Clementi Brothers Rojak: Rojak is so... Rojak!

Unlike the Thais and the Vietnamese, we Singaporeans don't really eat a lot of salads. In fact, the only local salad that we eat is Rojak. There is of course Lou Hei, (raw fish salad) but that is really a festive rather than a regular dish.

If there is one dish that I am usually very apprehensive to take photos of, it is rojak. I find it very difficult to make the dish appealing. It is just a mess of different items all mixed up with this gooey dark sauce and peanuts on top. It is, as its name implies... Rojak.

It might not look good, but if you get a Rojak with freshly toasted You Char Kway, really flavoursome prawn paste and freshly roasted and ground peanuts, it is just heavenly!



The one ingredient that sets rojak apart though is Hei Gor (Prawn Paste). It might seem improbable that a paste made from decomposing prawns can be considered a dessert, but somehow it just seems to work. In case you still don't know, Hei Gor is made from Belachan which is essentially shrimps that have been left out to rot. The rotting process degrades the protein and releases lots of glutamates which is what makes the paste such an excellent ingredient for so many dishes. It essentially does what Parmesan cheese does, ie gives it a boost of naturally occuring glutamates (MSG).

Anyway, whoever thought of Hei Gor with sugar and tamarind juice is quite a genious because the combination works really well. But of course, you have to start with a good quality Hei Gor and for that there is only one undisputed source and that is Penang. So this stall proudly shows off its Penang Hei Gor with the words "Best Quality" on it to assure you that you are getting the best rotting prawns there is.

Well, the rojak sauce here is good, but I don't like the peanuts which were commercially bought, so it was too dry. The you char kway were toasted and let to cool too long so they were not crispy, but this should not be a problem during peak hours. Overall, a better than average rojak that is worth eating when you are at this Food Centre. 4/5

Conclusion

After you have eaten rojak from Penang, it is really hard to find something here that can compare! But if you are in Zion Road Food Centre, this one is certainly worth ordering to accompany your other dishes. I wonder how it compares with the original stall at Clementi. Anyone can comment?

Clementi Brothers Rojak (Branch)
Riverside Food Centre Stall 21
12pm to 10pm
Closed on Mondays
91853737

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Penang Food Trial 3: The Iconic Penang Hawker Dishes!

Everyone talks about Penang Laksa. You either love it or hate it. But it is one of those things you have to try when you are in Penang and one of the most famous stalls is the one at Ayer Itam market which is just at the base of the trial to Kek Lok Si Temple.



If you love pungent stuff like stinky Toufu, you might like this. As you approach the stall, you will feel as if you have walked into a sauna with a bucket of rotting prawns.

One thing about Penang I observe, is that their prawns are very good. So any of their dishes with prawns in it is good, be it fresh prawns or stinky prawn paste. And because they produce their own prawns, it is cheap and they have no qualms in using lots of it. So the Penang Laksa is no exception, they use so much Belachan here that you'd stink of Belachan for the rest of the day after a visit to the Assam Laksa stall.



Suffice to say that this is one dish that I don't need to try again. Damien tells me that although this is probably the most famous stall, it is not necessarily the best. I wonder if better ones mean even more stinky Belachan? 3/5 for me but it might be 4.5/5 for lovers of Penang Laksa.


Laksa at Ayer Itam market, near Kek Lok Si Temple

Now, there's dried fermented prawns paste (Belachan) and then there's prawn paste (Hei Gor) which is a sweet sticky paste that is used for rojak. In Singapore, any rojak seller will tell you that the best Hei Gor comes from Penang. So I had to hunt down some serious Penang Rojak.


Penang Rojak RM5

And if you want the King of Rojak, you have to visit Hock Seng Rojak, the self declared Rojak King of Penang. (Actually after eating this Rojak, you might crown him Rojak King yourself). Penang rojak is different from Singapore rojak as they don't have You Char Kway (fried doughstick) and just has fruits in it. At least traditionally, that is how it is. But nowadays some stalls are putting You Char Kway in Penang rojak, although they don't freshly toast it over charcoal like what we do in Singapore.



