Kwong Satay: Satay with Hokkien Mee, my favourite combination!

This next entry is very risky. Let me explain.

First this satay is relatively unknown. Unlike those famous stalls that a lot of people can attest to, this one I am basing only on my taste buds. Secondly, the satay it is not even made by the stallowner but it is actually sourced from a supplier. So why is it even here in the blog?

Because I do enjoy it and it is situated just beside one of my regular Hokkien Mee haunts. Best thing is that they sell pork satay which is increasingly hard to find. The meat is tender and it is on the sweetish side which I like. The spices of the marinade is fragrant and the citrus punch of the lemongrass is evident. 4/5

For me, the things that I most look forward to eating when I am overseas is, undisputedly, the combination of Hokkien Mee and Satay. I guess it has something to do with my childhood days in Toa Payoh Lor 8 when I would go down to the coffeeshop to buy these two items and then come home to share with my two brothers. Those were the days when the hawker stalls were at the front of the coffeeshop rather than at the back which is very conducive for learning how to prepare hawker dishes like Hokkien Mee. There was never enough to feed 3 hungry boys, so I was always left with the longing for more.

Talking about combinations, the other combination that I really enjoy is Prawn Mee Soup and Ngoh Hiang and of course Laksa with Steamed Chicken. So what other hawker fare combinations do you all enjoy?

Conclusion

Pork Satay and Hokkien Mee combination! Yummm....


Kwong Satay
396 East Coast Road
12pm to 9pm
Closed on Mondays




PS: After being prompted by an anonymous reader I began to do some research on Kwong Satay and realised that actually they are quite an establishment! I am glad that there is supplier of Hainanese style satay which is of a commendable standard. More info can be found on their website www.kwongsatay.com.sg. Found out that they actually use pandan leaves to wrap their ketupat. Must try next time!

Yu Sheng Recommendations

One reader wrote in to ask if I could review and recommend Yu Sheng since CNY is just round the corner. The fact is I don't really have a favourite Yu Sheng place to recommend. But I am sure you all have so why don't you write in to recommend your favourite places?

While on this topic, I would just like to let you know that our friends at Vittles would like to extend a 10% discount for all ieatishootipost readers for their Lunar New Year's special East-meet-West set menu (available from 6 Feb to 21 Feb) as well as our Prosperity Fresh Raw Salmon Yusheng (available from 1 Feb to 21 Feb). All you have to do is to let them know that you are readers of this blog. In addition to giving you the discount, 5% of the sales proceeds will be donated to Andrew and Grace home.

You may want to check out their blog for more details at www.vittles-sg.blogspot.com

Prive: Welcome to Fantasy Island!

With Amagada - Happy Anniversary Dinner


Now if I told you that there was a private island in Singapore where you can nibble on finger food while having a drink by the sea, under the stars, it would catch your attention wouldn't it? It certainly got mine.

Touted as the only privately owned island in Singapore, this little piece of rock sandwiched between Sentosa and Mount Faber has been transformed into a Marina cum Restaurant cum Bar cum Bakery Cafe. It's so small that one wonders whether it will still be above water years from now when the polar ice caps melt due to global warming.

But Singaporeans being people who go for whatever is new and cutting edge have already discovered this latest hangout haunt so much so that the restaurant is fully booked on a weeknight just barely two months after its opening.



The guy behind the restaurant/gastrobar/bakery cafe is none other than Yuan Oeij from Brown Sugar. If you remember, Yuan is the guy who gave up his job in finance to pursue his passion in food. So when it comes to something as simple (or so I thought) as a good steak, the guy really goes into a lot of details to get it right.

So what is so complicated about popping a piece of meat on a Barbie, I hear you ask. Well, I asked him the same question. I have always assumed that it all broils sic down to the quality of the piece of meat. But nooooo, its more than that. Aside from the fact that you source only USDA Prime grade beef, the aging and storage process also needs attention. Then, you need a charcoal grill, but not just any charcoal will do. It's got to be a special kind of charcoal which has been carbon dated (kidding). You then need a Chef who knows how to grill it till it is smoky and charred on the outside but still nice and pink all the way through the middle. And finally, just when you think that that is that, you need to have a very special steak knife so that you get the right texture just before popping it into your mouth. Yuan selected a non-serrated knife so that the surface of the meat comes out smooth when cut. It takes a bit more effort to maintain these knives as they need to be sharpened but heck this is supposed to be a five star steak yeah?

