Archive for the ‘Hawker Food’ Category
Seah Soon Teck Teochew Porridge
Seah Soon Teck Teochew Porridge
Newly opened this year and located at the intersection of Kg Eunos and Changi Road is Seah Soon Teck Teochew Porridge.
Teochew Porridge Side Dishes
Economical Rice Dishes
At first glance, we spotted the usual side dishes of Teochew Porridge including:
Teochew Braised Duck
Handmade Meat Ball
Steamed Sotong
Mei Cai (Preserved Radish Leaves)
Braised Peanuts
Braised Pig Intestines
Steamed Fish
Not displayed in the counter are also 2 of Seah Soon Teck’s specialties – Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻 and Shark Meat Jelly 鲨鱼冻. Besides Teochew Porridge, Seah Soon Teck offers a huge spread of economical rice dishes as well, catering to both the Teochew Porridge fanatics and the general public.
Teochew Porridge
Shark Meat Jelly 鲨鱼冻
Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻
The Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻 is a labour-intensive traditional Teochew dish which requires hours of preparation. We were expecting a more chewy and harder gelatinous like texture, similar to the ones which we tried before at other Teochew restaurants. However, Seah Soon Teck’s version was vastly different. The Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻 essentially disintegrated and melted in our mouths within seconds. The meat was thinly sliced such that it lost the meat tenderness. We did not have to chew on the jelly and they melted in the mouth. The Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻 was accompanied by their homemade chili sauce which was sufficiently spicy.
Compared to the Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻, the Shark Meat Jelly 鲨鱼冻 is more rare and not commonly found in recent years. For those who have not tried shark meat before, the texture of shark meat is essentially intermediate between chicken and fish meat. While it was not as soft and silky as fish meat, it wasn’t as tough and chewy compared to chicken meat. Compared to the Pig Trotter Jelly 猪脚冻, the Shark Meat Jelly 鲨鱼冻 had more bite and chew to it. For non-fish lovers with a sensitive palate, the shark meat, though slightly bland did exude a slight fishy taste. This could however, be covered up by the accompanying sesame and peanut plum sauce.
Handmade Meat Ball
Braised Duck
The handmade meatballs are made freshly daily, using pork, prawns and fish. The meatballs weren’t overly seasoned and retained the original flavours of the pork and fish. They weren’t too starchy, you could chew onto the bits of fish and pork meat. Another dish we enjoyed was the braised duck. The meat had adequately absorbed the essence of the sauce, yet not being too salty. We did feel that the duck meat could be a little more tender and less rubbery.
Steamed Pomfet
Some parts of the steamed pomfet, especially the area not in contact with the gravy, wasn’t all too soft and tender, probably due to the fish being presteamed and then reheated upon serving. However, for a better experience, one could request for a fresh uncooked pomfet to be steamed on the spot with a small additional fee. The gravy was a little on the salty side probably due to the sour plums and preserved vegetables. However, it was good that there was no fishiness to this dish.
(top) Cai Buey, Braised Peanuts, Tau Kee, Chai Poh (Salted Turnips) Omelette (bottom from left) Cabbage; Hae Bee Hiam
Other dishes we tried included the cai buey, tau kee, chai poh omelette. We particularly liked the braised peanuts and hae bee hiam. The braised peanuts were well flavoured and very fragrant. The hae been hiam was spicy but not overly salty. The crunchy dried shrimps added much flavour to the porridge.
*Note: This is an invited session by the generous owners.