Hock Seng Rojak is anything but your typical Penang Rojak. The Rojak Uncle believes in eating "Ho Liao" (good stuff) and would keep chanting "Jia Ho Liao" (eat good stuff) over and over again. He does not stinge on anything and you can see just how much Hei Gor he avalanches his rojak in. On top of the Hei Gor, he puts a light tan coloured powder which I found out later was ground roasted cuttlefish. On top fo that, he adds a cupful of whole roasted peanuts and dried shrimps!


Dipping a cube of fruit in Hei Gor, Cuttlefish powder and finally dried shrimps (Tasting sample)

If you have never had this before, then you have never eaten rojak. This was actually our final stop after 8 hours of eating and although we started off ordering only one plate, we ended up with 3 plates and everyone packing home the sauce and condiments. Singapore Rojak really got no fight. I just wished I had some freshly toasted You Char Kway to go with it! 4.8/5.


Macallum Street at the junction of "five ways" Open 1.30pm to 5pm

Another dish that Penang is quite famous for is their curry noodles. Like their laksa, their curry noodles is also very different from the curry noodles that we have here.



Instead of a thick coconut based curry gravy, the noodles are served in a very light, but sweet and pungent prawn stock and it is up to you to add the sambal to make it inot a fiery curry. They also have all the other goodies like cuttlefish, cockles and congealed pigs blood to add to the dish. Too bad I was down with a bit of diarrhoea that morning so I did not get to really enjoy the dish. The soup was really good but somehow I still prefer our thick and rich coconut gravy version. 4/5



If there is one stall that you absolutely must visit while in Penang, it is the famous Penang Road Teochew Chendol. This hawker is featured everywhere. I even saw him in our Hotel's recurring video clip on the highlights of Penang. Some even go as far to say that he is even better than the Chendol in Malacca.


Chendol from the famous Teochew Chendul

There always seem to be a perpetual crowd around the stall at any time of the day. What is interesting is that there is a stall on the opposite side of the road which is much less popular. Our tour guide (Mr Yap) chose to eat at the less popular stall because he didn't want to wait for his chendol. He said the chendol is almost as good.


Chendol from the competitor directly opposite

So I had to do my usual, unrandomised, unblinded, uncontrolled trial to see if both chendols are indeed compatible. As you can see from the picture, the chendol (green stuff) is different at both stall. Whilest the one at Teochew Chendul (sic) is pale green with a softer, more powdery texture, the one opposite is a little more springy to the bite but with less pandan flavour. Actually the coconut and gula melaka is quite similar, so if you are just going for the soup, both stalls are compatible. However, what really made the difference for me was the taste of the red beans and kidney beans. This is where Teochew Chendul wins hands down. Theirs is very nice, well marinated, sweet and very "pang". So it is no wonder that people still flock to his stall.



To me the Chendol is very good, but the shaved ice was not very fine and there was very little of it. I like my Chendol with the ice still in its shaven form so that I can still taste the gula melaka and coconut milk separately. I haven't been to Malacca recently, but I suspect that Chendol can still be better than this. 4.25/5

Conclusion

So are you a fan of Penang Laksa? I have just been told by a Penangite that the one I featured here is famous but the locals actually to go a better one near the Airport as they feel that the one at Ayer Itam is not as good as before. The Rojak is definitely a winner but the Chendol I am not so sure until I get to eat the famous ones in Malacca.

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Rojak: Freshly Fried You Tiao Rojak!

With iwatch_ueat and SCS Butter


Imagine freshly fried You Char Kway made into rojak! That would be something wouldn't it? It would be especially special for those of us who really enjoy just You Char Kway rojak without all the other vegetables and fruits. When smart alerted me to this particular stall in Macpherson, I simply had to find out if freshly fried You Char Kway is better than toasted You Char Kway when it is tossed into rojak.



This is a sleepy little stall in a sleepy part of Singapore especially in the afternoons. So the lady needed to fire up the oil in order to make some You Char Kway for us. Amazingly the You Char Kway is still 30 cents each here and a plate of rojak just $2.

The You Char Kway was super crispy and warm but unfortunately the Prawn Paste and Ground Peanuts were not quite up to expectations. A good plate of rojak which really could have been great. 3.75/5

Conclusion

Try it for the novelty of having freshly fried You Char Kway rojak that is really cheap. However, I am still undecided if freshly fried You Char Kway really makes a better rojak than toasted You Char Kway. The only way to find out is to find another stall somewhere that does the same thing but with a sauce with more kick!

