Simpang Kitchen: Thai Singaporean Cze Char

With Taukwa and Cactuskit

Fried Sotong with Crispy Garlic $8

Our favourite Thai food when we were living in Bangkok was not the typical staple that we order here whenever we visit a Thai Restaurant. One of my favourite dishes was Pad Krapau which loosely translates to fried basil leaves. Although it is called "Pad Krapau", minced pork seems to be the main part of the dish. Another dish that I love was the Kana Pad Mu Krop, or fried Kale with Deep Fried Pork Belly. Hmmmm...... I used to just pop downstairs (of my apartment) for a Kana Pad Mu Krop with rice for just 20 baht (80 cents) and that was a simple and very satisfying meal that really hit the spot.

Now, that kind of food is still hard to find in Singapore, which is why I quickly came down to investigate this little eatery when I heard about it from some of my patients.

It turns out that it is run by a Thai Lao Ban Niang who is married to a Singaporean man. To be able to order Thai food in Thai is usually a good sign that the food is going to be quite authentic.

Everyone tells me that there are three dishes here that are outstanding. The garlic sotong, kangkong with chili padi and the butter pork ribs. So I ordered these, but our man, Cactuskit just couldn't resist ordering some other dishes that looked good on the signboard.

One of the things the Thais love to do is the fry the garlic with the skin intact. In Thailand, they have these really small garlic which are sweet and very aromatic. Unfortunately, I haven't seen such garlic here, but what they did was to use the commonly available garlic for the Garlic Sotong which was eaten with a chilli dip. The Lao Ban Niang told us it was actually a dish to accompany beer. To borrow the phrase from one of our readers' daughter, it was "Bombastical" (meaning quite Shiok). However, please be aware that you would end up with a breath that would scare off a Vampire with a severe cold. 4.25/5


Boong Fai Daeng (Kangkong with Chili Padi) $6

Perhaps the dish that really did it for me was the Boong Fai Daeng. Fai Daeng literally means "Red Light" and refers to the red colour of the chilli padi on the bed of greens. In Thailand, this dish is usually made with the leaves of the morning glory, but in Singapore we use Kangkong instead. (Please see interesting discussion on this in our comments section) The signature taste of the dish is a smooth caramel Wok Hei flavour and this one really did remind me of the real deal. 4.5/5


Butter Pork Ribs $8

I was a little dissappointed with the Butter Pork Ribs though. Perhaps I was expecting it to be like the excellent one I had at Two Chefs. Their version is very different. The deep fried and then topped with a mixture of deep fried eggs, basil, chilli padi and dark brown morsels which we assumed was the butter. This was supposed to be one of their signature dishes but I wasn't overly impressed by it. 3.5/5


Curry Mutton $4

Cactuskit just had to order their curry mutton which is part of their repertoire of "Value Meals" I was really quite surprised that the whole claypot of curry was only $4 and it had quite a few pieces of mutton in it! Frankly it looked more like a $8 dish. It was creamy and spicy, definitely can eat but not exceptional. 3.75/5


Caramelised Yam $6 - photo by Cactuskit

We had a surprise off menu dessert of caramelised yam with compliments from the Lao Ban Niang who was so charmed by Cactuskit. If you recall, Cactus was the "Aunty Killer" who also charmed the Kway Chap Aunty from Yong Li into inviting his family to her home for a very special dinner.

This dish has to be eaten hot, while the sugar is still sticky. It is picked up and dunked into a bowl of ice water which then hardens the caramel. If you wait too long, the whole dish will be one big piece of rock hard candy. The contrast of the crunchy caramel with the powdery yam got Cactuskit so excited that he finished almost the whole plate by himself. 4/5

Conclusion

Good place to go for a cheap Cze Char with some rather unique Thai inspired dishes.

Simpang Kitchen
Simpang Bedok Food Centre
#02-03
96695293
12pm-3pm, 6pm-10.00pm
Closed on Alt Mondays

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Happy Year of the Ox!

Very Happy and Prosperous New Year to all!

