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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Hillstreet Char Kway Teow: I have eaten the rest, this is still the best

It is good to know that some things never change.

Almost 2 years ago, I blogged about Hillstreet Char Kway Teow and even in the early days of the blog, I already gave this old man a 4.75/5 for his Char Kway Teow. I think it was the very first time I awarded a 4.75/5 to any hawker. Now, two years later it is time to post some new pictures of the Char Kway Teow and let some of our newer readers know about this CKT legend.

I think that any self confessed Char Kway Teow fan will need to eat this Char Kway Teow at least once in their lives. After reviewing several other Char Kway Teow stalls, I still haven't really found any stall that could surpass this old man's plate. Since Char Kway Teow isn't exactly Cardiac Friendly Food, I always tend to tell myself that I shall only eat half a plate so that I can enjoy the flavour but not feel too guilty after that. But I need to confess that every time I come here, I always end up with an empty plate! Really can't help it. 4.75/5

Mr Ng still looks as feisty as before and now even with 46 years of frying experience under his belt, he still looks like he's got a few more years in him. Unfortunately, there is no successor to the throne, so it is only a matter of time before another great hawker name becomes just a distant memory.

Conclusion

I have heard some people complain that they don't want to travel from the West all the way to Bedok to eat a plate of Char Kway Teow. Well, you can't really call yourself a serious foodie in that case can you?

Hill Street Fried Kway Teow
Blk 16, Bedok South Road, #01-187
Opened for lunch till about 4pm. Then around 6pm till all he runs out of food.
Closed on Mondays

Mr Ng 90421312

Read the last blog post here

What to do next:
Go around the corner to visit Big D's Grill
Check out the other acclaimed Char Kway Teow Stalls

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Big D's Grill: Coffeeshop Kurobuta, Wagyu and Kobe

With Food Guru

Kurobuta Pork Chops $36

Oh yes, we are seeing more of the good stuff hitting the coffeeshops!

My latest find is this coffeeshop stall which has started selling US Kobe Beef Ribs, US Kurobuta Pork Chops and Wagyu beef done mediterranean style. Now, there are many Western food stalls which are opening up in coffeeshops so I usually have to look out for signs that a particular stall is offering more than just your run-of-the-mill Dory fish and chips, NZ steaks, chicken chops etc.


Preparing the grill with beef fat

You know how a lot of times you just get a gut feel about things? In fact, a lot of decisions in life are made based on gut feel. When it comes to people, women tend to have that special ability to size a person up in just a blink of a second. It's the same thing when men look at a BMW and know that they are looking at quality. In fact, it only takes one glance to see quality but it takes time to try to describe what actually makes a BMW look more "solid" than a Geely. (Yeah the Geely has taken over from Hyundai as the budget car)

So it is with Big D's Grill. I had a good gut feel about the stall just within the first few seconds of looking at the place. Then I started listing out the visual cues. Big Eurasian Man wearing a biker T and jeans behind the grill - TICK. Array of different restaurant style pans hanging above the stove - TICK. Big sticker declaring "Angus Beef" - TICK. The words Kobe, Wagyu and Kurobuta, TICK, TICK and TICK. Big D (Damien) oiling the grill by rubbing a piece of beef fat on it, TICK times ten plus an A*! It is quite obvious that Big D is really serious about providing good food!

Another obvious cue is the standard of the side dishes. Coleslaw and French Fries are dead giveaways for the run-of-the-mill "Hawker" western food. Thankfully, Big D's provides a wonderful selection of sides with a heavy Mediterranean influence. The Pinto beans and Spiced Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Mash were excellent and really got my tastebuds tingling. And the Kurobuta Pork Chops did not dissappoint either. They were wonderfully tender and had that charred mediterranean spice taste. The pork was flavoursome without that "porky" smell that pork can sometimes have. Now, $36 might be a little pricey for a Pork Chop but it is cheap for "Kurobuta" which are usually more than $40 in restaurants. 4.5/5


