JB Ah Meng: You don't have to cross the causeway for some JB food!

White Pepper Crabs. $20 for 3 small crabs.

Ever heard people say that the food in JB is really great? Yeah, I believe it too. But everytime I think about going into JB, the traffic jam at the causeway and the potential of losing your car and a few bucks is always a big deterrant. So what is the next best thing? Well, the next best thing is to have a JB restaurant right here in Singapore, I guess.

Now, even though there is a Restaurant called Ah Meng in JB, this is not a branch of that restaurant. Neither is the owner from JB. So how can a restaurant in Geylang, run by Singaporeans give themselves a name like JB Ah Meng? Marketing gimmick perhaps?

Well, according to the owners, the chefs are all from JB, but then again many Cze Char cooks are now from across the causeway anyway. The second reason cited is the fact that the dishes are all JB inspired dishes. Mind you, they even admit that they were past favourites of JB, not even the current ones.


JB Sanlou Fried Bee Hoon

Perhaps the most signature dish they have here is the fried Bee Hoon. This outstandingly austere dish is served with the veggies hidden at the bottom so that unsuspecting carnivores would not baulk at the greens. So all you are going to see is this flat bed of crispy black bee hoon. I had to toss it a bit to make it look nicer for the camera. Even then, it still looks pretty boring.

But never judge a dish by the way it looks. Perhaps the unattractiveness of the dish is meant to fool you into lowering your expectations to rock bottom. But when you actually taste it, it is quite different. Very much like the Susan Boyle phenomenon eh?

One reader remarked that fried Bee Hoon is one dish which I have not blogged about yet. So here it is at last. A fried Bee Hoon that I will highly recommend for anyone who likes it. Actually Bee Hoon is an excellent medium for soaking up flavours. So after this I am on the look out for more Bee Hoon dishes to try! 4.25/5


Deep Fried Eggplant

If you like white pepper crabs, it is quite good here. The only problem is that they don't have those huge Sri Lankan Crabs but instead have the small ones, so you will be getting a claw the size of a teaspoon as opposed to one that is as big as a Ping Pong bat. But the sauce is very tasty and the meat is sweet and quite solid. For $20 for 3 crabs, it is quite a good feed. 4.25/5

The last dish which I would recommend is the Fried Eggplant. The Eggplant is first fried in a Tempura like batter and then stir fried in a yummy oyster sauce based gravy. Somehow I just like the contrast of the crispy batter to the smooth and creamy eggplant inside. At first Amagada thought it was some deep fried fish fat! Can't really tell you what went into the sauce, but I was just picking away at the dish till it was all finished. (It doesn't help when the kids don't like eggplant) 4.25/5

Conclusion

If you are looking for a Cze Char with a difference which is opened till the wee hours of the morning and is not too expensive, then this is it! Of course, I still think that the food across the causeway is better, but hey Geylang is much less hassle!

JB Ah Meng
New Good Place Eating House
5pm to 3am daily
2 Geylang Lor 23 (Geylang Road side)
67412418

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House of Bamboo Noodles: The Mullet - Love it or Hate it?

Mullet in Banana Leaf $15

There is nothing particularly sexy about a Mullet. In fact, the word "Mullet" is one of those soft core derogatory words that just sounds cute enough not to be overly vicious. So calling someone a "Mullet" in the US is akin to calling him a "Sotong" (squid) here which refers to a person, for example, an NS boy, who wouldn't know that he should throw the grenade after he pulls out the retaining pin. Then of course, we had those Mullet hairstyles which Billy Ray Cyrus used to wear of which I am sure would make your hair stand on end.

But there is one group of people for whom the word "Mullet" conjures up some gastronomic excitement. My father falls into this group. That is part of the reason why I am writing this post which is dedicated to my dear old dad. He is a typical Teochew Ah Hia who just loves this fish which we Teochews call "O Her" lit "Black Fish". I still remember how excited he would get when he gets back from the market with his prized Mullet. Within the hour, the fish would be steamed and he would sit down with mom, the Mullet, and a saucer of "Tau Cheo" (fermented bean sauce) and start extolling the wondrous chunk of "fat" that is found in the stomach of the fish. Needless to say, we three boys have not been properly introduced to this extraordinarily ordinary fish, so to my Dad, the Mullet is Max Ooomph, but to me, it's like Phewweee! Fishy sia!



Anyway, if you happen to be a Mullet lover, you will be happy to see this prized piece of "fat" in the belly of the Mullet. Now, anatomically speaking, you don't just get a piece of fat in the middle of your abdominal cavity, so what I figured out is that this "fat" actually refers to the Mullet roe or the male Mullet's milt sac. Perhaps the Mullet maestros can confirm this for us?