I shall be doing the family Steamboat thing at my Mother-in-Law's place. Nowadays, it is easy to purchase Shabu Shabu style meats so I think that there will be a lot of homes doing a Shabu Shabu Steamboat fusion.

So where is everybody eating the Tuan Yuan Fan?

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ieat on 938live!

Today's recommendation is Yi Shi Jia Wanton Mee!

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Mr Prata: Pizza or Prata? How about both?

Pizza Prata $6

It was bound to happen sooner or later. We already have cheese prata, so it doesn't really take much more effort to add tomato paste and a few capsicums to turn that into a Pizza Prata.



In theory that should work quite well. But I think the problem is that perhaps the people making the prata have never actually eaten pizzas themselves. So their idea of a pizza is anything which has tomato paste, cheese and capsicum. And for the meat, they use their spiced mutton which is the same one used for the murtabak.



So the end product is still more like a Prata rather than a Pizza even though they even cut into wedges to resemble a pizza. Tastewise I found it a bit dry and uneventful. It is supposed to be eaten with curry though, in which case the classic Murtabak still has more kick. 3.75/5 What I would really like to try is one with pepperoni in it. I think that would give it a bit more flavour and moisture.

Conclusion

Something to try perhaps. I think it is a good idea, but the recipe can do with a little more tweaking.

Mr Prata
26, Evans Road
S(259367)
Tel: 62356993
Open 24 hours

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Meng Kee Char Kway Teow: A Char Kway Teow that's worth the Calories

Char Kway Teow is almost a bad word in Singapore. Ask anyone to name you the most unhealthy hawker food and Char Kway Teow will probably be one of the dishes mentioned. It is afterall, nothing more than starch fried in lard and flavoured with fish sauce and sweet black sauce. And then there is the fear of contracting Hepatitis A from eating partially cooked cockles which really puts another nail in the coffin. Not only is it unhealthy, you can potentially get Hep A from eating it as well! (You should get vaccinated against Hep A if you really love your cockles)

Because of this, the popularity of Char Kway Teow has waned over the years and now you can hardly name ten good Char Kway Teow stalls in Singapore. That is a real shame because a well fried plate of Char Kway Teow is one of those things that really hit the spot when you've just come back from a 3 month holiday in Europe.

So the thing with Char Kway Teow is never to waste those precious calories on a plate of mediocre Char Kway Teow. When you have that Char Kway Teow craving, make sure you Hantam (Whack) one that has the most Satisfaction per Calorie (S/C). And if you happen to be around Beo Crescent, this is certainly one stall that has a high S/C rating.

For me, the test of a good Char Kway Teow is the fact that I actually finish the dish. I hardly ever eat a whole dish of Char Kway Teow by myself nowadays (for health reasons), but I find myself finishing off this one. I guess the most important aspect about a good Char Kway Teow, apart from the taste, is the texture and fluidity of the Kway Teow. By fluidity, I mean, that it has got to be lively and smooth when you slurp it rather than just being limp. 4.5/5

This stall is manned by a father and daughter team. I was there in the afternoon when the daughter was frying. You'd be surprised to know that she is already married with young kid cos she looked quite young. From what I hear, unlike a lot of other stalls where the "old hand" is still champion, the father has been quite successful in imparting his skills to his daughter. I haven't eaten the father's version, but I am told that the father's version is more oily while the daughter's version has more water. Perhaps one of their regulars can confirm if this is true?

Conclusion

Good Char Kway Teow is getting hard to find. Here is another one that is worth some of your calories.

Meng Kee Char Kway Teow
Blk 22, Havelock Road
Beo Crescent
Mon to Sat 10.30am to 7pm
Sundays 10.30am to 4pm

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Yi Shi Jia Shu Shi: Do you like Wanton Mee with Tomato Ketchup?

You know, some people might frown upon the use of Tomato Ketchup in wonton mee, saying that authentic wonton mee should not have ketchup in it. I think what they are trying to say is that Hong Kong style Wontan mee should not have ketchup in it. But I actually know a lot of people who love wanton mee with tomato ketchup in it because they grew up eating it. So I really think that this form of Wanton Mee which is also what I grew up eating really is our very own version of the dish.