Rojak
Circuit Road Blk 79A Food Centre
#01-522
11am to 12mn
Closed Wed and Thursday

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Soon Heng Silver Stream Rojak: Two bucks and they still include cuttlefish!

I find rojak to be the most difficult hawker food to take pictures of. It's well......it's rojak. It isn't colourful and very messy and I always find it difficult to take an appetizing picture. If you look at my rojak photos, I think you would agree that they are pretty hum drum.

Anyway this rojak was recommended by many readers from the last rojak post disputing my claim that Lau Hong Ser was the pre-eminent rojak in Singapore. Ok, so I had to taste it for myself.

I was a bit apprehensive when I found out that they toast their You Char Kway in an ovenette and use commercially procured ground peanuts. How can they compete against my other rojak entries most of whom toast their YCK over charcoal and grind their own peanuts? Can this rojak be even on par with the others, let alone be superior?

Well, I did find that it was a very nice plate of rojak. The balance between sweet and sour was perfect and the Hae Gor (Prawn Paste) was very good. But I found the peanuts a little dry though they were generous with it. It just did not meet up to the standard of peanuts which are fried and ground daily by the hawkers themselves. For $2, this was a generous plate of rojak which included cuttlefish as well. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Very good rojak and very good value for money. The peanuts are the major stumbling block preventing it from being the undisputed rojak champion.

Soon Heng Silver Stream Rojak
480 Toa Payoh Central
HDB Hub B1-23
11am to 8pm

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Lau Hong Ser Rojak: The Undisputed Rojak Champion?

With iwatch_ueat and holydrummer


PASSION.....

One word that separates the good from the great. Passion is what makes this man fry and grind his own peanuts whiles other get theirs from a factory. It makes him insist on using only the best Heh Gor from Penang and making his own chilli. It causes him to continue toasting his You Char Kway over a small charcoal fire even though there is a queue an hour long waiting to eat his fare. It causes him to continue to treat each plate of Rojak as if it were his last. Oh yes, I love passion people.

Now people with passion can sometimes be perceived to be eccentric. The difference between someone who is eccentric and someone who is a downright obnoxious fusspot is that we admire what the eccentric one does. So when this stallowner insists on opening his stall from 4.38pm to 1.38am, we forgive him because he is a genius. It takes a real "Hou Lian Teochew Ah Hia" (Proud Teochew Man - and I mean it in a good sense) to be able to pull off a stunt like this and still have people calling up an hour ahead to place their orders.



So much for philosophising. Let's get down to the rojak.

Lau Hong Ser likes to serve his rojak freshly toasted with the thick, fragrant, chockful of peanuts sauce by the side. The sauce was as good as a Rojak Sauce can be. The You Tiao and Tau Pock were well toasted and crispy. What else can one ask for in a plate of rojak except for a shorter waiting time? 4.75.5

Conclusion

Who am I to argue with an hour long wait?

Lau Hong Ser Rojak
Dunman Road Food Centre
Stall #02-14
63466519
4.38pm to 1.38am
Closed every Sunday
Call 1 hour in advance to place your order

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Yue Lai Xiang Cuttle Fish KangKong: Grandma's recipe since 1939: Bedok Corner FC Part 3 of 3

With holydrummer and iwatch_ueat


So many people were afraid that I would miss out on this stall! Well, I don't like to dissappoint people, so here it is!

The enterprising Granny of Yue Lai Xiang actually started off selling Jiu Her Eng Chye (Cuttlefish KangKong) before diversifying to Cheng Tng (See previous blog). Stall owner Mr Jason Lim claims that his Grandma is probably the first to come up with the dish if not one of the first. In the past, the dish was much more popular, but nowadays it is something not commonly found in any food centre. This begs the question why?

Economic theory tells us that in a free market economy, if there is market for the product, then there will be entry of competitors until equilibrium is achieved. So if there are not many stalls around selling Cuttlefish Kangkong, it must mean that the dish is not that popular amongst the average Singaporean. But then, this stall still pulls quite a crowd and is often sold out by 8pm everyday. So why are there no new competitors in the market? This dish, afterall seems simple enough. Or is it?



For the uninitiated (like myself), this dish is very much like rojak. The cuttlefish is first soaked and boiled and cut into pieces, mixed with cucumber, tau pok, lettuce, pineapple and doused with a sweet sauce and chilli sauce.



