Eng Cheong Pau: Improving the standard of Kopitiam Paus

There was a period of time when the standard of our Paus really went downhill. A lot of the commercially available paus that are still being sold in our coffeeshops are still very much still at the bottom of the hill, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

There is a resurgence of the handmade pau as opposed to the factory made ones. Somehow they still haven't been able to built a machine that can make random folds on the bun as good as the Pau Uncle or Aunty. That is a relief, cos if the day ever comes that we can't differentiate handmade and machine made paus but its outward appearance, we are all in trouble.

The light at the end of the tunnel is the fact that there is an emergence of small scale handmade paus that are being shipped to our coffeeshops which I hope will improve things for all pau lovers out there.



This little stall in Upper Paya Lebar Road sells the paus at the premises but also sells them in several coffeeshops around Singapore. The interesting little background is that they used to be owned by the people from Tangjong Rhu pau who sold the business to the current owner with the assurance that they will pass on their recipe to them. As a result the meat filling is quite similar to Tanjong Rhu pau which is still the best pau in Singapore in my books. (The only complaint is that for $1, the large pau is the same size as most small paus)

There is however one drawback. Because the paus have to be displayed in a steamer for the whole day, the skin is made necessarily more resilient which means they are not as soft and supple as the ones sold at Tanjong Rhu. No matter, they still beat thost horrible K___ G____ paus handsdown anyday! 4/5

Conclusion

If you happen to be looking for Paus in a Coffeeshop, look for the Eng Cheong label. It's one of the better "outsourced" paus around. Have a taste of the filling, doesn't it remind you of Tanjong Rhu's?

Eng Cheong Pau
416 Upper Paya Lebar Road
S534995
7am to 7pm daily
68583652

Wan Dou Sek: Found Something to Eat!

With smart, Mr.YaKwang and SporeGirl

Har Kao $3.20, Steam Prawns $4, Fried Oysters $6, Char Siew Bao $3.20

I just love Dim Sum, Tapas and Degustations. The idea is that you get to titillate your tastebuds as much and as long as possible before it becomes uncomfortable to your stomach. Yes, it is part and parcel of getting older. Having a full stomach just isn't as pleasant as it was when I was younger. In the past, buffets were the way to go to get the bang for the buck. Nowadays buffets are just a waste of money because I would just get full too quickly to feel that I got my money's worth.

Unfortunately, the Dim Sum scene in Singapore just isn't that happening and I can't understand why. I really miss those push carts where the Auntie's would come right up to the table and you get to choose what you want to eat. Why is it that so few places still have them even though I think most Singaporeans still wish they were around? I would like to see a Hong Kong Street Style Dim Sum place in Singapore. No fancy restaurant, just a nice Kopi Tiam atmosphere where the carts are pushed out and people all get to rush for their steaming Har Kow and Siew Mai. I am sure you all would like to have one around, wouldn't you?

However, before some smart entreprenuer would venture to give us what we really want, there is this little place in Geylang that comes close. Set in the unsavoury part of Singapore, this little shop dishes out out quite savoury Dim Sums in an atmosphere that is quintessentially Geylang. If there are any URA directors out there reading this, Please, please, please, please.... don't ever upgrade Geylang, but do get someone from the other Ministry to start regulating the Sex Shops and foreign talent there!

How does one do a review of Dim Sum? If I gave you a review on every item that I ate there I think you would just scroll down to the conclusion. So I would say this: A good Dim Sum to me means that most items are good, some are excellent and some are unique and difficult to find anywhere else. That just about sums it up for Wan Dou Sek.

