77 Robinson Road, #01-04 · Mon–Fri, 11am–7pm · +65 8919 6909
At a Glance — Scorecard
Food Quality ★★★☆☆ 3/5 Competent; seasoning balance needs refinement
Ambience ★★★★☆ 4/5 Clean, minimalist, inviting for a quick lunch
Value for Money ★★★½☆ 3.5/5 Reasonable at $11.90–$13.90++
Service / Ordering ★★★★★ 5/5 Frictionless self-order kiosk and QR system
Delivery Options ★★★★☆ 4/5 Advance order, self-collection, and delivery
Overall Experience ★★★☆☆ 3/5 Promising concept; execution still maturing
Overview
Fun Wan — a deliberate phonetic play on the Mandarin compound 饭碗 (fàn wǎn, lit. ‘rice bowl’) — positions itself as a quality-forward, quick-service zi char destination embedded in the heart of Singapore’s central business district. Founded with an explicit remit to nourish the city’s lunch-pressed white-collar workforce, it occupies a compact ground-floor unit at 77 Robinson Road, a four-minute walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station on the East-West Line.
The concept is structurally straightforward: diners either compose their own bowls through a modular ‘Build Your Fun Wan’ configuration or elect from a curated set of six pre-designed meals. The menu draws from the classical Cantonese and Hokkien-inflected zi char register — salted egg, black pepper, marmite, curry — repackaging these traditionally communal dishes into the ergonomic idiom of the single-serve bowl.
“A heartwarming, comforting meal for busy CBD workers — civilised yet unpretentious.”
Ambience & Environment
Fun Wan’s interior operates within an aesthetic of restrained minimalism that reads as both deliberate and democratic. The palette is anchored in white and pale grey — walls unencumbered by superfluous décor — punctuated by the considered insertion of cushioned chairs in a cool cobalt blue, a hue that reads as refreshing against the neutral surround. The colour language is simultaneously calm and mildly invigorating: an intelligent choice for a lunch venue where the diner arrives at speed and departs within the hour.
Seating capacity stands at approximately forty covers, distributed across a combination of individual seats and modestly upholstered sofa benches. The spatial arrangement prioritises throughput without feeling regimented; the room breathes. Natural light filters in adequately given its ground-floor mall-adjacent positioning, though the space does not rely on it — the overall luminosity is consistent and conducive to a relaxed meal even on overcast afternoons.
The general atmosphere is closer to a considered café than a hawker centre or a full-service restaurant — a deliberately cultivated middle register that succeeds in making fast food feel unhurried. Ambient noise at peak lunch hours rises predictably, but the acoustic character remains manageable.
Surfaces are hard and easy to clean; the overall sense is of rigorous hygiene maintained with minimal theatre. There are no tablecloths. Cutlery is disposable — a pragmatic concession to the bowl-format, quick-turn model — though the quality of the crockery is sufficient that the meal does not feel diminished by the absence of silverware.
Ordering System & Delivery Options
Fun Wan’s ordering infrastructure is among the most seamlessly executed aspects of the operation. Two parallel channels are available at point of presence: a self-ordering kiosk positioned at the entrance, or a QR code embedded in the table surface that routes the diner to a mobile web interface. Both platforms present the full menu with clean visual hierarchy and clear price disclosures, inclusive of the ++ surcharge notation.
For those seeking to avoid the midday crush — a formidable consideration in the Tanjong Pagar corridor between 12pm and 1:30pm — advance ordering for self-collection is supported via the same digital infrastructure. This is not a trivial convenience; it represents a genuine reduction in friction for time-constrained office workers operating within narrow lunch windows. Delivery is also available through third-party logistics, extending the product’s reach to the desk-dining segment that the venue is pointedly designed to serve.
The restaurant has also signalled expansion intent, with two additional CBD-area outlets announced for CIMB Plaza and International Plaza — both locations that suggest the brand’s leadership understands its addressable demographic with precision.
The Meal: An In-Depth Analysis
Build Your Fun Wan — Salted Egg Fried Pork Ribs with Cauliflower Rice ($13.90++)
The flagship customisable bowl is priced at $11.90++ in its base white-rice configuration, rising to $13.90++ with the premium cauliflower rice substitution. The bowl arrives architecturally composed: a base of rice, a centred protein portion, a sous vide egg, a mound of seasonal vegetables, and achar served to the side, with the sauce presented in a separate ramekin. The presentation is functional rather than precious — it does not aestheticise unnecessarily, but neither does it neglect the visual register entirely.
PROTEIN — FRIED PORK RIBS:
The pork ribs are marinated prior to frying, and the marinade’s penetration is evident in the meat’s internal flavour profile. The exterior evidences a light batter, though the execution falls short of the ideal in two dimensions: crispness and salt calibration. The crust, while initially firm, yields to a soft middle that lacks the structural integrity one expects of a properly fried rib; the textural contrast between casing and interior is therefore muted. The hue is a deep amber-brown, suggesting adequate Maillard browning at the surface, but the pallor of the batter where fat has settled indicates uneven heat distribution during frying. The salt level is elevated beyond what the dish’s other components — particularly the salted egg sauce — can harmoniously accommodate. The cumulative sodium load is perceptibly high.
SAUCE — SALTED EGG:
The salted egg sauce is presented separately, a structurally wise decision that allows the diner to modulate their intake. In isolation, it is genuinely appealing: the texture is viscous and custard-adjacent, a creamy emulsion of cured egg yolk, butter, and aromatics. The colour is a warm saffron-yellow, burnished at the surface where it has set slightly in transit. The flavour profile is milky and rounded, with the characteristic savoury umami of fermented yolk playing a leading role; the heat register is modest — there is a ghost of chilli, but it never asserts itself. For those who prefer the amplified salted egg experience of hawker-style preparations, this reads as a gentler, more restrained interpretation. Whether that constitutes a shortcoming is a matter of personal register; analytically, the sauce is well-made within its chosen idiom.
