have valet services for those who drive. Another alternative is to park at some nearby places, for example, the carpark at City Square Mall which is about 80 metres away.


Kitchener Road is the road that connects Serangoon Road to Jalan Besar.  With its bright white shop front, Putien stands out from its neighbours. The inside of the restaurant is also contemporary in decor. The restaurant’s name is derived from Putian, a coastal suburb in Fujian. A detailed description of the restaurant’s history and an overview of what is Putian cuisine can be found in the restaurant’s website.

Putien Kitchener Road Menu

The Putien Kitchener Road menu is big and glossy. Strangers to the restaurant can feel at ease knowing exactly what they are ordering. They will also feel at ease after looking at the prices. They are quite wallet friendly.   We think that this is an affordable Michelin Star restaurant in Singapore for ordinary people.  Here are some pictures of some sample pages from the menus.  Yellow croaker fish seem to be a popular and versatile item in Putian cuisine. They have menu that contains croaker dishes.

Putien Kitchener Road Menu
Putien Kitchener Road Menu

Putien Kitchener Road Menu Croaker

We were served the usual Chinese restaurant appetizers of nuts and pickles ($5). The complimentary fresh fruits was an unusual move.

    

The bamboo herbal prawns ($5.90 for each order) looked so cute, as if relaxing in a hot tub.  The soup has a nice herbal seafood taste but the taste did not permeate into the prawns. We would order this again, not for the taste but as a delightful looking dish to start the meal.

The croakers at Putien have a wonderful delicate flesh. The 100 second croaker ($13.80) was lightly stewed for 100 seconds.  It was perfectly cooked and both the fish and broth were delicious. The only downside was that this little fish has quite a few small bones, which some may find not worth the effort of eating it.

The two commonly ordered dishes are the stir fried yam with sugar coating ($13.50) and the crispy oyster ($16.90).   The yam has a caramelised sugar coating and is similar to the Teochew style of such a dish. The crispy oyster was different from the usual oyster omelet in that not much flour is used and the pieces are broken up.  The increased surface area meant that they were cooked to a crisp. A very tasty dish.

The sweet and sour pork ($13.90) was a more common dish, expertly executed.

We tried two noodle dishes – the fried Heng Hwa beehoon and Putien lor mee ($9.50 each).  The beehoon was springy and combined well with the flavours from the ingredients. A very good dish.

The lor mee was lighter in colour than what we were expecting.  It was a rather bland dish.

Overall, it was a pleasant meal at Putien Kitchener Road. The items in its menu are quite unique and provide a good change from the usual Chinese restaurant items. The prices were affordable and this is one Michelin star restaurant in Singapore that ordinary patrons would be comfortable with making repeat visits.

Ratings:

Food: 4

Service: 3

Value : 5

Atmosphere: 3

Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 

    
4 tops

Putien Restaurant

127 Kitchener Road,
Singapore 208514
Tel: +65 6295 6358

Operating Hours

Daily
Lunch: 11:30am-3pm (Last Order: 2:30pm)
Dinner: 5:30pm-10pm (Last Order: 9:30pm)

Website

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Leave a comment. It will mean a great deal to us.