Hilmi Sarabat Stall: Ah The President's Teh Tarik... At last!

Do you still remember my last post on our President's Teh Tarik? Well, I thought I would never have a chance to drink of the Presidential Brew since the "Michael Bolton" and I both share the same working shifts.

But yesterday was my lucky day! I happened to be down at Marine Parade Food Centre and lo and behold, the President's Teh Tarik Man was on duty! It so happened that the other Teh Tarik man had returned to Indonesia for the Hari Raya Holidays, so he was working an extended shift.

The "Michael Bolton" was telling us that since the last post, he has had many new customers coming by asking for the President's Teh Tarik as well as questions like whether the President really came by in his shorts, T shirt and flip-flops on Sunday mornings to buy his Teh Tarik. Alamak, those readers who really asked this question, please own up. I already told you that that would have been a breach of Presidential protocol! Once you become a President, you must never be seen in flip-flops.

Anyway, I was just over the moon that "Michael" (I still don't know his real name) was on duty that day. This time round, I did not need to haggle, all I needed to do was to order the President's Teh Halia Tarik and it was delivered to my table.

Maybe its just psychological, but the brew was indeed befitting of royalty. Full bodied and fragrant with an excellent post-gustatory ginger punch. It really put the tiger in the tank. So good, I had to order a second cup. 4.6/5

Conclusion

Our President really knows his Teh Tarik!

Hilmi Sarabat Stall
Marine Parade Food Centre
#01-146
5.30am to 11pm
Presidential Teh Tarik only available up till 12.30pm normally, but this month up to 3pm

....Read more!

Hass Bawa: Not too Spicy, not too Sweet, Just Nice

I admit that I haven't really had a Mee Goreng that I can remember being really shiok. Then again I am not really a Mee Goreng fan, so I don't go around specifically looking for Mee Goreng like I do Hokkien Mee.

However, when I did my Marine Parade series the last time, Damien chided me for not trying the Mee Goreng here which according to him was "quite shiok leh". Ok since I was having the Presidential Teh Tarik that day, I thought I might as well give it a try.

It was surprisingly quite good. It was not overly spicy and the mutton was seasoned just nice. Indeed a commendable Mee Goreng but still not something I would crave for. 4/5

Conclusion

Good Mee Goreng for those who like this dish.

Hass Bawa
Marine Parade Food Centre
#01-150
11.30am to 9.30pm

....Read more!

Apollo Fresh Cockle Fried Kway Teow: Wet Wet Wet

To be very honest, this is the ugliest plate of Char Kway Teow I have ever laid eyes on. But it is also the most unique Char Kway Teow I have ever come across.

It is almost like a Hor Fun since the Kway Teow still white in colour and it is swimming in the sweet black sauce gravy. Although the stall's name is Apollo (probably named after the Apollo lunar missions of the 60's) it is better known as the Wet Char Kway Teow of Marine Parade Hawker Centre.

If you like sweet stuff, you will like this Char Kway Teow as the gravy is very much on the sweet side. As I said, the Kway Teow does not taste like it has had enough contact with the wok. But overall, a better than average plate of Char Kway Teow and certainly very unique. 3.75/5

Conclusion

Just gotta try it at least once to decide if you like it or not.


Apollo Fresh Cockle Fried Kway Teow
Marine Parade Food Centre
#01-174
11.30am to 9.30pm
Closed Tuesday

....Read more!

Hilmi Sarabat Stall: Presidential Teh Tarik

Want to drink the Presidential Teh Tarik? Hop down to Marine Parade Food Centre and look for this Sarabat store and you too can feel like the President.....at least for 10 minutes. Of course the President does not come down to the stall himself to drink the Teh Tarik. That would mean a lot of work for the Security Guards who will need to get the Presidential Body Guards and also arrange for the neighbourhood police to partition off a section of the carpark for the presidential entourage. So much red tape for a cup of Teh Tarik. Instead the President's driver comes by to Ta Pau the Teh Tarik back to the Presidential Mansion.