Anyway if the Mullet is famous for anything, it must be for its roe. The Teochews love it, as do the Italians who sun dry and cure it to make Bottarga which I actually don't mind eating. A bit of shaved Bottarga with pasta is a real treat as it does taste a bit like caviar. Perhaps my dad was right all along....

If you like Mullet, the House of Bamboo Noodles is dishing out fresh Mullet which is simply wrapped in Banana Leaves and pan fried. The owner happens to be Teochew and loves the fish. For me, sorry lah Pa, I tried it again but still cannot fully appreciate it. It's still a bit too fishy. It's a 3/5 for me but a 4.5/5 for others like Cactuskit who was the one who alerted me to this dish.

Conclusion

So, are you a Mullet connoisseur or do you shun Mullet like moi?

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

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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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Two Chefs Eating Place: Butter Pork Ribs Ooh So Shiok!

With Chin Chai Guy, Skinnyfoodie and ieatfamily

Butter Pork Ribs (Medium) $12

When PChong first told me about Two Chef's Butter Pork Ribs, the dish I saw in my mind's eye was a couple of pork ribs swimming in golden oil. I bet it was good to eat but I felt my arteries clogging up just thinking about it.

So imagine my surprise when the Butter Pork Ribs come out covered with golden yellow dust and curry leaves! And even more delightfully surprised that it tasted so shiok!

The Pork Ribs, more accurately Pork Chops were wonderfully tender with a melt in your mouth quality about it. But it was the butter powder which really got me excited that day. You know, it was just one of those head shaking, "I am so excited to have found something so yummy" kind of moments. The taste was similar to that of Cereal prawns, savoury and sweet and really great to eat with rice. We literally picked the plate clean, curry leaves and all. 4.5/5

Ah Hua, the elder brother of the two Chefs explained to me that the butter powder takes around four hours of slow cooking to prepare. Butter is melted over a low fire and slowly combined with a bit of flour, milk and other secret ingredients until it becomes a powder. Actually it was a little bit like someone crumbled savoury butter cookies over the Pork Chops.


Cold Cockles $6 (small)

Although the restaurant has only been around for 7 years, the two brothers from Ipoh have already got quite a following. I spoke with Ah Hua and I can tell you that this guy is passionate about food which is why a lot of the signature dishes here are all their own creations.

If you are a fan of cockles, then you will have to order a plate of the cold cockles which is a plate of cleanly shucked cockles drizzled with a garlic, chilli padi laced sauce. The cockles are really fresh and sweet and you won't have the hassle of getting sand in your mouth as they are all squeeky clean. Our cockle fan, skinnyfoodie said it was just as exceptional as the Butter Pork and gave it a 4.5/5.


Golden Mushroom Tofu $10

The homemade tofu with golden mushrooms is another signature dish here. A lot of Cze Char places make their own tofu nowadays so they can tweak the flavour and consistency of the tofu. It comes with a sauce which I thought was good but could have been a little thicker. I think the same dish on a sizzling hotplate with an egg ala hotplate tofu would be even better. 4/5


Three Colour Spinach $8

I have tried this three colour spinach dish many times before at other cze char places but I have yet to find one that I can truly say was exceptional. This is just another one to add on to that list. Maybe it is just the dish itself that I don't appreciate but I lot of other people seem to rave about this and I cannot see why at this stage. 3.5/5


Prawn Salad $18

I used to love this dish years ago when I first ate it but nowadays it has lost a lot of its novelty for me. Some dishes like are like that while others like sweet and sour pork seem to be evergreen (for my palate anyway). Still it was well executed dish, the prawns were nice and juicy and the tempura batter was crisp. 4/5 I think next time I should go for Satay Prawns as suggested by PChong.

Conclusion

This is going to be another of those places that our makan kakis will be bringing their families to! Great food, reasonable prices with generous portions and located in a great old coffeeshop that hasn't been renovated since the 70's. I am already planning my return visit for the Butter Pork Ribs and to try some of the other dishes!

You can read PChong's review here.

Two Chefs Eating Place
Blk 116 Commonwealth Crescent, #01-129
Singapore 140116
64725361, 94379712
11.30am - 2.30pm
5pm - 11.30pm
Monday (Lunch) closed

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Siang Hee Restaurant: When Hawkers do it, it is not called Fusion

With Wahcow, Cactuskit, WahcowMaiden, Khim, Liverpool

Pumpkin Tempura Prawns (4 prawns $12)

It is funny, but everytime a fancy restaurant incorporates some local flavours to Western Cuisine, we call it "Fusion". However, when a Cze Char incorporates some Western Flavours into their cooking, we don't really think of it as "Fusion", do we?