So what I will do is to draw your attention to some of the more interesting items. First is the deep fried oysters. Simple and sinful, the oyster fritters are juicy and shiok. Too bad there wasn't any tartare or bluecheese sauce to go with it! 4.5/5


Fried Fish Maw $4

Another dish that caught my attention was this fried fish maw with Thai style chilli sauce. Its just something you don't see very often and SporeGirl really loved it. The chilli sauce is more on the sourish side, reminiscent of Thai style seafood dipping sauce. 4.25/5


Lo Mai Kai $1.80

We were actually here because we were told that the Lo Mai Kai here was something to behold. Since I am currently on my quest for the ultimate Lo Mai Kai, I had to check it out. They use only midwings for the Lo Mai Kai here and the taste was alright, but ultimate it was not. The glutinous rice was not soft enough. For me a great Lo Mai Kai should have glutinous rice which is soft and gooey and saturated with the chicken juices. 3.75/5


Fried Yam Cakes 8 pieces $3.20

The yam cake is one of the best I have tasted in Singapore. The yam is generous and powdery (Teochews describe it as Sang Sang) and the cake itself is full of Hae Bee (dried prawn) flavour. They deep fry instead of pan frying them here and its good! 4.5/5


Curry Chicken Chee Cheong Fun $4

I put up this picture of the Curry Chee Cheong Fun just to show you that you can find quite interesting things in the bamboo steamers. So aside from the usual, you can be adventurous and try something new. Taste wise, this one was not quite there. The curry was a bit powdery but if you are the type that like find the typical Dim Sum too tame and want to spice it up, you can pick this one up as well as their steamed seafood otah dish. 3/5

Conclusion

Not exactly restaurant dining, but that's how I like it. Rustic and chaotic with no table cloths to soak up the spilled tea, the food is here dares to be adventurous so you can expect a few surprises. It's unpretentious, straightforward tongue titillating satisfaction and best of all you can enjoy it even if you are reading this at 3am in the morning of the eve of a public holiday! We should have more stalls like this across Singapore!

126 Eating House (Wan Tou Sek)
126 Sims Ave
67464757, 67454869
Open 24 hours daily

D'Bun: The Char Siew Sio Bak Pau!

Mouse Pau: Lotus Paste $1 ea

You might not realise it yet, but you and several thousand other readers of this blog are part of a small test market for new food products. When you make the effort to go down and try some of the new stuff that is being featured on the blog, you are actually playing a role in introducing a new food item to our local food scene. Over the last 18 months, several new food items have already been introduced. The Godzilla Da Pau and ieat Superburger are probably the best known, and then of course there's the Double Ramly and the Cheese Baked Chilli Crab. Some of the rest did not quite make it, but hey it was still a lot of fun creating them. So I hope you all will continue to volunteer your tastebuds and tummies.

There are lots of stall owners with creative ideas but what they lack is a platform where they can test market their creations. So when I get to meet some of these passionate people, they get excited when they realize that they can try out their new recipes on a group of real foodies!

As fate would have it, I met Mimi, the boss of D'bun when we started our Alpha course last week. She and her friend, Ginny had cooked up a sumptuous dinner that night and I was enjoying a delicious Chui Pi Tou Foo when I was introduced to Mimi, who made the dish. When she found out about my food blog, she got really excited and started telling me about her ideas about some really interesting Paus.


Char Siew Sio Bak Pau $1, Normal Char Siew 60cents

A couple of days later I was at her shop in Joo Chiat to try out some of her new creations. The one that really got me excited was the Char Siew Sio Bak Pau which really hit that Oooommph button. Firstly, they roast all their own Char Siew and Sio Bak here. So the Char Siew filling already has that nice smoky charred flavour which is seriously lacking in a lot of Char Siew Paus nowadays. Then when you bite into the Sio Bak in the middle, ooooohhhh, the aroma of the crispy pork crackling just wafts up your nostrils. This is seriously quite shiok and definitely worth a try. 4.5/5


Curry Pau $1.20

The Curry Pau is not really new creation. It was selling quite well a few years ago but ceased production during the crisis with Malaysian pork. Now Mimi is resurrecting it again. The curry here is very mild, so even the kids can eat it. I love eating bread with curry, so this combination is not all that far fetched. I think this could be even better if they could give the curry a bit more of a umami kick. Perhaps a nice creamy beef Rendang might also work? 4/5