I must admit that the USDA Prime Striploin (350gm $58++) is one of the best steaks I have had this year. Alright, since we are still only in January, I shall say that it is one of the best steaks I have had last year AND this year. US Beef still has that beefy taste that makes you want to yell "Yeee Ha!". It has just the right amount of chewability that makes for merry mastication and the piece of meat is really so tasty that it would be sinful to add any sauce it (especially that incorrigible Singaporean habit of adding chilli sauce to everything including a good steak!) 4.5/5

Conclusion

If you have never been to Keppel Island, I think you would be quite fascinated as you are crossing the specially built bridge to the island itself. Quite unexpected to find a great steak in a restaurant that basically serves modern (Frenchish) cuisine. But I think steak lovers would be quite pleased with they way they handle their piece of meat here.

Prive
No.2 Keppel Bay Vista Marina
Keppel Bay
67760777
www.prive.com.sg

Rice Bowl: Cheap and Good Tonkatsu Curry Rice

With SCS Butter


What's the big difference between Hainanese Pork Chop Curry Rice and Japanese Tonkatsu Curry Rice? Well, one costs $4 at a hawker centre and the other costs $12 at a restaurant.

Ok, there are of course differences in the taste of the curry, the seasoning of the pork and the type of rice used, but essentially they use similar raw ingredients. The point I am driving at is that there is no real reason why one should pay $12 to enjoy the Japanese version of this particular dish. Which is why I was so pleased to find this stall in the LTN coffeeshop in Siglap which sells Tonkatsu Curry Rice for $4.50.

Of course, we were skeptical at first. You really don't want to end up with something that tastes like the Hainanese version but disguised to look like a Japanese with a few whiskers of shredded seaweed.



The rice was not the top quality Japanese short grain rice, but it was acceptable. The Tonkatsu was surprisingly good. Well seasoned and crisp on the outside and not too thin that it is dry. The curry might have come out of a premix but it certainly tastes quite good. Overall, I was quite happy to come back here for my Tonkatsu fix for $4.50 and I wouldn't mind trying the other stuff on offer too! 4/5

Conclusion

Cheap and Good. There are an increasing number of hawkers selling Japanese food nowadays, any really good ones that you would recommend? In particular, is there any place that sells a good gyu don (Beef Bowl?).

Update: June 2008

One reader commented that this place has closed.

Rice Bowl
936 East Coast Road
LTN Eating House
12.30pm to 10pm
Closed on Tuesdays

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Today's Lunch Pick is The Beef House!

My apologies, I only just realised that they are closed on Fridays!

Empress Place Beef Kway Teow: Teochew Beef Kway Teow got no gravy one!

With SCS Butter


Did you realise that most of the hawker food that we are familiar with are less than a century old? It's true! A few of our most famous heritage stalls can trace their roots back to around the early 1900's. That makes it about 3 or 4 generations from then till now. There are a few very famous names which have span 3 or 4 generations and inevitably they would have created some sibling rivalry along the way. Names like Beach Road Prawn Noodle and Rochor Bean Curd immediately come to mind.

Then of course there is the famous Hock Lam Beef Kway Teow which is the subject of our discussion today. Yes, the man who made famous the Teochew style Beef Kway Teow bestowed the business to his 4th son, Anthony because he did not do so well in school. But later on the youngest son also wanted a piece of the "Hock Lam" name. So the only legitimate owner of the Hock Lam franchise is the one at China St whereas the "Popular" Hock Lam Beef Kway Teow at Purvis street is considered the illegitimate one though both are brothers and thus share in the family recipe.

But that is not all, the patriarch, Mr Tan Chin Sia also had a daughter who also decided to go into the Beef Kway Teow business, but she started selling it at Empress Place and called hers Empress Place Beef Kway Teow instead. It did very well, but unfortunately had to close down during the MadCow epidemic in the late eighties. Fortunately for us, the Brand was resurrected again in few years ago when her son decided to bring back the familiar Beef Kway Teow that he used to eat at his grandfather's stall.