Seah Soon Teck Teochew Porridge
283 Changi Road
Singapore Food Trail
Singapore Food Trail
Singapore Food Trail 新加坡路边摊 is a 1960s themed food street located in the Singapore Flyer. It houses many of Singapore’s well-known hawker stalls including:
1) Boon Tat Street BBQ Seafood
2) Bugis Street Ah Huat Hainanese Chicken Rice
3) Katong Keah Kee Fried Oysters
4) High Street Tai Wah Pork Noodles
5) Selera’s Adam Road Nasi Lemak
6) Old Airport Road Satay Beehoon and Satay Celup
7) Sin Ming Road Rong Chen Bak Kut Teh
8) Newton Lim Kee Hokkien Noodles
9) Top 73+1 Handmade Fishball Noodles
10) Whampoa Ngoh Hiang Prawn Cracker
11) Hong Kong Zhai House of Dim Sum
12) Lagoon Kampong Rojak / Cuttlefish Kangkong
13) Alhambra Satay Club Satay
14) Chinatown Ann Chin Popiah
15) Changi Village Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang
16) Alhambra Satay Club BBQ Chicken Wings
Singapore Food Trail
(clockwise from top left) Katong Keah Kee Fried Oysters; Changi Village Mei Xiang Fried Carrot Cake; Alhambra Satay; Alhambra Chicken Wings; Changi Village Char Kway Teow
In general, the prices of the hawker dishes at the Singapore Food Trail were relatively more expensive than other hawker centers. Even though most, if not all, of the stalls were backed with a long standing history of good reputation, the dishes were pretty average and not particularly outstanding. The venue is rather out of the way and if not for the Singapore Flyer, we believe there are better hawker alternatives at more convenient locations.
Singapore Food Trail
Singapore Flyer, #01-09/12
30 Raffles Avenue
Charco’s – The Flaming Chicken
1/2 Portuguese Chicken
Charco’s Portuguese Chicken sure packs a spicy punch! The Portuguese Chicken was pretty spicy and had a mild Malay/Indian spices taste. The entire chicken skin was well-grilled and well-flavoured. In fact, it was the skin which was spicy and flavourful, not the interior chicken meat. We enjoyed the thigh meat more as it was very tender, unlike the tougher and drier breast meat. The chicken was rather small and a group of four could easily finish a whole chicken. Prices start at $7.00 for a quarter chicken, $10.00 for 1/2 chicken and $19.00 for a whole chicken.
Charco’s – The Flaming Chicken
Marine Parade Central Block 89
Multi-storey Carpark Food Court
Da Jie Niang Dou Fu 大姐酿豆腐
Da Jie Niang Dou Fu 大姐酿豆腐
We were craving for 酿豆腐 one evening and managed to find Da Jie Niang Dou Fu 大姐酿豆腐. Da Jie Niang Dou Fu 大姐酿豆腐 occupies a shop space on its own and besides 酿豆腐, it sells other common Chinese 煮炒 dishes. Besides the conventional soup 酿豆腐, Da Jie Niang Dou Fu 大姐酿豆腐 offers 6 different styles – Hakka, Laksa, Tom Yam, Ampang, Black Bean Sauce and Tomato Ketchup.
Ampang 酿豆腐
The spread of food choices was rather wide, perhaps even more comprehensive than those at hawker centres/coffee shops. We went for the Ampang and the conventional soup 酿豆腐. The Ampang sauce wasn’t any special, it tasted more of like some chicken gravy/stew used in other Chinese dishes. The food items were pretty fresh. What impressed and delighted us most was the chili sauce! The chili sauce was very different from other 酿豆腐 stalls. In fact, this chili is one of its kind. It had this very zangy, slightly sour, and spicy kick. It wasn’t rich in sambal or dried prawns, but somewhat exuded a mild turmeric taste.
The minimum order was 5 pieces ($3) and noodles/rice cost another $0.60.
Da Jie Niang Dou Fu 大姐酿豆腐
#01-253, Block 354
Clementi Avenue 2
源记手工包点 Yuan Ji Handmade Tim Sum
源记手工包点 Yuan Ji Handmade Tim Sum
大肉包
The 大肉包 ($1.20) from 源记手工包点 Yuan Ji Handmade Tim Sum was dinstinctively different from those sold at coffee shops. Rather than a minced meaty centre, Yuan Ji’s 大肉包 (pork) consisted of thick, juicy and succulent chunks of pork meat. The chunks of pork were well-flavoured and had thoroughly absorbed the essence of the sauce/stew. It was literally eating a stewed pork chop encased in a soft bun skin.
The 虾饺 Har Gow (3 for $1.80) were disappointing. The fillings contained a much larger proportion of meat, rather than prawns. The entire prawn dumpling exuded a strong pork smell and taste, which non pork lovers will definitely dislike. However, one commendable thing was the dumpling skin. It was soft, thin, and not starchy.
