ieatishootipost on Channel U

Here's the link to the video on youtube

You can also read the online article at xin.sg

When the reporter from Channel U asked me to pick a place where we can stage the interview, Ya Kwang immediately came to mind. I chose Ya Kwang because Jason decided to introduce Cze Char dishes right after the first blog post on their Kway Chap. It was during that meeting that I discussed with Jason about the possibility of introducing a Lobster Noodle dish that was available outside of a hotel or fancy restaurant. It became the first of many unique new Cze Char dishes to be introduced our local food scene.

So after 10 months of blogging (on this and other blogs), the print media finally took notice and featured their Crab Bee Hoon on the Sunday Times last week. I thought this was a good example of how blogging is changing the way eateries are being marketed in our day and age.

Personally, I feel that restaurants have not fully realize the potential of blogs to make or break a restaurant. Of course, blogs are still very much in the infancy stage compared to the main stream media when it comes to marketing. However, as the experience in the Malaysian elections have shown, it would be a mistake to simply ignore the blogs. I think it is only a matter of time before PR agencies are hired by the restaurants to manage bloggers. This would be a whole new ballgame for the PR agencies because they will be dealing with a group of people whose nature is to fiercely defend their right to independence and free speech.

On the other hand, consider the impact that a group of 20 or 30 food bloggers reviewing the same eatery all at the same time. All we need now is a nexus whereby they can all be mobilized simultaneously. It's an uphill task trying to get a whole bunch of individualistic "cats" to behave like socialistic "dogs". There have been food bloggers' dinners organized in the past to try to bring food bloggers together, but these have only been a "blue moon" affair. The community of food bloggers in Singapore still tend to remain fragmented. Some would perhaps argue that it should remain this way. Though I believe that blogging should retain its independent flavour, I also see the marketing potential of some form of association. I am trying to plant the seed for such a nexus by creating a special segment in the forum where Singapore food bloggers can get together to discuss food blogging issues. It's a start but there is still a long way to go.

One of the emerging players in this whole equation is the blog advertising agency Nuffnang whose ads are supported in this blog. Nuffnang is emerging as the de facto association for bloggers by organizing gatherings and forums where bloggers can all congregate to discuss contemporary issues. The next logical evolution is for Nuffnang to segment its registered bloggers into the various categories and mobilize them to provide reviews of different products. I think that would be an attractive proposition to advertisers. Currently they are already doing product advertorials but on a wider, less specialized scale.

Anyway, enough of theorizing, back to the appetizing.


500g Lobster Tang Hoon $60

For this occasion, we wanted to do something that would look impressive on TV, so we went with the Boston Lobster again. Nothing spectacularly imaginative, just substituting Crab for Lobster in his already popular Crab Tang Hoon dish.



This dish combines one of my favourite carbs with my all time favourite seafood. Korean Tang Hoon is one of those magical foods that I simply fell in love with when I first tasted it in Sydney. (My hometown of Eastwood is almost like a little Korea!) And I fell in love with Lobster the first time I had it in Phuket. Not only because they are nice to eat (and very exclusive), their are probably the prettiest and most photogenic of seafoods. The bright red colour never fails to make a good picture, and the shell and tomalley (that green stuff in the head) always imparts the savoury taste of the sea to starchy staples of any kind. So it was a impressive no brainer. 4.5/5

Conclusion

I would like to apologize to the 11 Lao Shis (10 from St Andrew's and Kang Lao Shi of RJC '87-'88) who have tried their utmost to teach me mandarin. I tried my best but as you can see, I have not made further progress in the last 20 years. And if it makes you feel any better, I am still occasionally waking up in the middle of the night thinking that I am sitting for my Chinese Exams the next day. So I hope it shows that I really did try. And to the rest, please give me a break, my Chinese is not "Half past six", its a proper D7!

Thanks again to all the readers of this blog. Your comments and constant encouragement continue to fan the charcoal fire and keep the satay grilling!

Update 1 Nov 2008

Please note that Jason has sold his business as of 1 Nov 2008. We wish him all the best as he ventures down under!

Ya Kwang Dai Pai Dong
709 Geylang Road (Lor 37)
11am to 11pm daily
98170006
Lobster orders before 7 pm




Here's the translation of the Video provided by jems based on the transcript: Thanks jems!

