Tan Yu (探鱼烤鱼) is a Chinese restaurant that is well-known for their popular menu, grilled fish that can be cooked according to your liking from the 12 kinds of flavors they let you choose from. Originated from China, Tan Yu opened their first overseas flagship store in Singapore in December 2017 and has now expanded to 4 other locations in the city. Although their grilled fish is their most popular menu, Tan Yu also serves a variety of other menus that are both spicy and non-spicy.

During my recent trip to Singapore, my Singaporean friends took me to Tanyu, which is apparently one of the restaurant they often frequent.

We arrived at Tanyu Bugis Junction around 6:40 pm and immediately got seated at one of the booth by the staff. Since I never been to this place, I told my friend to just order whatever she thinks is good. And so her recommendation was the Grilled Limbo Fish with Fresh Green Pepper (S$48.9), with the addition of Golden Combination (S$14.8) (which consists of golden mushrooms, potato, lotus root, and luncheon meat), long cabbage and rice.

The food came out pretty quickly after we placed our order. First, came a plate of snacks that consisted of a mix of 9 different types of crackers and peanuts. Then came the Jumbo Lemon and Lime Drink (S$18.9) that we ordered to share. And when they said jumbo, they weren’t kidding because the drink literally came out in a jumbo glass goblet looking container with a tap on it (I forgot to take a picture of this drink but see the size of this drink on the vlog).

Not long after that, the fish came out with the add-ons we ordered. The limbo fish is topped with fresh green pepper and the Golden Combination was actually already placed under the fish, simmering in the dark brown broth.

Grilled Limbo Fish with Fresh Green Pepper (110gr) S$48.9 | 9/10

Greysuitcase Singapore Restaurant Series: Grilled Limbo Fish with Fresh Green Pepper, TANYU Bugis Junction (探鱼烤鱼), Bugis, Singapore.

After adding in the long cabbage and let the fish simmer for about 5 minutes, we took out the fresh green pepper out of the pot so that the soup is not too spicy since I can’t really eat spicy food.

Prior coming to this place, I wasn’t expecting a lot since, one, this place is gaining popularity amongst Indonesians lately and usually hyped-up places on social media don’t live up to their hype. And two, I’m quite picky with fish dishes so I have my reservations prior coming to this place. But my friend told me their fish is fresh so I’m more open to trying it out. Having said that, I can say that I’m pleasantly surprised that this is one of those few places that live up to its hype.

The broth was delicious. It’s thick with flavors, savory and you get that numb mala hit at the end of every slurp (and it just got better as the soup simmered). The fish was fresh and the meat was buttery soft. For me personally, since I can’t handle spicy food and despite the fact that we only left the green pepper simmered for 5 minutes, this dish was pretty spicy. But it was still bearable since I ate it after cooling it down on a separate bowl and with rice. Also, the drink that we ordered tasted even better after eating the spicy fish. The portion was pretty big and I’d say it’s probably enough to share between 4 people (there were 3 of us and we definitely didn’t finish the whole thing) or maybe even 5 people if you order more add-ons.

If you’re a fan of mala or spicy food, would definitely recommend this place to try. My friends told me some locations are busier than others, so you might have to line up for a table if you come during lunch or dinner rush. A line was formed shortly after we took our seat at this location and we went there on a Thursday night. Also, might be better to bring a friend or two if you want to try their grilled fish since the portion is quite big.