This stall in Kovan Food Centre prides itself in selling a Wanton Mee which is hot, sour, sweet and salty and they also want the world to know that they are still using the same SinSin brand of tomato ketchup since their father started the shop some 30 to 40 years ago.



The wanton mee is very old school. You still get a generous helping of crispy pork lard as well as the traditionally thin slivers of tasty char siew. The noodles are quite good quality and I am told by the Lao Ban Niang that they spend a little more money to procure a better quality egg noodle.



Undoubtedly, the star of the show for me was the Wanton. They were very tasty and one of the best that I have tasted. Overall, I would give this Wanton Mee a 4/25. I would have loved a juicier and thicker charsiew to go with it.


This is how we all learnt to eat Wanton Mee!

Conclusion

You should pay this stall a visit if you are looking for a simple, old school Wanton Mee. They are quite popular in Kovan Food Centre judging from the queue they had even at 2.30pm in the afternoon.

So tell us, how do you feel about Tomato Ketchup in Wanton Mee?

Yi Shi Jia Shu Shi
Stall 57, Kovan Food Centre
7.30am to 4.30pm
Closed Sundays
92957134

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Cafe de Hong Kong: A Piece of Hong Kong in Balestier

Double Braised Winter Melon Soup $70 (preorder)

Our Makan Kakis are a passionate lot. When they find something good to eat, they go crazy and start organizing dinners for all the other kakis to share in their latest find. When I say crazy, I mean visiting the same restaurant 4 times in week, crazy. This kind of thing does not happen all that often but when it does, it usually means that a visit to the restaurant is in order.

Don't be misled by the name of the Restaurant. This is not just another Hong Kong Cafe. They do sell very good French Toast and I am told by Liverpool that their Tomato Baked Pork Chop Rice is about the best there is around. But if you just came here for those items, you'd miss out on some pretty authentic Hong Kong cuisine. The restaurant is run by Hong Konger, Francis who did start out with the Hong Kong cafe concept. But soon they found that they were attracting more families looking for dinner type menus. So it has become more like a little Hong Kong Kitchen rather than a Cafe.

When I think of authentic Hong Kong cuisine, the Double Braised Winter Melon Soup always comes to mind. My sister-in-law's family is from Hong Kong and whenever we visit them in Sydney, her mom would inevitably pre-order this from their favourite Chinese restaurant. As with a lot of prized Hong Kong dishes, this takes a long time to prepare as the soup needs to be slowly cooked in the melon for many hours. The result is a very sweet Cantonese style clear soup with a very soft flesh of the winter melon which is scooped out just before serving. 4.25/5


Nam Yu Crispy Roast Chicken $32 (preorder)

The one dish that all the kakis were raving about was the Roast Chicken which you also have to order one day in advance. The Nam Yu was a nice little twist over the more common five spice seasoning and I was told this was very popular in Hong Kong. It was perfectly cooked with the bone marrow was still bright red, but the flesh cooked through and very tender. I felt the skin could have been more crispy though. Instead of salt and pepper, it was served with a sweet and saltish Nam Yu dip which is very good, though I thought it would be nice to also have the salt and pepper dip which is what I was accustomed to. 4.5/5


Egg Wrapped Treasure Bag $5 per piece (preorder)

We Asians often spend many hours on labourious food preparation. Perhaps this is due to the cheap labour costs. I remember in Thailand, you even have ladies sitting around peeling the shell off the legs of the local mud crabs (legs not the pincers). They then serve these on a platter with a dip. I just couldn't stomach it as I thought about how they might use their teeth to crack open the legs before extracting the meat.

