A Window Seat and a Plate of XO Pipies at Anchovy

Anchovy didn’t boast the typical decor I expected from a restaurant on the busy side of Richmond—but it still had a distinctive personality, marked by a bowl of lemons on the bar counter and jars of food lining the walls.

The rest was washed in a greyish undertone.

We were among the earliest patrons of the day, only preceded by an older couple who had already claimed the comfy booth seat. We took the only window-side table away from the crowd, which also gave me enough room to take pictures.

Anchovy Pippi Hut’s XO Pippies

The menu came shortly after the “tap or bubble?” question. It featured a singular main: XO sauce Pippies or XO sauce Clams—Anchovy’s Wednesday night specialty.

I went for the Strawberry Clams with egg noodles, while Fafa ordered the Pippies served with Chinese doughnuts. We also added a side of Chinese doughnut topped with chicken pâté, kumquat jam, and some beer nuts. We held off on ordering dessert for now.

The night began with Marsanne, yet another wine I’d never heard of but was curious to try. It had a slight yellow tint. Supposedly, it goes well with seafood, but it’s not something I’d order again.

The food came out in stages.

First: the beer nuts—elevated by fried anchovy, evoking memories of our go-to beer snack in Boat Quay, Singapore. Good, but nothing new.

Then came the Chinese doughnut with chicken liver pâté and kumquat jam. First class! It was the bougiest Chinese doughnut I’ve ever had, but also the tastiest.

Then came the mains.

The XO Pipies arrived exactly as advertised. The pipies were fresh, coated in just the right amount of XO sauce, and each was a perfect suckling-size (hand towels were provided). But I was a little underwhelmed—it was good, but didn’t quite meet the hype I’d built in my head. Kind of like the restaurant’s grey-toned vibe: understated, but maybe too much so.

The final dish—the clam with egg noodles—was the saving grace. Served on a bed of crunchy egg noodles, the clam was meaty and flavorful. It had real mouthfeel. The noodles soaked up the sauce beautifully, and the bits of anchovy served made it a satisfying standalone dish. It’s the one I’d come back for—or recommend—along with the Chinese doughnut pâté.

The service at Anchovy was good. But did I love the food?

I’d say it fell into “it was good, but…” category.

*Btw, calling Youtia, even as referring to it here as a “Chinese doughnut”, feels odd. Growing up in Indonesia, I knew it as Cakwe—and used to pay $0.10 for a bag of three, freshly fried and sold at roadside street food carts.

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