Food Picks: Sichuan cuisine at So Do Fun

SINGAPORE – It is a brave move to open across the road from Liang Seah Street and Tan Quee Lan Street – both buzzing with many casual eateries selling Chinese cuisine. 

The five-month-old So Do Fun restaurant holds its own against them because it offers a pleasant experience for diners with various spice tolerances. 

Its style of classic Sichuan dishes has made the brand a notable chain, with more than 100 outlets in China. 

While I do wish for some dishes here to be more spicy, I must say that they are no less flavourful and my dining companions who may not have the same spice tolerance can still have a proper meal. 

So Do Fun’s signature fish dishes (from $42.90, good for two to three people) are the boiled fish in spicy broth, peppercorn fish and pickled vegetable fish. The mildest – in terms of spice – is the pickled vegetable fish in a tangy broth. 

I also enjoy the marbled beef mapo tofu ($22.90), which gets its name for the tenderised beef and bits of beef fat. You will definitely need a bowl of rice ($1.50) to soak up all the gravy. 

Some nondescript dishes also hit the spot. These include an innocent-looking starter of deboned passionfruit and lemon pickled chicken feet ($13.90), which turns out to be delightfully spicy and sour; and luffa gourd in a flavourful bean soup ($14.90). 

Wash everything down with brown sugar ice jelly ($3.90) and jasmine lemon tea ($3.50 for 650ml). 

Where: So Do Fun, 01-01 Midtown House at Guoco Midtown, 120 Beach Road 
MRT: Bugis
Open: 11.30am to 4pm, 5.30 to 11.15pm daily 
Tel: 6550-2335
Info: @sodofun.sg (Instagram)