Jason stressed that it is important that the cuttlefish is of good quality. Here they only use Korean Cuttlefish which is supposed to be the best. The texture of the cuttlefish is springy and non fibrous. If you like sweet stuff, the chilli and sweet sauce will not dissappoint. It is still made from the same recipe handed down by Grandma. I found this to be a refreshing dish good more for an appetizer or side dish rather than a main meal. 4/5

Conclusion

Don't eat much Cuttlefish Kangkong, so my opinion may not be the most trustworthy. If you are a fan of this place, do write in and share with us how to appreciate this dish!

Yue Lai Xiang CuttleFish Kangkong
Stall 32 Bedok Corner Food Centre
Open 12pm to 8pm
Closed Mondays

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Rojak Geylang Serai: Indian Rojak: Geylang Serai Temp Mkt Supplemental

There has been an outbreak reported at this stall! Please beware.


I had initially decided not to blog this stall as I have too many blogs still waiting to be published. But since Aichiak had requested a review of the stall, I will just include it into this series on Geylang Serai Temp Mkt.



As we Teochews (& Hokkiens) would say, when it comes to Indian Rojak, "Lose-Win" is the sauce. I suspect that most of the Stuff is procured from the factory, but I could be wrong. The items all taste the same as any other Indian Rojak stall to me, but the sauce here is quite commendable. It is a little on the sweet side, but our resident Indian Rojak expert, liverpool commented that it was as good as the one in Waterloo St (I have never been there). Based on that recommendation, I give it a 4/5.

Conclusion

There are people who have recommended this stall and it is one of the few stalls with a queue at around 3pm in the afternoon. So it must be good for some people. As you can sense, I was not all that impressed, but as I said, it was commendable.

Rojak Geylang Serai
#01-320 Geylang Serai Temp Mkt
9am to 9pm daily
Closed Monday

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Toa Payoh Rojak, Take a number please! Old Airport Road Food Centre part 3 of 9

This rojak is so popular that it has a numbering system like you would find in a clinic. The reason it takes so long is that they insist on charcoal grilling every You Char Kway before cutting it up and mixing it with the rojak sauce.

I really enjoyed the Tau Pok and You Char Kway here. Super crispy and the Penang Heh Gor (Prawn paste) based rojak sauce was excellent. The one setback is that I found the peanuts a bit on the dry side. They actually don't grind their own, but get it ready ground from a special supplier. But after it is mixed with the sauce it is ok.



The good news is that this old man has an heir apparent in line, so we will get to savour this rojak for another generation.

Conclusion

Its got its own ticketing system, do I really need to say more? 4.25/5

Toa Payoh Rojak
Old Airport Road Food Centre (Renovated)
#01-108
12pm-8pm
Closed Sundays

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Kampong Rojak: Yummy You Tiao Rojak - East Coast Lagoon Food Village Part 1 of 7

This is my personal pick for best rojak so far. It does not have any newspaper writeups or Adrian Pang's photo anywhere near the shop, but they serve a really mean You Char Kway (Dough Fritters) Rojak.



To make a good You Char Kway Rojak, y0u have to grill the You Char Kway over charcoal till it is crispy and just slightly charred. The You Char Kway here is fresh, so you get a nice crispy outside but the inside is still fluffy and chewy.



After Pangganging (grilling), the You Char Kway is then cut it up and tossed in the rojak sauce. They use very good quality Penang Hei Gor (Prawn Paste) and are really generous with the roasted peanuts which they grind themselves.

This stuff is really addictive. I usually finish up all the You Char Kway and then sit there picking up the peanuts with the bamboo sticks until I clean up the plate. I don't like too much tang in my rojak, so I usually request less lime juice. The coarsely ground peanuts are a bit oily and really pang (savory). Some places toast the You Char Kway and serve with a dipping sauce. I think this is a much better way of enjoying the You Char Kway Rojak.



Conclusion

My one and only regular Rojak stall. Planning to try the Makan Legend at Dunman Food Centre to see how it compares to this one but hard to imagine how it can much better. 4.5/5

Kampong Rojak
Opened for dinner till about 11pm
Its on the corner nearer the carpark and the beach.

PS: The laksa here is quite shiok too.

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