[Review] PUTIEN Welcomes the Return of Eel Festival 2024 and Launches 5 New Fujian-inspired Dishes

This year, PUTIEN returns with its annual Eel Festival, running from 19 August to 30 November 2024. Eel lovers are in for a treat as the festival highlights four distinct eel dishes, all celebrating the richness and depth of this seasonal ingredient.

Alongside these eel specialties, PUTIEN also debuts a range of new culinary creations that pay homage to Fujian cuisine.

A Heng Hwa myself, tracing my ancestral roots to Putian, Fujian, following my grandfather on my dad’s side, my parents have been regulars at the original PUTIEN restaurant at Kitchener Road since the owner, Fong Chi Chung started the business in a coffee shop. It has since grown into a global F&B brand, earning one Michelin-star for 7 consecutive years along the way.

In fact, before this tasting, we just celebrated my mother’s birthday at the Kitchener Road outlet. The thoughtful staff at the restaurant even managed to pull out a family photo we took around ten years ago on the same day, egging us to recreate the family photo a decade later.

This is the first time I am trying all the four eel dishes PUTIEN is presenting for their annual Eel Festival though and I was looking forward to it.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival around the corner then, the meal started at the Suntec City restaurant with mooncakes created by Madam Leng Ah Eng (better known as Lian Jie 莲姐), one of PUTIEN’s longest-serving staff whom all the old-timers like my parents know warmly. They are just as good as I remember, with no added preservatives, and handmade flaky skin that is deep-fried cleanly. They are available in two flavours, with either yam or purple sweet potato fillings, with or without salted egg yolk. Be sure to order them early next year if you would like to try these as they sell out very quickly.

The Eel Festival: A Seasonal Celebration

As summer transitions to autumn in Shunde, Guandong, China, eels fatten in preparation for migration, giving them a rich and luscious texture. The eels served during PUTIEN’s Eel Festival are sourced from Shunde, famously known as the “Hometown of Chinese Eels.”

These export-grade eels, weighing between 600-800 grams, are flown in thrice a week, ensuring freshness and superior quality​. Here is an example of a fresh, live eel that is served at PUTIEN:

For the Eel Festival, PUTIEN will serve the eels, cooked in four different ways.

1. Fresh Eel Cooked in Spring Water

A highlight of the festival, this dish showcases live eels cooked tableside, emphasising their natural sweetness and freshness. The eel is briefly dipped in hot water to remove its mucous membrane and then delicately simmered with goji berries and ginger in a clear spring water broth.

This method preserves the eel’s crisp texture and allows its pure, sweet flavour to shine through​. It is the best recommended cooking method to enjoy the freshness of the original ingredient, unadulterated with other strong flavours.

I have never eaten eels this way with such light seasoning and was surprised by how good it taste, including the tangy texture. This is a must-try.

2. Eel in Fujian Fermented Red Rice Wine

This classic Fujian dish brings together the rich flavours of red rice wine and eel.

The eel is fried until crispy and then coated in a fermented red rice paste, delivering a balance of crispy texture, aromatic fragrance, and succulent eel meat. The flavours are bold and rich, a contrast to the boiled version.

3. Baked Eel with Puning Bean Sauce

For those who enjoy rich umami flavours, the Baked Eel with Puning Bean Sauce is one of our favourites.

The eel is baked with a fermented Puning bean paste, resting on a bed of garlic and onions. As the eel bakes, it absorbs the richness of the sauce, creating a flavour-packed dish with a perfect balance of tenderness and bold taste​.

To best enjoy the dish, bite into the eel together with a clove of garlic and some onions to enjoy the full blend of flavours. This is so good we mopped up all the garlic and onions along with the eels.

4. Steamed Eel in Garlic and Soy Bean Sauce

The fresh aroma of this dish draws you immediately when the steam lid is lifted.

This aromatic dish combines garlic and black bean sauce, enhancing the eel’s natural flavour as it is steamed on a bed of lotus leaves. The steaming process infuses each piece of eel with fragrant spices, making it tender and flavourful with each bite. Best paired with fragrant rice, this dish is an excellent comfort food dish.

New Fujian-Inspired Creations

In addition to the eel specialties, PUTIEN also introduces five new Fujian-inspired dishes that honour traditional cooking methods, presented in a contemporary setting.

1. Braised Spareribs in Original Sauce

This dish features tender pork spareribs, steamed for over an hour to extract their natural essence. The result is melt-in-your-mouth ribs, perfectly complemented by a flavourful sauce. Think a milder, less oily version of the local Bak Kut Teh.

This dish’s simplicity allows the natural sweetness of the pork to shine​, drawing focus on just the freshness of the ingredient.

2. Live Prawn in Superior Soup

Prepared with live prawns cooked in a rich superior soup, this dish delivers a buttery and tender texture in every bite.

The prawns are cooked to perfection, retaining their natural sweetness and juiciness. We love the moistness of the prawn meat, enhanced with the crunchy, soft shell. You can eat it whole with the shells and all.

3. Claypot Beef Brisket in Shacha Sauce

A nostalgic dish that highlights the rich flavours of Shacha sauce, this beef brisket is slow-cooked to absorb the savoury, smoky depth of the sauce. The tender beef paired with the complex sauce creates a comforting and flavourful experience that harks back to traditional Fujian cuisine​. This is another comfort food dish, best eaten with a hearty bowl of rice.

4. Southern Fujian Springroll

Filled with crunchy water chestnuts and savory minced meat, the springroll is wrapped in a delicate golden bean curd skin, deep-fried to crispy perfection. The balance between the crispy exterior and the tender filling makes this a satisfying appetiser​.

5. Kelp Seedlings with Pork Rib Soup

This home-style soup combines nourishing ingredients such as kelp seedlings and pork ribs to create a comforting, nutritious dish. Rich in vitamins and minerals, the soup is perfect for the elderly or children, offering a wholesome and heartwarming experience​.

Overall, PUTIEN is always as consistent as good as I remember it to be, Michelin-starred or not. The limited-time Eels Festival gives diners a reason to head down to one of their many restaurants in Singapore to savour their creations. It is also heartwarming to know that Mr. Fong recently announced that he is waiving the 9 percent GST and the 10 percent service charge across all PUTIEN restaurants in Singapore, without any reduction in portion size or downgrading of ingredients.

http://www.putien.comThe Eel Festival menu is available at all PUTIEN outlets until 30 November, 2024. For more information, visit the official website.