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The Business Times & Knight Frank CEOs’ Hawker Guide The Business Times & Knight Frank CEOs’ Hawker Guide

The Business Times & Knight Frank CEOs’ Hawker Guide

Published by The Business Times Singapore Press Holdings Limited 1000 Toa Payoh North, News Centre Singapore 318994

Information correct at the time of printing. The publisher does not warrant or assume any legal responsibilities for the publication’s contents.

Editor: Audrey Phoon Writers: Cheah Ui-hoon, Geoffrey Eu, Audrey Phoon and Jenny Tan Photographers: Arthur Lee, John Heng and Yen Meng Jiin Designer: Gareth Chung

a note from Alvin Tay Editor, The Business Times

IT has often been said that the best way to really get to know a city is to try the local food. This is especially true in Singapore, where hawker food says more about our fair city than a cultural PHOTO: ST tour or sale worth waiting for. In fact, you know just how far Singapore has come in the eyes of the world when you read stories in The New York Times or Financial Times waxing lyrical about chilli crab and char kway teow; or see Japanese tourists taking photos of themselves digging into the famous Tian Tian chicken rice at Maxwell Food Centre. It is with great pleasure then, that we present this guide to the best hawker food in Singapore – a joint effort between The Business Times and Knight Frank. The enthusiasm of our CEO ‘advisory panel’ and other top executives who took part in our weekly polls from August 2009 to February 2010 was palpable – proof that the quest for good local food transcends all socio- economic barriers. However, while this guide is a collection of CEOs’ hawker favourites, it is meant to be enjoyed by everyone. Whether you are a seasoned hawker fan, a new citizen, an expatriate working in Singapore, or a newly-arrived tourist, we hope you will find this book a handy reference – one that captures not just the best flavours of Singapore, but its essence as well. foreword | 9

a note from Tan Tiong Cheng Chairman, Knight Frank Pte Ltd

SINGAPORE’S Foreign Minister George Yeo once said: “Singaporeans spend a lot of time eating and thinking about food. Even while we are eating, we are already thinking of the next meal. It is an inseparable part of our culture.” In celebration of its 70th year in Singapore, then, Knight Frank decided to collaborate with The Business Times on a weekly series to feature the island’s most popular hawker stalls. The series ran for six months, from August 2009 to February 2010, and this book is a compilation of those reviews and more. The project would not have been as successful without the contributions from our panel of “foodies”, who generously shared their wealth of knowledge and personal experience, so my appreciation goes out to the panel members as well as the top executives who participated in it. Many of you have shared with me that a book such as this is long overdue. Why highlight the CEOs’ choices? I believe that hawker fare is not just for the less affluent; in fact, the best food is often found in humble coffee shops and hawker centres. While the common perception is that top Singapore executives dine only at high-end restaurants, we know that many CEOs are purely interested in good food, and are therefore equally expert at seeking out the best hawker stalls as they do restaurants. Indeed, many of the CEOs’ votes here are similar to the most knowledgeable taxi driver’s choices. Enjoy what we have put together for you – and for those

PHOTO: TNP who are new to Singapore, I am sure you will enjoy our Garden City and its diverse, inexpensive and tasty multi- cultural food delights. Bon appetit! 10 | the panel the panel | 11

AS CEO of SPH, Alan Chan knows a lot about the how it worked media industry. But ask him about hawker food and it turns out he’s quite the expert on that too. Says the Before the CEOs in The Business Times’ newsman: “Singapore hawker food is unique because 1,000-strong database were asked to vote for it comes from all regions of Asia, from Guangdong to their favourite hawker stalls, a panel of food Beijing, from Punjab to Tamil Nadu and from Java to lovers was tasked with creating a shortlist of Sumatra.” the 10 top stalls in 26 hawker food categories. It’s also a type of cuisine to be enjoyed by The list was then passed to the CEOs everyone, CEOs included, believes Mr Chan. Which is why, together with Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong for voting, and the four or five stalls in each Cheng and The Business Times editor Alvin Tay, he category that received the most votes were mooted the idea to have a CEOs’ guide to the best profiled by BT’s food writers. The results hawker food stalls in Singapore, at a BT function can be found in this book and in the CEOs’ last year. “Hawker food is the quintessential food of Hawker Guide that was published in BT Singaporeans. Given the CEOs’ need to entertain, between August 2009 and February 2010. they would have tasted some of the best food in Singapore. So we thought it would be interesting to find out which hawker stalls they frequent,” rationalises Mr Chan. While the SPH CEO – who loves yong tau foo, Indian rojak, nasi padang, fish head bee hoon, chilli crab and chapati – declined to be featured in the the panel newspaper version of the guide, so as to let other CEOs put forward their opinions there, he is happy to The panel comprised 11 top executives, some share his tips in this book. For those who are looking of whom divide their time between their jobs for “one-stop” centres which offer a wide selection and seeking out the island’s best hawker food. of good hawker food, he recommends Lavender Food Others are avid cooks, while one is the founder Centre near Eminent Plaza, Newton Food Centre, of a local food club. All are from different Chomp Chomp Food Centre and Old Airport Road industries, but the one thing they have in Food Centre. How to judge the quality of a stall? common is a love of Singapore street food. As a rule of thumb, pick stalls manned by In the following pages, you’ll find these original operators rather than franchised panellists’ profiles as well as some of their ones, advises Mr Chan. That, along with personal food tips. the freshness of ingredients, are important factors in making or breaking a dish.

Alan Chan Chief executive officer, Singapore Press Holdings 12 | the panel the panel | 13

Chew Kia Seng AS the president of Far East Food Concepts, Managing director, Chia Boon Pin’s job is to scout out good food – Credit Agricole Asset Management Singapore Limited from hawker fare to fine cuisine – and sow it in parent company Far East Organisation’s malls. CHEW Kia Seng is a private banker to whom good It’s a position that goes hand in hand with his relationships are the key to producing top results. And he love for food, which began when he was a child takes that same approach to dining – for him, eating out accompanying his grandfather to sup at hawker isn’t just about the food but the rapport he strikes up with stalls in Chinatown. each outlet’s owner, chef and even serving staff, so as to There, Mr Chia developed a taste for good draw out a better dining experience. hawker fare, and it was there too that he was That explains his Singapore street food of choice: introduced to the original Ya Kun stall at the old zi char from places such as Yuan Wei Giant Garoupa at Telok Ayer Market, whose founder he years later Serangoon Road, New Ubin Seafood at Sin Ming Road, convinced to set up a kaya toast and coffee outlet Shatin Kitchen at Geylang Lorong 3 and Jin Long Seafood at Far East Square – the first shop in what is today at Bedok North Avenue 2. There, Mr Chew says, he finds a successful chain. good cooking in air-conditioned comfort – and more The foodie’s job plus his passion has taken him importantly, it’s where he can really see the effort that he’s to top restaurants all over the world, but he’s proud put into rapport-building pay off. to note that Singapore offers the widest variety of “Sure, I enjoy laksa and wonton noodles, but one cuisines. “It’s food that immigrants from China, India can’t really strike up a friendship with busy hawkers,” and Malaysia brought with them,” he notes. “The he muses. “If, for example, you speak Hainanese to the first generation went door to door peddling their chicken rice seller, maybe at the most he’ll give you a bit food, or they set up makeshift tents at street corners more chicken.” At the zi char places, on the other hand, and back alleys. Today, they’re properly licensed and friendly relations with the staff and the chef result in far housed in food centres, but the variety is still iconic.” more personalised service – often, Mr Chew gets the best He has a list of about 30 local hawker stalls that catch of the day, special recommendations or a waiver on he regularly patronises – on rotation, of course – and corkage. he occasionally updates it by swapping notes with The foodie banker is a member of one of the biggest fellow foodie pals such as Knight Frank chairman eating networks in town, the 100-strong Makan Kakis Tan Tiong Cheng. group, which has an online forum and meets every month, He’s also learnt some interesting tips along the and he is also the founder of his own Zi Char Club. The way, one being to eat chicken rice not from a plate club, which Mr Chew started in 2001, comprises a very but a bowl, so that the fragrance of the rice cooked tight group of dedicated food and wine lovers who visit in chicken stock can be fully appreciated. “A hawker zi char places regularly, always with a stash of good wine. once told me that on a plate, the rice cools too fast. His advice to foodies? Be generous and tip. “If you But in a bowl, when you bring it up to your mouth, want a good dining experience, don’t be calculative. Life the aroma wafts up to your nose,” he says. is short, what’s a few dollars to you will mean more to the restaurant staff. And they’ll remember you.” Chia Boon Pin President, Far East Food Concepts 14 | the panel the panel | 15

AS a senior advisor at URA, Choy Chan Pong Cynthia Phua devotes many of his hours to urban planning, General manager, but he’s perhaps spent nearly as much time NTUC FairPrice hunting down and enjoying good hawker food. “Hawker food is very important to me because CYNTHIA Phua manages the NTUC FairPrice I eat it every day. While I also enjoy restaurant chain of supermarkets and is an avid foodie who food, I can’t be eating it all the time,” he says. has a closer connection to hawker fare than most. He shares his extensive list of favourites That’s because she’s also a Member of Parliament (many of which are featured in this guide) who oversees the running of two hawker centres, such as fried Hokkien noodles originally from in the Lorong Ah Soo and Kovan areas. Lorong 29 Geylang and now at East Coast Among her MP duties are the preservation of Road; char kway teow previously from two hawker centres as a necessary culture and service well-known stalls at Outram and Hill Street, to the people, which she carries out by lobbying and now at Hong Lim Hawker Centre and for the centres to be built in new housing estates Bedok South Hawker Centre respectively; so that they aren’t controlled by private landlords wonton noodles at Jalan Batu; oyster omelette who charge high rent, resulting in higher costs and laksa at East Coast Lagoon Food Village; for consumers. ikan bilis yong tau foo at Kreta Ayer Hawker Speaking of consumers, Ms Phua is herself a Centre; and Hakka yong tau foo at Mosque great consumer of hawker fare – she often lunches Street (which had put operations on hold at at hawker centres and coffee shops throughout the the time of printing – “I’m praying for them to island as she sources for suitable sites for NTUC’s resume soon!” says Mr Chan). businesses. And when it comes to dinner time, “I The reasons why these are his favourites might buy back some hawker food, like chicken or are because some stalls, such as the Jalan Batu roast meats, to supplement what I have at home”, wonton noodles one, have tasty soups which she says. bring out the quality of the noodles, while all Some of her favourite hawker dishes include use good ingredients – for example, the ikan fishball noodles and bak chor mee, while favourite bilis yong tau foo stall uses fresh fish meat in stalls are the satay bee hoon one at Chomp Chomp its items. “That reminds me of the yong tau Food Centre, another that does kway chap at Old foo my mother used to make by hand at Airport Road Food Centre, and one at a Simon home,” says Mr Chan. And if he can’t decide Road coffee shop that serves up oyster omelette whether he prefers the dry or soup version “which has more tapioca flour than egg so it’s of a dish, he reveals, “I end up eating both crispy”. – so it’s two bowls – each time”. It’s old-school fare, but that’s not just what hawker centres these days are all about. They’re Choy Chan Pong evolving, Ms Phua notes, and now offer dishes that Senior advisor, used to be found only at restaurants, such as pasta. Urban Redevelopment Authority That’s key to why Singaporeans are such food lovers, she believes – “there‘s so much quality and variety”. 16 | the panel the panel | 17

Edmund Chye IF Jackson Yap is not in his cushy CEO’s Director, chair at engineering firm UEL, chances Chye Lee & Sons are you’ll find him on a plastic stool in a coffee shop – and that doesn’t just apply EDMUND Chye is a property developer at mealtimes. “You don’t need to wait whose love for local fare blossomed, until lunch or dinner to hit the hawker rather ironically, when he was overseas centres. I often find myself sitting down studying. “That’s when I really craved at a coffee shop with a cup of teh tarik, it, because our food is unique to sorting out my thoughts in the midst of Singapore,” he explains. “It’s a blend of a busy day,” he says. southern Chinese, Malay and southern When he does plan to eat though, Indian fare, with a splash of Indonesian he usually goes to Newton Food Centre thrown in; a true melting pot.” for char kway teow or fish soup, or It’s a passion that has not waned. Zion Road for nasi padang or, again, To this day, local cuisine – and hawker char kway teow. It’s obvious he’s a big dishes, in particular – rank high on Mr fan of the latter dish, which he likes Chye’s food list, and even if his diet has with plenty of cockles. Other favourites become more restrained due to health include Hainanese chicken rice with reasons, he still finds time now and black soya sauce and a potent garlic- again to visit his favourite stalls: Sun chilli blend dip, as well as Peranakan Kee Fishhead Mei Fun and Siew Ji Yong laksa, “where the sauce is made with Tau Foo in Smith Street Food Complex, fresh coconut juice”. as well as Ah Hock Hokkien Mee in Hawker food is “part of our national Chomp Chomp Food Centre. culture and the collective pastime Flavourful fare aside, it’s the heart that Singaporeans indulge in”, says and soul that these hawkers put into Mr Yap, adding: “It’s also a salve for their craft that Mr Chye appreciates. homesickness when overseas!” “They get the freshest possible Of his decision to be a panel ingredients to make the best tasting member in this project, he explains: dishes,” he notes. “And they’re proud “We need guides (such as this), of their craft – as in, cooking is not just otherwise every Singaporean’s a job or chore to them. They love seeing gastronomical journey of hawker patrons enjoying their creations.” delights will seem too boundless and complex to navigate.”