Anyway, this particular Egg Wrapped Treasure Bag is another labour intensive dish which I suspect might have been concocted by Chinese Chefs in the past impress the Emperor. I am telling you all this because I feel some dishes you eat for the taste and others you eat because it is unique and takes a lot of effort to make. I wouldn't say the taste of the dish is die die must try, it is good, but if you gave me the same stuff wrapped in ordinary crystal dumpling skin, I would have derived almost the same amount of taste satisfaction. The value add really is in the thought that the skin is made from just egg white with a bit of flour. 4/5


Lup Mei Fan $32

This is essentially Hong Kong style Claypot Rice with homemade Lup Cheong and preseved meats. I think most Singaporeans will say that they would like some salted fish and thick black sauce with the dish as this is the version we are accustomed to. The Lup Cheong is made by a Hong Kong chef who has specially flown into Singapore and is one of the best Lup Cheong I have tasted. It has a wonderful floral fragrance with the flavour of a sweet wine. The preserved pork belly was marvellous with the rice. 4/5

For those looking for a nice Lup Cheong, they are available at $30 per packet (600g)


Fa Chai with Dried Scallops $20 per portion (Photo shows 1.5 portion)

With CNY just round the corner, the restaurant has started preparing the traditional CNY dishes. The Fa Chai with dried scallops was very good, the scallops were huge and my M-I-L gave her left thumb of approval (She's left handed). 4.25/5


French Toast and Tea/Kopi set $4.50

If you are a fan of Hong Kong Cafe style food, you should check out their French Toast. It is very good. The bread is fluffy and the crust is thin and not soggy. One of the best that I have tried in Singapore. 4.5/5

Conclusion

You'll have to try it yourself to find out why the kakis are making it the restaurant of the month.

Read and see their photos here

Cafe de Hong Kong
586 Balestier Road
#01-01 Eastpac Building
S329898
62553865
jkcintl@yahoo.com.sg
11.30am to 3pm, 5.30pm to 12mn
Closed on Mon (except on PH)

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What do you say when you eat something really good?

There was an interesting series of comments one of the previous posts where one of the readers, James, made the remark that my use of the word "marvellicious" was exactly the same word that his daughter uses. Of course, marvellicious is not an official word in the Oxford Dictionary. It was merely a combination of "marvellous" and "delicious". Then he went on to tell me about other words that his daughter uses like "Shiok a doo doo" and "Bombastic".

I thought it would be fun to find out what is everyone's favourite word when you come across something really tasty. I suspect that "Shiok" might be a popular one or perhaps you have a better and more imaginative superlative you care to share?

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Delicious Muffins: Hotel Quality Homemade Puff Pastry

Chicken Pie $2.80

Everytime I think about Chicken Pies, I am reminded of the ones they used to sell in the neighbourhood bakeries in the seventies and eighties. You know, the ones that were shaped like big muffins with a dome shaped top and made with puff pastry. Man, they were good. But then again as I have said before, nostalgia is perhaps one of the best taste enhancers.

Damien had told me about these Chicken Pies a long time ago, but it was only of late that several others have reminded me that they really should be on the blog. If you ever wonder how I end up blogging a certain place, well, this is a good example. It is a combination of what I feel like eating that day combined with several people recommending the same item all around the same time.


Chock full of Chunky Chicken

Anyway, I found myself at this shop which a few people have said sells some of the best chicken pies and curry puffs in Singapore. Ironically, the shop's name was "Delicious Muffins"! It turns out that the chef owner had been a Chef at Hilton before he left to start his own business here. That explains why the Chicken Pies here remind me of the ones that you usually find in Hotel Cafes.

I love the puff pastry here. It is not overly flaky but is still light and buttery. It has a nice amount of chewiness on the inside layers which tastes great as it has absorbed the flavours of the chicken filling. The filling itself is generous with lots of chunky chicken pieces. I felt that it could do with a little bit of cream in the gravy and the flavour of the white pepper was a little overpowering but that might please pepper lovers. 4.25/5


Curry Puffs $2

If you think about it, aren't all Curry Puffs supposed to be made from Puff Pastry? That is why they are called Curry "Puff" right? The Malay version is rightly called Epok Epok but it is the Old Chang Kee version with which Curry Puff really is a misnomer. Perhaps our colloquial "Kalipok" is more suitable. Kalipok is of course Singlish for Curry Puff, but the Hokkien word "Pok" can denote something deep fried and puffed up as in Tau "Pok" (Fried Bean Curd). Or does "Pok" mean "Puff" as well? Perhaps someone from the Hokkien Hway Guan can enlighten us?

