Lu Ding Ji – Affordable Taiwanese Braised Delights In The CBD

Tucked away on the second floor of Oxley Tower—in the heart of the Singapore’s bustling Central Business District—lies a humble eatery that serves up tasty and affordable Taiwanese-style braised delights: Lu Ding Ji.

Lu Ding Ji’s speciality lies in their assorted braised meat and vegetable dishes, namely their braised pork belly with rice. Modelled after the iconic Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan—which literally translates to ‘Braised Meat Rice’—this pork belly dish packs a savoury punch, making for a comforting work-day lunch.

For hearty and tasty Taiwanese fare in the CBD, Lu Ding Ji is one lunch spot that will surely leave your tummy filled and your wallet happy.. Prices of the rice bowls range from S$6 to S$7.50.

The humble eatery occupies two shop spaces with one being solely an order counter and kitchen while the other is meant for dine-in customers.

Their menu here is pretty straightforward. It consists of 3 varieties of rice bowls—each comes with a braised protein (or vegetable) of choice with a lava egg that sits neatly atop premium short grain rice—along with a myriad of braised side dish items.

Considering its location being in the heart of the Central Business District, where food options are aplenty and competition is stiff, selling quality grub at such affordable prices is a pretty bold move and one heck of an enticing one.

Those who have been to Taiwan and adore its cuisine would surely have come across the iconic ‘Lu Rou Fan’. At Lu Ding Ji, they put their own spin on it with their Pork Bowl which uses larger chunks of pork belly. This rice bowl dish is completed with the addition of a lava egg and a ladle of the intensely flavoured braising stock.

The braising stock comprises soy sauce with garlic and other spices, hence adding a heightened depth of flavour to the rice bowl. After several hours of braising low and slow, the pork belly emerges incredibly tender and flavourful.

Similar to the pork bowl, the Chicken Bowl features chunks of chicken that are fall-apart tender. The skin boasts a shimmering brown hue courtesy of the braising liquid which not only gives the meat a deep, dark colour but also intensifies its flavour tenfold.

The lava egg is truly a marvellous addition to the dish. When cut into, golden-yellow yolk comes pouring out like literal lava and having it intermingle with the various ingredients makes this unassuming rice bowl a rather delicious one.

Eating the feet of a chicken (or of any animal) may sound gross to you, but it is actually a popular delicacy among the Chinese. It is believed to be rich in collagen and carries several other health-related benefits, yet it still remains a hugely underrated item today.

The Chicken Feet served here is worth a try. The slow braising process allows the chicken feet to soak up all of that robust flavour allowing it to become incredibly tender and tasty.

Offal is rather popular in Taiwanese cuisine and often you can find many street vendors in Taiwan selling a wide variety of pig innards such as liver, heart, gizzards and even intestines.

If you happen to love the gnarly taste of pig innards, then we highly recommend that you get the Large Intestine as a side. Cleaned thoroughly and braised for a long time, what you end up with is an aromatic and slightly chewy dish that contains an apparent note of spices such as cinnamon, star anise and garlic.

They also feature three different types of mushrooms namely the Oyster Mushroom, Shitake Mushroom, Enoki Mushroom; all of which are extremely supple and brimming with savoury qualities.

In light of all the meaty goodies, consider some of their vegetable and seafood options as well such as Broccoli and Crabstick which, apart from adding some vibrancy to your plate, is also really yummy.

Lu Ding Ji
138 Robinson Road, #02 – 37/38
Singapore 068906
Tel: +65 8333 3590
(Closed on Saturdays & Sundays)
Mon to Fri: 11am – 4.30pm
Nearest Station: Raffles Place

This post is brought to you by Lu Ding Ji.