Jackson Yap Chief executive officer, United Engineers Ltd 18 | the panel the panel | 19

Jennifer Yeo LYNETTE Leong heads Singapore’s first listed Founder and senior partner, commercial real estate investment trust, which has Yeo-Leong & Peh LLC property assets valued at a considerable $6 billion, but she has simple tastes when it comes to food. Among JENNIFER Yeo is a lawyer who is adept at the practice her favourite dishes are popiah and sliced fish bee hoon of using hawker food as a communication tool. Together soup, which she laments she doesn’t get enough of with her husband, Singapore’s Foreign Minister George because her weeks are filled with business lunches and Yeo, she has taken the Foreign Minister of Brunei, Prince rushed sandwich meals in between meetings. Mohamed Bolkiah, and his wife, Princess Hajjah Zariah, A die-hard foodie who loves to cook and eat, she to East Coast Lagoon Food Village to have hawker food was delighted at the thought of participating in this for dinner. The couple have also entertained Gloria hawker guide because she considers it an opportunity to Arroyo (when she was vice-president of the Philippines) join other “busy executives in sharing about our darling and Mark Vale (when he was Australian trade minister) hawker haunts that underpin Singaporeans’ unique over Hainanese chicken rice. eating lifestyle”. Speaking of chicken rice, that dish is a favourite Her own dining habits were influenced by a of the Yeos and even played a significant part in the Chinatown-dwelling grandmother; as such, Ms Leong couple’s early courtship days, shares Mrs Yeo, who – whose favourite hawker stalls are in Chinatown, also loves bak chor mee, oyster omelette, char kway Kreta Ayer Food Centre and Whampoa Food Centre teow, bak kut teh, nasi lemak and mee siam. “I recall – particularly relishes a bowl of piping hot Cantonese the first time my husband ever held my hand – it was porridge with an egg freshly cracked over it and pieces when we were waiting to be seated at Mandarin Hotel’s of you tiao and sliced ginger stirred in. “The porridge Chatterbox Coffee House for a meal of its famous should have a very smooth base, yet be interspersed by Hainanese chicken rice. I now wonder how much of his coarse cooked rice grains that are plump and at the brink gesture was attributed to the romance and how much of disintegration,” she describes. of it was derived from the sense of bonding as we both Another food favourite is claypot rice with preserved waited to share the dish!” she reveals good-humouredly. meats, which Ms Leong sometimes makes at home using The lawyer agreed to be on the panel for this hawker the traditional method: Once the meats have been guide because it would give her “an excuse to ask family steamed with the rice, they should be removed from and friends for their recommendations and exchange the claypot. Then, dark soya sauce and oil is poured notes on the best hawker stalls”, she says. into the cooked rice and the mixture is stirred Food aside, the best part about going to a coffee and “fluffed up”. The bottom of the claypot must shop or hawker centre, notes Mrs Yeo, is that diners can also be scraped to ensure that some of the crispy dress any way they please. “No one will bat an eyelid burnt rice at the base of the pot gets mixed because everyone’s busy enjoying the food!”. in. Only then is the dish ready to be served – “the fragrance of the rice, then, can ‘kill’!” enthuses the foodie.

Lynette Leong Chief executive officer, CapitaCommercial Trust 20 | the panel the panel | 21

Tan Kian Chew VICTOR Ow is the founder of a company whose Chief executive officer, interests include investments. Which explains NTUC FairPrice why he considers the dollar value of hawker fare to be one of the cuisine’s key benefits. On TAN Kian Chew oversees Singapore’s largest a recent trip overseas, he laments, he could supermarket chain, so his mental map of the “barely get anything decent for $20, whereas Republic is dotted with the company’s 80 or in Singapore, you can have a roll of freshly- so stores island wide. But he’s also a foodie, made popiah, filled with vegetables and a host which means that that map is clearly marked of other ingredients, for $1”. “We have great with the locations of the best hawker centres stuff for a fraction of the cost!” he observes in the country as well. In fact, sometimes, appreciatively. “the food is an added incentive for me to Topping his list of favourite hawker dishes visit our outlets”, he quips. is carrot cake, which he often orders with extra Like any other true-blue food lover, egg, garlic and sweet black sauce from a stall Mr Tan doesn’t mind queuing for good at Ghim Moh Market. He’s even had it at the food, which is something he does whenever Singapore Island Country Club – a customised he’s at a hawker centre he’s not familiar version, no less, with ikan bilis added on top of with. “That’s when I just join the longest his usual extras. “When I like a dish, I always ask queue – I don’t mind the wait, because the hawkers to ‘kay liao’ (top up the ingredients) I’ll clear email on my BlackBerry while and I’m willing to pay more for it!” he declares. standing in line,” he says, adding that Mr Ow prefers going to hawker centres nearly 40 per cent of his meals are taken rather than standalone stalls for the sheer at hawker centres or coffee shops. variety of food that the hawker centres offer, Places that he is familiar with, on the though he adds that most of the time he eats out other hand, include char kway teow from at restaurants because of the nature of his work. Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee at Hong So how useful does he consider a guide Lim Food Centre, fishball noodles from a like this to be? It would be especially good stall at Simpang Bedok, and beef kway teow for tourists, to give them an idea of where to from a Geylang Lorong 9 coffee shop, go for the best hawker fare in Singapore so an eatery that he has patronised for the past they won’t have a poor experience, reckons 30 years. Mr Ow. He adds: “And the recognition of our As a contributor to this guidebook, unique hawker fare is something which would Mr Tan looks forward to helping foodies do give Singapore an interesting edge in the away with “too much trial and error”. At the international arena.” same time, he’s also hoping to discover from it more new places that are worthy of being Victor Ow added to that mental map of his. Founder, Clydesbuilt Group bak kut teh | 23

bak kut teh IT’S easy to guess what bak kut teh is about from the name of the dish, which translates to “meat bone tea” (it’s a soup dish boiled with pork bones, duh). But it’s not as simple to predict exactly what you’ll get when you order it from a stall. After all, bak kut teh involves a base that could be anything from clear Teochew-style peppery soup, to a Hokkien- style soya-sauce-seasoned broth containing mushrooms and bean curd skin. The dish is believed to have been introduced here in the 19th century by coolies from China, who took it as a tonic to boost their health. These days, however, what with the prime, fatty cuts of meat that cooks use and common accompaniments such as you tiao (deep-fried crullers) and cooked innards, bak kut teh doesn’t quite fall under the modern definition of healthy. But if not really a treat for the constitution, it’s certainly still one for the palate. Here’s where to slurp up Singapore’s best bak kut teh. 24 | bak kut teh bak kut teh | 25

Ng Ah Sio Pork Ribs rejection, says owner Ng Ah Sio, was he opened Ng Ah Sio Pork Ribs Eating Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh because the stall had simply run out of House at its current premises. Soup Eating House pork ribs for the day, and there was no Recently, he decided to give it #01-01 Isetan Office Building 208 Rangoon Road way of getting more in time. In fact, he a major makeover, so the shop now 593 Havelock Road ☎ 6291 4537 had apologised to Mr Tsang’s aides for has quaint marble-topped tables and ☎ 6235 7716 Open 7am to 3pm; closed Monday not being able to accommodate him. wooden stools in place of its grimy Open daily from 11am to 2am Such quality control is the reason old fixtures. Birdcage lamps hang It seems the biggest question the stall achieves peppery perfection overhead, and near each table, there Ya Hua is without doubt the bak concerning Ng Ah Sio Pork Ribs Eating with its bak kut teh, a process that are cute little “water stations”, where kut teh stall with the most colourful House in recent times is not whether it begins with a delivery of fresh pork you can fill silver teapots with water clientele, a result of its proximity to does good bak kut teh (that’s a given, at 5am daily. The soup, made with from brass taps and boil it to make tea. several prominent nightclubs. And that judging by the perpetually full house), pork bones, is boiled in small batches Admittedly, the bak kut teh may be why its bak kut teh recipe suits but whether the stall really turned throughout the day, and the meat portions here (from $5.50 for two intoxicated taste buds particularly well. Hong Kong’s chief executive Donald cooked to a crunchy-squishy finish pieces of spare ribs; $7.50 for two Here, the steaming hot broth – which Tsang down when he requested a meal rather than a fall-off-the-bone texture. prime ribs; or $6.80 for one type of serves as a good sober-upper – is done there in 2006. Mr Ng, who is also a director at each rib) are on the small side, but the the peppery way, the chief ingredient And the answer is: Yes. But not Jumbo Seafood, started out in the emphasis is clearly on quality rather being white pepper that the stall buys in an arrogant, I-don’t-care-who-you- business by helping out at his father’s than quantity, and the spiffed up as whole peppercorns, then fries until are kind of way; the reason for the bak kut teh stall in the 1950s. In 1988, environment does justify the prices. fragrant and grinds in-house, says 26 | bak kut teh bak kut teh | 27

owner Gwee Peck Hua. It’s very robust its premises stretch nearly across the and may be a bit too salty for some, building’s breadth. but the tender pork ribs are easy to Here, it doesn’t matter if you’re chew on and the salted vegetables are seated right on the stall’s boundaries also good. or behind a pillar: Even the least Ms Gwee is bak kut teh pedigree visible tables get prompt service, not to – she was the right-hand man (or mention regular refills of soup without woman, rather) of Ng Ah Sio’s father, having to ask for it. Ng Mui Sng, years ago. When he Of course, the bigger part of passed away, she was encouraged by Outram Park’s success comes from regular customers to set up her own the fact that it serves up delicious bak shop, and thus opened Ya Hua at kut teh – tender pork ribs in a nicely Outram Park in 1992. The shop moved balanced soup ($7 per portion) with to Havelock in 1995, and expanded a peppery kick that hits you seconds with the opening of another branch at after you swallow it. Keppel Road in 2001 (more on that in Also on the menu are the usual Sin Heng for nearly as long as it takes to finish the following review). bak kut teh-related dishes such as Claypot Bak Koot Teh a meal, and both the peppery Teochew- Prices start from $6 for an braised pig trotters, organ meat soup, style and soya-sauce-based Hokkien- individual portion of bak kut teh salted vegetables, you tiao, stewed 439 Joo Chiat Road style versions are available (from $6 for with about three pieces of spare ribs peanuts and dried bean curd, but ☎ 6345 8754 an individual portion with spare ribs, and $7 for a serving with prime ribs, what’s more unusual is the fact that Open 24 hours daily and $7 for one with prime ribs). and portions are more generous as you can choose to have your meat Owners Tey Sue Hua, Tey Chui Hua compared with most of the other either lean or fatty – just indicate your It’s not just meat lovers who flock to and Tey Siew Hua, who are sisters, say well-known bak kut teh places. preference on the order form provided Sin Heng, but fans of seafood and that what makes their recipe unique is at each table. There is also quite a tasty innards too. That’s because the store – the fact that they put plenty of Chinese sliced fish soup on the list for non- which opened in 1983 and is located herbs and spices into their two versions meat lovers. in a row of shophouses next to Joo of bak kut teh; about 10 types, in fact. Outram Park The shop, which opened in 2001, Chiat Community Club – not only “We also add a lot of ingredients such Ya Hua Rou Gu Cha is managed by Frankie Gwee, brother does good bak kut teh, but a couple of as tau kee (bean curd skin), mushrooms of Havelock Ya Hua’s Ms Gwee. Both other delicious items as well. and fungus into our Hokkien version, #01-05 Tanjong Pagar Complex stalls apparently use the same family There’s a dish of pig innards that’s and you can even request abalone if 7 Keppel Road recipe, but somehow turn out slightly cooked in a really fragrant sesame you wish,” says Chui Hua. ☎ 6222 9610 different versions, with Mr Gwee’s oil and Chinese wine-based gravy, The recipes, she adds, have Open 7am to 3pm and 6pm to 4am; punchier version just edging out his for instance, as well as one of glass remained unchanged since 1983, and closed Monday sister’s in the flavour stakes. noodles fried with very fresh jumbo – unlike at many other hawker stalls – The secret’s in the painstakingly prawns that lend a delicate sweetness they’re not in danger of dying out with Good bak kut teh and great service – prepared broth, believes Mr Gwee. to the noodles. the current owners’ generation: The that’s what Outram Park Ya Hua serves “We boil the soup for five hours But the item that tops Sin Heng’s sisters’ three sons volunteered to take up at this coffee shop on the ground every day after the fresh pork ribs are list of signature dishes has to be the on the trade some years ago, and are floor of Tanjong Pagar Complex. And delivered to the stall in the early hours bak kut teh. Here, it’s cooked in currently running the graveyard shift that’s no mean feat, considering that of the morning,” he says. claypots that keep the heat in nicely of this round-the-clock business. beef noodles | 29

beef noodles

BEEF and noodles – how many ways can one cook them? Plenty, it seems, although all styles are said to have originated from China’s Hui tribe, a Chinese-Muslim ethnic group, during the Tang Dynasty. The Teochews, for one, start with a good stock, brewed with enough beef bones to render a robust meaty flavour. Rice noodles are added, along with sliced beef or innards, then the dish is topped with salted vegetables and served with a sharp chilli sauce. Meanwhile, the Hainanese swear by “dry” beef noodles swimming in a thick gravy anointed with a squeeze of fresh lime. Cincaluk (fermented shrimp) is a key flavour enhancer in this variation, and it’s added either to the completed dish or to a side of chilli sauce. The Cantonese, in turn, rely on their wok frying skills, cooking the noodles to infuse them with that distinctive smoky flavour known as wok hei (which literally translates to “wok’s breath”). Whatever the style though, it’s all good – particularly if you get your fix from the CEOs’ picks in this chapter. 30 | beef noodles beef noodles | 31

Empress Place The hawker is married to a sweet- looking Filipino jazz singer, who helps Beef Noodles him out at the stall. Of that, he says: LTN Eating House “Where else in the world can you get 936 Upper East Coast Road a professional jazz singer serving you Open daily from 11am to 11pm beef kway teow?”

