Sichuan restaurant So Do Fun lands in Singapore, serving up live boiled fish and other fiery items

Sichuan cuisine fans, you’re in for a treat — So Do Fun, a popular Sichuan restaurant from China is now in Singapore. 

So Do Fun is a well-loved restaurant in China, with more than 100 outlets across the country. Its first Singapore outpost finally landed in Singapore in early May, bringing eager Singaporeans a taste of authentic Sichuan cuisine. 

Located in the bustling Beach Road area at Guoco Midtown, So Do Fun’s Singapore outpost adopts a similar approach to both its interior and food — minimalist and simple, with bold accents. 

For those who might not be familiar with the brand, it is one of the leading “must-try” brands on Chinese food review platforms.

Its dishes, created by experienced Sichuan master chef Peng Ziyu, pay homage to traditional Sichuan flavours.

At So Do Fun Singapore, expect to find dishes with a spice-numbing blend of chilli peppers, Sichuan peppercorns and aromatic spices, as well as pickled vegetables, vinegar, broad bean paste and other fermented ingredients.

What to expect on So Do Fun Singapore’s menu

If there’s anything you cannot miss at So Do Fun, it’s its signature boiled live fish (from S$42.90). 

Its Chinese outlets sell at least a million of this spicy and flavourful dish a year, so you can be assured of its quality. In fact, its Singapore outlet prides itself on using only live fish that is air-flown, daily. If that doesn’t spell fresh, we don’t know what does. 

Its portions are generous — its S$42.90 serving can feed two diners. Although if you’re dining in larger group, you may wish to opt for the S$52.90 serving, which can feed up to four. 

You can choose from its three different broths with varying levels of spice — there’s the recommended spicy broth, peppercorn broth, or the non-spicy, but sour sauerkraut broth. 

We opted for the original spicy broth, but requested for less spice. The resultant spice level was surprisingly manageable — perfect for for those with mild to moderate spice tolerance. This also meant that the fresh, tender and juicy qualities of the fish shone through without being overpowered by the spice. 

It comprises thinly-sliced fish doused in a generous serving of chilli oil, big bean sprouts and tofu skin, besides being topped with sesame seeds, scallions and Sichuan peppercorns. 

Don’t forget to have a bowl of steamed white rice on hand to best enjoy the dish!

Need even more of a spicy kick? There’s also the marbled beef mapo tofu (S$22.90), which features tender beef and tofu cubes in an aromatic spicy sauce. 

Despite there being a fair amount of Sichuan peppercorns and chilli peppers in the dish, we found the spiciness to be of a moderate level — it served as a good complement to the other dishes on the table, without numbing the tongue. 

For the price point, we were also particularly impressed by the generous serving of marbled beef and silky tofu cubes, both of which came in a decent ratio, ensuring a good amount of juicy beef and soft tofu in every spoonful.

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So Do Fun may be a Sichuan food specialist, but the non-spice-eaters among us will find plenty to enjoy, too. 

Make a beeline for its grilled prawns with vermicelli and minced garlic (S$21.90), which come with succulent prawns over a bed of soft vermicelli noodles lightly tossed in minced garlic. 

The grilled, freshly cooked prawns provided a good crunch, especially in contrast to the springy vermicelli noodles. The garlic lovers in us also adored the generous dose of garlic in the noodles — to say the dish was savoury would have been a major understatement.

If you have space for more, definitely give its diced crispy chicken with chilli peppers (S$23.90), or la zi ji, a classic Sichuan dish that’s popular among the local diners, a go. 

Unlike some places, which serve up a boneless version (much like popcorn chicken), So Do Fun’s rendition comes with midwings, so expect to have to navigate cartilage and bones while feasting on this. 

In China, it’s common to enjoy la zi ji, complete with the bones, with beer. But, if you’d rather not deal with that added crunch in each bite, you can request for a boneless option.

Naturally, the crispy chicken — which comes with a fair amount of dried chillies — is spicy, but it’s not the spiciness that gets you.  Rather, it’s the numbness on one’s tongue after you’ve had a piece. 

Whether you can take the spice or not, you’ll be relieved to know that there’s an accompanying mango passion fruit dip, served in an egg shell on the plate, which promises to calm those jolted taste buds.

Another dish to soothe the senses: The pickled radish stewed duck soup (S$19.90) has a tangy — but not too sour — broth,  that cuts through the spice and saltiness from the other dishes. 

Though we felt that the duck meat bordered on being a tad too dry and tough, the soup made for a good palate cleanser.

If you’re one of those that needs a starchy dish to wrap up your whole meal experience, then give the xuan zi cold noodles (S$8.90), a try. It may come doused in sesame oil and red oil, but don’t be fooled — it is not a spicy dish. 

The noodles are chewy, springy and very easy to down. While it was a welcome departure from the earlier crunchy and texture-heavy dishes we had, we only wished the flavours were more robust, rather than just being oily. 

Dessert options come in single-serve portions — there’s a brown sugar ice jelly (S$3.90), which was refreshing and simple, and a mini glutinous rice balls in fermented rice wine (S$3.90). 

If you’re a Sichuan cuisine fan, So Do Fun is definitely one for the books, especially for its boiled live fish. 

It was relatively quiet during our visit on a weekday at lunch — something we attribute to its recent launch — we’d suggest you get in while you can!

This was a hosted tasting. 

For more authentic Chinese dishes, read about Wo Wo Dian in Singapore or check out Choon Hoy Parlour for a fusion of local dishes. Alternatively, check out the newest openings in Singapore here. 

Do explore the GrabFood Dine-in service for awesome deals.

You can book a ride to So Do Fun to try its signature boiled fish and other authentic Sichuan dishes.