Jiak Modern Tzechar

Jiak Modern Tzechar is a family-friendly Chinese restaurant at HillV2, a small mall in the Hillview area of Upper Bukit Timah. It cooks tze char, also spelt zi char. This is a long menu of stir-fried, braised and steamed dishes that the whole table shares with rice.

The restaurant describes its look as modern and cosy, and its food as simple, home-style cooking at fair prices. On a 2025 visit, the Ordinary Patrons food blog found it full at lunch and the cooking well judged.

What to order

Most dishes come in small and medium sizes, so a group can try several. These are the ones the restaurant puts first:

• Signature Curry Fish Head: the house dish, a fresh fish head cooked in a spiced curry with vegetables. There is also a Curry Assam Fish Head with a sour tamarind edge.
• Slipper Lobster Black Bee Hoon: rice vermicelli fried with squid ink and topped with slipper lobster. The restaurant calls it its own creation. A Seafood Black Bee Hoon is also on the menu.
• Prawn Paste Chicken: chicken mid-wings in prawn paste, fried until golden.
• Salted Egg Prawns and Oats Prawns: two popular ways to cook prawns in Singapore.
• Sambal Kang Kong: water spinach stir-fried with chilli paste.

Other choices include Singapore Style Chilli Lala (clams), Kopi O Chicken, Hotplate Beancurd on a sizzling plate, and an oyster omelette. To finish, there are local desserts such as Chendol Coconut Snow Ice. The drinks list covers kopi and teh, the local coffee and tea.

Good to know before you go

• Book through Chope, the booking platform linked on the restaurant's website, or call ahead.
• Come as a group if you can. Zi char works best when three or four people share several dishes with rice.
• Some dishes, like the curry fish head and chilli lala, carry heat. If you prefer mild food, try the Hong Kong Style Steamed Seabass or the Spinach Three Egg Soup.

New to the local dishes? Our guide to chilli crab and seafood explains many of the sauces you will see here.

Getting there

HillV2 is at 4 Hillview Rise, and Jiak is at unit #02-04 on the second level. Hillview MRT station is the closest stop. iO Italian Osteria is in the same mall if part of your group wants pasta instead.

Nearby

This part of Singapore sits close to several nature areas. Dairy Farm Nature Park and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve are in the same district, so a shared dinner here works well after a walk. Our hiking and nature trails guide has more routes. For other places to eat, see our Upper Bukit Timah restaurant guide or our list of Chinese and dim sum restaurants.

The full menu is on the Jiak Modern Tzechar website.