If you want your beef noodles cooked as close as possible to how they were in the old days, head to Empress Place Geylang Famous Beef Noodles. Here, owner David Lim Beef Kway Teow has stuck fastidiously to the recipe given to him by his late grandfather, 237 Lorong 9 Geylang one of Singapore’s beef noodles Open 4pm to 3.30am on Monday, pioneers. and 11am to 3.30am from Tuesday Of his stall’s version, he says: “I to Sunday don’t believe in serving it ‘dry’ as that is more Hainanese than Teochew. And I When a hawker has the word only use kway teow (flat rice noodles), “famous” on his signboard, you tend because if any type of noodle other to take it with a pinch of salt. But in than kway teow is used, it will alter this case, the “famous” in Geylang the flavours of the stock and change Famous Beef Kway Teow is fully the characteristics of the dish.” justified, for in the arena of stir-fried Lam Kee Delight 1984, and has continued the business There are some things that the beef kway teow, this Geylang outlet is in the same Jack-of-all-trades vein. hawker has been forced to change quite the institution. #02-02 Chinatown Complex When it comes to beef hor fun, over the years, though – for example, Naturally, there’s usually a long Block 335 Smith Street though, he’s a master: Here, the dish he’s stopped using Bovril in his stock queue for its smooth, slippery and Open 12.30pm to 9.30pm; is done Cantonese style with the now that the extract is no longer wok hei’d noodles drenched in a thick closed Monday irresistible wok hei-imbued noodles made from beef due to the mad cow gravy flavoured with black beans (from drenched in a tasty gravy redolent disease epidemic. And instead of $5 per portion), but the good news Lam Kee Delight owner Raymond with the flavour of black beans. The including cow tongue or penis in his is that you can order more than this Lam feels that the key to survival secret, says Mr Lam, is in heating the noodles, which aren’t readily available dish when it’s your turn: The stall also is diversity – after all, that’s what wok first, then adding the noodles. any more, he uses parts such as beef serves up an extensive menu of zi char his father proved at his Sago Street He adds: “You also have to cook in brisket, stomach and tendon. items, such as pretty good sweet and pushcart stall in the 1950s. Back then, small batches, or else the flavours and The X-factor in Empress Place’s sour pork. Those unfamiliar with local the elder Lam ran an unprofitable texture will not be consistent.” noodles is the chilli, which is spicy and cuisine can pick out what they want wonton noodles stall, which strong- If you have room for more dishes, light with a herbal tinge. It’s also sold from a menu with photographs. armed him to master other dishes and Lam Kee’s other signature items are by the bottle at $4 each, and Mr Lim Some lament that standards here adopt a zi char concept. worth trying too, such as the steamed says that customers usually buy a few have dropped in recent years, but the Lam Junior took up the reins in fish head. bottles at a time to take home. fact remains that Geylang Famous Beef 32 | beef noodles beef noodles | 33

Hong Heng Beef Friends gave him a basic recipe and he improvised on it, putting his Noodle Soup & hotel culinary experience to good use

BEEF PHOTO: HOCK LAM Katong Laksa and coming up with several beefy Blk 233 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, #01-1194 recipes such as beef noodles ($4), Open 7.30am to 3pm; closed Tuesday mixed beef soup ($4) and beef ball soup ($4), the latter of which he is the Owner Lim Jui Hong’s namecard most proud of – it’s a dry Hainanese- proudly proclaims him to be the “Beef style version that comes with a chilli Noodle King”, and for good reason. cincaluk sauce. There’s even beef laksa He’s been featured on numerous TV ($5), because fans of laksa – which he programmes and in a multitude of also sells at his stall – asked him if he publications; a number of photographs could combine an element of beef into of himself with celebrity customers the dish, and he duly obliged. also adorn his stall. What goes into the recipes to Then again, Mr Lim’s experience make them such a success? All Mr Lim includes being a chef at The Adelphi would say is that they contain many Hotel. He traded in his chef whites “secret ingredients”. And he adds, as for casual hawker togs in 1983, when the longest-staying tenant of the coffee he leased a stall in a coffeeshop and shop: “Customers need only try once. began selling beef noodles. They will always come back again.” Kway Teow still turns out beef noodles in the airy, comfortable surroundings that have a decent claim to fame. of its flagship shop (nor at its two other branches in Upper Serangoon and Bukit Panjang). The company even has quite a Hock Lam Beef spiffy website that tells visitors about the stall’s history (it claims to be #01-01 Far East Square the oldest in Singapore) plus how to 22 China Street spot a good bowl of beef noodles – ☎ 6220 9290 innovations that can be credited to www.hocklambeef.com fourth-generation family member and Open 9.30am to 8pm from Monday to owner Tina Tan. Friday, and 10.30am to 5pm on weekends Those modern concepts haven’t and public holidays wiped out tradition, however. Up until today, the beef is sliced by hand, and Where branding is concerned, Hock every bowl comes generously topped Lam Beef has it all worked out. For with salted vegetables and groundnuts one, you don’t have to suffer the – the hallmark of authentic Teochew temperament of Singapore’s weather beef noodles. char kway teow | 35

char kway teow

CHAR kway teow comprises flat rice noodles blackened with soya sauce and stir-fried with chilli and bean sprouts over very high heat. Served “wet” or “dry”, depending on the amount of soya sauce used, and accompanied traditionally by cockles and Chinese sausage, or gussied up with prawns and slices of squid, the recipes can vary quite a bit depending on who’s doing the cooking. The dish started off as one peddled by part-time hawkers – fishermen and cockle-gatherers who made it to sell after their day’s work – and those who ate it were mostly labourers because char kway teow was a cheap source of energy and nutrients. These days, however, it is a quintessential favourite of local foodies, though it isn’t the healthiest of options because of the high fat content. If you’re going to go against your doctor’s advice, then, it had better be for good reason – and in these pages you’ll find several such reasons. Enjoy! 36 | char kway teow char kway teow | 37

Outram Park subsequently to its current premises at Hong Lim Market in 2000. Fried Kway Teow Mee Throughout those 40 years, #02-18 Hong Lim Market & Food Centre Mr Ng assisted his father and was only Hill Street “smoothly” during the frying process, Block 531A Upper Cross Street allowed to helm the wok when his Fried Kway Teow he says. He also does his frying ☎ 9838 7619 father ran errands – until the senior differently: Over a medium-sized fire Open 7am to 3.30am, finally retired in 2000. And it seems #01-18 Bedok South Road Market & instead of a large one, so there’s little closed Sunday and public holidays all that training has paid off: Today, his Food Centre chance of the noodles getting burned. signature cooking style of frying with a Block 16 Bedok South Road The cheerful 64-year-old started If quality can be measured by the length lively bounce “so my legs won’t get too Open 10.30am to 7pm frying char kway teow on the street of one’s apprenticeship, then Ng Chin tired” still draws queues during lunch from Tuesday to Friday and across from Speaker’s Corner in 1961, Chye beats all hands down. In 1953, hours. His wife and her two sisters, who 8.30am to 7pm on Saturday and Sunday; when he inherited a pushcart stall he began helping his father, a former have worked with him for more than 20 closed Monday from his father’s friend, who taught labourer from Malaysia who carried rice years, look after the service aspect. him the basics. In 1985, he moved to sacks for a living, at his char kway teow Mr Ng’s mix of kway teow, egg A kitchen knife may be a professional the food centre at Hill Street when the pushcart stall at Metropole Cinema noodles and bee hoon is redolent with chef’s best friend, but for Ng Chang government acquired the land to build in Tanjong Pagar. Back then, he says, pork lard and chopped garlic. The Siang, his trusted assistant is the a road, before relocating to his current a plate of the noodles cost only 20 only other ingredient is a sprinkling of customised wok he uses for his char premises 15 years later. or 30 cents, and was cooked using cockles; there are no slices of Chinese kway teow. Designed with a flat and While the waiting period for a firewood instead of gas. The family sausage or chives. But that’s kept more shallow base than the ones plate of Mr Ng’s char kway teow stall then moved to Outram Park when prices down – a plate of char kway available commercially, it allows him to during peak hours can be as much as the cinema was closed down, and teow here is $2.50. separate the noodles more quickly and 45 minutes, the wait is worth it. 38 | char kway teow char kway teow | 39

The dish strikes a fine balance – dish’s flavours are these days a little controlled), he switched from using it’s not too savoury or sweet; not too different from the old days – that’s pork lard to cooking oil when there was wet or dry; and it’s mixed well with a because it’s now fried with cooking oil the outbreak of swine flu. medley of crunchy bean sprouts, slices instead of lard to accommodate the If you need more convincing to of Chinese sausage, chives, cockles requests of health-conscious customers, make a trip to Chomp Chomp, note: and scrambled eggs. To ensure that the says Mr Tay. However, for those who still A significant proportion of Mr Chew’s noodles are of the right texture, Mr Ng prefer the traditional taste, just ask, and customers today have been buying specially orders his kway teow from a this father-daughter team will be more char kway teow from the stall since his supplier who produces it for him to his than happy to oblige. father’s time. What a vote of confidence. desired thickness. The hawker whipped up his signature dish at Singapore Day in London in 2009, and his stall is Chomp Chomp No 18 Fried Kway Teow plastered with awards, but fame and Fried Kway Teow recognition have not changed anything #01-17 Riverside Food Centre for him. “I’ll still cook until I am tired #01-35 Chomp Chomp Food Centre 70 Zion Road of it,” he says. 20 Kensington Park Road Open noon to 2.30pm and 6.30pm Open 4pm to midnight; to 11pm; closed every other Monday closed every other Thursday On a good day, you may be greeted by Tiong Bahru It’s no wonder that many foodies Ho Kian Tat singing along to blaring Fried Kway Teow regard this stall as an institution – it Hokkien music as he fries plate after has stayed for more than 40 years in plate of char kway teow at his corner #02-11 Tiong Bahru Market its current premises, survived the food stall at Riverside Food Centre. Most 30 Seng Poh Road centre’s many renovations and most days, however, he just looks pretty Open 11am to 10.30pm; importantly, maintained its quality. stern – but that’s merely his way of closed Wednesday Run by Chew Boon Teck and his focusing on his craft, he apologetically wife, you can request various versions tells regulars. The char kway teow at Tay Hoon of char kway teow here – white, pale Smile or frown, queues at this Ran’s stall is different from most, brown or dark, though they’re all done stall are a permanent fixture. Mr Ho perhaps because Mr Tay has no “formal in the “wet” style and are slightly is essentially a one-man-show, but he training”, as it were – he developed his sweeter than the norm. There’s also a does have a helper to take orders – for recipe “just by watching hawkers and fair amount of vegetables that add a his $3, $4 or $5 plates of char kway coming up with something of my own”, – who’s always dressed in a uniform nice bite to the dish. teow – during peak hours. he says. Priced at $2, $3 or $4 a plate, of threadbare white T-shirt and belted Mr Chew has been frying char What are the queues for? Other it’s a lighter-coloured, drier, savoury bermuda shorts – did the cooking, but kway teow since he was a 14-year-old than the smooth, slippery noodles, style that’s stir-fried with sliced fish cake he’s since passed on the mantle to his helping his father out at the family’s Mr Ho’s fastidiously-picked ingredients and cockles. daughter, Tay Li Hwa. street-side stall. While he still professes pack a punch flavour-wise – he only For most of the 50 years or so that Ms Tay has followed her father’s to stick to the traditional recipe (the uses the freshest cockles, Chinese the stall has been in existence, Mr Tay recipe closely, but you’ll find that the secret, he says, is in how the fire is sausage, chives and bean sprouts. chicken rice | 41

chicken rice WHEN it comes to local food, everyone’s a critic – particularly if you’re referring to Singapore’s so- called National Food, chicken rice. This dish – which originated in Hainan, China, using Wenchang chicken, a type of specially-bred poultry not unlike France’s poulet de Bresse – consists of poached, steamed or roasted chicken served with rice cooked in chicken stock, as well as an all-important side dip of chilli sauce and, sometimes, ginger. Thanks to a few local modifications, however, chicken rice is now more commonly associated with Singaporean cuisine than Chinese fare, and nothing hits the culinary spot or defines Singapore quite like a plate of the stuff. Old standbys such as Chatterbox, Chin Chin, Yet Con, Swee Kee, Loy Kee, Wee Nam Kee and Boon Tong Kee are typically in the mix during any discussion about chicken rice (plus you can pull up all the necessary details on them on Google), so here are a few less obvious but equally finger- lickin’ good choices. 42 | chicken rice chicken rice | 43

