Thursday, July 26, 2007

Ya Kwang Dai Pai Dong: Cze Char Lobster Noodles!


700g Live Maine Lobster Noodle $60

This is a Dream come true!

I finally managed to persuade a Cze Char Hawker to do a Lobster Noodle for me. And it is not just any Lobster, it's a Maine Lobster as well. And the best thing is that this large plate of Lobster only costs $60! This is great value considering my last Lobster Noodle cost $80++ for a half lobster!



The Lobster Noodle idea was already simmering since my first meeting with Jason, whom I would describe as a New Age, Service Oriented Cze Char Hawker. Just like how the IBM changed from a maker of computer hardware to a provider of business solutions, Jason's Cze Char does not just provide Cze Char dishes, he is there to satisfy your Cze Char cravings.

He has recently re-branded his stall from selling mainly Kway Chap to what is known as a "Dai Pai Dong", which is a popular concept in Hong Kong. Essentially, what that means is that he will cook for you whatever you want, subject to availability of ingredients. Think of it has having your very own Cze Char Chef whom you can get to satisfy your whims and fancies.



I can't tell you how excited I was when I received the SMS reply early Sunday morning that Jason had managed to procure a Live Maine Lobster for me! I was so excited that I had to really struggle to keep the thought of the Lobster Noodles out of my mind during Church Service that morning. (Come on, don't tell me you never think of lunch during Church Service before!)

If you are wondering how the Lobster can be so cheap, let me just let you in on the secret. Just across the road from his restaurant is a Live Seafood Supplier. So instead of Jason keeping the Lobsters alive in his own shop, he just hops across the road to buy the Lobster! That way he saves on the cost of keeping the water tanks and also curbs potential wastage!



I have already mentioned about the Lobster Anticlimax Phenomenon in an earlier blog so I was a little apprehensive just before I took my first mouthful of the noodles. The last thing I want was to be disappointed yet again.

God not only forgave me for thinking of Lobster during Church, but He really blessed me with a treat that day! This is exactly what I was looking for! Phwa Sayah! I was in Heaven.

Jason had modified the recipe a little by using Handmade Noodles instead of egg noodles. These are noodles he makes himself on the premises. The Handmade Noodles were excellent at absorbing the taste of the Lobster but still maintaining its chewy and gummy texture. The Maine Lobster was superbly sweet and succulent. This is definitely one of those significant life changing moments for me. 4.8/5



Now if you have to feed 7 people, you will need to share your plate of Lobster Noodles and eat something else to fill the stomach. Besides the Kway Chap and the Kong Bak which are both excellent here, you should also try a plate of Jason's Char Kway Teow which is the best Penang Style Char Kway Teow I have had in Singapore. It has that wonderful savoury wok hei flavour and the Kway Teow was lively and slippery. 4.5/5 Another dish that you might like to try is his Mild Curry Fried Chicken Wings. The taste is very unique and you can hardly make out the taste of the curry, but its really got that ooommph! 4.5/5

Conclusion

This must be THE DISCOVERY of the blog!

You will have to order your lobster earlier in the day so that Jason can hop across the road to secure one for you. Jason will continue to offer it at this promotional price for a limited period of time only and it is also dependent on the Lobster season, so make sure you go soon. And, if you just happen to see someone carrying a big camera there, make sure you come over and say hi!

Ya Kwang Dai Pai Dong
709 Geylang Road
(Lor 37)
11am to 11pm daily
98170006
Order your Lobster before 7 pm but the earlier the better!

19 comments:

Holy Drummer said...

Woah 4.8! Close to a Holy Grail experience huh?

Time to visit Geylang again *hurhur*

smart said...

Incidentally was there on Wed, To me the kong bak and the Fried DA Chang Tau so so only. 3.5/5.Lobster, I usually avoid as it is expensive in Spore.

khim said...

wow!! 4.8!! e highest score in leslie's blog as of now!!

zhouzi said...

Couldn't agree with you more, smart. Visited on 9 Jul 07. immediately after reading ieat's blog. commented on it. hem forgot to give a grade, the kong bak and da chang tau, I give a 3/5. My makankaki that day suggested that I visit Westlake for their kong bak pau but yet to visit.

Anonymous said...

Wow sounds mighty delicious. Hope to try it soon. Btw, Leslie have you tried the pepper crab at this particular coffeeshop at the junction of Joo Chiat Rd ( I think) and Stll Rd. I think it's called 1st Grade Seafood Restaurant. Would like you to try it and give your expert opinion. I personally love it.

Anonymous said...

the deep fried wings are seasoned with chinese wine and my were very very saltish, hope it didn't raised my bp and $5/- for 5 small mid wings are very expensive.

Michael Lee said...