So much for that little bit of Beef Kway Teow history, back to a more tasty subject.

Have you ever wondered why Beef Kway Teow is called Kway Teow even though most of the time you eat it with thick bee hoon? Well, there are really two types of Beef Kway Teow in the market, the Hainanese style and the Teochew Style. The familiar one with the thick bee hoon and thick sticky gravy is in fact Hainanese style. According to David, there are very few stalls apart from his that sells true blue Teochew style beef kway teow. True Teochew beef kway teow is never served with thick bee hoon and there is never any thick gravy. David said that his Grandfather will turn in his grave if he realised what had happened to his Hock Lam St beef kway teow.

Instead, Teochew style beef kway teow uses normal kway teow and the dry version is served with just a dash of sesame oil, soy sauce and chilli. Now I was skeptical at first, but with my first mouthful of the kway teow, I realised what I have been missing. The kway teow was indeed very fragrant and the slices of beef were cooked medium and were very tender. Unexpectedly good! My favourite was the cooked beef and the tendons which were very "pang" and had an uncomplicated beefy flavour. The soup was also sweet and robust which David attributes to having the bones simmer in the soup for over 2 days. 4.5/5

Conclusion

I tend to believe that Teochew beef kway teow was originally served this way because of the fact that kway teow is used and also that the Teochews in general prefer most of their food to be "cheng" (not heavy). So the sticky gravy I think is more likely to be Hainanese in origin. Any food historians amongst our readers who can shed more light on this?


Empress Place Beef Kway Teow
LTN Eating House
936 East Coast Road
11am to 11pm daily
Recommended by Damien

Jacky Chan's Cafe: Kung Fu Cappuccinno and Dim Sum!

I still remember my very first Jacky Chan movie. It was none other than "Drunken Monkey", the good olde Kung Fu movie back in 1978 with a predictable storyline which only serves as a backdrop for the Kung Fu actors to display their Kung Fu skills.

You know the story........ young disciple's master gets killed by bad guy, big headed young disciple seeks revenge but gets beaten up real bad, learns his lesson on humility, learns a new fighting skill, goes up against the bad guy again, almost gets killed, but last minute gets flashback from old deceased master, suddenly gets extra power boost and kills bad guy....

Yeah, I remember trying to do the Jui Chuen (Drunken Kungfu) just like Jacky when I was a kid! C'mon, you guys have done it too lah!

Anyway, fast forward 30 years, Jacky Chan is now a household name even in the Western world. There is even a Jacky Chan cartoon series. So why would a guy with such fame and fortune want to open a cafe?

That was the question I posed to Simon, the man in charge of Jacky Chan's cafe in Singapore. By the way, the one in Singapore is the very first Jacky Chan cafe which is quite interesting as you would have expected it to have started in Hong Kong instead. According to Simon it is all about the Hong Kong people's mindset of starting businesses. So Jacky, being a good Hong Konger is just doing it because it is in his genes.



So, if you were Jacky Chan, what kind of cafe would you like to open? One that serves Cappuccino with Dim Sum seems to be the answer. And I think it is a great idea as well.

You know how Dim Sum always seems to be something you eat with more than 2 friends? Yeah, everything comes in threes. So it is difficult for 2 people to have a casual dim sum meal. So the good thing with the cafe is that everything comes in twos. Just right for you and a friend.

The other way to think of it is that whenever you have coffee, don't you wish you had something nice and savoury like a Char Siew Shou or some Springrolls? Since this is such a great idea, why does it take someone like Jacky Chan to come up with it first, I wonder? Some other enterprising entrepreneur should have thought about it long ago, right?



Anyway, the Dim Sum here is from Imperial Treasure, so the quality is very good. They have several steamed items like teochew dumplings and lotus leaf glutinous rice but most of the items are the baked and deep fried ones like Wu Kok (Fried Yam dumplings), Char Siew Shou (Char Siew Puffs), egg tarts and this particular Yam Puff which I thought was the best of the lot.