源记手工包点 Yuan Ji Handmade Tim Sum
#01-232, Block 18
Toa Payoh Lorong 7
The Gallerie 食尚 by Koufu
8 September 2011 marks the official opening of The Gallerie 食尚 at Marina Square by Koufu. Spanning an area of 36,000 square feet, filled with 29 food tenants, with an estimated seating capacity of 889 people, The Gallerie is Koufu’s latest establishment in the Marina Bay waterfront area.
Amongst the 29 food tenants are 4 mini restaurants including Tofu Mania (Korean Cuisine), Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh, Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice and The Noodee Box by Lam’s.
(from top to bottom) Squid Soon Doo Boo Ji Gae (Korean Style Spicy Tofu Soup); Seafood Jeon (Korean Pizza with Vegetables and Seafood)
Korean Drinks
Tofu Mania – the first branch in Singapore, as the name goes, Tofu Mania’s specialty lies in its tofu. We were however, mildly disappointed with its Squid Soon Doo Boo Ji Gae. The soup was pretty thin and lacked the robustness of Korean tofu soups. The tofu was soft but slightly coarse. We were hoping that the squid would add seafood sweetness to the soup, but sadly there were very few pieces of squid and each piece was pathetically small. The Seafood Jeon fared slightly better with its more generous serving of prawns, and a slightly spicy and sweet accompanying sauce.
We were rather impressed by the wide variety of Korean beverages offered by Tofu Mania – Orange, Grape, 2 kinds of Sweet Rice Drinks, Spicy Cinnamon, Aloe Vera, Pear, Green Plum and a Berry Energy Drink. Most of the drinks were on the sweet side, accompanied with fruit pulp which provided additional chewiness. What stood out was the Spicy Cinnamon Drink – the flavours of cinnamon was overpowering and we believe this is really an acquired taste. Green Plum was the most refreshing and thrist quenching to us.
Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice
Being one of the popular local Chicken Rice specialty shops, Wee Nam Kee is no stranger to chicken rice lovers. We’ve never been to their flagship store at Novena Ville before, so this is our first try at their chicken rice. Well, we weren’t blown away by their chicken or rice, perhaps largely due to the fact that we are not fans of chicken rice. The white and roasted chickens were pretty average. The meat was tender, slightly bland though. The Ngoh Hiang was a big disappointment. It was cold and hard and the fillings were starchy. It was sorely lacking in the texture and flavours of fresh grounded meat.
The Noodee Box by Lam's
The Noodee Box by Lam’s is a new spin-off from Lam’s Noodle House which is famous for its “Lam’s Abalone Noodle”. As the name goes, the noodles, or noodee, are served in boxes, rather than in bowls. The noodles reminded us of dried minced mee noodles (aka bak chor mee), with additional accompaniments like eggs and Taiwan sausages. The ban-mian like noodles were cooked to the right chewiness, however we felt that they could be a little more generous with the sauce. On the whole, the Noodee box is an interesting invention, however the food was not all that impressive.
Apart from the 4 mini restaurants, The Gallerie houses 14 Boutique Food Stalls, consisting of the typical food court fare such as Indonesian BBQ (which is actually the same stall as per before The Gallerie was established), Soup Empire, Thunder Tea Rice (China Square) and Lau Di Fang Scissors-Cut Curry Rice, to name a few. Indeed, Lau Di Fang Scissors-Cut Curry Rice’s flagship store is the one at Jalan Besar, known for its famous fried pork chops and curry chicken.
Thunder Tea Rice
The only other time we tried Thunder Tea Rice was from Food Republic at Vivocity. Even for vegetable lovers like us, it was still an acquired taste. And after trying the Thunder Tea Rice from Thunder Tea (China Square), we still believed it is indeed an acquired taste. The main highlight of the dish has got to be the accompanying green tea, made from tea leaves, basil and mint, which should be poured over the rice mix. However, we still squirmed at the flavour of the tea, hence we ended up just having the rice on its own, which was just mediocre. An healthy dish it may be, but our 2nd try has only made us more certain that we do not like Thunder Tea Rice.
