Zhen Zhen Porridge: Silky Smooth

I finally managed to eat the famous Zhen Zhen porridge!

The distinctive feature about this porridge is that they cook the grains until it has all but dissolved. Lots of people actually rave about this porridge and even they even got 6 chopsticks from Makansutra which is full marks. I was however a little ambivalent about it as I felt it was almost like eating a bowl of thickened cream soup.



Granted, for $3, you actually get a chockful of ingredients in the porridge. I ordered the mixed porridge which had pork, slice fish and century eggs. It is really value for money and the fish was very fresh. But I have to admit that I still prefer my porridge to have a few grains in it. Nonetheless it is certainly a very unique bowl of porridge which is well worth a try. 4/5

Conclusion

Good bowl of porridge but I don't think that I am all out sold on the idea of cooking the rice till it all dissolves. Too much like eating pure starch to me.

Zhen Zhen Porridge
Maxwell Road Food Centre
Stall 54
5.30am to 2.30pm
Closed Tuesdays

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

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

Jing Hua Sliced Fish Bee Hoon: Ooommmph!

With Damien and smart


This is simply the most delicious fish soup I have had this year. I had my doubts at first when smart was lining up for the fish soup, but my first taste of it was quite a Holy Grail experience. OK I admit it, even though I have always called myself a Teochew Ah Hia, I think that I prefer the Cantonese Style milky fish soup to the Teochew version. Oops! I think I can hear my ancestors all turning in their graves.

Forget all that hype about XO, if you've got a tasty fish soup, you don't need to hide behind the veil of XO brandy. Plus the best thing is that you don't have to pay a bomb for the fish soup because it comes in individual servings. The only problem with it is the long queue even in off peak periods. But there is a good reason why there is a queue and it is because each bowl of soup is made individually. But take it from me, the queue is worth it especially when it is someone else who doing the queueing (Thanks Uncle Smart). 4.75/5



Conclusion

It's really shiok. This one I am certain that many will agree.

Jing Hua Sliced Fish Bee Hoon Stall
77 Maxwell Road Food Centre
11am to 8.30pm
Thursday Closed

Peanuts Soup: Gotta be good if you serve only 3 soups!

Yes, in this day and age where dessert stalls are offering a wide variety of desserts, it takes a really special stall to offer just 3 flavours of soup. In fact the stall only has 3 troughs in the display cabinet offering Peanut soup, Red Bean with Brown Rice soup and Tau Suan. You can also add glutinous rice balls if you like.

I tried both the Peanut Soup and the Red Bean Soup and they were both excellent. The Peanuts were fantastically soft and the soup was smooth and full of nutty aroma. One of the best I have tasted. 4.5/5 According to Damien, the Tau Suan also one of the best around. It was too bad they sold out that day.

Conclusion

Got to be really good if you only sold 3 flavours of soup!

Peanuts Soup Stall
75 Maxwell Food Centre
7.30am to 4pm daily
Monday Closed

Thunder Tea Rice: One for the Ladies?

With Damien and smart


Thunder Tea Rice or Lei Cha Fun is one of those dishes that are bound to get very mixed responses. My two makankakis that day wouldn't even spare a calorie to eat it spewing expletives like "It's like prison food" and "Hospital food tastes heaps better". Others are actually hooked on the dish and expound on its wonderful virtues of being able to lower cholesterol, detoxify the body, relieve stress, aid digestion, combat flu, boost the immune system etc etc etc. (With food like this, who would need a doctor?)

OK, so it is a dish which polarizes seemingly homogeneous Singaporeans into two opposing camps just like supporters of Liverpool and Man U. Another assertion made by my makankaki (I shall not reveal which one) is that Thunder Tea Rice is a dish for health conscious ladies. Such statements only serve to ruffle the leg hair of women libbers. Hey some women like their Pork Lard too, OK!



For those in the DON'T know, Thunder Tea Rice is called Thunder Tea Rice because of the bowl of Tea which accompanies the rice. The Tea is made from a mix of Green Tea, Basil, Mint and another herb called Yomogi. These are all ground up in a special bowl and then made into a tea which is to be added into your rice. The other ingredients such as pickled radishes, long beans, peanuts, dried shrimps, fried tofu are all prepared and topped onto the rice.

For those who have not eaten this before, I think your reaction would be similar to my two makankakis. How can pouring a bowl of slightly bitter and astringent Tea into rice be nice? Plus its all veggies man! And it ain't even fried rice!

OK, it wasn't all bad. It was quite ok and tastes even better when you think to yourself "Detox, lower cholesterol, lose weight, unclog arteries, clear complexion.......". Ohhh yum yum. But seriously, peanuts and pickled radishes do go quite well with rice and you do get your carbo rush. But for me, tea in rice really is an acquired taste which I found no absolute need to acquire. 3.5/5

Conclusion

I will think about eating this whenever I am in one of my health conscious moods or when I am out to play a prank on some unsuspecting foreigner looking for "die die must try" Singapore food. But seriously (again), for those who really are looking for healthier choice hawker food, this is really not bad.

Thunder Tea Rice
Stall 86 Maxwell Road Food Centre
10.30am to 3.30pm daily