The Yam Puff filled with a sweet Yam Paste and salted egg yolk. The pastry is light and flaky and I think you can imagine that it would taste really good. I give this one a 4.5/5.

Conclusion

Great place to chill out with a friend over coffee and dim sum. I think there would be more cafes serving dim sum popping up in Singapore real soon.

Jackie Chan's Cafe
1 Nassim Road, #01-01
Opp Tanglin Shopping Centre
7.30am to 10pm daily

Fried Sweet Potato Dumplings: I think of it as fried Ondeh Ondeh

If you take an Ondeh Ondeh and put it into a vat of hot oil, you would probably get something similar to this particular dessert. Of course, instead of gula melaka, the inside is filled with peanuts or coconut.

My first impression of it was how incredibly oily it is. Pick it up with a piece of brown paper and you the whole thing turns translucent. It's a bit too oily even for this particular foodie. It's no wonder that such desserts are hard to come by nowadays. With the increased emphasis on healthier diets, such delicacies are facing an inevitable demise.



But if you are young and still enjoy free flowing coronaries, you can certainly sink your teeth into one of these sinful desserts. The flavour I like best was the pandan coconut. The sweet and flowery fragrance really surprises you as you bite into its chewy shell. 3.75/4

Conclusion

Try it before it disappears!



Fried Sweet Potato Dumpling
Stall 76 Maxwell Road Food Centre
1pm to 8pm

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Today's recommendation is Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon!

Do read the comments first.

You have been forewarned!

Botak Jones: Unquarantinable Botak Fever

Actually Botak Jones started expanding just as I started this blog back in Aug 2006. But at that time I did not get around to blogging them. They would have made an interesting Ang Moh in the heartlands story. Now, just over a year and many other reviews later, Mr Jones has well and truly invaded the heartlands, taking major town centres one at a time. First it was Jurong, then Clementi, then Ang Moh Kio. Then they invaded Dempsey road and most recently they invaded the heartland of Bedok in the East. Seems like nothing is going to stop Botak fever!
So instead of being a discovery blog, now it seems that the blog is not complete without my review of the widely publicized triple burger ("Crazy or what!" Burger). Yes, it will not be complete without a picture of the ultimate male fantasy. (OK guys I know what you all are thinking but this is a G rated blog OK?)

There is really no reason for the existence of a triple patty burger except that it really does attract attention. Practically, there is no one in the world who would be able to actually eat the three patties and the bun all with one bite. (If there were, he would be in the annals of Ripley's Believe it or Not!)

So how is the Triple Burger? Well, those who love to eat lots of meat will not be disappointed. The patties were chunky, hand moulded and cooked medium. I had initially thought that the cheese was the common "Singles" type, but was pleasantly surprised that it was actually quite a nice and thick cheddar. Tastewise, it wasn't as beefy or as tasty as I would like, but at $14.50 (Plus $1 extra for each slice of cheese) I guess you can't be expecting them to use US Prime Chuck. Good texture, lots of meat but lacking the beefy ooomph! 3.75/5


Fish and Chips $6.50

Fish n Chips can be found in almost every coffeeshop and food centre nowadays and most can do a good job at deep frying. The only differentiating factor for most sub $10 fish n chips is whether they use the cheaper Cream Dory or the superior Pacific Dory. Both are catfish btw, but the Cream Dory is reared in ponds and tend to taste a little muddy. The other differentiating factor is whether they have a proper Tartare sauce and vinegar to go with the fish n chips. I am glad to report that Botak Jones uses Pacific Dory which is a good thing. But if you want to have a nice juicy fish, you will need to upgrade to the $10 portion as the $6.50 portion is a little on the thin side. They also serve it with a sort of Tartare sauce. I say "sort of" because the pickles were not really all that chunky, but it was still better than your standard mayonnaise. 4/5


Australian 200gm Ribeye Steak $14.50

I had a Botak Jones steak before last year and I felt at that time that it had too much herb seasoning on it. Good steak should not require anything more than salt and pepper. But then again, you don't expect a sub $20 steak to be prime quality do you? That aside, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the Australian Ribeye that day. Though the ribeye did fall apart, the doneness was just right and the flavour of the seasoning was not overpowering. So it was a juicy, enjoyable piece of meat that would please you if you are going for the sub $20 steak. 4/5

Conclusion

The Botak fever looks like it is going to spread to all parts of the island. The steak is reasonably priced but the fish n chips and some of the other items are not exactly that cheap. Foodwise, the flavors are distinctly un-Singaporean so you are not going to get Hainanese style western food. Botak Jones has already inspired other Ang Mohs to follow suit (Crazy Ang Moh) and I think we are going to see more Ang Mohs doing the same thing this coming year.