Sin Kee The elder Leong spent a few years working in Chinatown in the 1950s Famous Chicken Rice before starting his own business. He Block 159 Mei Chin Road, #01-22 and his family operated the stall in ☎ 6473 9525 Margaret Drive for about 25 years Open 11am to 8pm; closed Monday before moving to Mei Chin Road for 10 years, then closed the business down when the food centre was being revamped. According to Benson Leong, the family recipe is a traditional Cantonese version of chicken rice. “We make sure the chicken is fresh – we have had the same supplier for about 50 years and they know what kind of chicken we need,” he says. “It’s a mature chicken, between 35 and 50 days old, and we After he suffered a stroke in 2008 at cook it in such a way as to make sure age 73, Leong Fook Wing, founder of the texture remains soft and juicy.” the original Sin Kee chicken rice stall The cooking method involves $24 while a single portion of chicken 1986, and it’s a popular stop with at Margaret Drive, had only one thing immersing the birds completely in rice starts at $3. “My father set the everyone from uniformed school kids on his mind. He summoned his son boiling water for between 30 and 45 benchmark and we have maintained to office workers and loyal regulars. It Benson to his bedside and asked: “Do minutes. Other pioneering chicken the benchmark over the years,” says was set up by Watson Wah, who passed you still remember the recipe? Don’t rice places – such as Swee Kee – steam Mr Leong. “We don’t change to away in 2008, and is now run by his give it up.” After being assured that the their chickens instead. Whether it’s accommodate individual customers nephew, Ricky Wah, whose own father family recipe was in safe hands, the old down to the unique cooking method and we’re not going to change.” His was a chicken rice hawker who taught man lapsed into a coma and died five here or not, the chicken meat at Sin dad would surely have been proud. him how to make the dish. days later. Kee is tender and succulent, and the “Ours is a simple, traditional “My father’s philosophy was rice and chilli sauce are also excellent. Hainanese recipe – that’s what we to keep a good thing going,” says “Our chilli sauce is more on the know,” says Mr Wah. “We use less Mr Leong, who kept his promise by sweet-sour side, while the Hainanese Hainanese Delicacy oil and we serve the meat boneless reviving one of Singapore’s most style is more salty,” says Mr Leong. because in this area, people like it easy well-known names in the chicken rice “For the rice, Hainanese-style rice #05-116 Far East Plaza to eat.” business. “It was very important to him is cooked using ginger – ours is with 14 Scotts Road The chicken is offered both that we continue the tradition.” There garlic, onions and pandan leaves. We ☎ 6734 0639 steamed and roasted, and it’s served are several stalls with the same name also use top grade Thai fragrant rice – Open daily from 10am to 8pm with a light soya sauce and rice that’s – including one at the old Margaret if you have nice chicken without just about average. The chilli sauce is Drive location – but the Sin Kee at the good ingredients to complement it, This casual eatery on the 5th level of garlicky and distinctive though, as are recently upgraded food centre in Mei it’s no use.” Far East Plaza has been dishing out its most of the workers here, who are of a Chin Road is the real McCoy. The price for a whole chicken is boneless version of chicken rice since certain vintage. 44 | chicken rice chicken rice | 45

the time you arrive so you can skip the Delicious Boneless queue and still have your fix. Chicken Rice #B1-85 Katong Shopping Centre 865 Mountbatten Road ☎ 9789 6073 Lucky Chicken Rice Open daily from 9am to 8pm #02-110 Lucky Plaza 304 Orchard Road Located within the delightfully ☎ 6738 4175 euphemistic confines of the Katong Open daily from 10.30am to 7pm Gourmet Centre – which is actually a basement food court – the Delicious Tucked away in a corner shop on the Boneless Chicken Rice stall serves a second floor of Lucky Plaza and within pretty mean version that is all its own. shouting distance of Chatterbox at the The stall, run by Goh Boon Hua and Meritus Mandarin (the pioneering – if his wife, has been at the same location absurdly pricey – hotel coffeeshop for the past 20 years, and it’s got a few that launched chicken rice onto the distinguishing features in the chicken international food map), Lucky Chicken rice it serves. (Mr Goh previously had Rice is a good value alternative along a stall selling curry fish head and, once Tian Tian Hainanese only the steamed kind here, which you the Orchard Road stretch. upon a time, he worked for a tow truck Chicken Rice can have with separate side orders of In addition to both steamed and service – which goes to show just how bean sprouts or cuttlefish) is moist and roasted boneless chicken versions, adaptable he is.) Stall No 10 Maxwell Food Centre tender, and the al dente-style rice is served with a generous helping of First, there are the deep-fried garlic Maxwell Road all plump grains coated in chicken fat light soya sauce, you can also order a chips sprinkled over the meat, and ☎ 9691 4852 fried with gobs of garlic and ginger. plate of stir-fried bean sprouts or kai the subsequent crunchiness makes an Open 11am to 8pm; closed Monday But is it the best, or even worth lan and a bowl of dumpling soup to interesting difference. Every order also a 20-minute wait? The flavour of the accompany the main event. The chilli comes with a plate of cucumber and To queue or not to queue? That is the chicken itself can be lacklustre, and the and ginger sauces are better than pineapple salad as well as a sizeable question when it comes to Tian Tian. lime-infused chilli sauce is flat. The rice decent, though you’d do well to ask bowl of carrot and chicken bone Many of those who do – workers from could do with a little more fragrance too. them to hold the soya sauce on soup at no extra charge – not bad around the area who spend precious At $2.80 for a small serving and the chicken. at $4 per serving. Despite its name minutes of their lunchtime in line; $3.30 for a large one, though, Tian The place is usually heaving at though, there’s no automatic boneless sweaty tourists clutching guidebooks Tian doesn’t gobble up the pocket as it lunchtime, but there’s something here, and a sign informs customers to that have pointed them there – find it does your time. And there’s no doubt reassuringly old-fashioned about a “please tell me if you want boneless worth their while for a helping of what overall quality is more than decent. meal at this no-frills place – perhaps chicken”. celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain and Perhaps the best solution, then, is to because the first-generation shopping The rice is a bit of a letdown and Tetsuya Wakuda have christened the call the lady boss Mrs Loi and do a centre it’s in is the antithesis of the the soya sauce served with the chicken best chicken rice in the world. takeaway if you have more than six anonymous malls that line most of is extremely salty but somehow, taken And indeed, the chicken (there’s orders – she’ll have it ready for you by Orchard Road. together, it’s just fine. claypot rice | 47 claypot rice

CLAYPOTS, to be sure, are to cooking what black is to fashion. That is to say, they’re classic (culinary) gear that has remained in vogue through the ages: These vessels were one of the earliest used for cooking – they’ve been around since ancient Roman times, at least – and are still very much present on tables today. Part of the enduring popularity of claypots is the fact that they’re excellent for slow cooking. Food cooked inside an unglazed claypot that’s been soaked in water loses little moisture in the process because it’s enveloped in steam and thus comes out tender and flavourful. That food could be a stew in a tagine with a conical lid in Morocco or a broth in a lidless cazuela in Spain, but in Singapore, claypots – usually designed like squat saucepans with stout handles – are most commonly used to cook claypot rice, a dish which originated in Canton, China. While the Chinese version is traditionally a pot of rice cooked with one main ingredient (roast meat, waxed meat or waxed duck) that changes with the seasons, Singapore claypot rice has been tweaked in accordance with the local climate. It’s an all-in-one combination of lap cheong, liver sausage, waxed duck, waxed meat, fresh chicken and vegetables, with the added flavour enhancer of salted fish. The best stalls fire their claypot rice over charcoal at some point during cooking so that the dish acquires a smoky aroma and the rice gets nicely charred and crisped on the sides. Understandably, this is a time-consuming process, but if you call to place an advance order before you visit, you won’t have to wait that long for your food. Here’s the CEOs’ list of top-pot places. 48 | claypot rice claypot rice | 49

which is cooked entirely over a charcoal fire – unlike at most stalls, which have given in to using gas to save time. Owner Choong Yee Hong started cooking claypot rice more than 40 years ago, when he was in his teens, at Keong Saik Road. He later moved his stall to Bukit Merah in 1979 and subsequently became the anchor tenant at Rong Li Eating House in 1996. The traditionalist’s version of claypot rice ($10 for a two-person serving) is not unlike the old-fashioned type served in Hong Kong. Chopped- up whole chickens are used in the dish, which is a tad bland and low on ingredients, but for those whom claypot rice is all about the grains should like this version – Mr Choong is very generous with his rice and there are lots Golden Mile’s claypot rice – has really tender chicken, though the Golden Mile of crispy bits to chew on. cooked on gas and finished over chilli’s quite pedestrian. It also does Claypot Rice charcoal; from $5 for a single serving claypot bak kut teh. #01-65 Golden Mile Food Centre – is somewhat more refined than at 505 Beach Road most other stalls: the chicken is cut ☎6295 8234 well so that the bones don’t stick out Open 5pm to 10pm; at hazardous right angles and flavours New Lucky closed Wednesday are subtle. Diners who want to bump up the Claypot Chicken Rice The husband-and-wife team at this taste factor though, can do so with #01-220 Rong Li Eating House stall has more customers than they can the free flow of good quality soya Block 328 Clementi Ave 2 cope with (plus health problems from sauce and vegetable oil, while chilli ☎6778 7808 being on their feet all day), but they’re fans should dress their dish in Golden Open noon to 1.30pm and still all smiles and more than ready to Mile’s unique tangy, punchy chilli 5pm to 8.30pm; mix your claypot rice for you if you sauce that goes very well with the closed Wednesday wish. Says Khoo Siw Ngoh, who’s claypot rice. responsible for serving and whose Also worth a mention in the same This corner stall in a Clementi coffee husband does the cooking: “We’ve market is Yew Chuan Claypot Rice, shop is what keeps the tables at its been here about 30 years and our legs which is in the basement (#B1-56). nondescript premises filled. Generations are tired, but what to do? Our children This is a newer stall that does a decent of diners come here to get their fill of don’t want to take over the business.” claypot rice that’s more robust and New Lucky’s signature claypot rice, 50 | claypot rice claypot rice | 51

Geylang rice (from $8 per portion) is cooked partway using gas, then finished on a Clay Pot Rice charcoal stove so the grains on the sides of the pot are nice and crispy. 639 Geylang Road Meanwhile, the rice as well as the ☎6744 4574 generous portions of waxed meat and Open 11.30am to 2.30pm and chicken are fragrant and full of flavour 5pm to midnight; closed Monday from being seasoned with the premium soya sauce that Mr Ng is particular about Ng Kim Hock started his claypot cooking using. career in 1979 in Chinatown, and since He’s also fussy about the quality then he’s enjoyed so much success that, of his sausages, and buys the most not only has he moved his stall to bigger expensive liver ones available as he feels premises in Geylang, he’s also moved it “makes a difference” in his food. from behind the stoves to behind the Added benefits for diners include an cash register. air-conditioned seating area, which Mr That’s not to say the talented towkay Ng opened in 2008 next to the original has lost touch with the food though; in premises, as well as a more-than-decent fact, Geylang Clay Pot Rice serves up zi char menu (must-tries include the Thai one of the best versions of the dish in soft shell crab and the Hong Kong-style Singapore. The claypot steamed fish).

Yuan Yuan the market every morning, seasoning the meat in a special sauce of sesame oil, Claypot Rice pepper, peanut oil, salt, sugar and ginger for six hours. #01-38 ABC Brickworks Food Centre Come evening, when the stall opens, 6 Jalan Bukit Merah Mr Seah boils each pot’s rice over a gas ☎6276 5259 stove, allowing it to cook through 70 per Open 5pm to 11.30pm; cent. Then he transfers the claypot to a closed Wednesday charcoal fire and places the chicken – along with lap cheong and liver sausages The chicken chunks in this stall’s claypot – on top “for not more than 10 minutes, rice take the prize for tenderness and otherwise it won’t be juicy”. succulence – the payoff of a painstaking The end result is a fragrant, delicious preparation process. Owner Seah Kuang dish ($10 for a two-person serving) that Lain, who runs the stall (which opened you can have with one of the seven types in 2000) with his wife and an assistant, of home-made soups (from $2 per bowl) personally selects young chickens from that Yuan Yuan also sells. crabs | 53

crabs

THERE are no secrets when it comes to crabs – at least not in regard to finding the creme de la creme of cooked versions. After all, the best crab dishes are fresh ones, and that’s something that can be guaranteed only when a stall has a high turnover rate. So it is that all of the crab places in this chapter are bustling, well-known eateries, most of which specialise in cooking crabs one of two uniquely Singapore ways: In a spicy- sweet chilli sauce flecked with egg; or in a fiery black pepper dressing. Both were created decades ago by local hawkers who were looking for fresh ways to offer mud crabs, a popular kind of seafood in this region. You’ll have to queue at a couple of these places and be subjected to slow and sometimes brusque service at one or two, but the end result is worth it: Sweet, succulent and firm flesh that’s as consistent as Mother

PHOTO: NO SIGNBOARD SEAFOOD Nature can manage it, done in a shell-full of ways. 54 | crabs crabs | 55