Pasta with Anchovies $17

Big D's pastas are also well worth a try. His Pasta with Anchovies is a relatively simple dish but very well executed. The pasta was perfectly Al Dente and the freshly chopped herbs are again a pleasant departure from the usual "McCormick" dried italian herb mixes that most Western Food Stalls (and even some restaurants) would use. I am not a big fan of Anchovies, so I did not appreciate this dish as much as someone who is. But judging from the way it was presented, I would be coming back to try the other pastas that they are offering. 4/5

There is a good reason why Big D's is called Big D's. That's because owner and chef, Damian D'Silva looks like the kind of Cowboy you wouldn't want to mess around with. An Ex-Aeronautical Engineer, he flew off on a whim (at age 42) to spend 2 years working in kitchens around Southern Europe in order to pursue his interest in cooking before coming back to Singapore to work at several European restaurants before he opened the now defunct Soul Kitchen at Purvis St.

I am telling you all this because it is not easy to find a chef-owner who is passionate about food that is willing to open a stall in a coffeeshop. And the best thing is that since he is in a coffeeshop, he can keep rental cost down and serve quality food at great prices. He is quite fussy about using only chilled meats and freshly chopped herbs and doing stuff from scratch, such as his steak fries which double fries himself. This is a man who really cooks rather than just another person hired to grill a piece of meat and serve it with re-heated veggies.

The only thing I am concerned about is whether he is able to churn out the food quick enough for a crowd and controlling escalating food costs since he is insistent of only using imported stuff like Spanish Anchovies. Apart from that, I think you can be assured of getting something quite special out of his kitchen.


Bonet $4

Don't miss out on Big D's homemade desserts. Bonet may be a simple homestyle Italian Chocolate Pudding with Caramel Sauce poured over it, but simple things executed well can be marvellous, just like a perfectly cooked omelette. For someone who isn't really that big on desserts, I actually enjoyed this very much. It's almost like a Chocolate version of Creme Caramel and is so smooth that it slides easily down the throat leaving a wonderful chocolate aftertaste at the back of the palate. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Big D's has that maverick Roadhouse Pub kinda of character and my first impression is that it could easily have been set up in an old shophouse somewhere in Siglap. We did not managed to try a lot of their other stuff like the Beer Battered Fish and Chips made from Snapper fillets ($8.90) or the US Kobe Cross Rib ($40 for 200gm) but judging from what I had, I'd say that Big D's Grill is well worth checking out if you are hungry for some excellent European Food cooked with character and passion without the +++.

Special Promo for ieatishootipost readers:

Mention ieatishootipost and get a free dessert (Bonet) for every $30 spent!

Big D's Grill
Blk 18 Bedok South Road
#01-87
11.30am to 9.30pm daily
Thurs 5.30pm to 9.30pm
Damian 96627040


Big D's Grill will be moving to:
46 Holland Drive, #01-359 wef 1 Feb 2009

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Simpang Yong Tau Foo: Not Ampang......Simpang

With smart and PK


One of the good things about retirement is that you get to go around looking for good things to eat without the pressure of exams, loans, bills, kids and other stuff that add stress to your life. Not that I am speaking from personal experience of course, (still a long way from retirement) but more from the point of view of my two esteemed makankakis that afternoon who also happen to be old boys from my alma mater.

Anyway, both smart and PK have been friends since school days and it would seem to me that the baby boomers tend to keep their schoolday friendships better then us Gen Xers. Smart, PK and a whole bunch of their school friends still get together at least every month to makan together. Perhaps it was the days of playing catching, marbles and pretending to be Tarzan with the Banyan Tree rather then playing gameboys and computer games that made the big difference? Or maybe it is just me.

Anyway, this Yong Tau Foo place was recommended to me by smart who, being semi retired, makes it his hobby to walk around food centres scouring for good (and interesting) things to eat. He chanced upon this stall on one of his recce trips and it is just the kind of stall that makes one go "Phwa, must at least go and try leh!"

Yes, this is our very own SIMPANG Yong Tau Foo. You heard it right, not AMPANG but SIMPANG. The difference might not be as stark as the difference between Phua Chu Kang and Chua Chu Kang, but there is a difference.