It is very hard to find a Curry Puff made from Puff Pastry that is not overly oily and I have avoided eating them because the combination of oil and spices often give me a bad case of indigestion. However, the Curry Puffs here were great. The Puff Pastry was thin but resilient and the Curry Puff were chock full of buttery potatoes and chicken pieces in light but fragrant curry spices. Definitely one of the best Puff Pastry Curry Puffs I have come across. 4.25/5
(Polar Cafe used to make really great Curry Puffs of this sort, but nowadays, sadly, the standards have dropped due to mass production).

Conclusion

Great place to drop in for some rather nice Chicken Pies and Curry Puffs!

Delicious Muffins
91 Bencoolen Street #01-51,
Sunshine Plaza
Singapore 189652
11.30am to 8pm
Closed on 8th, 18th and 28th of the month
96361503 Wendy

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Tai Shek Hai House of Bamboo Noodles: So Good You can Eat it on its Own!

Freshly made Bamboo Noodles

There are two kinds of people when it comes to Wanton Mee. There are those who consider the whole dish as a package, so a good plate of Wanton Mee means the sauce, the charsiew, the wanton and the noodles all have to be good. Then there are those who focus just solely on the noodles.

I used to be the former. Now I am both.

In Singapore, where virtually all the egg noodles have been procured from factories, it is very difficult to appreciate a good egg noodle. In the past, some hawkers such as Fei Fei used to make their own noodles and it is the quality and taste of their noodles that set them apart. Most wanton mee stalls nowadays buy theirs from factories. There are of course different grades of egg noodles that you can buy and some stalls pride themselves for buying a better grade noodle. Some even have their noodles specifically made to an old family recipe. But it is not the same as having the noodles made in the restaurant itself where the emphasis is on producing a fragrant egg noodle that can be eaten on its own.


Kneading the Dough with Bamboo Machine

Nowadays, we are seeing La Mien being made on the spot and so the humble noodle is back in the spotlight again. In Japan, there are restaurants who also make Soba noodles on the spot and the Japanese, in true Zen tradition, focus their attention solely on the noodles. In Singapore, our humble mee kia has always been taken for granted but I am glad to say that that is about to change.


Soft and delicate texture

The house of Bamboo Noodles was started because the owners loved the taste of these noodles while travelling in Guangzhou and just could not find the same stuff in Singapore. These noodles are essentially the egg noodles that we are all familiar with, except that they are made using a bamboo pole to knead the dough. Traditionally, this meant that the noodle maker would have to sit astride the bamboo pole and use his weight to apply force onto the the dough. But our friends from the restaurants decided to design a machine to do the job instead. This is good because I think some people (especially those from the NEA) might object to the fact that the bamboo was in contact with someone's bum.I got to handle some of the raw noodles and I must say I found it rather therapeutic. The freshly made noodles had a rather fragrant aroma and because of the kneading process, they were made without the addition of "Kee" (alkali). The noodles were delicate and springy and when you release them, they would slowly retract to their original state. You should try playing with a ball of uncooked noodles so you can appreciate the fragrance and texture of it.


Plain Noodles tossed in oil

The Wanton noodles are usually served Hong Kong style, with a black soy based sauce. But I requested mine to be served plain, just tossed in a bit of oil because I wanted to focus my senses on just the texture and fragrance of the noodles itself. I found the texture of the noodles to be excellent. It was light and springy and firm to the bite without being too stringy. It is one of the best egg noodle I have tasted so far. 4.5/5 The normal sauce which they use for the wanton mee still needs more work so if you order a normal plate of Wanton mee, it might taste like just another plate of wanton mee which you can get anywhere.