Some bloggers like to make use of their online blogs to introduce food they love to eat. There's this particular blogger who sets out to eat all the local hawker food and blog it on his blog as a food directory for netizens.

Dr Leslie Tay loves food and also loves photography. He combined these two interests one and a half years ago, started an online food blog, going around Singapore tasting hawker food, took pictures and uploaded them onto his blog, added his critic, categorized them into various categories for easy lookup for the netizens, averaging a hit rate of 8000 a day.

Some hawkers even voluntarily requested for Dr Tay to blog about them, hoping that it will help to boost their business. Dr Tay said, " Some said it does not affect much. It's very hard to say, but for most of the unique ones, I give full marks, or rather not full marks, but 4.75, most of them will see a significant improvement in business."

There's a stall situated at Geylang which is famous for its Crab Beehoon and Lobster Noodles, after Dr Tay's introduction saw an increase in business by 50%. There are even Indonesian netizens who after reading the blog, specially flew into town to try his food. Ya Kwang Da Pai Dang's boss Jason Tan said, "When they were here, they were carrying luggage, to come and eat my Lobster Noodles, I just find it very amusing, Dr Tay's blog can evoke foreigners to come try my stuffs."

Other than introducing good food, Dr Tay also from time to time suggests to the hawkers how to improvise and create new dishes, for example this Lobster Tang Hoon. Netizens also discuss in his forum how never to waste calories on yucky food.

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Ya Kwang: Italian Cze Char

With Camemberu, Keropokman and Amagada

Huay La Ban Mian $5

You would be forgiven if you thought that this was a blog about Italian food. This is not a plate of Pasta con Vongole. It might look like Vongole and maybe taste a little like Vongole but Vongole it is not. Instead, it is a Fried Ban Mian with Huay La and it is eaten in a coffeeshop amidst the smells of Kway Chap and exhaust smoke.



This is a relatively simple dish. The secret lies in the type of clams used. Jason uses what he calls a Huay La (Huay = Flower) as opposed to the more common La La. The Huay La is much sweeter than the La La and that characteristic bitter aftertaste gives the al dente (should I say QQ?) homemade Ban Mian a great sauce to create gastronomic symphony. Certainly a most unexpected hawker dish!. 4.5/5

This is actually my second time eating this dish in a week and this time I gatecrashed on Keropokman's lunch AGM of the Alumni of Batu Pahat Bloggers. By the time I got there, the alumni was already halfway through their agenda and two eyeballs short of their steamed salmon head! You can read Keropokman's account here and Camemberu's here. So not say I say but other bloggers also say that this Ban Mian is good, ok?


Prawn Tang Hoon $7

I did not want to eat crab that day, but I was still yearning for the marvelous Korean Tang Hoon, so I requested that Jason do a Prawn Tang Hoon for me instead. The dish came with a pleasant, and unexpected addition of belly pork as well. The Tang Hoon was wonderfully slurpilicious as usual, however the prawns did not give it as much kick as the crab usually does. OK, still managed to satisfy my Tang Hoon craving but not quite hit the umami spot. 4/5


Teriyaki Beef Hor Fun $5

Jason loves everything Japanese and used to run a Japanese stall over at Suntec City. So there is a lot of Japanese influence in his food. The Kway Chap for instance uses Kikoman soy sauce instead of the normal Soy Sauce. I tried his Teriyaki Beef with rice set which was so good that my son finished the whole thing before I got enough of it. So I asked Jason to try something new for me. Instead of rice, I asked him to fry a Teriyaki Beef Hor Fun instead.

Well, let's just say that it was so good that one of my fellow bloggers Tah Powed a portion home. I like the fact that Jason uses a really nice beef and he doesn't tenderize it by soaking it in bicarb. So the beef is nice and beefy and the homemade teriyaki sauce is quite shiok. The Hor Fun still can be improved as it did not have that wok hei flavour. That aside, this is a dish that I am looking forward to eating again soon. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Not many stalls get repeated blog posts. What can I to do? Everytime I come here to eat, I either discover something new or create a new dish!. So how not to blog? Anyway these one dish items would be a great idea for a quick lunch if you are tired of the samo samo and want to try something tasty and novel. Hope you enjoy it and if you have any ideas for something new, just ask Jason to try it and write about it in the forum for everyone to know!

Click here to read the other Ya Kwang Posts.