Mellben Seafood of crab bee hoon served in a claypot, which is thick strands of bee hoon Block 232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, #01-1222 entwined with whole crabs in a ☎ 6285 6762 steaming hot and buttery broth. Open daily from 4.30pm to 11.30pm The sweet crabmeat is the perfect counterpoint to the savoury, rich soup, There’s no mistaking this coffee shop at and the latter is so good that Mellben the foot of a HDB block for anything sells top-ups at $3 per serving. Also other than a crab haven. Massive crab yummy is the crab in thick, creamy shells decorate its walls, while huge butter sauce cooked with curry leaves varnished pincers are displayed in for extra zing. alcoves. For all its crabbiness, service at On rainy days, even the customers Mellben, which opened more than queuing outside for a table perform a 20 years ago, is quite the opposite. sort of crab-crawl sideways as they cling That plus the fact that the coffee shop on to their places in line while huddling underwent extensive renovations under the tip of the coffee shop’s in 2008 makes eating here a very

PHOTO: TNP PHOTO: awning. enjoyable experience. The crustaceans here are priced by the kilogram (they average around $38 per kg) and not by the way you want yours done. In regard to that, most Ban Leong Wah Hoe House of Seafood lies in using quality ingredients: opt for the speciality @ 180 House of Seafood, which opened in 122 Casuarina Road 2008, apparently only uses top-grade ☎ 6452 2824 180 Yio Chu Kang Road stuff for its dishes. It also has 10 crab Open daily from 4pm ☎ 6282 7180 suppliers so as to ensure good crab to 1.30am Open daily from 5pm to 11pm quality all year round, and is doing so well that Mr Ng opened another Despite its tucked- House of Seafood may only have one branch in Bedok three months after away location at of the assistant chefs from the famous the first. He’s also planning to add two the end of a row Eng Seng black pepper crab coffee more outlets in Changi to his stable. of greenery- shop at Joo Chiat in its employment, That commercial-ness may not surrounded but its version of the dish definitely appeal to those who enjoy Eng Seng’s shophouses at matches up to the older shop’s. The nostalgic atmosphere, but House of Upper Thomson, crabs ($38 per kg) are large and sweet, Seafood does have a few of its own Ban Leong Wah and the liquid-enough-to-dip-your- cute touches: Every crab, for instance, Hoe has been mantou-in sauce is very peppery with comes branded with a lucky four-digit cooking up a storm a hint of caramelised sugar and burnt number. Considering the number of since it opened in the area butter. 4D-mad Singaporeans, that may just in 1976. Its specialities are The secret, says owner Francis Ng, tip the balance in its favour. chilli crab and black pepper 56 | crabs crabs | 57

crab, which aren’t of the fiery variety than Sin Huat’s grubby environment – doing black pepper versions at that but are mild enough for the whole think about $80 per head. time,” says Mr Lim. “Also, the black family to enjoy with its large, sweet pepper version tends to make your mantou. taste buds numb and you won’t be The family-run business is owned able to taste the freshness of the crab, by Teh Chor Joo (who does the cooking No Signboard Seafood unlike white pepper which is more and comes up with the recipes) and his subtle.” 414 Geylang Road wife Tan Ai Leng, and they’re helped Another distinctive dish here is ☎ 6842 3415 out by their two sons. the chilli crab, which is very eggy, a Open daily from noon to 1am “We do everything ourselves,” tad briny, and cooked with the store’s says Mr Teh’s son, Dextre Teh, when own blend of chilli sauce – “not just asked the secret of Ban Leong’s success. the usual Maggi sauce”, says Mr Lim. That includes shopping for the best Meanwhile, those hankering after

ingredients daily, making sauces from ST PHOTO: other types of crab than mud crab scratch and even importing their will find it here as well: No Signboard own seafood. “We’re also a seafood stocks flower crabs, Alaskan crabs and distributor,” adds the younger Mr Teh. snow crabs, among other varieties. Ban Leong offers two types of crab: an ultra-grimy place to eat, it says Sri Lankan ($38 per kg), for those who something about the food. In the prefer their crustaceans meaty; and case of Sin Huat, diners brave filthy Indonesian ($28), for those who prefer floors, weathered furniture and the Yummy Crab “the sweetness of the meat”. sight of algae-encrusted tanks of live 351 Changi Road But that’s not all that’s available seafood, all for the sake of chef Danny ☎ 6749 2925 here. Crabs aside, the shop does other Lee’s fried crab bee hoon. Here, the Open daily from noon to 11pm dishes well too – the clams ($10 per crustacean, stuffed full of roe, is piled serving for four persons) that come atop a mound of garlicky noodles that This crab outlet, owned by chicken rice piping hot in a clear, chilli-speckled are sticky with crab juice and have a Back in the 1980s, when Sam Lim’s brand Boon Tong Kee, may not be in broth, for instance, are not to be slightly smoky flavour. grandmother started No Signboard, the top five when it comes to crabs (its missed. It’s not done any other way, though selling 10kg of crabs took almost a chilli crab, for instance, lacks punch), a small list of other dishes is available week. These days, he says, the six- but it deserves a mention for its fried (the steamed prawns are equally good outlet chain sells “close to a tonne of rice with crab meat ($15 for a serving but also very garlicky), because Mr Lee crabs a day”, or about 200kgs’ worth for two persons). Sin Huat Eating House is famously finicky about his menu. per outlet per day. The mound of firm grains is chock- 659 Geylang Road The downside (apart from the Many of those crustaceans (priced full of chunks of crab meat, barbecued ☎ 6744 9755 dirtiness) is that the food takes ages at $40 per kg) go out dressed in the pork and prawns, all succulent and Open daily from 11am to 3.30pm and to come, because a rather inefficient shop’s distinctive white pepper sauce, juicy, and the rice isn’t clumpy or too 6.30pm to 1am ordering system is in place: The which comprises several types of greasy. It’s perfect for when you’re on hawker takes and cooks all orders white pepper and is No Signboard’s your own, craving crab and don’t want When normally fastidious-about- himself, table by table. And prices are speciality. “My grandmother came up to look greedy eating a whole crab cleanliness Singaporeans flock to more suited to a proper restaurant with the recipe because everyone was by yourself. cuttlefish kang kong & satay bee hoon | 59

cuttlefish kang kong & satay bee hoon

CUTTLEFISH kang kong and satay bee hoon are two examples of Malay-Chinese fusion dishes that can only be found in a melting-pot landscape such as Singapore. The former comprises a combination of poached cuttlefish and water spinach dressed in a spicy-tangy sauce that’s topped with a sprinkling of peanuts, while satay bee hoon is a dish of fine rice noodles drenched in a satay-sauce-inspired peanut gravy and accompanied by cuttlefish as well as cockles. Both have a history that goes back decades, to Singapore’s early days, but they are also fast disappearing from the local culinary landscape – in recent years, more than a few well-known stalls have closed down. According to Peter Lim, the owner of Ye Lai Xiang Cuttlefish Kang Kong in Bedok, survival is tough because “the youngsters don’t appreciate dishes like these”. The good news is that if you have a craving for cuttlefish kang kong and satay bee hoon, there are still enough stalls around dishing up delicious versions that will satisfy it. But for how long – now that’s another story. 60 | cuttlefish kang kong & satay bee hoon cuttlefish kang kong & satay bee hoon | 61

forced him to “partially tweak it”. For example, he explains, while his grandfather was able to make the satay sauce from scratch using home-roasted peanuts, the lack of space and time these days means he has had to make do with some ready-made ingredients. Ready-made or not though, the reddish-brown sauce poured over Chomp Chomp’s bee hoon (from $3 a plate) is still tasty, with lots of texture and crunch from the nuts it’s loaded with. It’s also chock-full of ingredients – you get the full range of prawns, kang kong, lean meat, slices of tau pok and, yes, cockles here, the latter providing bursts of briny flavour with each bite.

Centre Satay Bee Hoon says contains “secret ingredients”. Chomp Chomp He Xing Cooked Food She’s a bit more forthcoming about Block 724 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6, #01-12 the preparation process, however: Satay Bee Hoon Block 210 Toa Payoh Lorong 8, #01-135 Open 11am to 9pm; closed Tuesday According to the hawker, the sauce has #01-17 Chomp Chomp Food Centre Open 12pm to 10pm; (unless it’s a public holiday) to be cooked for one whole day and 20 Kensington Park Road closed Tuesday the peanuts dry-roasted before they are Open 4pm to 11pm; The dearth of hawkers selling satay added to the thick liquid. This is done closed every other Monday This nondescript stall is run by a bee hoon was what spurred Lily Tan once a week – enough is made for the woman who only wants to be known to master the recipe and set up shop week each time – and the process is so Discuss satay bee hoon with any local, as Mrs Liew. Her signature dish of some 20 years ago, with the help of laborious that it’s difficult to get extra and Chomp Chomp Satay Bee Hoon cuttlefish kang kong, however, is far a friend who shared the tricks of the portions if you want any. will likely be mentioned. After all, less restrained than she is. Bite into trade with her. Today, she’s reaping Recently another dish was added this stall has been around for nearly the warm bee hoon topped with a the benefits of her efforts – her Ang to Centre’s repertoire: Cuttlefish 40 years, owned and operated by the generous serving of tender cuttlefish, Mo Kio stall is one of the top-rated kang kong. And what goes into it? Quek family. crunchy jellyfish, kang kong, sliced ones for satay bee hoon in Singapore, It’s another secret, says Ms Tan. She Third-generation owner Quek bean curd and pickled vegetables, and she owns another branch at adds: “I am quite sure no one else has Hang Mong, who now runs the stall and a powerful marriage of flavours Sembawang Hill Food Centre. thought of it, other than the person with a friend of his, says he’s kept explodes in the mouth. Add to that Both stalls dish up tasty satay who taught me.” One can only try it the recipe as original as possible, the special sauce that is tangy, sweet bee hoon in a sauce that Ms Tan and guess. but admits that modern times have and savoury all at once, plus chopped 62 | cuttlefish kang kong & satay bee hoon cuttlefish kang kong & satay bee hoon | 63

roasted peanuts, and you get a 100 per Singapore’s satay bee hoon pioneers: cent enjoyable dish. The stall started in 1961 in the He Xing has been in this Toa Payoh MacPherson-Upper Serangoon area hawker centre for more than 20 years, and is now run by third-generation and along with the cuttlefish kang owner Ng Siaw Meng and his brother. kong it also sells different variations of The siblings are extremely precise cuttlefish porridge, such as sliced fish about the amount of ingredients that and cuttlefish porridge or cuttlefish go into each dish, which is probably with shredded chicken porridge. why it takes so long to prepare a For something different, Mrs Liew plateful, but still the crowds keep recommends that you skip the bee queuing. hoon in the cuttlefish kang kong and order porridge in its place. It may sound a little odd, but it’s actually a perfect match. Ye Lai Xiang Cuttlefish Kang Kong #01-32 Bedok Food Centre Meng Kee 1 Bedok Road Satay Bee Hoon Open noon to 9pm; closed Monday and some Tuesdays #01-17 East Coast Lagoon Food Village 1220 East Coast Parkway ☎ 6441 4830 Open 5.30pm to 1am; to bring up her children”. Since then, ingredients tossed together.” closed Tuesday the business has stayed within the The cheapest order here is $5, Lim clan, and Mr Lim is still using his which is a bit more than elsewhere, If you are in a hurry for your satay grandmother’s recipe for the dish. but the heftier price tag is for a reason bee hoon, then Meng Kee is not the What makes the cuttlefish kang – Mr Lim insists on using Korean place to go – here, you have to be kong stand out here is the generous cuttlefish, which has a better texture. prepared to wait at least 20 minutes amount of cuttlefish in it. The tender, Once you’re done with your main to get your fix. It’s worth joining the soft pieces are piled atop a bed of course, order dessert from the stall next queue though, if you have the time kang kong then topped with a sweet- to Ye Lai Xiang Cuttlefish Kang Kong. – Meng Kee’s coveted plates of satay For Ye Lai Xiang Cuttlefish Kang spicy sauce, chopped lettuce, crushed Called Ye Lai Xiang Hot & Cold Cheng bee hoon have lashings of rich, creamy Kong, the secret to success is family. peanuts and slices of bean curd, Tng, it’s run by Mr Lim’s brother, who satay sauce made from more than 30 The stall started when current owner pineapple and cucumber. Says prepares the delicious homestyle cheng herbs and spices, as well as plenty of Peter Lim’s grandfather passed away, Mr Lim: “We use fresh cucumber slices tng – a traditional Chinese dessert bean sprouts, sliced pork and poached leaving his grandmother to work as a instead of the usual achar because we soup made with dried longans, barley cuttlefish. street peddler selling cuttlefish kang think of cuttlefish kang kong as a dish and lotus seeds – according to his Owners the Ng family are among kong “in order to earn enough money like rojak – a combination of fresh grandmother’s recipe too. duck rice | 65

duck rice DUCKS are among the more versatile creatures in the Singapore food chain and play a highly significant role in the local diet. Evidence of this can be found in the hundreds of hawker stalls and coffee shops around town displaying Cantonese-style roasts and Teochew-style braised ducks in glass counters at the front of their shops – a traditional practice designed to attract customers and still the most effective way to showcase the product. The meat is usually served with plain rice or with noodles along with a signature sauce to seal the deal, and the best versions, judging from the CEOs’ picks, are done by stalls that have been in business for two decades and longer. It just goes to prove that there’s simply no substitute for experience. 66 | duck rice duck rice | 67