Take Cereal Prawns for example. I am quite sure Cereal is not used in traditional Chinese cooking. But some very clever chef came up with this dish years ago and now everyone loves it. You hardly hear anyone complain that this dish is "non-traditional" or "Fusion".

This particular Cze Char Stall has been around for 30 years but it is only in the last two years that it has become increasingly popular. The increased in popularity came about when Ah Yoke, the feisty 60 year old Lao Ban Niang cum chef, decided to start experimenting with new flavours drawn from our current culinary climate.



Take the pumpkin tempura prawn for instance which is a cross between Japanese style tempura prawns covered with a gloriously rich Pumpkin Butter Cream which reminded me of a thick and savoury Pumpkin soup. The Pumpkin Butter Cream was quite an eye opener for me especially since I really like a good Pumpkin Soup. The sauce is so addictive that I could simply eat it with my rice and be as satisfied as little Jack Horner (you know the one who pulled out a plum and said "what a good boy am I"). Aside from Pumpkin and Butter, Ah Yoke also added some fresh chilli and curry leaves into the secret sauce. Simple but satisfyingly Shiok! 4.5/5


Crispy Ter Kah (Pork Knuckle) $15

The other dish that got the "Wows" from our kakis was this Crispy Ter Kah which really is Ah Yoke's version of the famous German dish. She manages to get the skin to be as crispy as Keropok with a nice layer of chewy subdermal fat to compliment it. Ah Yoke was explaining that she goes to a lot of trouble trying to extract the "porky" stench and excess fats from the Pork Knuckle. First, the pork knuckle is pressure cooked for 20 minutes to extract the fats, then it is slowly simmered in herbs to remove get rid of the stench.



One of the ingredients that is used in the Pork Knuckle is Red Yeast Rice which Ah Yoke said was added because it negates some of the ill effects of eating Pork fat. Now, you might think that this is another old wife's tale, but she is actually quite right. Red Yeast Rice contains lovastatin which is actually a cholesterol lowering drug. The "Statins" are a major class of drugs that are used to lower cholesterol levels, so our hawker aunty knows what she is doing! However, whether or not the addition of Red Yeast Rice to the Ter Kah is going to help with your cholesterol levels is debatable. So don't be too happy if you have high cholesterol, because this is NOT your license to indulge in Ter Kah!

The chilli sauce is quite unique as one of the key ingredients is apricot jam and it actually goes really well with the Ter Kah. My only grouse is that the meat itself was a little dry, otherwise the crispy skin and the chewy layer just beneath it is really quite a treat. 4.25/5


Marmite Pork $8

If you, (like me) enjoy Jing Dou Pai Gu (Pork Ribs) then you will enjoy the variations of the dish that you can order here. The Pork is nicely seasoned and has just the right amount of tenderness. You know how some Cze Char places go overboard on the use of bicarb in tenderizing the pork so that it has the consistency of fishcake? Here, it is tender but you still get enough bite in the pork. Basically, you can order the same deep fried pork with Pumpkin Butter Cream, Marmite or Mongolian sauce. We tried the Marmite Pork that day. It was good but I felt the Marmite flavour could have a bit more kick. Judging from the quality of the fried pork, I can think it is quite a sure bet that the Jing Dou Pai Gu would be really good. 4/5

Conclusion

If you are looking for your next Cze Char to visit, then Siang Hee is a good bet. Our kakis have either already gone back there or are planning a return visit with the family.

Siang Hee Restaurant
Blk 89 Zion Road
#01-137
S160089
11am to 10.30pm
Closed once every 3 weeks on Tuesdays
97364067 Ah Yoke

What to do next?

Check out the review from the advance party led by PChong
Check out the food across the street at Beo Crescent!
There's several good eats at the Zion Road Food Centre too!

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Yuet Loy: Mom and Pop Cze Char!

With Cactuskit, liverpool, keano, smart, jems and damien

Tofu with Beansprouts

If you are hankering for some really shiok dishes to make you eat more rice, then you can try heading down to the Smith Street Food Centre to check out this little Mom and Pop Cze Char who specializes in Cantonese style cuisine. Actually this stall is quite famous for its Beef Hor Fun and I have been wanting to check them out for the longest time. But when I eventually got there, they ran out of Hor Fun! Sigh! So I had to settle for the Cze Char dishes which turned out to be quite a treat.