The homemade Yong Tau Foo is fried first and then doused with the soy based sauce. But the similarity ends there. The sauce here is quite unique. It is sweet, a little tangy and mildly punchillie hot. Perhaps the right adjective is "piquant". Quite shiok actually and definitely unique. 4.25/5


Crispy Pork Knuckle $16

And if you feel that eating deep fried Yong Tau Foo doesn't do enough to clog up your arteries, you might opt for the Deep Fried Crispy Skin Pork Leg. Oh yes, Pork Knuckle or Ter Kah definitely ranks up there as one of those sinfully bad food that you would only eat if you wanted to reward yourself for scoring well on your latest cholesterol report.

The Ter Kah here is stewed first then deep fried just before serving. The skin is super duper crispy and went well with the Thai style chilli sauce. The flesh was however, a little on the dry side. Actually if you ask me, this seems to be more like the German version of the Pork Knuckle rather than the Chinese version. Not bad, but this really is a Gu Gu Jip Pai (once in a long while) type of dish for me. 3.75/5

Conclusion

Our very own Simpang Yong Tau Foo! It is the sauce that makes this particular Yong Tau Foo stand out from the rest. Casual and cheaper alternative to your German Restaurant if you wish to get your Crispy Fried Ter Kah fix.


Simpang Yong Tau Foo
Bedok Market Place
348 Bedok Road
#02-05/06
64449986
9.30am to 7pm
Recommended by smart

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Noor Jannah's Kitchen: Get ready for a Prata BOMB!

There are updates at the end of the Blog

Raisin Boom: $2 Raisin Boom plus Kopi or Teh set: $2.50

OK, get ready for the next revolution in Roti Prata, or should I say Roti Canai?

Ever wondered if there is any difference between Roti Prata and Roti Canai? Most people would say that Prata is just the Singapore name for what the Malaysians call Roti Canai. Or is it?

It has been a while since I have been to Malaysia, but I remember that most of the Roti Canai I had there was the soft and fluffy type whereas in Singapore, the Schizophrenic Prata seems to come in many guises. The Roti Canai is actually supposed to be different from the Roti Prata in that the cooking process is slower and more laborious. In Singapore, where everyone is always in a hurry, the prata is cooked quickly by using lots of oil. In Malaysia, where people know how to be a bit more laid back and enjoy life, they make their Canai thick and fluffy and toast it over a slow fire with very little oil, then serve it with sambal and curry. The result is a pastry with a lighter and more chewy texture.

Since we are celebrating National Day this week, I really should not be saying this; but when it comes to Roti Canai, Malaysia really Boleh. So how? Does that mean that we can never enjoy a good Roti Canai in Singapore? Of couse not. If Malaysia Boleh, then Singapore lagi Boleh. We boleh hire the Malaysians to come make Roti Canai for us here in Singapore.


Cheese Double Bomb: $3.50

This stall did precisely that. They hired a guy who had just returned from making Roti Canai in Brunei and he brought with him the idea of the Prata Bomb which is currently the craze in Malaysia and Brunei. I was told that the Malay version of the dough is different from the Indian version. The dough is made with extra ingredients such as sugar, condensed milk and eggs so that it is more shiok.


Clockwise: The making of Prata Bomb

The Prata Bomb is essentially a dessert Prata which is something like a Snail Pastry. It's got margarine and sugar in between layers of prata dough and made to be thick and fluffy. The original Bomb sold in Brunei where this Prata man honed his skills had only margarine and sugar. We wanted to experiment with a few variations on this, so we tried raisins, cheese and cinnamon sugar. (Have to be better than Malaysia hor?)



We all loved the Raisin Bomb and the Cheese Bomb. The Cinnamon Bomb still needed a bit of tweaking. The wonderful thing about the Bomb is that it is really nice and crispy on the outside and buttery and fluffy within. It might be the same ingredients as the paper thin Tissue Prata, but you will be amazed at how the different way of preparing the dough really transformed the taste of it. You might find this wierd, but it goes really well with curry and I personally found it very shiok with a cup of Teh Tarik. 4.5/5

By the way, if you really want to eat a Roti Canai, you can ask specifically for "Roti Canai". The curry here is very shiok and they also serve the Roti with a delicious Sambal Tumis. The roti is nice, fluffy and not oily, but you will have to wait a bit longer for it. 4.5/5



