Yet Con: Have you been Con(vinced) Yet?
With iwatch_ueat, liveyrdreams, damien and holydrummer
This is truly the last bastion of Hainanese cuisine and if you have never been to Yet Con yet, I suggest you quickly do it before this Hainanese institution disappears for good. The elderly Hainanese man in his pajama pants (I jest) sitting at the counter will be the last in the family line to sit behind the register. There is not going to be a next generation.
Founded in 1940, the shop sort of looks like how it would have looked when the Japanese invaded Singapore. Heck, maybe some Japanese soldiers even came in here to have Hainanese chicken rice! Who knows? This restaurant has been faithfully preserving the Hainanese traditions without compromise. When you walk into the restaurant, there are so many elderly Hainanese men enjoying their cups of Kopi and Kaya Toast, that you might think that you have walked into a Hainanese Clan Meeting.
Whilest most chicken rice sellers nowadays would soak their chicken in cold water after cooking, Yet Con has defied the trend and stubbornly stick to the age old Hainanese recipe. As a result the chicken skin is dry, not very fat and has a very strong "Chickeny" flavour. The flesh is also cooked to the bone, so it is a bit tough but flavourful. In traditional Hainanese style, no soy sauce is added to the chicken. I personally found the taste of the chicken to "farmy" to me. It tastes like the chicken that has just been running around you in a Kampung. Bit too strong for me, but Damien loved it. 4/5 I liked the rice here. It had a great texture and was very savoury. People who don't like salty food may find it a tad on the salty side.
Their Hainanese Pork Chops were undoubtedly the star of the show for me. Perfectly marinated and fried till it's crispy on the outside but still juicy on the inside. Their sauce has tomato ketchup in it but rather than tasting like plain old tomato ketchup, it has been transformed into a very tasty sweet and sour sauce. Best Hainanese Pork Chops I have ever tasted! 4.5/5
The Hainanese Chap Chye (mixed veg) here is also pretty good. I always thought that Chap Chye Chye had to be stewed till everything is mushy, but being the only Teochew Ah Hia sitting in the midst of the Hainanese Clan meeting, I thought I'd better not make an issue out of it. The vegetables were crunchy and there was a good wok hei flavour about it. 4/5
Conclusion
Traditional..... NO.... Historical Hainanese Cuisine. It don't get more Hainanese than this! And the food is shiok too. If Hainanese food can be this good, why aren't there more similar traditional Hainanese restaurants in Singapore?
Yet Con Chicken Rice & Rest
25 Purvis St
11am to 9.30pm
63376819
22 comments:
just curious dat the date for this entry is 29th march when the clock on my computer says it is 28th...
your computer is S L O W :P
Coming from a hainanese root, there are only TWO true blue hainanese restaurants in Singapore - Yet Con and the Steamboat place in Golden Mile.
Ironically, Yet Con is popular for their steamboat among the older hainanese folks whereas, I find Golden Mile Steamboat place has nice chicken rice!? However, their chilli has no "kick".
Give them a try :)
Indeed, the chicken rice at Golden Mile steamboat is great. Actually, with regards to Hainanese food, I feel that the best was served at this place called "Jin Jin"/"Chin Chin" which is very near ""Yet Con". Unfortunately , the standards have dropped alot since it reopened after the owner migrated to Australia and came back.
Usually publish for the next day late the night before. Much like most magazines releasing their April issue in March.
As far I can remember I have been to Yet Con since I was a liitle child, back then in the late 70's it belong to the more "upmarket" restaurant in that area, more or less in the same league of swee kee, back then there were quite a few of hainanese coffee shop selling more or less the same style of hainanese Zhe Cha. (try now going to any neighbourhood zhe cha and asking for Pork Chop .. there would give u "Pai Gout Wong" (pork rib king).
There was intense competition then cos there were also roadside stalls along purvis street and not to forget Bugis Street was around the corner. Being a hainanese boy, I have been eating this prok chop since I was a child, there are less and less places serving this dish as the years go by. In the end might just have to don an apron to cook it myself to savour this dish.
i have been eating at yet con since I was a little kiddo too. And i remember the uncle and his father even!! I think it is solid how he still insists on using the abacus. even now, he recognises my parents and I when we go there. You know it is amazing how when as a child, you tend to be bored by the foods that your parents love, hankering after A&W's and MacDonalds and the like, yet when you grow up you rediscover the foods from your past and develop a consuming passion for them! Yet con is one of the places that carry more than great food for me, because there are also great memories of happy times that i spent with my family.