Hua Fong Kee sesame and several other ingredients, smaller birds that weigh an average get any more classic than Toh Kee. it really is instantly recognisable, and of 2.7kg each. He also hasn’t grown Even by the standards of long-lasting Roasted Duck it has found favour with many diners: tired of eating his own cuisine and family-run food stalls, Toh Kee is a Block 116 Toa Payoh Lorong 2, #01-140 Hua Fong Kee has built up a substantial has at least one meal of duck or some senior citizen, having started off in ☎ 6253 2884 fan base since it opened in 1989. other roasted meat from his stall Chinatown in 1923, according to the Open 8am to 8pm; closed Thursday A single portion of duck – served every day. That’s just about the best descendants of Ng Chow Hong, the with rice or Hong Kong-style noodles endorsement any establishment man who started what must be one of According to Johnny Teo and Jessie – goes for $3 here, while a whole could have. the oldest hawker businesses in town. Sim, the husband-and-wife owners duck sells for $32. Mr Ng, who arrived in Singapore of Hua Fong Kee Roasted Duck, The couple has also received from Canton in the early 1900s, the secret to their roast duck is in offers to open a branch in an Orchard passed away in 1971 at the age of 73. the sauce. Sure, the duck is tender, Road mall, but have resisted so far. The roast meats at Toh Kee, however, juicy and not too fatty – courtesy As Mr Teo puts it: “The duck doesn’t Toh Kee are still going strong and have retained of the free-range birds from Perak, taste the same when it is in an air- #01-1016A People’s Park Food Centre their quality and consistency over where there is plenty of water for conditioned place.” They also feel it Block 32 New Market Road the decades; that explains why the them to swim around in – but it’s the would be more difficult to maintain ☎ 6323 3368 business, which occupies a row of sauce, created and refined by Ms Sim standards once they move out of their Open 10am to 7pm; closed Monday three stalls in People’s Park, has over the years, that makes the dish Toa Payoh comfort zone. legions of fans. distinctive, they reckon. Mr Teo adds that he is very When it comes to old-fashioned Duck is still the star performer at With a ginger-plum base plus selective with the ducks, preferring Cantonese-style roast duck, you can’t Toh Kee – the meat is flavourful and 68 | duck rice duck rice | 69

not too oily while the skin is ultra thin and slightly crisp, with very little fat discernible between the meat and skin. The meat is also chopped in such a way that there is plenty of bone to chew on. At $4 for a single portion of duck ($33 for a whole bird), prices here are on par with many places in town. The roast pork and char siew are also worth sampling. The stall used to sell roast goose imported from the United States, but that proved to be too costly and has since been removed from the menu. As with all good stuff, charcoal is used to roast the meat – that’s the way Toh Kee’s done it since the early days.

of which are also popular. But the might be slightly different, but the meat splash liberally on the plates of duck premium is worth it because there is similarly tender. Unlike Lim Seng and bowls of white rice. Its vinegary Lim Seng Lee is something truly satisfying about Lee, however, the opening times tend chilli sauce also works well with Duck Rice chewing on tender, thinly-sliced duck, to be rather erratic, so if you have a the dish. safe in the knowledge that there sudden craving for this particular style This corner stall facing Rochor 38 South Buona Vista Road are no difficult bones to negotiate. of Teochew duck rice, it’s safer to head Canal Road is patronised by a steady ☎ 6475 9908 Alternatively, you can order a single for Buona Vista. flow of customers from the moment Open 10am to 8.30pm; closed Sunday portion of braised duck ($5) in the it opens until the duck runs out stall’s signature dark brown gravy – sometime around 2pm. Even if all This corner coffee shop in South sweetish, slightly sticky – which is that remains in the stall are just a few Buona Vista is dedicated to the art of a perfect accompaniment to rice Heng Gi Roasted Goose random bits of meat, eager customers boneless duck, which it pioneered in or porridge. & Duck Rice can be seen lining up to polish it 1968. The dish was the creation of Lim The business now includes the off. There is a steady rhythm to the Ah Too, who discovered the virtues second generation as well as assorted #01-335 Tekka Food Centre chopping and serving, and nothing is of going boneless at a young age and relatives, but the routine is still pretty 665 Buffalo Road rushed, even when the line is long. now, more than four decades later, much the same as it has always been: Open 10am to 2pm; According to the owners, who remains an active member of the duck- ducks hanging at the front, Mr Lim closed Monday and Tuesday have been in business for almost 50 chopping brigade. chopping away furiously, and long-time years, not much has changed in the Each duck here costs $40, and a staffers shouting orders from various Heng Gi is another popular local preparation – only the prices ($3.50 meal will likely add up because most parts of the coffee shop. institution for Teochew-style duck. per portion) are different now. It’s still diners tend to order other dishes to Meanwhile, another popular The meat is thick-cut, plump and pretty good value however, and Heng complement it, such as tofu, sambal practitioner of boneless duck is Sia Kee juicy, and complemented by a thin, Gi remains a dependable source of kang kong and sambal squid, all in Geylang, where the presentation delicious dark gravy that the owners tasty, traditional braised duck. fishball noodles & bak chor mee | 71

fishball noodles & bak chor mee

JUST as pasta is a dish that many Italians cannot go without, so Singapore’s version – fishball noodles and minced meat noodles also known as bak chor mee, served “dry” or in soup with chilli and vinegar – is a local staple. And judging by CEOs’ votes, the best places to get these dishes are run mostly by hawkers who have been boiling and blanching for decades. But that’s not to say recipes haven’t changed. Back in the days when a bowl of each cost just 20 cents, hawkers used to make their own noodles and throw in ingredients that wouldn’t earn your doctor’s approval, such as pigs’ kidneys. Subsequently, as technology and palates morphed with the times, so too did production methods and recipes. Still, tucking into a bowl or two at one of the top-rated hawker stalls listed in this chapter is bound to evoke some memories – many of them continue to hand-make at least a few of their own ingredients, and most still use good old-fashioned lard in their cooking. Dig in! 72 | fishball noodles & bak chor mee fishball noodles & bak chor mee | 73 PHOTO: ST PHOTO:

a Tai Wah at Bestway Building and Here, the springy mee kia and Ah Poh Meat Noodles Hill Street Tai Hwa a Dai Hua at VivoCity, which are in mee pok are served with lots of fresh fact run by his brother and nephew, #01-245 Fengshan Market & Food Centre Pork Noodle pork slices, bouncy pork balls and respectively. But they don’t share the Block 85 Bedok North St 4 pork liver, with all the goodies bound #01-12 Tai Hwa Eating House same recipes, he says. And, judging by Open daily from 6pm to 11.30pm together by a potent tangy, spicy Block 466 Crawford Lane the food, not quite the same level of dressing made with vinegar and chilli. MOST versions of the bak chor mee ☎ 6292 7477 quality either. Open 9.30am to 9pm; Prices start from $4 a bowl. at this market are in hot soup, and we closed on the first and third Monday Owner Tang Chay Seng, who mean that literally. Fengshan Market of each month took over the original Hill Street stall is Singapore’s “headquarters” for (established in 1932) from his father Hokkien-style soupy bak chor mee To paraphrase the proverb: Good more than 40 years ago, says the Xing Ji Rou Cuo Mian (all starting from $2 a bowl), which is things come to those who wait ... and secret is in Tai Hwa’s vinegar, which #01-07 Fengshan Market & Food Centre turned out by three stalls in the food wait ... and wait, at Tai Hwa. The bak his team produces once a week in an Block 85 Bedok North Street 4 centre – Xing Ji, its neighbour Seng chor mee stall at Crawford Lane is hours-long process. The noodles are Open daily from 5.30pm to 3am Hiang, and Ah Poh Meat Noodles a notorious for its long queues (dining custom-made to a special recipe, and couple of rows away. companions who order from other each order is cooked individually to Seng Hiang Food Stall Those who want a taste of the stalls are likely to finish their food ensure quality, which accounts for the original recipe should head to Xing Ji, before their friends have reached the long queues. #01-08 Fengshan Market & Food Centre whose owner Sim Chee Huat was the head of the line), but it’s also well- Many confuse Mr Tang’s stall with Block 85 Bedok North Street 4 first on the Fengshan Market scene. He known for its delicious fare. others bearing similar names – there’s Open daily from 6pm to 3am took over the business from his father 74 | fishball noodles & bak chor mee fishball noodles & bak chor mee | 75 more than 20 years ago. Ah Poh, That results in a light spicy-sour Soon Wah Fish Ball on the other hand, is operated by chilli that really perks up the noodles, Mr Sim’s younger sister, while Seng which start from $3 for a bowl of kway Kway Teow Mee Hiang is not related to either. teow or mee pok served with tasty #01-69 Newton Food Centre Both Xing Ji and Seng Hiang serve soup, juicy pork slices, mushrooms, 500 Clemenceau Avenue North their nearly indistinguishable minced- fishballs and slices of fish cake. It’s Open 5.30pm to 11.30pm; meat-laced soup with a generous worth ordering an extra portion of the closed Wednesday and Sunday amount of pork balls, cut chilli and latter for $2 too, if you appreciate a thin, wavy noodles, while Ah Poh’s good fish cake, because the one here It’s not just a good main ingredient noodles have less curl but more bite is hand-made with quality fish and that goes into Soon Wah’s flavourful as well as a less chemical taste – freshly fried by Madam Lim daily. and sweet fishballs, but a whole lot of which makes it the best version at While Chia Keng’s been around effort too. Each bouncy sphere has its the market. for so long that Madam Lim cannot beginnings in an early-morning trip to recall when it started (“it was 50-over the market, where owner Eio Ah Seng years ago; we were originally at a small and his younger brother Eio Soon market near Lim Tua Tow Road”), what Teck personally pick fresh yellowtail Chia Keng she remembers is that the stall moved fish. They spend late morning till early Kway Teow Mee to Chong Boon Market in 1983. With afternoon hand-forming the fish meat that far-reaching history, it’s no wonder into fishballs and dumplings, then take #01-11 Chong Boon Market & she and her husband turn out fishball a short break. Come 3.30pm, they’re Food Centre noodles as rich in flavour as the same name at Simpang Bedok but at their stall preparing the light, clear Block 453A Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 business is in experience. that it has no dealings with Jalan Tua soup that accompanies their noodles, ☎ 9644 6338 Kong Lau Lim Mee Pok Kway Teow along with a few other things, before Open 5.30am to 2pm; Mee, located at Simpang Bedok as opening at 5.30pm. closed Monday and Friday well. The latter is apparently owned It’s a punishing routine, but the Ah Lim Mee Pok You by someone who used to work for the elder Eio says he’s used to it. “I’ve been Owner Lee Ti Ti’s fishball noodles stall Mian Kway Teow Mee owner of Ah Lim. doing this since I took over the stall is closed two days a week, but the But on to the food. There’s some from my father more than 40 years hawker and his team have actually only Soy Eu Tua Coffee Shop old-fashioned charm in a name like Ah ago,” explains the affable man. “We got one day off: Monday. “We spend 15 Upper East Coast Road Lim, and the stall does do traditional were located in the old Orchard Road Fridays making all the ingredients we Open 7am to 5pm; mee pok fired up with an explosive carpark before, but moved to Newton need for the week ahead,” says his wife, closed every other Monday chilli sauce that has chilli seeds in it. in 1977 when that closed.” Lim Siew Hoong. For $3, you get a generous bowlful With so many years of experience The bulk of the effort goes into This is one of several stalls embroiled of soft-cooked noodles tossed with under its belt, it’s no wonder Soon making the stall’s signature chilli sauce, in a mee pok war in the East Coast/ minced meat, fishballs, slices of fish Wah offers one of the more refined which costs “more than $100 for five Bedok area, which is perhaps why the cake and crunchy lard. There are also versions of fishball noodles around – days’ worth”. In it go kilograms of owner doesn’t do interviews. What fresh prawns and a light, fairly tasty it’s cooked with a light hand and isn’t prawns, chillies and shallots, among his helpers would say, however, is soup, which make this one of the more too oily, plus portions are daintily other items, and the ingredients are then that their business – which opened value-for-money versions of fishball presented in petite bowls. Prices start cooked together for “a few hours”. in 2004 – is related to a stall of the noodles around. from $4 for a small serving. fish soup/porridge & fish head noodles | 77 fish soup/ porridge & fish head noodles

IF there were a recipe that has emerged undiluted from the wave of health-conscious eating that has swept over modern times, it would have to be that for fish soup. After all, to begin with, this one-dish-meal – that has Teochew origins and consists of slices of boiled or fried fish in a clear broth – is as non- fattening a food as you can get (which explains why the chief clientele of fish-soup stalls seems to be weight- conscious females; just observe the queues that form at these stalls in the CBD during lunch time). The best shops use fresh fish from around the region, usually of the snakehead or batang variety; several offer pomfret at a premium. The fish is served in a broth made from fish stock that can include anything from fried ginger to shreds of omelette, then topped with coriander or chopped spring onions for a splash of colour. Also from the same family of food is fish head bee hoon, which is essentially meaty chunks of fish head cooked in a broth that’s almost creamy from being boiled with fish bones for hours. This is usually served in zi char fashion with a number of other dishes. Preparation styles for these fish dishes differ only slightly across the island, but don’t be fooled by how similar the end results look – every stall’s version has a distinctly different taste. In this chapter you’ll find a list of the best. 78 | fish soup/porridge & fish head noodles fish soup/porridge & fish head noodles | 79

Han Kee Fish Soup #02-129 Amoy Street Food Centre 7 Maxwell Road Open 10.30am to 3pm; closed Sunday

