Yong Li: Treat your hawker nice Day!

With Cactuskit, Wahcow and smart


Well, we Singaporeans are an honest bunch. We know our faults and we openly admit them. Impatient, rude, unforgiving and downright Kiasu. We sigh in frustration when we experience graciousness in other societies and lament that we can't be the same. Hey, all is not lost. Deep inside each and everyone of us, there is that spark that just needs to be ignited. We all have it in us and it is just a matter of expressing it so that we can make a difference.

Why do I say that? Because there is still a lot of niceness and goodness out there! And it is as close as the hawker that you buy your food from everyday.

Take this little old lady selling kway chap for instance. You could go up to her, order your $3 kway chap, pay your money and sit down and eat. Or, you could do what our friend Cactuskit did and start showing real interest in the lady, chatting with her frequently and even going to the extent of inviting her to one of his church functions. It's no wonder she treats him like a son and cooks a special chilli stingray dish for him when she found out we were coming for breakfast on a particular day!

That is why I feel that if you want to see more graciousness in our society, it starts right where you are. And one of the first people you can start with is our humble hawkers who work so hard everyday to feed us but often don't get any credit and very little thanks for what they do. A big smile and a simple word of praise for their food usually gets things going and I assure you that you will go away feeling much better about life too! In fact, if I were a Director in the Ministry of Community Development, I would even declare an official "Hawkers Appreciation" Day to try to spread some goodwill around. Happy hawkers make yummier food and yummier food make us all happier.



This little stall in Haig Road Food Centre does not have any newspaper clipping or awards of any sort, but they have been cleaning out pig innards for more than 30 years. Ever since Cactuskit mentioned them in the forum, it has been winning approval from our forummers including our venerable uncle Smart who declared that the lady makes the best "Da Chang" (Large Intestines) and pig skin in Singapore.

I think the thing about their "Da Chang" is the fact that they managed to get it so clean that you don't have any "smelly" taste in it. Now, here is the secret which I immediately spotted, thanks to my years of studying histology and anatomy in Med School. (Yeah right). Notice from the picture that they stripped off the layer of mucosa (innermost layer which is in contact with the fecal matter), thus exposing the inner layer of circular muscle? That is the secret. The old lady laboriously turns the large intestine inside out and painstakingly strips off the mucosal layer. This extra step results in a clean tasting "Da Chang" which even someone (like me) who doesn't usually eat "Da Chang" can appreciate. Smart gives it a 4.75/5 and says that the texture and taste is almost perfect.



So here's the nice little old hawker Aunty who has been stripping off pig innards for 30 years. Be nice to her and to your favourite hawker Aunty and Uncle today!

Conclusion

If you like "Da Chang" and pig skin then according to our kway chap experts, you should give this stall a try real soon!

Yong Li Cooked Food
Haig Road Food Centre
Open 7am to 2pm daily
Closed on Monday




What to do next?

Read about other Kway Chap stalls by clicking here
Like to find more Mom and Pop stalls? Click here
Find out what else is there to eat at Haig Road FC. Click here
Don't miss the Putu Piring that is just round the corner! Click here


Remember to vote today! Click here

Ya Kwang Kway Chap: Heavenly Kong Bak, $10 Crab Bee Hoon, Yuppie Kway Chap and Peking Rectums!

Just in case you are wondering what this stall actually sells, the answer is.....anything that the owner Jason is passionate about. Well, the mainstay of the stall is the Kway Chap which was recommended by one of our readers, Iris. She described this as a Yuppie Kway Chap that would appeal to people who would otherwise not go near piggy spare parts. The other thing that caught my attention was that the stallowner happened to be an ex-flight steward. Now, an ex-flight steward opening a Yuppie Kway Chap stall in Geylang, don't you think that is worth investigating?

And amazingly, that is exactly how I would describe this Kway Chap. The taste is new age, delicate and clinical. The flavour is subtle such that you can't really make out the spices, but they combine to give the Kway Chap that umami kick. Even for a person like me who don't usually eat Da Chang Tou aka rectums, I actually found this one to be quite delectable. 4/5



Are you all familiar with the Ma Ling canned Kong Bak? I grew up eating it and ooohhhh, it is so yummy! It's got a very special taste that I can't quite describe but I instantly recognize when I eat it. Unfortunately, even though there have been many new stalls sprouting up selling Kong Bak Pau, there really has not been one that I could rave about.

Not anymore! I think I have found my regular Kong Bak Pau haunt. The Kong Bak here has got that special Ma Ling Kong Bak taste but without all that lard oil in the sauce. It is not overly sweet but instead has got a really "Kiam Pang" (Salty Savoury) taste that is quite irresistable. Jason told me that his method of cooking the pork is quite different and though he did not reveal what gave the pork its "Ma Ling" flavour, he did say that he uses Japanese sauces to marinade the meat before steaming for several hours. It was so good, I tar paued a whole box home only to find that my kids finished it all up when I got home late from work! Now if he had deep fried the skin so that it was wrinkly I would have immediately give it a 4.75. But even as it is, it deserves a commendable 4.6/5


Crab Bee Hoon $10

For those who like to eat Crab Bee Hoon for the Bee Hoon and not necessarily the crab, this is a good place to have your bee hoon without having to fork out at least forty bucks. The Bee Hoon here is pretty good and has that crustacean flavour infused into the Bee Hoon. For ten bucks you get a small but solid crab. Not a bad way to satisfy that crab bee hoon crave. 4/5


Peking Duck? Guess again!

I have to hand it to Jason to come up with this next dish which is "Peking Rectum". Yes it is Peking Duck but instead of Duck skin, Jason has substituted it with deep fried Da Chang Tou. The idea was so novel, I had to try it at least once. I must say that the texture of the deep fried Da Chang Tou was really like the skin of the duck. But of course it does not taste like duck, it tastes like a sweet crispy morsel of meat. It's something you definitely need to try and take a picture of so that you can tell the world about it. 3.5/5

Conclusion

Jason's the kind of new age hawker chef that is going to change the way we eat hawker food. Passionate, well travelled and innovative, his constant experimentation has already produced a Kong Bak Pau that really is darn shiok. I am really looking forward to more new creations coming out from his kitchen. He has already promised me that he will look into the possibility of stir fried Lobster noodles........ akan datang or should I say... makan datang... I hope... I hope....

Ya Kwang Kway Chap
709 Geylang Road (Lor 37)
98170006
11am to 11pm daily