Yun Nans to open Chinese Stonepot Fish in Yishun’s Northpoint City next week

The Yun Nans Stonepot Fish. Photo: Yun Nans

By Coconuts Singapore

Oct 28, 2022 | 2:38pm Singapore time

All photos by Carolyn Teo/Coconuts

A restaurant serving Yunan delicacies is bringing another one of the province’s gems to Singapore.

Yun Nans will be opening an outlet serving Stonepot Fish on Nov. 5 at Northpoint City. The dish, which is powered by high-pressure steaming and cooks in minutes, drew a four-hour-long queue when it first opened in China.

One no longer has to wait around long enough for the soup to boil. The outlet has brought in stone pots from Yunnan for every table. It is made of natural granite and pressure steams the freshly slaughtered fish in soup in less than six minutes.

First, choose between two signature soup bases. The signature Collagen Fish Soup (S$18) is simmered for at least six hours with dried scallops, salmon fish head and bones and old hen, before being pressure-steamed with ginseng, solomon’s seal, Yunnan tofu, red dates and goji berries.

The Wild Mushroom Soup (S$18) is brewed for three hours with Yunnan’s Shangri-La Matsutake mushrooms, wild porcini, pork bones, old hen, Yunnan ham, cordyceps mushrooms, crab mushrooms, red dates and goji berries.

Next, choose between fresh or live (slaughtered right before serving in broth) seabass, patin or Soon Hock aka Marbled Goby fish, which are sourced locally.

The pot is then covered with a handcrafted straw hat and the high-pressure steaming of 160°C commences. Once activated, don’t touch the piping pot that resembles a steaming cauldron or one of those Volcano Ramens from Japan.

Besides the fish, there are vegetables, meats and seafood to steep in the broth. Specialties include handmade beef balls, golden fungus and Lijiang purple heart potatoes which are popular in Yunnan.

There are also new menu items like the Crispy Barramundi Collar (S$9.80) which are fried marinated seabass collars served with salt and pepper on the side, and The Grilled Clams with Spicy Garlic Sauce (S$12.90) which are grilled over a charcoal fire and served with vermicelli and lots of spicy garlic sauce.

Consider getting the Fragrant Scallion Rice (S$3) which is stir-fried with dried shrimp, shiitake mushrooms and shallots before steaming with Thai fragrant rice.

For sweets, there’s the Mango Bamboo Sticky Rice (S$8.90) made with Yunnan glutinous rice and the Traditional Baked Rose Pastry, which is a Yunnan classic made with an enhanced recipe.

The restaurant will also serve some menu items from its other outlets.

The 124-seater space is somewhat private with dividers blocking eyes peeling from the outside and three privy seating areas at the corners.

The interior is beaming in earthy tones and emerald hues resembling Shangri-La’s Baishui Terrace. Marble decor is everywhere among the wooden furniture. The concept of the space is intended to convey themes of water and clouds.

The outlet will be having a special opening promotion of 50% off the Stonepot Fish from Nov. 8 to 10. Only walk-ins and no reservations for this period are accepted.

Yun Nans, which opened in 2019, is the first overseas outpost of China’s Yun Hai Yao, a casual restaurant chain specializing in Yunnan delights. It has outlets in Jewel Changi Airport, NEX, Westgate and ION Orchard.