Now this couple are pretty old school, so they don't believe in a "low salt" diet so the dishes all come out pretty tasty (salty). The homemade tofu with beansprouts is a simple dish but there is something about the texture and taste of the tofu that made it go very well with rice. 4.5/5


Stir Fry Kai Lan with Sliced Beef

Since I couldn't order the Beef Hor Fun, I settled for the Beef Kai Lan. The beef was tender and the dish was good. But lacking the Hor Fun with Wok Hei, it just didn't have that ooomph I was expecting. Still, it was a commendable dish. 4/5


Salted Fish Chicken

I don't take much salted fish nowadays but by golly, when you actually get to eat it, it is quite shiok. Again this Salted Fish Chicken dish is a great dish to down that extra plate of rice with. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Humble little stall that is churning out really great Cantonese homecooked food! Well worth a visit.

Yuet Loy
Smith Street Food Centre
#02-151
Open for lunch and dinner

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Eng Seng Restaurant: Ring Up First or No Crabs for You!

With Amagada

Black Pepper Crabs $38 per kg

We should do a poll to see whether there are more Chilli Crab lovers or Black Pepper Crab lovers. I think that there was one time when Chilli Crabs were the runaway favourites, but then Black Pepper Crabs came onto the scene and stole top spot from Chilli Crabs. Of course, nowadays there are a few other crab fads like Crab Bee Hoon and Salted Egg Crab, but I still think that Chilli Crabs and Black Pepper Crabs are still by far the favourite amongst Singaporeans.

Today we talk about Black Pepper Crabs and as you all may already know, the creation of the dish is widely attributed to the famous Long Beach Seafood Restaurant. But if you ask where is the best Black Pepper Crab around, a lot of people will tell you about this particular place where you have to ring up early in the day to book your crabs before coming down at around 5pm to start queueing for a table.

The notoriaty of this place is legend. The queue is so bad that it had intimidated me enough to not to try it after all these years. There is also the rumour of a Empress Dowager like figure commanding the restaurant and rumours of the Uber Food Nazi chasing people away for the lack of crabs is the stuff of Singaporean Hawker Lore. And then, there is the fact that they are usually sold out by 8pm. How to eat like thaaaaaat? Then again, like that, how not to eaaaaaat?



What finally brought me to the restaurant was when I heard rumours that the restaurant had moved to somewhere in Yio Chu Kang and that the restaurant in Joo Chiat is closed. In fact, I have driven past the alleged new restaurant (which I shall not name at the moment) and it says clearly on the signboard that they were previously from Joo Chiat Place. I think it was Holydrummer who told me that he had already eaten the black pepper crab there. So I started making plans to visit the new restaurant at Yio Chu Kang since I thought I might get a chance to eat the crab before people find them and we have to start queuing again.



But as I was organizing my trip there, one of my patients told me that she had just eaten Black Pepper Crab at the old Joo Chiat Place! After making sure she wasn't seeing me for diarrhoea, I decided that I would get to the bottom of this mystery once and for all.

So we eventually found ourselves sitting at the old coffeeshop at Joo Chiat Place at 5 pm waiting for our Black Pepper Crabs. We were lucky as we did not ring to reserve our crabs ahead of time but still managed to order some because they had a good supply of crabs that day.


As our gowment says, Two is not enough!

The verdict: Strangely addictive. These Black Pepper Crabs are not like the ones served elsewhere. The sauce is slightly sweet and not overly spicy. As Goldilocks would say, "it is just right!". It was so shiok that I think I ate more crabs at that one seating then I ever had for a long while. 4.5/5

The lady manning the register told me that there is some secret ingredient in the black sauce that they used but stopped short of telling me what it was. She also insisted that rumours of there being a change in management at the restaurant was untrue and that everything was the same as before. She appeared to know about the restaurant in Yio Chu Kang but wouldn't say anymore about them.

Conclusion

I guess the real question is whether I would bother calling up earlier in the day and come at 5pm to start queuing up for the Black Pepper Crab the next time? Quite honestly, I think I would.

But back to the mystery at hand. Something must have happened to have started all the rumours! Anyone knows of what actually happened?

Eng Seng Restaurant
247 Joo Chiat Place
(Jn Joo Chiat Place and Still Rd)
4.30pm to around 8pm
64405560
91113564 Eunice

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Lu Tian: It doesn't get cheaper than this!

With Cactuskit and liverpool

Chilli Crayfish (deshelled) $12

Although this blog is about great food, you all realize that the stalls that we frequent do not necessarily sell THE best food. No, there are several other factors that influence how we decide where to eat our next meal, right or not? At least for myself, the decision to eat at a particular stall is based on convenience, value, whether one if familiar with the stall owner and of course, taste.