Fried Egg Noodles $6.80

My favourite version of fried egg noodles is what is commonly known as "Hong Kong Mee" at our Cze Char stalls. I was very impressed when the Hong Kong Mee was presented because the fragrance of the Wok Hei and the egg noodles was so strong I could smell it when I was taking the photos. If you enjoy Hong Kong Mee, this is a must try. I suggested to Amy that if crab meat could be added to the noodles, it would be even more delectable. 4.5/5


Specialty Tobiko Fried Dumpling $4

The stallowners are quite adventurous in experimenting with food, so you sometimes get a fusion of Japanese and Chinese cuisine like their wanton which has Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe) in it. I like the wantons, which I thought were substantial and quite tasty, but the Tobiko doesn't add any value for me. 3.75/5


Spinich Soup $4

I also quite like the Spinach soup which is quite similar to a Shark's Fin or Fish Maw Soup. Amagada didn't think much of it though. Like Shark's Fin soup, it is thick and sticky and taken with a dash of black vinegar 4/5


Deep Fried Golden Mushroom $8

The surprise item of the day has to be the deep fried golden mushrooms. Surprise, because even the kids who usually shun mushrooms managed to finish the whole plate. It is great as a garnish for the plain noodles as the crispiness adds a nice contrast to the chewy noodles. 4.25/5

Conclusion

This is actually my 2nd visit to Tai Shek Hai. When I first visited just prior to their official opening in September, I felt that the food was not good enough to blog, since then, they have really improved on the noodles and managed to come up with a few dishes which are really quite good. The fact that they painstakingly make their own noodles is a good thing and I hope to see more eateries doing the same and refocussing our attention back to the humble mee kia which is actually quite tasty on its own when it is done right.

PS:

They do sell their noodles raw as well. I cooked some of the noodles myself at home and it is faster to cook than instant noodles. Just rinse the flour from the noodles and put them in boiling water and count to 15 slowly. Then strain the noodles and they are ready to eat. I just added some shallot oil, Goma Sauce and Pork Floss and it was marvellecious. If you have some Hae Bee Hiam, that would work too!

Tai Shek Hai House of Bamboo Noodles
283/285 Joo Chiat Road
Jn of Koon Seng and Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427539
63455095
10.30am to 11pm daily
This was an invited review

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Bali Eats: Babi Guling at Ibu Oka in Ubud

Babi Guling Special 35,000 rupiahs (approx S$5)

When I was doing research on what to eat in Bali, one restaurant always seem to pop up and that is this little restaurant in Ubud that sells Babi Guling (Roast Pig). Indeed, it seemed to be the undisputed, "come all the way to Bali must eat" dish. Not only must you try Babi Guling, but you must specifically try the Babi Guling at Ibu Oka which is acknowledged even by the locals to be the best Babi Guling in Bali and indeed, the world.


Whole Roast Pig deskinned

With such an accolade, I could not resist travelling the extra one and a half hours out of Kuta Beach to Ubud in order to taste this wonderous dish and see what the fuss is all about.

The place was pretty crowded when I got there and there were people from different nationalities dining there. I sat beside an American Chinese gentlemen with his African American wife and 2 kids and he was just raving about how good the Babi Guling was. His kids however, were still looking for the nearest MacDonald's.

Babi Guling is essentially a whole roasted pig stuffed with different spices. The whole pig is then carved and served with rice and fried vegetables. They also take the innards, chop them up and fry them to a crisp. I have to tell you that even though everyone raves about this Babi Guling, I just did not find it all that great. The taste was ok, but it's just something I would try once just to say that I have tried it.


Kadek (our driver) finishing his plate of Babi Guling

My driver cum tour guide gobbled up his plate of Babi Guling though. He told me he takes travellers to Ubud a few times a week and he never fails to eat at Ibu Oka.

Just a little bit of info about getting to Ubud. The hotel brochures advertise a full day tour by private car for US $25 per person. That would work out to be about S$150 (4 of us) for the trip. When I got into Bali, I was picked up from the airport by a tour guide who offered to take my whole family on a private tour of Ubud plus sightseeing for 800,000 rupiah or about S$110. Then I found this private driver who offered to take us around for the whole day for 350,000 rupiah or about $50. Our particular driver could speak English pretty well and also doubled up as our tour guide for the day.