Botak Jones
325 Clementi Ave 5 #01-129
67741225
www.botakjones.com

Ya Kwang Dai Pai Dong: A different Cze Char Experience

With smart, liverpool, iwatch_ueat,bashful hunter, bashfully hunted, fashionfoodie, pk

Hong Shao Fish Head $18 (half) $30(whole)

Ever since smart discovered Ya Kwang, he has been eating here almost every week with his family or his group of cronies. He's commented on them so many times that I felt it was time to blog it again so that you all can understand what the fuss was all about.

Ya Kwang is about experimental Cze Char. It's owner, Jason is not your typical Cze Char hawker and for that matter not your typical Singaporean either. Rather than playing safe and selling the usual Cze Char favourites, he continues to introduce dishes that you don't commonly find in Cze Char stalls. So, a trip to Ya Kwang usually means you get to taste some of his new dishes or even invent new ones if you wish.

The dish that smart has been raving about is the Hong Shao Fish Head. If I recall, this dish started off as a curry fish head, but one of smart's cronies could not take spicy dishes, so Jason came up with the Hong Shao Fish Head instead. It's a good dish and my only complaint is that the gravy could be a little thicker and that there could be a few more pieces of Sio Bak in it. Otherwise the fish head (He uses Ang Kor Li) is very fresh and the gravy really makes you want to eat more rice (know what I mean?). 4.25/5



Another new dish is the Ti Wan Chye with deep fried crispy Bean Curd. The two elements are an interesting contrast in texture, but I did not think that the flavours synchronized that well. This one needs a little more tweaking but it was an interesting try. 3.5/5



I remember having this dish in a Teppanyaki restaurant in Sydney. Essentially its chunky pieces of ribeye beef flash fried with teriyaki sauce. Not quite novel BUT certainly not something that you normally get in a Cze Char. We felt the beef could be cut just a little thinner so that it was easier to bite. Otherwise the thicker chunkier beef was actually good because it was cooked medium so it retained a lot of the juices. 3.75/5



Of course a trip to Ya Kwang would not be complete without the signature Crab Tang Hoon which I have already written about in the my previous blog. Still good and prices are still reasonable compared to other crab bee hoon places. 4.5/5

Conclusion

There you go. A trip to Ya Kwang is always enjoyable because Jason is pretty hospitable and accommodating. So you get to order your dishes the way you want or even suggest new dishes. Not everything is die die must try, but there are some winners and some of the new dishes need tweaking. But that's the beauty of it, since you are there to experience something new and to offer feedback for further improvements. I think you can expect to hear a dissertation from smart on the Ya Kwang Cze Char experience.

Ya Kwang Dai Pai Dong
709 Geylang Road (Lor 37)
11am to 11pm daily
98170006
Special orders before 7 pm

Malay Kuih: Lontong Shiok Ah!

With Amagada


My wife insists that I need to blog this particular lontong because it is in her words "to die for". Yeah, she's been going on about this lontong for months. She has it for breakfast almost every Saturday without fail just before doing her weekly grocery shopping. She even brought mum there and mum ended up going there mid-week to get her lontong fix. So, like any good husband, I followed my wife's instructions and brought my camera to blog the place.......after much incessant "persuading".

So what's lontong anyway? I see it as a sort of reverse rice dish. The usual way to eat rice is to have the rice on a plate and put the gravy on top. In lontong, you have the gravy on a plate and you put the rice on top. Ok it may be a stretch of the imagination, but lontong is essentially compressed rice in a spicy coconut gravy yah?