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Ya Kwang Dai Pai Dong: A different Cze Char Experience

With smart, liverpool, iwatch_ueat,bashful hunter, bashfully hunted, fashionfoodie, pk

Hong Shao Fish Head $18 (half) $30(whole)

Ever since smart discovered Ya Kwang, he has been eating here almost every week with his family or his group of cronies. He's commented on them so many times that I felt it was time to blog it again so that you all can understand what the fuss was all about.

Ya Kwang is about experimental Cze Char. It's owner, Jason is not your typical Cze Char hawker and for that matter not your typical Singaporean either. Rather than playing safe and selling the usual Cze Char favourites, he continues to introduce dishes that you don't commonly find in Cze Char stalls. So, a trip to Ya Kwang usually means you get to taste some of his new dishes or even invent new ones if you wish.

The dish that smart has been raving about is the Hong Shao Fish Head. If I recall, this dish started off as a curry fish head, but one of smart's cronies could not take spicy dishes, so Jason came up with the Hong Shao Fish Head instead. It's a good dish and my only complaint is that the gravy could be a little thicker and that there could be a few more pieces of Sio Bak in it. Otherwise the fish head (He uses Ang Kor Li) is very fresh and the gravy really makes you want to eat more rice (know what I mean?). 4.25/5



Another new dish is the Ti Wan Chye with deep fried crispy Bean Curd. The two elements are an interesting contrast in texture, but I did not think that the flavours synchronized that well. This one needs a little more tweaking but it was an interesting try. 3.5/5



I remember having this dish in a Teppanyaki restaurant in Sydney. Essentially its chunky pieces of ribeye beef flash fried with teriyaki sauce. Not quite novel BUT certainly not something that you normally get in a Cze Char. We felt the beef could be cut just a little thinner so that it was easier to bite. Otherwise the thicker chunkier beef was actually good because it was cooked medium so it retained a lot of the juices. 3.75/5



Of course a trip to Ya Kwang would not be complete without the signature Crab Tang Hoon which I have already written about in the my previous blog. Still good and prices are still reasonable compared to other crab bee hoon places. 4.5/5

Conclusion

There you go. A trip to Ya Kwang is always enjoyable because Jason is pretty hospitable and accommodating. So you get to order your dishes the way you want or even suggest new dishes. Not everything is die die must try, but there are some winners and some of the new dishes need tweaking. But that's the beauty of it, since you are there to experience something new and to offer feedback for further improvements. I think you can expect to hear a dissertation from smart on the Ya Kwang Cze Char experience.

Ya Kwang Dai Pai Dong
709 Geylang Road (Lor 37)
11am to 11pm daily
98170006
Special orders before 7 pm

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Ya Kwang Dai Pai Dong: Crab Tang Hoon!

With Amagada, SCS Butter and Happi Mummi

Crab Tang Hoon $25 for 2 Crabs

Just while you are still thinking about going down to Ya Kwang for the Lobster Noodles, let me just throw one more dish into your list of Must Try dishes. Ever since I discovered this Ang Moh Pai (Westernized) Cze Char Hawker, I have been back a number of times to try out new dishes. It's great when the Cze Char Hawker just happens to have traveled the world in his younger days. It means that he has a wider perspective of food and are willing to experiment with a wider range of ingredients.

Just take this Crab Tang Hoon for example. This Teochew dish is quite popular in Bangkok and there are a few Cze Char stalls that already offer it in Singapore. When I was living in Bangkok, this was one of the standard dishes that I must have everytime I have seafood. In fact I prefer Tang Hoon to Bee Hoon as I find that it absorbs the flavours even better.



So let's take a Crab Tang Hoon and think about how to make it even better. OK, I can't wait for you to think, so let me just tell you what Chef Jason did. Instead of using the normal thin local Tang Hoon, he used Korean Tang Hoon which is thicker and more chewy. Whoa, if you have even eaten Korean Tang Hoon before, you would wonder why we are still using the local Tang Hoon at all. The texture of Korean Tang Hoon is just fantastic. I love the way it is sticky without being gooey and it is so lively it just leaps into your mouth! Each and every strand was infused with the flavours of the Crab, ginger, stock and a few secret Japanese ingredients. Simply addictive. 4.75/5



The reason I keep coming back to Ya Kwang is that I am always game to try new stuff. This picture of the Mussles Fried Ban Mian is probably a world first. I asked Jason if there was anything new on the menu and he simply came by with a bucket of Mussels and said he could try whipping up a noodle dish with it. Sure, why not. Life is too short to always eat the same stuff.