(clockwise from top left) Egg Tarts; Scallop and Shrimp Dumplings; Egg Custard Bao
Koufu‘s F&B island stall offers drinks, cold and hot desserts as well as dim sum. We did not like the Egg Tarts. The fillings were bland and the crust was moist, soggy, starchy and lacked fragrance and taste. Similarly, the Scallop and Shrimp Dumplings were disappointing. We ordered the dish thinking that the scallops were the main highlight. But sadly, the scallops were too soft and tasteless. In fact, you could eat the entire dumpling without realizing the presence of the scallops. The only dish that we took fancy of was the Egg Custard Bao. For food court standards, it wasn’t too bad and definitely better than Crystal Jade Dining IN’s.
Having tried different dishes from the mini restaurants, boutique and island stalls, we were very surprised that at the end of the day, our favourite dishes came from the smaller scale food kiosks! There were 4 food kiosks – Korean Snack, Nesh’s Yoghurt, Apa’s Rojak and Zuki’s Popiah.
Hanyong Korean Snack (bottom left to right) Rice Cake; Kimchi Pancake
Hanyong Korean Snack – Both the Rice Cake and Kimchi Pancake were rather simple dishes, nothing too fanciful. But it was the spicy Korean sauce which blew us away. The sauce of the rice cake was thick, rich in flavours and packed with a whole lot of spiciness! The rice cake was bit chewy, we felt that it could be cooked a little longer to reduce the toughness and chewiness. But this dish left us salivating and sweating.
Popiah
Zuki Popiah – From the skin to the sauce and the fillings, everything is made by the owners. We tried 2 different flavours – the original and a Mexican Burrito inspired flavour. Both popiahs were generously packed with fillings and weren’t too soggy as well. The Mexican Burrito inspired flavour was rather appealing. Packed with chunks of chicken meat, the popiah was infused with a sour tangy sauce which was very appetizing.
Apa Rojak
Apa’s Rojak was also one of our favourite dishes. The owner’s father created the Rojak sauce 40 years ago in Malaysia. The sauce is cooked over an entire day to increase its fragrance and reduce the heaviness of the prawn paste. And we really could appreciate the hard work which went into the sauce. The rojak sauce was thick and very rich. True enough, the prawn paste wasn’t too overwhelming. The generous dose of peanuts were crunchy and fragrant, evident of its freshness. The other ingredients like the dough fritters, pineapples and cucumbers were fresh and crunchy and thoroughly coated in the sauce.
Yoghurt - Raspberry and Cookie Crumbs
Desserts of the day – Greek yoghurt! Pure yorgurt and not yoghurt ice cream is sold here. After trying both the Raspberry and Cookie Crumbs, we came to a conclusion that cookies do not go well with yoghurt. The thick creamy and sour Greek yoghurt was more compatible with the sourness of fruits, compared to the crunchy and slightly salty cookie bits.
The Gallerie 食尚 by Koufu
Marina Square, Level 4
6 Raffles Boulevard
Tong Heng Confectionery
Egg Tart
The Egg Tart from Tong Heng Confectionery has got to be one of the better ones in Singapore. With its flaky thin crust and the soft smooth egg custard, the egg tart wasn’t too sweet and made a pretty good snack. However, our hearts still go out to the buttery and crumbly Tai Cheong egg tarts from Hong Kong.
Tong Heng Confectionery
285 South Bridge Road
Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake
Peanut Pancake
We tried the much raved and recommended Peanut Pancakes from the Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake. The pancake was thick and chewy and in fact, it was a little too thick for us. The peanuts were on the coarse side and the aunty wasn’t too generous with the amount of peanuts. Hence, we felt that the proportion of fillings to pancake was lopsided. Having to queue for almost an hour for these Peanut Pancakes, we weren’t all that blown away by the standards.
Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake
Stall 16 Tanglin Halt Market
48 Tanglin Halt Road
Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品
Mango and Strawberry 芒果草莓雪花冰
The Mango and Strawberry Snow Ice from Mei Heong Yuen sure looked appetizing and colourful. Taste wise, the snow ice itself lacked a strong mango or strawberry flavour, tasting rather strongly of milk instead. The mango and strawberry sauce did add more flavour and the staff should consider drizzling more of the syrup over the snow ice. One interesting and commendable thing is the addition of the little mango and strawberry QQ balls. These balls reminded us of caviar. Once we bit into and popped these mini balls, strawberry or mango syrup burst out of the plastic like cover. We wouldn’t mind having more of these QQ balls. They were akin to little surprises popping in our mouths!
Mei Heong Yuen ought to improve on the plating of the snow ice though. The snow ice was served in a very shallow plate which made the eating process a little difficult. The melting ice and syrup threatened to overflow from the plate, we had to take great care scooping the ice in fear that it’ll topple and spill onto the table as well.
Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品
65-67 Temple Street
Kreta Ayer Conservation Area
Mini Toast House 小烘炉
Chocolate and Blueberry Cheese Tart
There’s another branch of Mini Toast House at Lau Par Sat. A few months back, we stumbled upon cheese tarts from their Lau Par Sat branch and were pleasantly surprised as their cheese tarts tasted pretty good. This time round, we tried their chocolate and blueberry versions from the branch at Chinatown Food Centre.
And once again, we were surprised, albeit in a negative way. We felt that the standard of cheese tarts differed too much between these 2 branches. The cheese tarts from Chinatown Food Centre tasted more like egg tarts. There was no sticky, dense and rich texture of cheese. It was more like a curd like egg tart, with a subtle cheese taste. The crust was awfully soft and crumbled too easily. Perhaps cause they weren’t refrigerated, compared to the cheese tarts from Glace, the cheese tarts here were a far cry.
Mini Toast House 小烘炉
2nd level, Chinatown Food Centre
万东海鲜鱼头炉
With recommendations from 煮炒来咯!, we headed to 万东海鲜鱼头炉 for dinner on Friday night. 6 of us ordered the following 5 dishes:
- 麦片虾婆 Cereal Oat Crayfish
- 铁板豆腐 (Hotplate Tofu Spicy)
- (from left to right) 炒西兰花 (broccoli); 虾仁炒蚕豆 (broad beans)
- 亚叁酸辣鱼 (Assam Fish)
In general, the five dishes were pretty good, meeting the minimum standard requirements:
1) freshness of ingredients
2) not over or under-cooked
3) sufficient flavouring/marinating
2 dishes were pretty commendable – the Cereal Oat Crayfish and Assam Fish. The crayfish was very fresh; it was succulent and chewy. It wasn’t too soft and the flesh/meat wasn’t too dry either. Coupled with the salty and aromatic deep fried cereal oats, this dish was pretty pleasing.
The fish had no fishy taste, the meat was very tender and smooth. The fish was well-cooked, it retained its slight juiciness such that it didn’t turn out too dry. The assam sauce was sour and spicy. The sourness made the dish refreshing and appetizing and was a very good accompanying sauce for plain white rice. The spiciness added a bit of kick into the dish, making our noses drip a little, but not too overwhelmingly unbearable.
Total cost of the 5 dishes and rice: $89
万东海鲜鱼头炉
Blk 378 Clementi Ave 5 #01-334
Penang Food Trail – Teluk Kumbar Seafood and Satay
Teluk Kumbar Good Friend Seafood Restaurant
Seafood by the sea – not a bad way to conclude our 2D1N Penang trip right? Off we went to Teluk Kumbar Seafood, located just between Bayan Lepas and Balik Pulau. Teluk Kumbar is a small fishing village, which houses the Teluk Kumbar Good Friend Seafood restaurant. The restaurant was just metres away from the sea, and our table was just situated on the sandy beach. Just beside the restaurant was a small makeshift satay stall, with fantastic reviews. Dinner that night was Satay and Seafood!
Makeshift satay stall
Satay
The satay was fantastic! The huge chunks of meat were topped with a spicy and flavourful sauce. It wasn’t like Singapore’s satay, rather it was more like grilled/barbecued chicken skewers. There was hardly any fats in the meat, just tender chunks of well-marinated chicken. Every piece was juicy and succulent.