Although this stall is opened throughout the day, the President's Teh is only available during the mornings up till 12.30pm. That is because it has to be made by a particular man who is code named "Michael Bolton" to protect his real identity. (Actually I think it is because of his hairstyle). Anyway, the "Michael Bolton" only works the morning shift, so the Presidential Teh Tarik was not available when I got there at 2.30pm in the afternoon.

Ah, but you astutely observe that I managed to take pictures of him and are wondering why he cannot make a Teh Tarik for me since he is still around. I wondered too. I pleaded with the "Michael Bolton" for at least 15 minutes to no avail. The man just would not make me a cup of Teh Tarik. Frustrated, I unleashed my secret weapon.......iwatch_ueat.

Now, if iwatch_ueat can't get him to make a cup of Teh Tarik, no one can. Trust me, this lady can even get a loan shark to give her money when she needs to.

Anyway, after 15 minutes of negotiations, she came back empty handed. Well not really, I did not get my Presidential Teh Tarik, but I got a good explaination why not. You see, they prepare the tea beforehand and because his shift was in the morning, the batch of tea that is already prepared was not done by him. So it would taste different even if he were the one adding the milk and tariking it. It so simple, why didn't he tell me earlier?

Anyway I had the Teh Halia Tarik made by the partner and it was very very good! There was enough punch from the Ginger, the Tea was strong and it was creamy and smooth. Sip, gulp....Aaaahhhhh! 4.5/5

Conclusion

If the one made by the partner was already so good, I wonder what the one made by the "Michael Bolton" would taste like? Looks like I have to visit this place on a Sunday morning in order to get a taste of the authentic Presidential Teh Tarik!

Hilmi Sarabat Stall
Marine Parade Food Centre
#01-146
5.30am to 11pm
Presidential Teh Tarik only available up till 12.30pm

....Read more!

Katong Chicken Curry Puff: Stuff I ate when I was a kid!

With Smart, iwatch_ueat and carnineviand

Good old Curry Puff: $1

I am glad that somethings never change. This shop has been here for 30 years and they are still doing the same thing. This is the kind of curry puff I grew up eating when I was a kid. I remember that the best part of the curry puff was when you get to that single piece of chicken meat and the piece of egg. It's like a treasure hunt.

Of course, this type of curry puff is the Chinese interpretation of the Malay interpretation of the Indian interpretation of an English food. The Indian curry puff is the triangular pastry which the Indians made for their colonial masters back in the days of the British Empire. Then they brought it over to Singapore and the Malays took on the idea of a pastry filled with curry. But they change the shape of the Curry Puff to resemble the Crescent Moon, the religious symbol of Islam. Then of course the Chinese (probably the Hainanese) also want to get into the action, so you have the chinese version of the curry puff with a pastry that is more buttery.



This is one of smart's favourite Curry Puffs which he has eaten for the last 30 years. He still swears by it. According to this uncle, the Curry Puff at East Coast Lagoon Food Village was an offshoot of this stall. Little wonder that they both still use an old bottle as a rolling pin.

The filling is nice and moist and not overly spicy and the crust is nice and crisp but not too buttery. Great as an afternoon snack! 4/5

Conclusion

Another "traditional" chinese style curry puff to add to my curry puff list!

Katong Chicken Curry Puff
Marine Parade Food Centre
01-132
8am to 6pm
Closed on Monday

Recommended by smart

....Read more!

Ah Liang Fried Hokkien Mee: Does Tar Pauing make the HKM tastier?

This stall is closed


Do you think that wrapping the HKM in Opeh leaf improves the taste of the HKM? Or does the image of the Opeh leaf somehow invoke some nostalgia and affect the taste? Some vendors tell me that they feel the Opeh leaf does nothing to the taste of the noodles whiles others feel that the best way to eat their HKM is to leave it in the Opeh leaf for 10 minutes before eating.

This particular HKM stall told us that the best way to eat his HKM is to wait for all the flavours to soak in for 10 minues in the Opeh Leaf. OK, so we Tar Paued a packet of HKM and waited 10 minutes at the hawker centre to eat it. I had a few mouthfuls before wrapping it up so that I could compare the taste.