So what makes this Cze Char one of Cactuskit's favourite haunts? He told me that he once ate here thrice in a fortnight! Well, the food here is good but it is the price that will draw anybody back again and again. Plus the fact that you will definitely find a table to sit without having to stand in front of someone with your most pathetic "hungry puppy" look to pressure them to finish their bowl of chengtng and get their butt off the chair.


Hong Shao Tofu $6

Cactuskit tells me that in its heydays at Lau Pa Sat, Lu Tian commanded a long queue and at the time the owners were quite a Food Nazi. Nowadays, the stall occupies a single hawker space in Amoy Street Food Centre and is only one of a few stalls which open at night. So you get to choose to sit at any table you like.

The food here is still pretty tasty although I would not say it is die die must try. The crayfish in chilli had an excellent texture. It was perfectly cooked so that it was still tender and moist on the inside and was not dry like a lot of other crayfish I have eaten before. The chilli sauce was quite unique and the addition of cilantro gave it a refreshing "grassy" flavour. 4/5

The Hong Shao Tofu will appeal to anyone who likes eggy "Sap Kum" hor fun. The sauce has that "really makes you want to eat more rice" quality about it. The kids loved it. For 6 bucks, I was really surprised to find that it still had quite a few mid size prawns and other seafood in it! 4/5


Jacket Fish $12

Lastly we had the jacket fish without its jacket. The sauce is similar to that of the crayfish. Not a big fan of Jacket fish and chilli, but my kakis seem to enjoy it. Cactuskit who eats this all the time gives it a 4.25/5

Conclusion

The food here is quite decent but it is the bill at the end which will make you go back again. For 5 dishes which included quite a bit of seafood, we paid less than $40. Coincidentally, SCS butter was there with a group of 8 people and they paid less than $80! So if you are after good food, excellent value and not needing to wait for someone else to finish their cheng tng before you can sit down, you'd be very happy if you visited this place.

Lu Tian
Amoy St Food Centre, 2nd Floor
(The opposite end of the POSB ATM)
Opened till 3pm for lunch and 10pm for dinner
Closed on Sundays



Remember to vote today! Click here

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Geylang Claypot Rice: Still using Charcoal!

With oil prices soaring, we should all turn to alternative fuel sources like charcoal for instance. That would be good news indeed except for one problem --NEA. Yes our friends at NEA will not allow this wonderful food enhancing fuel source in any of their hawker centres or coffeeshops, so we can only find them in private places.

I can understand that charcoal can infuse a nice smoky flavour when used to grill meat, but I have yet to comprehend the scientific basis behind using charcoal to cook claypot rice or fry hokkien mee. How can the smell of the charcoal somehow permeate a metal wok or claypot to infuse flavour to the food? According to the Lor 29 Geylang Hokkien Mee uncle, it is supposed to have something to do with the wider coverage of the flame such that the whole bottom surface of the wok is sizzling hot. So with claypot rice, maybe it has something to do with the flames coming up the side of the claypot and making all burnt rice round the sides of the claypot?



It takes quite a while for the claypot to get to your table since they cook everything from scratch. I have eaten here quite a few times in the past before they opened their new extension. It used to be that you needed to call up to order your claypot rice before you came or risk waiting an hour to eat. However, with their newly opened extension, I managed to get my claypot rice within 20mins.



For me, the beauty of eating claypot rice lies in the crunchy burnt bits of rice that is stuck to the side of the claypot mixed with the flavour of the salted fish. Alas there wasn't enough salted fish that day so it lacked a bit of ooomph. 4/5



There are two dishes that you won't waste your calories on though. The deep fried soon hock is wonderfully crispy on the outside and moist on the inside and the sauce has got just the right amount of sweet umami to make you want to eat more rice. 4.25/5



The other dish that the whole family loved was the tofu prawns. They make their own egg tofu here so it was wonderfully silky and tasty. The sauce again was excellent and the prawns were fresh. The kids finished up all the tofu. 4.5/5


Unbranded durian $5 each

The best thing about eating around Geylang is that you can find Durians there all year round. However, the best time of the year for Durians is still around this time when they are in season! I know we have a lot of Durian lovers out there, so this should get you to start drooling!

Conclusion

Claypot rice was a little disappointing this time around, but the other two dishes were still as good as before! Now with their new air con extension, they are even opened for lunch!

Geylang Claypot Rice
639 Geylang Road
Jn of Lor 33
67444574, 67443619
11.30am to 2.30pm
5pm to 12am

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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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