Anyway the lontong here is really quite good. I haven't really been big on lontong but I would have to say that this one is pretty darn good. The gravy is just about right. Not too spicy or too rich, such that you can really drink it all up. The best part is the way the soft rice blends with the gravy and the kerisik (fried grated coconut). My wife insists that it is a 4.5/5 and all you husbands out there (who wish to enjoy a peaceful existence) would agree with me that it is best to just give a nod and say "Yes Dear".



Anyway, apart from the lontong, the stall also sells a variety of homemade, traditional kuihs which are quite good. They have tapioca cakes, kuih kosui, doughnuts and many others. The kuih kosui was specially good. It had just the right texture, springy yet creamy at the same time and just about the right amount of sweetness.

Conclusion

Have not really looked into Singapore's most famous and tastiest lontong but I have to say that this one is good enough to be included in such a list.

Malay Kuih
Banquet Food Court
Blk 217 Bedok North St 1
8.30am to 10pm daily

Stiff Chilli: Hole in the Wall Pizzas

OK, this is the kind of "Hole-in-the-Wall" outfit that I really feel Singapore should have more of. It's a dingy, dilapidated little place surrounded by Karaoke Lounges such that you get to hear middle aged men dishing out their own renditions of "I did it my way" while digging into your pizza and pastas.

Call it rustic, call it cheap. I call it "Boh Chup" (Can't care less) decor. The walls spot original paint from WWII with the existence of old electrical trunking left unashamedly evident. Oh, it just brings back memories of the times I was in the rustic cafes of Bangkok. It's original and it's got personality. It's a far cry from the standard "Nanyang School of fine art" plug and play type, I copy you, you copy me and "why think of something new when we can play it safe and stick to what everyone likes" kind of decor. No, we are talking about raw concrete, don't bother plastering up defects and using whatever is lying in our storeroom to decorate the place kind of approach.

Too bad the food was not as original as the decor. It's good but I was hoping for something that would have the same amount of raw, unabashed passion behind it. This is a shame as they even went to the extent of building a wood fired oven at the back to cook the pizzas. The pizzas range from $15-$26 dollars and are as competent as any pizzas around. 4/5

In case you are wondering, Stiff Chilli is a branch of a chain of restaurants started in Bali by this Aussie guy who married some Balinese princess. So I guess the "Boh Chup" decor probably resembles its sister restaurants in Bali. I was kinda hoping that this was going to be another "Ang Moh in the heartlands" story, but unfortunately, the joint is being run by a local, so it really is a shame. Having an Ang Moh behind the counter could really complete the illusion that you are somewhere overseas!

Conclusion

Great place to chill out, get a nice bite to eat and listen to Karaoke music!

Stiff Chilli
279 Jalan Besar
Singapore 208943
Phone: 62975509
Recommended by Damien

Lim Kee Banana Fritters: Lost and Found!

With Damien and smart


Those of you who wonder whatever happened to the goreng pisang (Banana Fritters) at Somerset House will be happy to know that they are right here in Maxwell Food Centre. Yep, I even checked the newspaper cutting on the wall and it is the same person frying the goreng pisang albeit with a few more white hairs.

There used to be 3 branches of this stall but now this is the only one left. I guess with the increased emphasis on healthy eating, stuff that are deep fried have sort of been out of vogue. But then again that does not explain the recent doughnut fad. It could just be that the humble goreng pisang needs a makeover in marketing in order to spruce up renewed interest in this very traditional local snack.

Actually what would be great with goreng pisang is to eat it with Maple Syrup and Vanilla Ice Cream. Whooooooooahhh! Perhaps that should be the next stage in the evolution of the pisang goreng?

The pisang goreng here is still very good. The owner insists on using only Pisang Raja so you get a nice creamy and sweet caramelized banana within a light crispy coat of batter. 4/5 Come to think of it, cooked banana is the only other "creamy" fruit aside from durian and avocado. Are there any more, you think?

Conclusion

Anyone out there also want to see Goreng Pisang with ice cream and maple syrup?

Lim Kee (Orchard) Banana Fritters
Stall 61 Maxwell Food Centre
11am to 8pm
67327492

Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon: The Original XO Fish Soup!