This new stall in Bedok has several other items that are quite unique. One is the Soup Kambing Lontong which is quite popular in JB but difficult to find in Singapore. The soup is not thickened with cornflour so it is quite light but the flavour of the soup is still robust and uncompromised. You can have it with pressed rice, noodles or bee hoon. One of the best Kambing Soup I have had for a while and it does not make you feel jerlak afterwards. 4.5/5



The satay is the reason that I discovered this eatery in the first place. I have been pushing my friend Sha, who is the supplier of Power Chicken Satay to open a stall in the East and he eventually managed set it up here. The Power Chicken Satay has already been reviewed in a previous blog so I don't need to talk about it much except to let you know that you don't have to travel all the way to the West to try this now.

Conclusion

If this is so popular in Malaysia, it should soon take Singapore by storm just as Roti Boy did. It's been said before that the Prata is our answer to the Croissant. I didn't think it was that similar until now. With the Prata Bomb, we really have something that is comparable to a Croissant! Really Must Try don't you think?

Noor Jannah's Kitchen
Jalan Masjid







Update: 9 August 2007
Just found out that the Malaysian man who specializes in the Prata Bomb had to rush back to Malaysia because his wife became very sick. They have others doing the Bomb at the moment but I can only vouch for the Bombs produced by this guy. If you have been there recently, please let us know if the Bomb was alright.

Update: 9 Sep 2007
The stall has relocated to Bedok South Blk 18 after fighting a losing battle against the authorities who refused to allow them to BBQ the satay outside. The new address and opening times are updated on the blog. Now that they are able to pangang the satay properly, I hope that they can maintain the standards of the satay.

Update: 2 Mar 2008
The stall has relocated to Jalan Masjid in Kembangan and their new premises start operation this month. I haven't gone down to check them out yet. Will update later.

Update: 15 Jul 2008
Unfortunately they no longer do the Prata Bomb!

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Gingko Lotus Brown Rice Porridge: No Animals were Harmed in this Post

You all know that I love animals don't you? I especially love Black Pigs and Wagyu Cattle. Sometimes I love them too much. Time to take a break and spread the love around to some non-animals.

Those of you who want to do your body a favor but not neglect your tongue might want to try this Gingko Lotus Brown Rice Porridge. It's not pretty to look at but it is one porridge that I really don't mind eating cos it is packed full of goodies and for a non-animal food, it still packs some umami punch.



For $2 a bowl, you get the goodness of brown rice, gingko nuts, corn, peanuts, red dates topped with sliced carrots, coriander and vegetarian pork floss to give it a bit of crunch. Tasty way to lower your cholesterol levels and save some animals! 4/5

Conclusion

Healthy, tasty and cheap some more. Not easy to find yah?

No Name Vegetarian
Blk 216 Food Centre
Bedok North St 1
#01-34
7am to 2pm daily

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Big Eater Seafood: KL Hokkien Mee with Big Round Noodles!

$4.80 minimum order

I have been driving past this newly opened Cze Char which occupies a whole corner coffeeshop right beside Sungei Bedok for several weeks now. I don't really know how to explain it, but the place has got a romantic kampong charm about it despite the modern decor. The problem is that everytime I drove past, the place does not seem to be "happening". So being a kiasu Singaporean and not wanting to waste any calories and money, I would drive past it to have supper at Simpang Bedok instead.

But one night I decided to avoid the bustling crowds at Simpang Bedok and decided to drop in to check out this place. I imagined that even if the food was not great, eating supper beside the canal could be quite nice.



I am glad I did or else I would have missed one of the best KL Hokkien Mee that I have eaten in Singapore. If you have been reading the blog for a while, you would probably know how often I lament about not being able to eat a good KL Hokkien Mee in Singapore. Well, I must say that even if this KL Hokkien Mee cannot beat the one in KL, it certainly is a worthy substitute.

What I liked about this Hokkien Mee that sets it apart from the rest is their use of thick round Hokkien Noodles which have an excellent texture and bite to it. The shape of the Hokkien Mee enables you to really slurp it unlike the commoner thin flat variety. The sauce is gooey and shiok and, of prime importance, they have really fresh and crispy, "burst in your mouth" pork lard. Ohhhh.... my current favourite KL Hokkien Mee! 4.5/5

Conclusion

Great kampung ambiance and a memorable KL Hokkien Mee. I will be going back to try the rest of their Cze Char menu. Stay tuned.