First time with all the "lao jiao" makan-kakis...
I must say "Yet Con" really live up to its name for being traditional...
But old doesn't mean old-fashioned and I must say I kinda enjoy eating there... not just the good tasting food but the ambience itself...
The ambience itself is something which I though would already have vanished from Singapore... something which I will only see on TV but never get to step in... when I first step inside, it just gives a very warm feeling as if you are stepping into some history ... really worth visiting even just to see and feel the place! So rare in Singapore now!
Ok ... now for the food:
1. Chicken Rice
Rice is good... not so oily.
To me, what makes a good food is that it taste good even when it's cold. As we went during off-peak hours, the chicken has been left on the rack for some time and all the air-con gets into the chicken. Surprising, it still taste good and I kinda like it as it's not oily or fattening.
2. Pork Chop
The pork chop tasted very well marinated and the tomato-based sauce tasted special... so different from my idea of tomato-based food. Anyways,it's realy good and I would go back again for this one!
3.Chap Chye
In my opinion, nothing special.... all the standard ingredient and taste "normal" to me ... but wait till ieat blog about another stall's chap chye, then I will have much to rave about. :)
You should try the siew yoke [roast pork] there too! Its roasted till crispy and they drizzle some thick dark sauce ontop of it to add some kick and its served with a side of pickled veggies! Simply divine!
fav dish from yetcon - their 'hong sao toufu'. you must also try their steamboat
Hi ieat,
Where's the picture of the roast pork. Too shiok you forgot to take picture issit :)
Hi there, I just stumbled upon your blog and absolutely love it. It's very informational with wonderful and unpretentious food photography. I will have to use it the next time I go to Singapore. Cheers and keep up the great work!
I have YET been (CON)ned here!
The stir fry beef with kai lan is good also and there is one dish you MUST try. I'm not sure what it's called but its glass noodles stir fry with dark sauce and with sotong strips. very yummy.
whatever it is, the chix juz tast differently with specialty. One could be a "kampong chix" which is dry and lesser fat and the other is just smooth, oily and pleasant. I like both and am talking abt the chix only. Love it! Tot of doing it again on Saturday.
BTW, damien says the "Yet-Con" boss never talk to ppl except for his own old kaki! Well, to my surprise, when I asked for his namecard and business hour, he "talks" and he did really talk!
My dad used to bring me to Yet Con when I was young TOO!!!
It was only a few years back that he brought me to the Golden Mile Steamboat.
Using the Chicken rice & Pork Chop as a yardstick, I prefer the Golden Mile Steamboat.
May I suggest you guys try the beef noodle next to Yet Con...
Had dinner at Yet Con yesterday evening. Arrived after 8pm, and probably ordered the last bird of the day. Also had the kangkong and pork chop.
Verdict: enjoyed the pork (mainly lean, which was good!) and kangkong (distinctive flavour in the gravy). The chicken rice was unique too (was that bits of garlic in it?!). The ginger sauce was different with a tinge of vinegar in the mix.
The chilli was a little too watery and salty for my tastebuds.
The chicken, well, 3/5. A tad dry and stringy for me. So far, the benchmark for good chicken rice is the one at Mei Ling Street (ex-Margaret Drive) - succulent, tender and flavourful!
The birds that Yet Con uses are relatively skinny kampung chickens, thus, lacking in fats and does not lock moisture in.
this dude was charged $35 for late kai lan at Yet Con:
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2011913
-abher
You must definitely try their Milk Tea~! Very very nice!
Highly recommended by gastronomist CaiLan, 蔡澜.
http://blog.sina.com.cn/cailan
I get to eat their chicken rice after read his books long ago…
Cheers!
Firstly, Yet Con's rice standard faced issues since 2003. I didn't bother going back until months ago when I decided to give it a second try. The rice is slightly better no doubt and the chicken tastes like those in the old days.
However the balance of the tastes in the rice are still off.
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