When we finally opened the packet, most of the gravy has been absorbed by the noodles. The Hokkien Mee here is quite decent, but still lacks that ooompph. The stall does not provide crispy pork lard though they admit that the vegetable oil used to cook the noodles was prepared with a small amount of pork lard. 4/5

It is hard to tell you what Opeh leaf actually taste like. To me, I think that if I really really have to say, than maybe it imparts a subtle woody taste to the HKM. But it is very very subtle. I think that it is the fact that you give the noodles time to soak in the flavours that makes the bigger difference to the noodles.

Conclusion

A good plate of HKM to try when you are at Marine Parade Food Centre. You'd appreciate it if you are health conscious. But I still maintain that HKM without the crispy pork lard is like an elephant without its trunk.

Ah Liang Fried HKM
Marine Parade Hawker Centre
11.30am to 9pm
Monday closed

....Read more!

Xin Long Cooked Food: The Alternative to a Homecooked Meal!

With smart, iwatch_ueat and carnineviand


I always find it difficult to write about "Economic Rice" because there is always so many dishes in each stall and there is no standard items that you can compare "apples with apples". So what I have done is to ask the Lao Ban Niang to give me a plate to that would showcase her best stuff.

I don't know about you, but I find that when I eat "Economic Rice", I always end up ordering much the same dishes which will invariably include a sweet and sour pork and a braised tofu dish. So this particular meal is a departure from my usual fare.

Another thing about Economic Rice is that I actually eat it when I feel that I need to eat something "wholesome" which equates to home cooked food. And home cooked food equates to rice with one or two meats and some veggies. I think that is quite a commonly held practice amongst Singaporean Chinese which is why the Army also provides this sort of staple.

The food here is very good and overall, I feel that it has flavour without tending to be over oily. Of special mention is the Ngor Hiang here which is one of the best Ngor Hiang I have ever eaten. Funny to find an outstanding Ngor Hiang in a Economic Rice stall rather than a Ngor Hiang stall! The shiok thing about it is that almost one third of the Ngor Hiang is made of sweet, crunchy water chestnuts. Worth coming just for the Ngor Hiang. The curry chicken was mild, creamy and very yummy. Not as special as the Ngor Hiang but definitely very competent.

Conclusion

Overall, the food here is great which explains the constant queue. The good thing about it is that you really do feel that it is something that mom might whip up at home. (assuming your mom is an excellent cook) Great place to visit for some tasty home cooked food. 4.25/5

Xing Long Cooked Food
Blk 84 Marine Parade Food Centre
#01-185
Corner Store near Parkway Parade
11am to 8.30pm
Closed on Sundays
Annie 97574143

....Read more!

Mr Wong Seremban Beef Noodle: The One and Only?

With smart, carnineviand and iwatch_ueat


According to the stallowner, Mr Wong, this is the one and only Seremban Beef Kway Teow in Singapore. That's according to him, but as far as we know this is certainly a very unique tasting beef kway teow.

The dry version is sweeter than the local version. Sweet black sauce and other condiments are added to the bee hoon before he adds the beef sauce. The sauce is more sweet than beefy, but I found it quite nice since I like my food a little on the sweet side. I like the peanuts and sesame seeds that you help yourself to. It is certainly very different from the other beef noodles I have eaten. 4/5



The soup version is also sweeter than our local version. The extra sweetness comes from the carrots and radishes in the soup which has got a sweet beefy aroma when it arrives on your table. I found it to be quite a satisfying bowl of soup. 4/5

Conclusion

Certainly very unique and it is probably true that it is the only one in Singapore. Good for those who like things sweeter, but if you are looking for the beefy umami rush, you might be disappointed. But overall it is still quite a satisfying bowl of beef noodle.

Mr Wong Seremban Beef Noodle
Blk 84 Marine Parade Central
#01-184
www.sbestfood.com/mrwongsbn
11am to 8.30pm daily
Closed whenever something pops up

....Read more!