Chui Pi Tou Fu $1.20 per slice

This is the Chui Pi Tou Fu (Crispy Skin Tofu) that I ate during the Alpha course. It's basically egg tofu with lots of other ingredients wrapped in bean curd skin. It is quite light but very tasty and I couldn't stop eating it that night. Goes really well with sweet chilli sauce. 4.25/5


Yuen Yang Pau $1.30ea

Glad to report that they make the Yuan Yang Pau here as well. Not readily available nowadays, the Yuan Yang Pau is made from Red Bean Paste, Lotus Paste and salted egg yolk. They use a special layered skin for this Pau which I felt was just slightly too thick. Otherwise the Red Bean and Lotus Pastes were good. 3.75/5

Conclusion

I haven't had a great Char Siew Pau for a long time and this Char Siew Sio Bak Pau really hit the spot for me. I thought that even though the Char Siew filling is already one of the best ones around, it could still be improved that tiny bit more to get it past the threshold into the 4.75 category. Just like how that one extra "Yelp" from JoJo enabled Horton's suspicious neighbours to hear the noise emanating from Whoville! (Horton hears a Who)

My next challenge to Mimi was to create a die-die-must-try, "even the Malaysians will drive out to Singapore and pay ERP to buy", Luo Mai Kai! One that is laced with dried scallop XO sauce and other fantasy ingredients in it! Mmmmmm........ stay tuned!

D'Bun
358 Joo Chiat Road
Jn of Marshall & Joo Chiat Rd
63448110
www.dbun.com.sg
8am to 10pm

Hong Ho Phang Pau: The Man who went in search of a Char Siew Pau but Came Back with a Fan Choy

Char Siew Pau 50cents

Here's another recommendation by our friend Liverpool whose neck I will put on the chopping board again. He had been telling me about this fantastic Char Siew Pau in Clementi that can beat the Tangjung Rhu Char Siew Pao and Bao Zai Char Siew Pao anytime. When I went down to the stall, it was unfortunately closed, but I found out that they had a branch nearer the East in Telok Kurau.

I finally found the quiet little coffee shop along Changi Road selling these innocent looking Char Siew Paus. Could they really be the "shiok shiok die die blow my mind out of the sky" Char Siew Pau that Liverpool described?

Unfortunately not.

This place is actually the Central Kitchen that roasts the Char Siew before preparing it as the filling for the Clementi Branch and they assured me the filling is the same but the skin is made at each location following a standard recipe. That being the case, if the Char Siew filling is the same as the Clementi one, then I must say it was good but certainly did not meet up with the description Liverpool gave.

BUT don't despair, while I did not find a Char Siew Pau to recommend, I found this......


Fan Choy $1.50

I don't think many people go around looking specifically for Fan Choy. At least I am not one of them. To me Fan Choy was just something I ate when someone Tar Paued back home or if I had no other choice. If I searched my memory banks, I cannot even point out one significant Fan Choy in my life. Now there is the ONE.

The photo perfectly mirrors my feelings for the Fan Choy as I hope it does yours. This is one outstanding Fan Choy. The first time I laid eyes on it, I was mesmerized. It wasn't the dry, unexciting, "eat me because there is nothing else" kind of stuff. This one really screamed out "Come on! Eat me! You can do it! Eat me!".

OK, just to moderate your expectations, a Fan Choy is a Fan Choy. So don't expect a Fan Choy to give you as much buzz as a good Laksa. But this is the first Fan Choy I can honestly say that left me thinking about going back to eat it again very soon. The rice was moist with the savoury sweet sauce which was quite a delight on the palate. 4.5/5


Lo Mei Kai $1.20

The Lo Mei Kai here is also quite commendable. It is one of those that are still made in an aluminum bowl not the disposable plastic ones. I always felt the aluminum bowls were better for the steaming process and ensures that the glutinous rice remains moist and full of the meat gravy. For me the Lo Mei Kai yardstick has been set by the one I had in Petaling Jaya and unfortunately, no Lo Mei Kai has ever come close to that one. However, the one is is about as good a Lo Mei Kai I have found in Singapore. The meat is quite generous, moist and tender and the rice has a consistency that I like. I don't know about you, but I really enjoy it when some clumps of rice are so full of the juices that they have lost their original shapes and are sort of like morsels of melt-in-your-mouth starch. 4.25/5