Word of caution: Prices of the Hor Fun start from $4 and this KL HKM starts from $4.80. So not your regular priced Cze Char. Bit in between a regular Cze Char and a Seafood Restaurant

Big Eater Seafood
34 Jalan Pari Burong
Picardy Gardens
62457268

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House of Steamed Soup & Rice: Steamed Soup Served with a Smile

Some foods you eat because it is shiok. Some foods you eat to cleanse your system because the night before you ate something which was shiok. Whenever I need to eat something guilt free, I think of steamed soup and plain rice. Yep, as I get older, plain white rice seems to taste better and better. Not only that, it is guaranteed not to give you indigestion or reflux!

There are lots of steamed soup places that have made their appearance in recent years to cash in on the healthier lifestyle trend. You can now find steamed soups in a majority of air-con food courts. So what is it that sets this one apart from the others? For me it was 3 things. 1. The generous quantity of ingredients. 2. The fact that the soup is actually double boiled ie steamed in a steamer and not boiled then put in a steamer and 3. The friendly couple selling the soup ie great service.

A lot of times when you order a bowl of Xi Yang Chai (Watercress) Tang, you get a few strands of Xi Yang Chai that has been boiled to death and maybe 3 pieces of lean pork. Here, you get a generous helping of the vegetables that are steamed such that the soup is tasty yet the vegetables are soft but still intact. Same goes with the Winter Melon soup, the chunks of Winter melon are still intact but soft. This is achieved because the soup is not pre-boiled first. Instead all the raw ingredients are put into the bowls and then cooked by putting it in a steamer. This way the temperature is never too high to overboil the soup, resulting in maximal extraction of the flavours without destroying the precious nutrients. In addition, they use only pork soft bones and you get around 5 generous pieces per bowl! 4.25/5



Hong Kong style food is less robust when compared to Singapore food. So don't expect the soup to be very savoury. It is very Cheng (clear) and some may even find it a tad bland. However, as I said, it is great for those seeking something healthy to cleanse the system.

The steamed rice was also very good. I had the steamed pork with salted egg which was excellent. The pork was perfectly marinated and it was bouncy to the bite. Having the minced pork with the rice was really tasty yet gentle to the stomach. 4.5/5

Here's the Hong Kong Chef himself. Mr Heung has lived in Singapore for quite some time now and is married to a Singaporean. He still speaks with that typical Hong Kong accent though his mandarin is pretty much almost localised. I had a great chat with him. Friendly and unassuming, it is great to find a hawker who is passionate about his food and provides service with a smile!

Conclusion

Certainly not something you would drive all the way from Choa Chu Kang to eat, but if you living in the East and hankering for something nutritious and tasty, this would be a good choice. At $3 per bowl of steamed soup or steamed rice, it is one of the best value for money HK food that you can find!

House of Steamed Soup & Rice
29B Chai Chee Ave
Fair Vision Food Court
11am to 8pm
Closed on Sunday (So that the couple can attend Church!)

Recommended by Sker

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Ice Cream Gallery: This is no Hum Drum Rum (n Raisins)

With holydrummer and iwatch_ueat


Thanks to the comments by Kare Kevil, I found myself standing outside this small outlet of The Ice Cream Gallery at Eastwood Centre. I must say that I really do like our very own homegrown ice creams more than the international brands. Their adventurous offerings never fails to bring novelty and delight to my palette.

We sampled a few of their flavours but decided that our two favourites were Rum & Raisins and D24 Durian (as were recommended by Kare Kevil). I will say that at this point in my life, this IS the BEST Rum & Raisins ice cream I have ever tasted! It even got a stamp of approval from our Professor of Rum and Raisinology (holydrummer) There was a generous amount of large juicy Drunken Raisins so Rummy that if you had 2 scoops, you might fail a random breath test! 4.5/5. The D24 Durian ice cream was also Fair Dinkum (Oz slang: No Bull! This is the real thing!). 4/5 But I have to say that I would still rather buy the real thing, chill it in the fridge and eat that! The advantage of Durian Ice Cream though, is that you enjoy the flavour without having the smell on your fingers all day and you can put it in the fridge without having to deodourise the fridge afterwards.