Han Kee’s fish soup recipe is more typical Teochew than Piao Ji’s – that is, it’s clearer and isn’t as chock-full of flavour. On the flip side, however, that means this version is healthier, and the relative blandness of the soup helps set off the freshness of the fish as well. The stall, which is owned by a family of Teochews, uses the bones of the batang fish to make the soup, that’s boiled fresh daily for five hours before Han Kee opens. Meanwhile, the Square Fried Fish Soup (Blanco Court) thinly-sliced meat of the fish (which takes this one step further. For starters, you should eat quickly before it gets it had its beginnings at Garden Street overcooked in the piping hot broth – which was nearby but not exactly at and turns rubbery) goes into its fish the old Blanco Court – and it’s now Piao Ji Fish Porridge portion is prepared individually, but soup and porridge. Portions start from at Tanjong Pagar Xchange, not China the combination of fragrant, delicately $4 a bowl. Square (it moved early last year). #02-100 Amoy Street Food Centre spiced soup and fresh fish slices All that foodies really need to 7 Maxwell Road (from $5 per bowl; diners can choose know, however, is that this shop is Open 10.30am to 3pm; between batang and pomfret) is worth the original inventor of the shredded- closed Thursday the time spent in line. The stall makes China Square omelette-in-fish-soup concept in its broth with fried ginger and onions Fried Fish Soup Singapore, and that the food has It’s easy to spot the two best fish as well as bits of lard, which reduces (Blanco Court) remained consistently good since the soup stalls, Piao Ji and Han Kee, on the health quotient a little but adds lots owners started it in 1983. (Owner Jade the second floor of this food centre – of flavour; those who want to go the #B1-28/48 Tanjong Pagar Xchange Woon, who manages the shop with her they’ve always got the longest queues, whole hog can also request fish roe in 120 Maxwell Road husband, says that their recipes haven’t which start forming from as early their dish for an extra $1. Open 7am to 9pm from Monday to changed since the stall was established.) as 11am. (Indeed, they’re so busy As with the prices, presentation Friday and 7am to 8pm on Saturday; What you get for $5, for instance, that both businesses usually decline here is also several notches above the closed Sunday is a large bowl of firm thick bee hoon interviews with the media because they stall’s counterparts – each portion of fish in super clear soup that tastes best cannot handle any more customers.) soup is presented in a rather elegant, The practice that many hawkers have when spiked with cut chilli. In this are A typical lunch-hour wait at Piao white oval ceramic dish instead of the of naming their stalls after a former pieces of freshly fried fish and strands Ji is 30 minutes or more because each usual fluoro-hued melamine ware. location is confusing enough, but China of that yummy golden omelette, which 80 | fish soup/porridge & fish head noodles fish soup/porridge & fish head noodles | 81

Ms Woon says is made with a “secret competition. “All those places use seasoning inside the eggs”. cheap XO,” he says. “To make it taste The couple used to have several good, you must use top quality XO branches in the 1990s but have since and that’s what we do.” closed them down due to the fact The stall isn’t stingy with the cognac that they are getting older, and also either – each rich pot of fish head bee so that they have better control over hoon is heady with XO and comprises the quality of their food. Don’t, then, thick chunks of toman fish (the largest mistake this original for a certain other of the world’s snakeheads; Mr Lau says fish-soup shop that bears the Blanco he only uses fresh ones from Malaysia Court name as well. instead of frozen fish from Thailand) in a broth that has been boiled for three hours with fish bones. Prices range from $5 for a single portion. Holland Village Holland Village XO Fish Head XO Fish Head Bee Hun Bee Hun also does a good har cheong gai, which you’ll see on nearly every #01-05 Jumbo Coffee Hub table, but what’s even better is the old- 9A Dover Crescent fashioned sweet and sour pork, which ☎ 6778 3691 has tender, slightly fatty meat fried in Open daily from 11.30am to 2pm and a light, crisp batter that’s coated with a 5pm to 11pm nicely balanced sweet-tangy sauce.

The man with the dyed curly hairdo, Swee Kee is a rather grubby looking The dish is served with fresh fish that designer tee and loafers at this stall store in a row of shophouses that’s isn’t in chunks but cut thinly into more looks more like a prosperous Chinese becoming increasingly fashionable, refined portions and, as a result, there’s businessman from the 1990s than a but – as evidenced by its walls which no fishy smell. hawker, and in fact he does have some are plastered with photographs of Also good is the mildly-flavoured of that in his background. Ricky Lau celebrity customers – what it offers har cheong gai that’s very crispy on was an XO salesman before he hit upon draws the stars much more than any of the outside and juicy inside, as well as the idea of pouring the premium stuff its glam neighbours do. the pai gu wang which, unlike at other into fish head bee hoon and decided to The speciality here is fish bee hoon places, is lean, deboned pieces of pork open his own stall selling it. in an ivory-coloured broth that gets fried to salty, savoury goodness. Today, the dish is so popular that Swee Kee Fishhead its hue not from the shortcut addition Those who miss the footloose the stall – which is named after its Noodle House of milk, but from the sheer number and fancy-free days of less health- original location at Holland Drive – has of hours that the soup has been conscious times, however, will perhaps another outlet at Smith Street and 96 Amoy Street boiled with fish bones, says second- best enjoy the contents of the saucer the concept has spawned imitators, ☎ 6224 9920 generation owner Tang Tat Cheong, that every table is presented with at but Mr Lau pooh-poohs the idea of Open daily from 11.45am to 2.30pm who now manages the business that the start of a meal: Bits of pure, melt- those other businesses being real and 5.30pm to 2am his father set up some 70 years ago. in-the-mouth lard. fried carrot cake & oyster omelette | 83

fried carrot cake & oyster omelette

THERE are some things that can only be seen in black or white, and one of them is fried carrot cake. Also known locally as chai tow kway, this Asian version of carrot cake (which originated in China and is not to be confused with the very different American variety) isn’t actually made of carrot but white radish, which is steamed with rice flour in trays to produce slabs of soft, jelly- like dough that is then cut into strips and fried. The “white” version – that is, sans soya sauce – is stir-fried with beaten egg to achieve a crispy exterior that’s topped with pickled radish, while the “black” sort is made with the addition of sweet black soya sauce. Hawkers who dish up carrot cake usually serve oyster omelette, or or luak, as well, since ingredients-wise it is a close cousin of chai tow kway. Or luak is essentially an omelette made of eggs, sweet potato flour (which renders a slightly glutinous texture) and small local oysters, that’s served with a tangy chilli sauce. If you’re not an oyster fan, you can ask for shrimps instead – most hawkers will be happy to do the swap. 84 | fried carrot cake & oyster omelette fried carrot cake & oyster omelette | 85

Bugis Street the stall has been open for about 30 the menu here: Ang Sa Lee serves only years and has plenty of regulars. oyster omelette and nothing else. Fried Kway Teow Here, Mr Tan himself takes the #01-09 Longhouse Food Centre orders instead of cooking behind the 183 Upper Thomson Road stove – he’s trained his staff to turn ☎ 9174 7666 out the sort of oyster omelette that Hai Sheng Carrot Cake Open 9am to 11pm; his father used to do in the 1950s; (Ang Mo Kio) closed every other Tuesday the “traditional style”, as he calls it. Which leaves him free to handle all the Block 724 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, #01-09 A designer hawker stall may sound different requests and make sure that ☎ 9003 5259 like an oxymoron, but Bugis Street customers get what they want, whether Open daily from 8am to 3pm Fried Kway Teow comes pretty close. it be Ang Sa Lee’s signature soft oyster and 7pm to 8pm On its glass frontage is a huge logo of omelette made with sweet potato a prawn, and small design elements flour, or modern-day health-focused Jenny Lim is a full-time hawker, elsewhere contribute towards spiffying requests such as oyster omelette sometime engineer. When she took up the stall too. without the omelette. That request over the carrot cake stall established As you might expect, the owner was “a bit strange”, he admits, but by her father some 30 years ago, she is a youngish man – Andy Poh, who adds with a smile and a shrug: “I guess developed a long, flat pan that allows used to cook at several other hawker times have changed.” her to fry carrot cake in much larger stalls but was inspired to go solo after as a noodle dish with Pacific clams ($6). What hasn’t changed, though, is quantities than is possible in the his most recent stint at a well-known There’s also the fried oyster noodles traditional wok. purveyor of fried kway teow. At his ($5), which is a combination of two of She’s also come up with a very own stall, then, he offers that, plus his signature dishes: Oyster omelette efficient way to cook the dish (only the Hokkien noodles, oyster omelette and Hokkien noodles. white version is served here; from $2 (from $4 per plate) and fried carrot per plate) – that is, she first fries the cake (from $3 per plate) as well. carrot cake, then pours over beaten While his noodle dishes are the egg before spraying seasoning from a top sellers, the carrot cake comes a Ang Sa Lee Fried Oyster bottle over the entire thing. This makes close second. It’s very tasty and made a sort of massive omelette, which she by frying the chopped pieces of radish #01-33 Chomp Chomp Food Centre subsequently cuts into squares and cake slowly over a mild fire. 20 Kensington Park Road flips over to ensure they’re crispy on Bugis Street – whose name Mr Poh Open 5pm to 11pm; both sides. adopted from the previous owner – closed every other Wednesday This super systematic method of also has a number of other “creative cooking enables Ms Lim to run the dishes” that the savvy entrepreneur Owner of Ang Sa Lee Fried Oyster, stall singlehandedly. But that’s not introduced in 2009 to draw more Tan Ah Piang, attributes his success enough for the entrepreneur – she’s customers when business was hit by to customer service, in particular even started a small production facility the economic recession. These include a remembering what style of oyster to make carrot cake according to more luxe version of Hokkien noodles omelettes his customers prefer. And her family recipe, which aside from that contains fried limpets ($8), as well that’s no mean feat, considering that using at her stall she also supplies to 86 | fried carrot cake & oyster omelette fried carrot cake & oyster omelette | 87

a selected number of hawkers, whom black and white versions are served; It’s a combination of Korean oysters, a family business can last only for she then coaches on her cooking the latter version, in particular, is good, starch and chilli, minus the egg, and is three generations, but the stars seem method. These hawkers are allowed to with plenty of fragrant salted radish quite the indulgence. Then there are to be shining on Mr Tan. His stall has use the Hai Sheng name and leverage and just the right proportion of carrot the China-style fried oysters, which been frequently featured in television on her reputation but it is not, she cake and egg. are a modern tribute to the traditional and radio programmes and is still stresses, a franchise. oyster omelette. They’re cooked with going strong. “My generation sweet potato flour made from old has been lucky,” sweet potatoes – supposedly the best he says. Ah Hock sort of flour to make oyster omelette, Carrot Cake Fried Oyster Hougang if Mr Tan is to be believed. Also impressive is the hawker’s #01-36 Chomp Chomp Food Centre #01-54 Whampoa Drive Food Centre chilli sauce – he cooks with two 20 Kensington Park Road Block 90 Whampoa Drive types, a spicy-sour version Open 5.30pm to midnight; Open noon to 11pm; for dipping cooked oyster closed every other Tuesday closed every other Wednesday omelette in, and chilli with belacan for Singaporeans are known for grumbling Raymond Tan is a third-generation frying. about the slightest hint of bad service in owner of his family’s business, whose There is an restaurants, but when it comes to bad history – in the form of a “since 1952” old Chinese hawker service, they somehow instantly signage – is proudly displayed above saying that develop high levels of tolerance. For the stall. Back in those early days, some reason, cranky service at hawker Mr Tan’s grandfather, a food peddler, stalls is seen as but a small price to pay used to set up makeshift stalls wherever for good hawker food. street opera troupes performed. That’s why this stall at Chomp Oyster omelette lovers who relish Chomp is still in business, because if it variations will have a field day here. were a restaurant, it would surely have There are four versions of the dish been struck off every diner’s list by now. offered – all inspired by the many Be prepared for rude mutterings and “special requests” Mr Tan has received glares from the stall helpers when you over the years. Other than the usual order, and woe betide you if you change fried oyster omelette (from $4 a plate), your mind about anything. The man he also offers a version without starch who owns the stall and fries the carrot (from $8). To properly cook the latter, cake is a second-generation hawker the hawker has devised a different (who must not have time to oversee his frying technique and has added more harassed staff); his father used to sell oysters to the dish, which justifies the carrot cake in the Philip Street area. higher price tag. That said, however, the carrot cake Those who love to slurp up their (from $3 per plate) from this stall is oysters, meanwhile, should try the worth a little abuse. Here, both the fresh Korean sambal oysters (from $8). kway chap & pig’s organ soup | 89

kway chap & pig’s organ soup

THEY say that the Chinese can make a dish out of anything, and there’s no denying that when it comes to kway chap and pig’s organ soup. Kway chap, after all, is a dish of flat rice noodles bathed in a dark soya sauce broth that is served with all sorts of pig innards, from the animal’s intestines to its skin. Meanwhile, pig’s organ soup is just what its name suggests – pig intestines, meat and liver, all blanched and cooked in soup, then served with rice. In the past, ingredients such as pig’s blood were used in both dishes as well, but that’s become a thing of the past for health and hygiene reasons. These days, hawkers just work within the limits and sometimes introduce their own versions. The results, even if not entirely original, are often still delicious – here’s where to get to know these dishes inside(s) out. 90 | kway chap & pig’s organ soup kway chap & pig’s organ soup | 91

his brand, unlike many other Kway Chap entrepreneurs of his age. His reason? “No time, no energy.” #01-198 Toa Payoh Food Centre Block 93 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh Open 6pm to midnight; closed Monday