For those who need to cut down on cholesterol, you would be pleased to know that they have a vegetable pao here that even I would enjoy. The filling is made of Turnip and Hae Bee and is quite satisfying even when you need that "meat trip". 4/5

Conclusion

I went to look for a Char Siew Pau, but came back with a Fan Choy discovery. Certainly not a wasted trip. But I can't help but wonder what all the fuss was about the Char Siew Pau, or is the Clementi one really that much better?

Hong Ho Phang Hong Kong Pau
Junction of Telok Kurau Road & Changi Road
7.30am to around 4pm or until sold out
Closed on Mondays

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

Shanghai RenJia: Shen Jian Pao Surprise!

With iwatch_ueat, liverpool and introducing our latest kaki, Hjuanie

Xiao Long Bao $4.80 for 5

I don't remember ever eating Xiao Long Bao (XLB) when I was a kid. I think it is something that has taken Singapore by storm in the last decade. The beauty of the XLB is the spoonful of soup that you get in each dumpling.

I have always wondered how they managed to get the soup in the dumpling. Was it from the meat or do they somehow add it in. Well it happens that there are many ways of getting the soup in the dumpling. The shortcut way is to add more oil into the meat filling. This would make the dumpling very rich. The proper way is to prepare the soup before hand, chill it such that it has a jelly like consistency and mix it into the meat filling. The soup in the dumpling is thus very light and tasty after having extracted the flavors from the meat filling.

Since we were sitting in a restaurant where the hosts were Shanghainese, I asked them what the proper way to eat XLB was. There are a couple of ways I could think of. I used to dip the whole thing in the vinegar, put a few strands of ginger on top and put the whole thing in my mouth. This way, the dumpling bursts like a balloon in your mouth releasing all that wonderful soup and meaty flavours. (Have to make sure its not too hot) The Lao Ban Niang suggested that one should put the dumpling in the soup spoon, bite a little hole and suck out the soup first, then dip the dumpling in the vinegar and eat the rest. This way you get to savour the beautiful soup first. My son likes to break the whole dumpling open in the bowl, eat the skin first, the meat second and drink the soup from the bowl last. (Talk about menu deconstruction!) So pray tell, how do YOU savour your XLB? (Tell us by taking part in the latest poll!)

The XLB here is very good. There is a good amount of soup in each dumpling and the skin is resilient so that it does not break easily. The Lao Ban had been in the flour business all his life and is very knowledgeable about all sorts of different flours. So the skin of the baos here are excellent. I felt though that it would have been perfect if the skin was a fraction thinner and the filling had more ooomph. Nonetheless it is a XLB that I would rate as one of the best in Singapore. 4.25/5


Shen Jian Pau $7.20 for 6

The Shen Jian Pao (SJP) on the other hand is an item that I would drive all the way from Siglap to eat again tomorrow! This is seriously a delightful and exciting discovery. I would even go so far to say that it is most special Pao one can ever savour.

The Pao is fried in a covered saucepan. So the oil cooks the bottom half of the Pao skin so that it is crisp on the outside. The steam trapped in the saucepan steams the top part of the Pao to a nice fluffy consistency.

