Peanuts Soup: Gotta be good if you serve only 3 soups!

Yes, in this day and age where dessert stalls are offering a wide variety of desserts, it takes a really special stall to offer just 3 flavours of soup. In fact the stall only has 3 troughs in the display cabinet offering Peanut soup, Red Bean with Brown Rice soup and Tau Suan. You can also add glutinous rice balls if you like.

I tried both the Peanut Soup and the Red Bean Soup and they were both excellent. The Peanuts were fantastically soft and the soup was smooth and full of nutty aroma. One of the best I have tasted. 4.5/5 According to Damien, the Tau Suan also one of the best around. It was too bad they sold out that day.

Conclusion

Got to be really good if you only sold 3 flavours of soup!

Peanuts Soup Stall
75 Maxwell Food Centre
7.30am to 4pm daily
Monday Closed

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House of Dessert: Delectalicious Desserts

Fancy a bowl of really nice Tau Suan? Head down to the Tampines Round Market and you will find a nice couple selling some of the best traditional desserts.



The Tau Suan here is very good. The beans are steamed just nice so that they have some bite but still become powdery when you actually bite into it. The soup is not overly starchy has has a nice caramel fragrance to it. I don't know how much better Tau Suan can get apart from maybe having a whole stick of fresh You Char Kway to go along with it. 4.5/5



While the Tau Suan is really good, it is quite common. This stall sells this Lotus Suan (Ling Zhi Suan) which is very very shiok. The lotus seeds are cooked just right such that they become a nice savoury paste in your mouth when you bite into it. This is something that I have really been thinking about everyday since the first time I ate it. If you want to try it you will have to go early as it is one of the first items to get sold out. 4.75/5



The white fungus here is very refreshing for those who want something a little lighter. It is boiled till very soft and has a thin film of starch on the surface which makes it slightly gooey. 4/5



The ice watermelon is about the only cold dish they have there. Light refreshing and very nice though you can imagine what the flavour is like. 4/5

Conclusion

My current favourite dessert stall. Too bad they don't do peanut and walnut paste. The Lotus Suan is so good, I just finished my fourth bowl this week!

House of Dessert
Tampines Round Mkt and Food Centre
Blk 137
#01-02
7am to 5pm daily

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Mohd Sultan Rd Cheng Tng: Behave or you don't eat your Cheng Tng!

The concept of the Food Nazi was popularized by Seinfeld and it is a term I use for food sellers who have such a great following that they can afford to be cantankerous but people are still willing to suffer abuse in order to eat their stuff.

Now what is the difference between a Food Nazi and a food seller who just gives bad service? Somehow you still have that respect for a Food Nazi even though you are a bit scared that he might just nip off the tip of your nose. I have had mean and downright impolite people serving me before and these people really spoil a good appetite. I really have no impetus to patronize their stall anymore. But when a Food Nazi treats you bad, somehow you don't really get angry. In fact, you might find that the bad service is all part and parcel of the whole dining experience. So when I call a hawker a Food Nazi, please don't shun his stall. No, the bad service is all part of the fun.



This is the well known Cheng Tng Nazi over at Adam Road. Well known at least to my seasoned makan kakis the HolyC and smart. I just found him to be a tad grumpy that's all. When I asked why his Cold Cheng Tng does not have any longan soup in it, he merely replied that Cold Cheng Tng does not have any longan soup in it. OK, not quite verbal abuse. So what do I need to do to get the real bad service. Maybe he just was not in the mood that day.

The Cheng Tng itself is very cheng (clear) and it was a good Cheng Tng to quench the thirst. There was not really that much ingredients in it. The hot one is better than the cold one. The good thing about the Cheng Tng here is that it is full of that brown frilly stuff which I really like. 4/5

Conclusion

The classic Food Nazi that I know of is in JB and I am planning to blog him one day. If you all know of any other Food Nazis, please write in and let me know!