(clockwise from top left) Lettuce; Deep Fried Calamari; Oyster Egg; Kailan; Fried Tofu
Clams
Chili Crabs
We ordered 7 other dishes, including 2 plates of vegetables, deep fried calamari, oyster egg, tofu, clams and chili crabs.
In general, the food is pretty average, similar to the standard of tze char stalls in Singapore. The lightly crisp batter went well with the calamari. The clams were fresh and went well with the slightly spicy sauce. The sauce of chili crab was lacking spiciness though, it was more towards the sweet side. The crabs were very fresh but rather scrawny; Singapore’s Sri Lanka crabs are still a winner. The tofu was soft, silky and not oily though it was deep fried. Perhaps we had ordered the wrong dishes, but we felt that the variety of seafood is rather limited for a restaurant specializing in seafood. The highlight of this meal was the fact that we sat barely a few metres away from the sea, enjoying the sea breeze and our sumptuous seafood dinner.
Penang Food Trail – Penang Road Laksa, Chendol & Ice Kachang
Penang Road Laksa
How could we visit Penang without trying their specialty – Penang Laksa! Penang Laksa is vastly different from the curry laksa we have in Singapore. Penang Laksa is a noodle dish in spicy and sour fish assam fish broth topped with various shredded vegetables, including cucumber, onions, red chili, pineapple, lettuce, mint and ginger. Accompanying it is also a spoonful of petis udang or 蝦羔, a thick sweet prawn/shrimp paste.
Penang Laksa
We tried Penang Laksa from a stall just at Penang Road and Lebuh Leng Kee. Well, I’m no fan of vegetables and the entire bowl of Penang Laksa was filled with shredded vegetables. However, the strong spicy and sour taste masked the taste of vegetables, so all I could taste was their crunchiness. Compared to Singapore’s coconut milk curry based laksa, Penang Laksa is slightly more refreshing and less overwhelming. But for Penang Laksa, we can drink the soup without feeling too sick or heaty. The added sourness also made the entire dish more appetizing.
Chendol
Ice Kachang
Other than Penang Laksa, Chendol and Ice Kachang were also served there. And on a extremely hot and sunny day, such cooling desserts really do taste and look appetizing. The chendol was not worth the extra calories and cholesterol. It was not thick enough, seemingly lacking in gula melaka and coconut milk. For better chendols, it is still better to head to Malacca (specifically to store 88, along Jonker Street). On the other hand, the ice kachang topped with ice cream was slightly better, though nicer ones can be found in Singapore. Something special about the Ice Kachang over here was the addition of Sarsi, which made it more refreshing and a great thirst quencher in hot weather.
Penang Food Trail – Restoran Kampar Fish Jelly
Restoran Kampar Fish Jelly
Penang’s kampar fish jelly is the equivalence of Singapore’s Yong Tau Foo 酿豆腐. This outlet recommended by our friends is situated at Jalan Jerjak.
(clockwise from top right) Deep fried Tau Kee and Chicken Wings; Hakka Noodles; Yam Rice; Braised Chicken Feet
Kampar Fish Jelly
We ordered some fried tau kee, chicken wings, hakka noodles, yam rice, braised chicken feet as well as 2 bowls of assorted fish jelly.
The fried tau kee was a crowd favourite; it was very crispy and slightly salty. The yam rice was also another crowd pleasing dish. The rice was soft yet not soggy. The yam taste was barely detectable and visually, there weren’t any obvious chunks of yam in the rice. And if we weren’t informed, we wouldn’t have known that it was yam rice. Every grain of rice was well flavoured and savoury. You could really taste that every rice grain had thoroughly soaked in the taste of the seasonings/sauce. The chicken wings, chicken feet and hakka noodles were pretty average, nothing too fantastic.
Yong Tau Foo is essentially fish paste stuffed into tofu or vegetables. The common vegetables include green chili, bittergourd, brinjals and lady’s fingers. For this place, one interesting thing was that fish paste was also stuffed into lettuces and even long beans!! Taste wise, the fish paste was pretty average, meeting the basic requirements of being fresh and springy. The soup was clear, not too salty or rich in flavours. It was a pretty light and healthy meal.
Ph.Ds of FOOD 