Conclusion

I think each of these Boutique Ice Cream Pallors has their own special flavours. Rum and Raisins is definitely Ice Cream Gallery's Cream of the Crop. By the way, you should try the combination of Rum and Raisins with Chocolate as suggested by holydrummer. Not good, VERY good!


The Ice Cream Gallery
20 Eastwood Road
#01-13 Eastwood Centre
62462926

Main Branch
491 River Valley Road
#01-20 Valley Point
62350870
www.icecreamgallery.com

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New Hawa: Ultimate Prata Challenge: Round 2 of 2

The Prata over at Syed was excellent but it just lacked the taste to make it the Ultimate Prata. By this time, the criteria for obtaining the Ultimate Prata was quite clear. Syed's one was almost there, but it lacked the taste. So the obvious next step was to find a shop which makes it's own dough!



I repeated my instructions to the young Prata Chef and he happily obliged, slapped on 2 pieces of dough and started demonstrating his Prata Flipping Skills. Round and round it goes, overhead and under his nose...... (just kidding). Then I asked them whether they used Ghee and Evaporated Milk in the dough. They told me that they use Carnation Milk and margarine. But if I wanted Ghee, they can use it in the frying. Without any hesitation, I told them use Ghee instead of oil to fry the prata. Mmmmm.....looking good!



Now, please remember to save your calories for this AND to eat in moderation if you have high cholesterol levels! Ghee is clarified butter, so it is high in saturated fats. Actually, a lot of people would say that they don't want ghee because they are being health conscious. However, one must also bear in mind that the margarine they use may also be high in Trans Fats, which is just as bad as Saturated fats. So ghee or no ghee, if you have high cholesterol levels, prata may not be a good thing for you.

But I digress....and I hope I did not spoil your appetite.

The prata is crispy and fluffy but just slightly less fluffy then Syed's. This guy has less of a bench top to work with. But the taste was just awesome! There was no smell of cheap margarine. Instead you get a buttery aroma and taste which to die for! (literally) So good you can eat it on its own, but even better when you eat it with the savoury curry mutton.

Conclusion

The winner for this round of the Ultimate Prata Challenge! The perfect prata would be the Syed Chef flipping New Hawa's Dough and frying it with Ghee! But I am not complaining......much! 4.5/5

Oh, if you happen to head down to New Hawa, the team featured is the morning team who work a 12 hour shift until about 7pm. Ask for the "Ultimate Prata" which will cost $1.80. (2 doughs = $1.20 plus $0.60 for the ghee)

Addendum:

How to get the Ultimate Prata:

I think if you approach any reasonable Prata Stall, you should be able to get quite a good Prata. The following characteristics are important:

1. They need to make their own Prata Dough
2. The Prata Chef has to be skillful and obliging
3. Make sure their working area is big enough
4. Ask for 2 doughs and specify that you want it thick and fluffy
5. Stick around when they are flipping and specify you want them to flip it as big as possible then fold into many layers
6. Make sure they allow the prata to rest for at least 2 minutes
7. Fry it in Ghee (QBB)
8. Eat it as soon as it hits your plate!

New Hawa Restaurant
Simpang Bedok (Next to the Market)
Bedok Road
Open 24 hours
Click here to link to Syed Restaurant

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Syed Restaurant: Ultimate Prata Challenge: Round 1 of 2

The response to my last blog on Thesevi's Jalan Kayu Prata hit the record for the most number of comments ever! Spurred on by the tremendous response, I set out on a quest to find Singapore's Ultimate Prata. Now, given that I have already sampled most of the Prata places recommended by our readers, I knew that in order to get the Ultimate Prata, it had to be a special order. So the plan was to find a reasonable prata place and get them to make me a prata to my specifications. (Same way the ieat SuperBurger and Godzilla Da Pao was born) For me, the Ultimate Prata would have to be big and fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside and taste really good.

I knew there were several pretty reasonable Prata places at Simpang Bedok. Being a Centre for Roti Prata, the chances of finding a reasonable one should be quite good. We visited four Roti Prata Stalls and repeated the same order at each stall ie "I want a big Prata, use 2 dough and make into one Prata. I want it thick and crispy but not too oily. The best Prata Kosong you can give me!"