You can think of this dish as a variation of the KL Hokkien Mee. The dark sauce is very similar but Jason added Seaweed and Tee Poh (Crispy Fried Sole). He also specially fried some Pork Lard to go with it. Oooohhh yeah. Even SCS Butter who usually doesn't like Mussels was lapping it up. I think that Ban Mian was good but it would have been perfect if the thick round Hokkien Noodles or Udon was used. I think I am going to persuade Jason to whip up a worthy KL Hokkien Mee soon! 4.25/5

Conclusion

I will be back soon to have the Crab Tang Hoon all to myself. For $25, you get 2 small crabs so it is quite affordable. If, however, you want your big Sri Lanka Crabs, you can order ahead so that Jason that get them for you!

Ya Kwang Dai Pai Dong
709 Geylang Road (Lor 37)
11am to 11pm daily
98170006
Special orders before 7 pm

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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!

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Ya Kwang Kway Chap: Heavenly Kong Bak, $10 Crab Bee Hoon, Yuppie Kway Chap and Peking Rectums!

Just in case you are wondering what this stall actually sells, the answer is.....anything that the owner Jason is passionate about. Well, the mainstay of the stall is the Kway Chap which was recommended by one of our readers, Iris. She described this as a Yuppie Kway Chap that would appeal to people who would otherwise not go near piggy spare parts. The other thing that caught my attention was that the stallowner happened to be an ex-flight steward. Now, an ex-flight steward opening a Yuppie Kway Chap stall in Geylang, don't you think that is worth investigating?

And amazingly, that is exactly how I would describe this Kway Chap. The taste is new age, delicate and clinical. The flavour is subtle such that you can't really make out the spices, but they combine to give the Kway Chap that umami kick. Even for a person like me who don't usually eat Da Chang Tou aka rectums, I actually found this one to be quite delectable. 4/5



Are you all familiar with the Ma Ling canned Kong Bak? I grew up eating it and ooohhhh, it is so yummy! It's got a very special taste that I can't quite describe but I instantly recognize when I eat it. Unfortunately, even though there have been many new stalls sprouting up selling Kong Bak Pau, there really has not been one that I could rave about.

Not anymore! I think I have found my regular Kong Bak Pau haunt. The Kong Bak here has got that special Ma Ling Kong Bak taste but without all that lard oil in the sauce. It is not overly sweet but instead has got a really "Kiam Pang" (Salty Savoury) taste that is quite irresistable. Jason told me that his method of cooking the pork is quite different and though he did not reveal what gave the pork its "Ma Ling" flavour, he did say that he uses Japanese sauces to marinade the meat before steaming for several hours. It was so good, I tar paued a whole box home only to find that my kids finished it all up when I got home late from work! Now if he had deep fried the skin so that it was wrinkly I would have immediately give it a 4.75. But even as it is, it deserves a commendable 4.6/5


Crab Bee Hoon $10

For those who like to eat Crab Bee Hoon for the Bee Hoon and not necessarily the crab, this is a good place to have your bee hoon without having to fork out at least forty bucks. The Bee Hoon here is pretty good and has that crustacean flavour infused into the Bee Hoon. For ten bucks you get a small but solid crab. Not a bad way to satisfy that crab bee hoon crave. 4/5


Peking Duck? Guess again!

I have to hand it to Jason to come up with this next dish which is "Peking Rectum". Yes it is Peking Duck but instead of Duck skin, Jason has substituted it with deep fried Da Chang Tou. The idea was so novel, I had to try it at least once. I must say that the texture of the deep fried Da Chang Tou was really like the skin of the duck. But of course it does not taste like duck, it tastes like a sweet crispy morsel of meat. It's something you definitely need to try and take a picture of so that you can tell the world about it. 3.5/5

Conclusion

Jason's the kind of new age hawker chef that is going to change the way we eat hawker food. Passionate, well travelled and innovative, his constant experimentation has already produced a Kong Bak Pau that really is darn shiok. I am really looking forward to more new creations coming out from his kitchen. He has already promised me that he will look into the possibility of stir fried Lobster noodles........ akan datang or should I say... makan datang... I hope... I hope....

Ya Kwang Kway Chap
709 Geylang Road (Lor 37)
98170006
11am to 11pm daily

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