Mohammad Sultan Road Hot and Cold Cheng Tng
Zion Riverside Food Centre
Stall 7
11am to 9pm daily
Closed Monday nights

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Yue Lai Xiang Cheng Tng: This is One Special Cheng Tng: Bedok Corner FC Part 1 of 3

With holydrummer and iwatch_ueat


When it comes to Cheng Tng, I only know of one that really stands heads and shoulders above the rest. Yue Lai Xiang has been around since Bedok Corner Hawker Centre was still by the beach. Started by Grandma, the secret recipe has been handed down for 3 generations and it seems like no one else has been able to crack the secret.



This Cheng Tng is really Cheng (Clear) and has got 11 different ingredients in it. The soup is constructed from soups from 2 different troughs. One has got dried longan, pandan leaves and rock sugar in it and the other trough contains a "secret ingredient" which Mr Lim prefers to keep secret. Whatever it was, the soup here tastes very Liang (Cooling) and though you can make out the sweetness of the rock sugar and the longan, there was just that extra something else that makes it very special. They have several rather special ingredients in the mix too that really stands out. One is the dried persimmon you can see in the picture above and the other is the dried winter melon strips. 4.5/5



Here is another hawker who is very proud of his craft. Mr Lim was sharing with me how he used to watch Grandma making the Cheng Tng and how he used to ask her why some bowls had more ingredients and others less. She simply replied that the fingers on her hand are also not all of equal lengths!

Conclusion

There are many Cheng Tngs around, but I don't know any that are like the one here. I just love fishing out the pieces of dried wintermelon and persimmon. The feeling is like finding that piece of chicken in your curry puff!

Yue Lai Xiang
Hot and Cold Cheng Tng
Bedok Corner Food Centre Stall 31
aka Bedok Food Court
Junction of Bedok Rd and Bedok Junction
Open 12pm to 8pm
Closed on Mondays

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Teck Kee Hot and Cold Dessert: Lotsa You Tiao Please!

With smart, liverpool1965, iwatch_ueat and tamago


The one thing that I always complain when I eat Tau Suan is the stinginess of the stallowners when it comes to adding the You Tiao.



Not here, this is their standard serving of You Tiao with their Tau Suan for $1. And before some people start saying that there was more You Tiao because the owner saw our big cameras, let me assure you that I saw other customers walking away with just as much You Tiao, PLUS I kept asking the owner if this was the normal serving and he insisted that it was! So not only you suspicious, I also suspicious, OK?

The Tau Suan was good, though the beans could have bit more bite. It was not too sweet which pleased smart but not liverpool1965. Can't please everybody. For me, one of the better Tau Suans around and definitely happy with the amount of You Tiao given. 4/5



The Cheng Tng did not thrill me much. The lotus seed deserves mention though as they were really nice and soft, not the crunchy type that you get sometimes. 3.5/5

Conclusion

You will be happy seeing all the You Tiao on top! And if you don't please write in the comments and let everyone know!

Teck Kee Hot and Cold Dessert
Stall 31 Adam Road Food Centre
12pm to 12am
Closed on Mondays
64697238

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Zhen Zie Desserts: This is the good stuff! Amoy Street Supplemental

With ieatJr, iwatch_ueat and introducting our newest Makanbrother, Mien!


After I published my series of stalls from the Amoy Street Food Centre, some of the forummers wrote in to say that it was not right that I should have missed this particular dessert store.

And they were right! This is one stall that you should not miss! The Bean Curd Barley with Gingko Nuts is a must try. I never thought I liked this particular dessert until now. The Gingko Nuts were fantastic. Each was was bruised every so slightly and the bitter shoot removed and caramelised until they were really sweet and chewy. 4.5/5



There was some discussion as to whether Zhen Jie actually makes her own Ah Balling. All I can say is that the day I was there, she had the raw materials and were able to demonstrate her Ah Balling making skills. She shared with us that most of her stuff are all handmade at home and she has several helpers doing the laborious work like preparing the Gingko nuts.



I have been searching for that perfect bowl of peanut and sesame paste for awhile now. This one is the closest I got so far. She orders her peanuts freshly ground from the factory and makes the paste herself.