Out of the four stalls, 2 emerged with a Prata which I consider to be well worth your calories! Actually most Prata Chefs are quite happy to oblige when they are not too busy. (I went in the afternoon when there is no crowd). Prata making can be quite mundane, so when you give them the challenge of making the Ultimate Prata, most of them are quite happy to oblige!



Now here is a man I consider the Prata Champ. He's from Chennai and had been making Prata in Malaysia for 10 years before coming over to Singapore where he has been working for a few years. If you stacked all the pratas that he has made in his life, you'd get a tower of prata stretching from Singapore to KL. (Assume 15 years making Prata @700 per day, each prata being 1cm in thickness = 383.25km)

Just look at how thin he stretches the dough! He as the advantage of having a large work area, giving him lots of room to flip the prata till it is almost 3/4 of a meter in diameter. After that, the Prata is folded and left to rest for a few minutes before being flattened and fried. They use a commercial dough here, which is commonly used by many prata places.



Be still my trembling tastebuds! Now this is a Prata worthy of praise! Crispy on the outside, light and fluffy with microthin layers of dough on the inside, this is probably the best Prata I have had in terms of texture. Unfortunately, tastewise the Prata faltered. Instead of a buttery, savoury flavour, the taste of cheap margarine was predominant.

Conclusion

Almost there but not quite. The texture was excellent, but in order to get the Ultimate Prata, I think the dough has to be made in house. Still this Prata beats any Pratas I have eaten so far hands down. 4.25/5

Syed Restaurant
326 Bedok Road
Simpang Bedok
62425412
Open 24 hours
Click here to link to the next Ultimate Prata Challenge

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Serangoon Hokkien Mee: Traditional Opeh Leaf Hokkien Mee!

Rejoice! Rejoice! Those who still remember eating Hokkien Mee wrapped in the traditional Opeh (Areca) Leaf will rejoice when they see the picture above! You know the adage "The brain is the biggest sex organ?" Well it turns out the brain is also the biggest taste organ as well. Somehow, when you see the Opeh Leaf, your brain immediately tells you that the taste of the Hokkien Mee is bound to be great! The uncle tells me that he doesn't think the leaf imparts any taste to the Hokkien Mee, but Hokkien Mee Afficianados would disagree.

By the way, have you ever wondered where the leaf comes from? The humble Opeh leaf comes from the inner sheath of the bark of the Betel Nut tree and was used extensively during the Post War years to wrap foods like Hokkien Mee and Chee Cheong Fun. We now have to import these leaves from Malaysia and they are not cheap. They cost about 30 cents per sheet, which is why they only give you a small piece on the plate in most places. Here, if you buy the $4 or $5 portions, you can Tar Pau (doggy bag) the Hokkien Mee in the Opeh leaf.



Not only does this stall have the traditional Opeh leaf, the receipe for the Hokkien Mee hails from the stallowner's father who had been frying Hokkien Mee (sitting down over a charcoal stove, I might add) over at the Sing Thye Coffee Shop at the Junction of of Balestier and Serangoon Roads. He was frying from the post war years until 1989 when he died. Fortunately his son Francis took over the family business so we can still taste this 60 year old receipe.



I was absolutely bowled over by the taste of the Hokkien Mee! It is Shiokadelicious! I wonder why no one really talks about this one at the forum. The Hokkien Mee is the wet type but not overly gooey. The noodles are soft but not overly soggy. The taste is really savoury and a little on the sweeter side. The sambal chilli is not too hot and also a little sweet. I really am hard pressed to decide on how much the Opeh Leaf actually enhanced the taste. All I can say is that this place is my current Hokkien Mee Haunt. 4.5/5


Serangoon Fried Prawn Mee
56 New Upper Changi Road
SK Coffeeshop (The older one)
Stall number 2
Open 10.30am to 10.30pm
Closed on Wednesdays
Mr Francis Neo 97305591






PS: Since not many people talk about this stall, please don't have high expectations ok? Maybe I was just really hungry that night. Go try with an open mind and share your comments with us!

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