Serangoon Mixed Soup For Seow Kim Seng, there are no short cuts when it comes to delivering the #01-120 Cheng San Market perfect bowl of kway chap. That is why Block 527 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 he chooses to stick to running the stall Open daily from 9am to 9pm with only his wife – he cooks, and she serves. This lean team allows him to Owner Sin Kin Nuay prides herself save on labour costs and pass on the on the contemporary interpretation savings to customers, and it also allows of pig’s organ soup – which comprises him to invest in better ingredients. “fewer intestines, with the option to substitute more fatty ingredients with meatballs and lean meat” – that she serves up at her stall. “Customers are more health conscious nowadays, so Soon Huat flavours all in one mouthful. we give them options,” she says. Pig’s Organ Soup Owner Chua is relatively young The broth here is not as rich in and he’s only been doing this for flavour as Soon Huat’s although pig #01-42 Serangoon Garden Market the past six years, but he credits his bones are boiled overnight to make it, 49A Serangoon Garden Way mentor for teaching him the traditional but it has a distinctive spicy kick from Open 9am to 3pm; closed Monday ways of preparation, which he strictly the white pepper that goes into it. That “Instead of frozen pork, I prefer to adheres to. “We do not add meatballs ingredient serves to “warm the body” buy fresh pork from Indonesia, which Just head to the stall with the longest or beancurd into the soup though and combat the “cooling effects of the is more expensive, but has better queue in this food centre, and you’ll unfortunately, ingredients such as pig’s salted vegetables in the soup”, says flavour,” he says. find yourself in front of Soon Huat blood, which is very traditional, cannot Ms Sin, who finally hit the culinary Mr Seow has been in the business – and one of the best renditions of be used any more,” he says. The secret jackpot with this stall, originally at for some 30 years (he used to help his pig’s organ soup in Singapore. Here, to the robust flavour of the broth, he Hougang, after setting up shop and father out at the family’s kway chap customers wait patiently for their bowls adds, comes from cooking it over a failing six times. It moved to Ang stall), and he still practises what he was of broth ($3 per bowl), which comes huge fire every day from 4am onwards. Mo Kio in 2008 and there is another taught as a boy. When he closes the with generous pieces of lean meat, pig The stall also offers side dishes, branch at a coffee shop at Serangoon stall at midnight, he and his wife start liver, stomach, intestine and the sinfully such as braised eggs and bean curd. North Avenue 1. preparing for the next day – they work delicious three-layer pork. Not only The melt-in-your-mouth pig trotters are Both stalls also offer sliced fish until 8am, rest, then return to the stall is the dish a visual feast (it’s studded bathed in a dark sauce, braised until soup which “uses only fresh, not at 5pm to do it all over again. with quarters of bright red tomatoes), tender according to “a secret recipe”. frozen, fish slices”, which is worth Here, the flat sheets of noodles the broth is incredibly delicious; full- As popular as his stall is though, trying too because it’s as popular as are smoother and thinner than at bodied with tangy, sweet and savoury Mr Chua has no ambition to grow the pig’s organ soup. elsewhere, a difference which is rooted 92 | kway chap & pig’s organ soup kway chap & pig’s organ soup | 93

in the cooking technique, not the a bowl of noodles – that have been best-known kway chap stalls in ingredient. Mr Seow carefully cooks braised, dried then deep-fried) – that Singapore, whose success, Mr Phua the noodles in batches and blanches and braised duck and ngoh hiang, believes, is due to the “texture of them for one to two minutes over a which are also on Sin Fong’s menu. the ingredients”. That’s why his pig big fire, which results in the smooth These days, his son does most of the intestines, trotters and skins are all texture. He would prefer to make the work and Mr Wong comes in later than cooked in smallish batches, so as to noodles from scratch as hawkers used he used to. He considers himself retired, retain a slightly chewy texture. He to do in the past, he says, but that’s not but can’t tear himself away from his also prefers to cook even the standard possible today. “There’s just too little business. “I have spent my life running kway chap dish of soya sauce eggs space in the hawker stalls to do much this stall and I wouldn’t know what – which many hawkers buy ready- these days,” he explains. else to do if I wasn’t here,” he says. cooked – from scratch daily. To-Ricos takes up a two-stall space, but Mr Phua remains the only person cooking. Unfortunately, there are no Sin Fong Restaurant To-Ricos Guo Shi successors by his side, and none of his children are interested in taking over 560 Macpherson Road #01-136 Old Airport Road Food Centre the business. “I may have to shut down Open daily from 7.30am to 1.30am Block 51 Old Airport Road the business eventually,” he says. Eat Open 11.30am to 3.30pm; while you can. If Sin Fong owner Wong Lai Chong’s closed Monday and the day after youthful looks are anything to go by, a public holiday the secret to keeping young may just lie in his slightly starchy kway chap Naming a kway chap stall after an sauce, a special mixture of Chinese area in South America that’s known herbs concocted by him. The reason he for its fried chicken may seem like a puts them in? He worked in a Chinese mismatch, but for owner Phua Gek medical hall for seven years, and Sia, it’s a reminder of how tough his that’s convinced him of the healing early days in the food scene were. His properties of Chinese herbs. the hawker uses in his cooking is his closed his first business – selling chicken No surprise, then, that he believes own special blend. wings – after he realised that it wasn’t his kway chap should not just be about Mr Wong, a Malaysia native, has sustainable, after which he switched to taste, but should also be good for been cooking kway chap for more making kway chap. He opened his first health, aid digestion and offer a range than 30 years, but his career has also kway chap stall at Blanco Court Food of nutritional properties. As such, he’s taken him through everything from Centre in 1984, and served kway chap careful to make most things himself chicken rice and wonton noodles, made from his own recipe. He then and Sin Fong’s stall front is quite a to curry rice and dessert. He even conscientiously tweaked it according to spectacle, with easily over 20 types opened a restaurant at one point. Now, customers’ feedback. of dishes neatly stacked up in the however, he’s sticking to his special It’s been a long time since he’s glass showcase or displayed in plastic kway chap (with its signature dish of had to change his recipe though. containers. Even the five-spice powder pig intestines – priced at $8.50 with These days, To-Ricos is one of the laksa | 95

laksa

WHERE laksa originated from exactly is unclear – while one theory has it that this dish of noodles in a coconutty curry has Indian roots (the Hindi word lakhshah refers to a type of vermicelli), another suggests that laksa was created in China because la sha in Mandarin means spicy sand, which could refer to the gritty dried ground prawns often used in the dish. Either way, what’s plain is that since then, laksa has been adopted by many countries who are now turning out the dish with their own spin on it. Singapore is of course among them, and there’s even a sort of laksa stronghold here in Katong, a neighbourhood where there are more than a few laksa stalls doing the dish the distinctive Katong way – with short strands of noodles that can be eaten with a spoon. In this chapter, however, you’ll find a list of stalls outside of that well-known area that serve equally decent versions. 96 | laksa laksa | 97

Sungei Road Laksa At that price though, condiments are limited to bean sprouts, fish cake Block 27 Jalan Berseh and cockles. A $3 bowl with extra #01-100 Jin Shui Kopitiam ingredients is available, but purists who Open 9am to 6pm; closed every first want more typically order two bowls and third Wednesday of the month of the $2 version. “The secret is in the gravy; we use If imitation is the sincerest form of fresh coconut milk and no condensed flattery, then the owners of Sungei milk,” says Ms Wong, touching on Road Laksa should be feeling pretty perhaps the single most important chuffed. There is more than one laksa aspect in the preparation of laksa, one stall with the same name in this area that separates the contenders from the off Jalan Besar, but the real McCoy is pretenders. And certainly, the laksa this one at the junction of Jalan Berseh here is made of the right stuff. and Townshend Road. Here, smallish bowls of laksa are first soaked with gravy from a large coal-fired pot, then rinsed a couple Wei Yi Laksa & more times before being filled with the flavourful yet light-tasting gravy for Prawn Noodle consumption. The noodles have been #01-20 Tanglin Halt Market cut, Katong-style, into short lengths 48 Tanglin Halt Road so that only a spoon is required for ☎ 9782 1012 The basic laksa dish features a Roxy Laksa eating, and the tendency to splatter Open 5.30am to 2pm; closed Monday generous serving of chicken and tau is reduced. pok and is priced at $2.50 – a culinary #01-48 East Coast Lagoon Food Village Because successful hawkers tend Ngern Jwee Chye appropriated his bargain in any currency. There are also 1220 East Coast Parkway to keep the names of their original mother’s home recipe for laksa over several other combinations on offer, ☎ 9630 2321 stalls, it should be no surprise to learn 20 years ago and then experimented involving prawns and cockles, with a Open daily from 8.30am to 8pm; that this laksa stall started off in with it for some time before he got the maximum price of $5. closed one Wednesday a month Sungei Road in 1956, before moving okay from her to start a laksa stall – The laksa gravy here is less rich to nearby Kelantan Lane and now its and he hasn’t looked back since. and not as heavy as that found in A sign above Mike Lim’s stall current location about six years ago. Wei Yi, which means “only one” in more conventional laksa places, which proclaims Roxy Laksa to be “the one According to Wong Ai Tin, Mandarin, has long been a favourite makes Wei Yi a good breakfast stop. and only third generation from the daughter of stall founder Wong Yew among residents of the Tanglin Halt “You must understand the character original Roxy Theatre”, and there’s Hwa, who still runs the stall together neighbourhood as well as regulars of each ingredient, what its origins certainly no arguing with that. This with three daughters and his brother from other parts of town, but the stall are – in particular the coconut,” says stall has the pedigree, the product and Wong Yew Poh, a regular bowl of laksa also attracts its fair share of customers Mr Ngern of his winning recipe. For one of the most pleasant settings an sold for 20 cents in 1956. Now, a bowl from beyond Singapore’s borders, good measure, he also offers a decent outdoor food stall could have, with its goes for $2, which is pretty reasonable according to Mr Ngern, who lists bowl of prawn noodles, but admits back facing the waterski lagoon at East – in fact it could be one of the best Japanese and Austrian tourists among it has yet to reach the heights of Coast Park. deals in town. his clientele. his laksa. For $3 or $4 (depending on your 98 | laksa laksa | 99

appetite), you can sample Mr Lim’s to me and they tell me, you’re still from hardcore foodies to office Laksa Day, when the price drops to $6. laksa, which has roots dating to 1952 the best”. workers and kids from nearby schools. As advertised, the laksa gravy when his grandfather Lim Bok Seng A bowl of laksa is priced at $3.80 here is smooth, spicy and very tasty, parked his cart outside the old Roxy ($4.50 with prawns). The rich, robust with mackerel, mint leaf, pineapple Theatre. and well-balanced gravy is made fresh and chopped onions, plus of course Later, the elder Lim took up a each morning and is notable enough, the cafe’s signature sweet prawn paste, space inside the theatre’s canteen. In but according to Mr Leong, the popiah, all playing significant roles. Given the the early 1970s, Mike Lim’s father mee siam and mee rebus are equally amount of work it takes to make this Lim Eng Hock expanded the business popular – and that makes My Cosy from scratch, this is worth shelling out to army camps and subsequently to Corner a one-stop shop to savour. the bucks for. the old East Coast Lagoon in the late Penang Kitchen has undergone a 1970s, where the younger Lim learned few changes in ownership since it first the business until a seamless transition landed at this location, but the original was made. Penang Kitchen chef from Penang is still around. It “The laksa is still the same, is now owned by three bankers who #01-05 Coronation Arcade although I have improved it a little obviously appreciate their regular fixes 5 Coronation Road by using better basic ingredients and of char kway teow, rojak – and, of My Cosy Corner ☎ 6466 6193 spices,” says Mr Lim. “Also the gravy course, laksa. Open 11am to 3pm and 4pm to 9pm; is a bit thinner now because our #02-02 Coronation Shopping Plaza closed Wednesday customers are more health conscious, 587 Bukit Timah Road but we continue to use fresh coconut ☎ 6463 8286 A good version of the tamarind-based to make it.” Open 10am to 7.30pm from Monday to Penang version of laksa, or assam The gravy is still lemak enough to Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday laksa, is a lot tougher to find in satisfy most tastes though and Mr Lim Singapore than the coconut- adheres to the traditional Peranakan My Cosy Corner is not your typical based Peranakan sort, but presentation – fish cake and prawns hawker stall or located in a food court Penang Kitchen, a tiny only. He offers cockles as an optional somewhere – it’s a hole-in-the-wall joint cafe just next door extra to keep some clients happy. in a, well, cosy corner in a shopping to My Cosy Corner, “When I started with my mall – but it qualifies because it serves dishes out an authentic grandfather in the mid-1960s, the a pretty decent laksa (along with a host bowl that packs a price was about 50 cents a bowl, but of other dishes). solid punch. It may profit margins were higher then,” says The place is owned by Leong be spicier than what Mr Lim. “It’s not easy now because Swee Meng, who worked in the auto you are used to – and the cost of ingredients has gone up. industry until about 12 years ago when pricier too at $7.90 My grandfather used to make he discovered that opening a little – but don’t let that everything from scratch but it is corner shop and offering food made stop you. Those in not possible these days.” using recipes by his aunt, the late the know will show The hawker also shares that many popular cookbook author Leong Yee up on Thursdays, of his customers have tried laksa stalls Soo, was a formula for success. Now, which is designated elsewhere, but “in the end, they come the place is frequented by everyone