Who in the world would think of putting XO into Fish Soup?

A guy who loves XO, that's who. It turns out that the inventor of the XO Fish Soup was none other than an XO salesman who loved his drinks so much that he added it into Fish Soup. And as it turned out, it worked!

Come to think of it, there is no reason it wouldn't work. If you think of the creamy fish soup like any European cream based sauce, putting a dash of brandy in it actually does make sense.

But as luck would have it, our man Ricky struck gold when he came up with the very first XO fish soup some fourteen years ago and sprouted lots of copy cats ever since. (So he claims) According to Ricky, you can't just simply add the XO into the soup at the end. Firstly, you don't just use any old XO, it must the best grade. Then it has to be added into the soup while it is boiling and allowed to cook for a little while (the timing is a trade secret). The dash of XO just prior to serving is but the garnishing at the end of the cooking process.

This stallowner is the type of person who believes in only using the best and freshest of ingredients. Well, there's really no point in wasting good XO on 2nd rate produce is there? So he brags about how he sources his snakeheads (Loi He) from Malaysia and how he only uses the top grade MSG so that it doesn't cause the bad aftertaste. The result is a tasty fish soup with that extra XO kick! One little word of reservation. It's been a while since I ate here but I could have sworn the soup was a little more tastier in the past. Might be just that day's batch. 4.25/5



The other dish that I always order when I am there is the Har Cheong Kai (Prawn Paste Chicken). It's always freshly fried, crispy on the outside, juicy and fragrant on the inside. Again, the use of good prawn paste and MSG with fresh (not frozen) chicken wings really makes a difference. I love to dip the wings into the fish soup for just a quick soak before biting into the piping hot mid wing. Heavenly! 4.5/5

Conclusion

It is written that

The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11

Ricky himself admitted that he knows nuts about cooking, but somehow the addition of XO into fish soup became an instant success story. Really goes to show that a lot of success in life has to do with chance and opportunity doesn't it?

Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon
Blk 46, Holland Drive
#01-359
67783691
11.30am to 2pm
5pm to 11pm
Ricky Lau 98331003

Quoted in Today Weekend: Predictions for 2008

When the journalist asked me to predict the food trend for 2008, my first reaction was "Huh? How am I supposed to know?".

It's funny how so many people make me out to be an "Expert" when all I really do is go around tasting and taking pictures of all the food that I have eaten on other people's recommendations. Quite frankly, I don't really feel that I am qualified to be called an expert and it is quite amazing that I got quoted alongside some real Foodie Celebrities. I think that what I do have, is a tastebud threshold tingling level that resonates with the average Singaporean, ie I just like what the majority of Singaporeans like.

Anyway, I just came up with some ideas were on top of my mind. So what do YOU all think will take Singapore by storm in 2008?

Link to TodayOnline article

Click this image for enlarged version of the quote

Beach Road Scissor Cut Curry Rice: Sticky, Gooey, Goodness

I would bet that if you brought an Ang Moh friend to eat this Hainanese Curry Rice, he would think you were pulling a quick one on him. It's a plate of rice topped with an unthinkable mixture of gooey chicken curry, braised pork and slimy soft cabbage gravy. If you had never eaten this before, you'd probably be wondering how something that looks like pig's swill could even taste good.

But if you had just finished a 20km road march and had nothing else to eat but dry biscuits and water, this stuff will definitely hit the G-spot.

I also cannot imagine how you can mix curry with lor (braising sauce), but man the concoction sure tastes good. And that is not all, the texture of the gravy is like that of Tau Suan. It's full of corn starch, so it's like eating glue. But when you are famished, that bolus of rice and gravy slides down the oesophagus like engine oil on pistons. It's the quick and tasty way to satisfy your hunger pangs.



Best of all, you can eat everything with just a spoon since they cut up the meat for you with a traditional pair of scissors (don't know where to get these nowadays). Effortless, tasty and simply damn shiok. 4.5/5

Conclusion

Know any Ang Mohs who actually like this stuff?

Beach Road Scissor Cut Curry Rice
Cnr of Jalan Besar and Kitchener Road
11am to 3.30am daily