Conclusion

I feel sometimes that with all these famous places, one is really pressured to say that they are good simply because everyone seems to rave about them. It is almost like the story of the Emperor's New Clothes. Well, I honestly didn't think much about Babi Guling, but everyone else in the restaurant seems to be devouring their plates of Babi Guling like there's no tomorrow.

Ibu Oka
Opposite the Tourist Centre in Ubud
Opened for lunch till around 2 or 3 pm

If you are looking for transportation, you can contact Kadek at kadek79@yahoo.com
+62 817552841

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Lim Joo Hin Eating House:Do Stars have good Tastebuds?

Whenever you walk into an eatery and see photos of stars adorning the walls, what is your first reaction? Well, I guess mine is the same as many others, which is "Ay this stall is frequented by all these movie stars, must be quite good". But you know, the stars are just like anyone else. There are some who are very discerning and others who just eat to live.

If you had caught the episode of Makan Lost and Found on Seng Kee's Bak Chor Mee recently, you might have caught my brief cameo appearance. I was on the set that day and had the opportunity to talk to both Gurmit and Michelle. So I popped the most logical question to them. "Are you really foodies or is this just your job?" Well, Gurmit was very honest and admitted that Michelle was the real foodie, but he just eats whatever. So, based on this, I would be more confident if I walked into a restaurant which has a photo of the Lao Ban standing next to Michelle rather than Gurmit.

When you walk into this Teochew restaurant, you are immediately greeted by photos of Andy Lau and Chow Yuen Fatt which are probably taken a few years after his role in "Man in the Net". (Nowadays that might be taken to mean "internet" but in those days, "Net" had a different meaning). So, the real question is, "How much of a Foodie is Chow Yuen Fatt?" He seemed to have adorned the walls of a few eating estblishments around Singapore. Anyone knows?



Anyway, based on the food in this restaurant, I would say that Mr Chow's tastebuds are not bad, or at least they are as not bad as mine, because I actually found the food here to be quite good.

But of course, good is relative. And in this case, it is good relative to the last couple of Teochew Muey's which I had which were quite bad (which is why they are not mentioned in the blog). So it is refreshing to find one where most of the dishes are quite ok.

One of the dishes here that I can recommend is the Lor Bak. Tender and savoury, it is certainly not the best I have eaten, but something I would be happy to order when I come back to eat again. 4.25/5



One of the dishes which was quite outstanding was this very simple peanut with ikan bilis which had some really addictive crunchy bits which I found out later was a mixture of chilli with sugar crystals. We had second helpings of these. 4.5/5



The other dishes were all generally quite good. Other dishes that I would order again were the Hae Bee Hiam and the Gu Rou Yoke (Sweet and sour pork). The porridge could have been hotter and I wouldn't order their braised peanuts again.

Conclusion

One of the better Teochew Porridge that I have had in recent days and one that is opened in the wee hours of the morning if you happened to have those hunger pangs in the middle of the night.

Lim Joo Hin Eating House
715/717, Havelock Road
Singapore 169643
62729871
Open 11am to 5am

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Fatty Cheong's Char Siew: To get good Charsiew, you need to know a little pig anatomy!

With Wahcow, Taukwa and Liverpool

"Bu Jian Tian" Charsiew

Our Kakis have been raving about Meng Kee Charsiew which Wahcow brought back from KL and were lamenting why we can't get Charsiew which is as good here. The main characteristic of Meng Kee's Charsiew is that it is really fatty and they managed to roast it till the fats just melts in your mouth, so you really get a great flavourful and tender Charsiew. But Singaporeans tend to be more health conscious, so many of the stalls here sell very lean Charsiew.

According to Wahcow, the lean charsiew from Meng Kee tasted as ordinary as the Charsiew we have here. So, he felt that if we could get someone here to roast a more marbled piece of pork, we might be able to have a delicious Charsiew without having travel all the way to KL.