OPTIONAL ACCOMPANIMENT — HOUSE SAMBAL ($1++):
The house-made sambal is an excellent corrective. Dense in texture, deeply coloured in burgundy-red with visible chilli seeds and a slick of oil at its surface, it delivers a sharp, vinegar-inflected heat that cuts effectively through the richness of the salted egg sauce. The finish is tangy and prolonged. At one dollar it represents the highest value-per-dollar item on the menu.
RICE BASE — CAULIFLOWER RICE (+$2++):
The cauliflower rice is the meal’s most underperforming element. It has been seasoned — aggressively so — which undermines its theoretical function as a neutral, low-carbohydrate substrate for the bowl’s more assertive flavour components. The texture errs toward mushy rather than the slightly firm, grain-simulating quality that well-prepared cauliflower rice should achieve. The colour is appropriately ivory-white, and the cauliflower itself is of adequate quality, but the execution is in need of recalibration: less seasoning, slightly higher heat for a briefer period, and a more attentive watch on moisture content.
Curry Chicken Rice Set ($11.90++)
The curry chicken set is arguably the most coherent offering on the menu, in that the construction of the dish works as an integrated whole rather than as a sum of components in tension. A full chicken leg — a generous protein allocation at this price point — is served on a bed of white rice alongside chunks of potato and achar, with the curry gravy ladled over.
The chicken itself is tender without being overcooked; it yields cleanly to the edge of a disposable fork and retains sufficient moisture in the breast-adjacent meat. The skin, where present, has absorbed the gravy and presents a deep ochre-yellow stained with the rust tones of turmeric and dried chilli. The gravy is thick in body — the collagen from the bone contributes noticeably to its mouthfeel — and the spice profile is layered: coriander and cumin are the base notes, galangal asserts itself in the mid-palate, and a slow-building heat from dried chilli accumulates in the finish. This is not a fire-forward curry; it is a sophisticated, mildly complex one.
The sous vide egg deserves separate mention across both dishes: properly executed, its white is barely set with a clean, yielding texture, while the yolk sits in a semi-liquid state of deep gold, adding a ribbon of fatty richness when broken over the rice.
Hong Kong Style Steamed Fish Set ($13.90)
The steamed seabass is the kitchen’s most technically proficient preparation. The fish — a clean, white-fleshed seabass fillet — is steamed to the precise point of opacity, retaining a pliant, flaky texture that yields in clean laminations rather than in fibrous shreds. The colour is a translucent pearl white with the characteristic sheen of properly steamed marine protein.
What distinguishes this dish is the sauce: a composition of light soya and Marmite that produces an unexpected depth. Marmite, with its concentrated yeast extract, introduces a glutamate-forward umami that amplifies the subtle sweetness of the fish without overwhelming it. The resulting liquid is a dark caramel-brown, fragrant with ginger and softened by the heat. The garnish — slivers of young ginger, red chilli batons, spring onion and cilantro — performs the dual function of visual contrast (green, red, and white against the dark sauce) and aromatic counterpoint: the ginger’s heat, the chilli’s fruitiness, and the cilantro’s citric brightness collectively lift a preparation that might otherwise read as flat.
This dish is the clearest demonstration of Fun Wan’s culinary ceiling — and it is appreciably higher than some of the other plates suggest.
Achar — Palate Cleanser
The achar merits independent analysis for its consistent excellence. House-made, it presents the characteristic textural heterogeneity of the Peranakan preparation: shards of cucumber, carrot batons, and fragments of pineapple unified in a pickling liquor that balances acidic vinegar, residual sweetness, and turmeric. The colour ranges from bright yellow through to pale orange, with the deep green of cucumber skin providing visual relief. The flavour is unapologetically sour, with a sharp savoury undertone and the distinctive nuttiness — likely from toasted sesame and ground peanut — that completes the preparation. Its primary function at table is restorative: between bites of richly sauced protein and carbohydrate, the achar serves as a palate reset of considerable efficacy.
Soup of the Day (+$3)
The daily double-boiled soups — rotating through preparations such as old cucumber, white radish with pork ribs, and lotus root — follow the Cantonese tradition of extended low-temperature extraction. On the day of this visit, the broth was clear, lightly golden, with a sweetness derived from dried dates and the slow release of vegetable sugars. The collagen content was sufficient to lend a slight viscosity. At three dollars as a supplement, it is reasonably priced and recommended.
Summary Assessment
Fun Wan is a concept that succeeds more convincingly as an infrastructure than as a kitchen. The ordering system, spatial design, delivery logistics, and value proposition are all well-considered and implemented with genuine care. The menu’s conceptual framework — modular zi char bowls in a civilised, modern environment — is commercially astute and addresses a real gap in the CBD lunch market.
Where the restaurant reveals its current stage of maturation is in the kitchen’s inconsistency. The steamed fish demonstrates that the technical capability exists; the over-seasoned cauliflower rice and the slightly underdone pork rib crispness suggest that quality control across the full menu is still being calibrated. For a recently opened establishment, this is not an indictment — it is a trajectory note.
The recommendation, at this stage, is the curry chicken set or the steamed fish, paired with the house sambal and achar, with the double-boiled soup as an optional supplement. Avoid the cauliflower rice until the recipe is revised. Return with the expectation that the kitchen will find its equilibrium.
“Promising, precise in vision, and uneven in execution — worth watching, and worth revisiting.”
Review conducted via independent visit. All prices quoted are before GST and service charge (++). Fun Wan is not halal-certified.