Went down on 28/7 with some serious food kakis to check out at Ya Kwang after seeing your highest ratings on this shop. We simply loved the Crab Beehoon ! A pricey steal at only $20 and we must admit that the beehoon was simply crabby delicious. The chicken wings was crispy and yes, we liked the mild curry flavour and most important, it was not salty as many other stalls had failed us.You bet, this shop in Geylang will be our regular food stopover as it's unbelieveable that not only it's wide variety of food is good and reasonable, we could also get the boss to stir fry a plate of towgay with shredded duck meat! Wow! it's like having our personal chef without burning a hole in our pocket. Cheers

foodcrazz said...

Yes, do make some food recommendation from the West... Since I shifted from the central part of Singapore to the West, my family and I, who are crazz over good food, feel very deprived...

Nevertheless, we drove all the way to Geylang tonight to try Ya Kwang as highly recommended by you. Thankfully, we are not disappointed. Had the crab bee-hoon and for once need not worry about exhorbitant prices for crabs since it was fixed at $20 per two crabs. The beehoon was great..crab was not big but very fresh. Importantly, it did not leave any uncomfortable msg attack as I often have had with other cze char stalls.Will venture into the lobster noodles the next time round..Notice that all the other patrons were savoring every bites of it..It was a funny sight somewhat when I saw the stallowner Jason proudly displaying each lobster to his customers before sending them into the frying pan.....
Foodcrazz

joey said...

Haha, I am currently in aust now and seeing pics of sgrean food simply makes me salivate and wish i was back home again!=)

Anonymous said...

My family tried this stall twice this month. It is FANTASTIC delicious and ECONOMICAL in value. We love the Lobster Noodle, Penang Chay Keow Teow and Chicken Wings, they are superb. The owner Jason gives great service for a cze char shop. He has passion and soul for his cooking & service. We are looking forward for our next meal here before National Day. Asher & Wong

Iron Eater said...

Jason is really a one of a kind chef with a passion for cooking and whipping out sumptious dishes.
He never fails us with his food especially the crab bee hoon,small but substantial and reasonable and the penang char kway tiao is just marvellous. Very chewy and lively as said.
Job well down for this recommendation and hope to see more of his dishes here :)

Anonymous said...

this is a must eat!! the cra beehoon is fantastic, i had the chinese dried chilli ersion, very very fragant and the crabs were real meaty!

Holy Drummer said...

Went to Ya Kwang yesterday evening anticipating a crab feast but was sorely disappointed because there were two huge tables who bao-ka-liao-ed all the seafood - they whacked rock oysters, many styles of crabs and we spotted the Boston Lobster noodles somemore!!!

My gf and I were left hankering for the very fresh seafood while tucking in the Kway Chap for 2 ($8). We loved it especially the duck meat! And we also had the mild curry fried chicken wings ($5 for 6 wings) which was SUPER SHIOK for me - it was marinated in some sorta wine and it reminded me of Twisties and Nachos curry flavour; loved the batter.

Since the seafood were sold out yesterday, I decided to have dinner there again tonight - lesson learnt: pls place reservations lol

Jason showed us the live crabs and a box of super fresh fish head to recommend. Tempting, but I stuck with the crabs (which were much bigger than I had thought)

Maybe because bigger than usual thats why the Crab Tang Hoon and Chilli Crab we had were $25 each (1 crab per dish, total 2). But its quite a steal & super value for money cus the 2 crabs were quite big, meaty and juicy! We loved the Tang Hoon which is so full of flavour and slurped it clean! The Chilli crab was quite special, done slightly drier & we especially liked the 'heibi' in the thick sauce - downed it with deep-fried mantou... SHIOK~

We re-ordered the fried wings and tried out the or luak ($5) which was quite... unique =D Have yet to try the penang char kway teow which is also highly acclaimed...

At the end of the satisfying meal, we asked Jason what he would do with prawns.

"Wasabi Prawns"

WAH!!!

We're going back real real soon man~! =)

Mr. Anonymous said...

I just had the Penang char kway teow, while it was good. It still can't beat the old holland drive Penang char kway teow stall. Each strand of kway teow is covered in a thin layer of oil and the chili is out of this world. I can't find a similar taste even in Penang! Sadly, the owner is no longer there. Anyone knows where he went?

Brilynn said...

That lobster is gorgeous, I'm drooling!

Cindy. Lo. said...

Ah I haven't had a lobster for a long long time.

smart said...

Cindy: me too, although I been eating at Ya Kwang almost weekly.

Anonymous said...

Went there on 20 July 08. Had crab beehoon, char koay teow and clam. Overall I would says it just above average, definitely not the best and doesn't worth the rating given in this blog. I have tasted better char koay teow in Penang Place (IBP)and better crab beehoon at the "super arrogant" coffee shop at Lor 33. Maybe after 1 year the standard has dropped.

liverpool1965 said...

enjoyed a plate of the Penang CKT, pepper crab, fried chicken wings today! :)

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