I immdiately thought of Fatty Cheong and called him to see if he could do for us a no holds barred Charsiew using the best cut of pork that he could get his hands on.


Closeup view of "Bu Jian Tian" cut

Now, Charsiew is not made from one specific part of the pig. It is not like Sio Bak (Roast Pork) where you have to use Belly Pork. So in order to have a really satisfying Char Siew experience, you need to know some basic pig anatomy.

Most Charsiew is made from Pork Shoulder which is the part just behind the neck. In Singapore this part of the meat is commonly known as Wu Hua Rou (five flower/pattern pork). But it is not so straightforward. For some people (especially the Cantonese), Wu Hua Rou actually refers to Belly Pork. Their explanation is that there are five layers of meat and fat in Belly Pork.

After searching through the internet and also talking to the local butchers here, I have come to the conclusion that Wu Hua Rou refers to Pork which has a significant amount of fat and can refer to belly, shoulder or collar. I think it is called five pattern not because there are five layers of meat and fat but because when you look at the cross section of the meat, the white of the fats vaguely resembles the ancient Chinese character "five".

At any rate, Pork Belly has more than five layers. There are three layers of muscle and three layers of fat plus the skin. So it is actually seven layers, not five. We Teochews refer to this cut as Sar Cham Bak (3 layer pork) which refers to the three layers of muscle. For students of anatomy, these refer to the external and internal oblique, and transversus abdominis muscles. Yes, our anatomy is quite similar to pigs and especially so if you eat a lot and don't excercise.

According to Fatty Cheong, the most prized Charsiew is from the "pig armpit" which is also known as "Bu Jian Tian" (Never sees the sky). Technically, this is the part between the shoulder and belly and so the meat is nicely layered like belly meat. The meat here is tender and springy at the same time and really full of flavour.


Pork Shoulder Charsiew

For those who are more health conscious, the pork shoulder is leaner, but it depends on how the meat is cut. Shoulder and collar have more fats than other parts of the pig, but depending on how it is cut, you will be able to get a lean piece of Charsiew. I find the lean cuts a little too dry, but for our resident metrosexual, Taukwa, this is his preferred cut for everyday eating, but he admits that the "Bu Jian Tian" is much tastier.


Really fatty Charsiew

It might be shocking, but there are some people who actually request for Charsiew which is essentially fats with a sliver of meat in it. According to Fatty Cheong, these tend to be men of the baby boomer generation. We all felt it was just too rich and not something we would dare to order again.

Fatty Cheong's "Bu Jian Tian" was excellent. I had almost the same level of excitement as when I ate my first piece of Meng Kee's Charsiew. There are two points of difference however. Fatty Cheong doesn't make his Charsiew as charred as Meng Kee's because most Singaporeans do not like to eat too much of the charred bits, and he uses Brazilian pork which he himself admits is not as great as Malaysian pork. Unfortunately, Malaysian pork is still banned in Singapore, so we won't be able to do a proper comparison. Meng Kee's scores a 4.75 for me and Fatty Cheong's scores a 4.6/5, but we all felt that it is still the best one we have come across in Singapore.

Oh btw, there has been discussions in our forum that there is a even better Charsiew which is a stone's throw away from Meng Kee's called Overseas Restaurant. If you are in KL, you might want to check it out.

Conclusion

Fatty's Cheong's "Bu Jian Tian" is best Charsiew we have had in Singapore so far. Unfortunately, the Charsiew across the border just has that little extra ommph that can't be found here.

For more pictures of Meng Kee Charsiew check out PChong's blog entry here.

Fatty Cheong
ABC Brickworks Food Centre
6 Jln Bukit Merah #01-120 (near POSB ATM)
Open 11am till about 8.30pm
Closed Thursdays
98824849, 94281983

*Eating excessive amounts of fat can be detrimental to your health especially if you suffer from chronic conditions such as high cholesterol and heart disease. So please eat in moderation and avoid altogether if you are under medical advise to avoid eating fats.

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