When you bite into the Pao, the juices just flow out and, if you are not careful, down onto your chin! So in one bite, you get a tender meat filling, an explosion of juices which is absorbed by the soft skin and lastly a crispy caramelised skin to tease your palate. It is such a joy to eat! I just crave to rave. Crave to rave, I say! Best SJP in Singapore, JB and maybe even Shanghai! 4.75/5


Special Ter Kah (not on the menu) $20

The restaurant serves a host of other Shanghainese favourites like drunken chicken, deep fried ribbon fish, la mian and so on. We were recommended this Shanghainese style Ter Kah which is excellent. Shanghainese Lor (Braising Sauce) is thick, gooey and sweet. The meat is soft and well caramelized. It is different from the Teochew and Hokkien style that we are used to but shiok nonetheless. 4.5/5

The lady in the middle was introduced to us as the Masterchef who taught the Masterchefs in Shanghai, before she came to Singapore. The Lao Ban said that he was extremely fortunate to get her to work in the restaurant. Both he and his wife lived in Singapore for almost 15 years before starting this restaurant out of a love to share their Shanghainese food with Singaporeans. They were passionate about their food and provided great service as well.

Conclusion

The Shen Jian Pao is the best I have ever eaten. Not only I say, my other 3 makankakis all concur that it deserves a 4.75 rating. There is only one potential problem. If you go on a weekend, you have to be prepared to wait a long time for your pao. It takes them quite a while to prepare each one!

Shanghai People
906B Upper Thomson Road
(Next to Han's)
64567752
12pm to 10pm daily

Recommended by Koolabee

GODZILLA RETURNS! Now you can have your Pao and Eat it, but can you Finish it?

Fans of the Godzilla Da Pao can rejoice once again as their favourite "Social" Pao has found a new home at Elias Mall. If you remember, I called this a "Social" Pao because it is not meant to be eaten alone. This is a Pao that is meant to be brought back to the office to scare your colleagues! You will never fail to elicit some sort of response from unsuspecting friends and family when you whip out a Pao that is as big as your brain. (Ok, that depends on how big headed you are)

So you are probably wondering what happened to the Godzilla?

The concept of the Godzilla Da Pao was birth sometime back in September 2006, when I asked Mr Cheng to make a Super Big Pao like the ones I saw while driving along the highways in Malaysia. I then took a picture of the Pao and posted it on the forum for everyone to see. At the time, the Pao was made to order, so you have to ring up a day in advance. As word of the Super Big Pao circulated in cyberspace, the demand for the Pao became so good that they decided to put it on the menu. (It's the same thing that happened for the ieat SuperBurger)

Then tragedy struck! Just when their business was getting to the stage where they could take a day off every fortnight, the coffeeshop they operated out of was sold and the new owners demanded an increase in the rent that would make the business non-viable. An ominous fog had suddenly descended upon our Dim Sum Duo.

So for the next three months, Mr Cheng had been busy looking for another stall to rent while his wife took on a temporary job to keep the family going. Life in Singapore can be tough for small time hawkers like Mr and Mrs Cheng. They are constantly at the mercy of stallowners who would increase the rental rates unexpectedly. So do spare a thought next time before you begin to complain about the price of that bowl of Mee Pok. Some hawkers are working very hard just to pay off their landlords.



Anyway, the Godzilla Da Pao has found a new home in Pasir Ris and I am sure fans of the Pao are relieved that they can once again buy a Pao that is big enough to satisfy even a NSF (soldier) who has just finished a 20km road march. I was pleasantly surprised that they even chose to adopt the name "Godzilla" for their new stall!

For those who have yet to meet the Godzilla Da Pao face to face, it is not just an extra large Big Pau. Aside from the tender marinated pork, the Pao also packs extra goodies like lup cheong (Chinese Sausages), mushrooms, salted egg yolk, boiled eggs and sliced abalone inside. The pao skin has got that rustic homemade quality about it and is more substantial than delicate.


How big is the Godzilla Da Pao? Cup E Size says iwatch_ueat. $3.50

Conclusion

The Godzilla Da Pao is the kind of thing that you just have to experience at least once in your lifetime. This is one of my regular Pao shops. I wouldn't say that it is "die die must try" but it certainly has a quality about it that gets me back to the shop at least once every month.

Link to first Godzilla Da Pao Blog

Godzilla Handmade Tim Sum & Pau
G C Food Court
Blk 623 Elias Mall
Jn of Elias Rd & Pasir Ris Dr 3
7am to 7pm (or until sold out)
97523815