"Power" was the most frequently used word among the few of us who were eating the desserts that day. Evey one of her desserts were "Power"! The peanuts paste had grainy bits in it and the texture was really thick and gooey and brimming with peanutty goodness. Almost there but it just missed the perfect score by just that little bit. 4.25/5. I don't know, maybe what I am after is hot peanut butter?



The cheng tng was also "Power". Full of ingredients and with a soup that is cloudy rather than clear, you can taste that this is a cheng tng that means business. 4/5

Conclusion

Very impressive little stall that has lots of really good homemade desserts. Too bad we could only eat so much! The Gingko Nut is really really good here!



Zhen Zie Dessert Ah Balling
Amoy Street Food Centre
#02-113
10am to 3pm
Closed on Sunday







Notes: Extra ingredients had to be added to the Bean Curd Barley and Gingko and the Cheng Tng in order to show you the ingredients. Or else the pictures would have shown a boring looking soup. However, when you take the Cheng Tng, you will still be very happy with the generous serving of ingredients in each bowl.

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Hai Seng Ah Balling: Makan Legend Chinatown Complex Temp Market Part 5 of 5

You are looking at an culinary artform that is closer to extinction than an impotent Panda. This is the last stall in Singapore that still sells traditional Teochew style Ah Balling that is made by hand when you order. Teochew Ah Balling, like many other Teochew dishes, tend to be more Cheng (Less complicated flavours). So unlike the Hokkien Version that serves the Ah Balling in peanut soup, in the Teochew version, the soup is a simple sugar syrup flavoured with Pandan Leaves.



Except for the upgrading to plastic containers, everything here is still done the traditional way when his father first started selling Ah Balling from a push cart over 45 years ago. Mom even remembered Mr Loh when he was still a teenager helping his father along Ellenbourough St.



His hands are so fast that I had to ask him to slow down in order to take this particular shot. (Believe it or not this is the slow motion shot) Each Ah Balling takes barely 3 seconds to make!

In my previous Ah Balling post, I suggested that the name Ah Balling was derived from the Teochew phrase for the unhatched duck egg. Well, this uncle told me another story. He said that when the Ah Balling is first thrown into the boiling water, it sinks to the bottom. Then, when it is cooked, it floats to the top and looks like an Ah Bor (Mother Duck) floating on the water. Ling is the Teochew word that describes the motion of the Ah Balling bobbing around in the water. Which version to believe? You decide for yourself! But this latter version came from the Emeritus Professor of Ah Balling himself!




Conclusion

Its more about texture then taste. The Ah Balling is super smooth and chewy. However, if you like peanut soup, you might find the clear soup a bit bland for you (Like I did). Mom really loved it, I loved it more for the texture and tradition than the taste. 4.25/5

At any rate, this hawker legend still deserves his title for his dogged persistence in perserving our culinary heritage.

Updated 25 June 2008
The stall has returned to its permanent location

Hai Seng Ah Balling
Stall 02-059
Chinatown Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith Street
Singapore 050335
12pm to 9pm
Thursday 12pm to 6pm
Closed on Monday

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115 Dessert: Chinatown Complex Temp Market Part 2 of 5

This stall is where you can still find Cantonese style desserts like peanut paste, sesame paste, walnut paste and the starchy, gooey type red bean soup with orange peel all prepared the same way they were 40 years ago.



You don't get stuff out of a packet here. Everything is still ground with this mill that has been in existence longer than I have (since 1966). They tell me that you can't buy things like this anymore in Singapore.

I thought the taste of the desserts should have been much better given all their writeups and the antique mill. The sesame/almond paste and the peanut paste tasted a bit watered down that day. I had expected a buttery, rich peanut paste, but it just did not quite cut it for me that day. The red bean soup was still pretty good though and I liked the taste of the orange peel and the thick soup which you can't find in most dessert stalls.



Conclusion

Another stall with a strong tradition of doing things the good old way. Bit dissppointed about the sesame/almond and peanut soup, but seeing the accolades and the mill, I am willing to give them another go the next time to see if it is just a one off thing. 3.5/5

Updated on 25 June 2008

They have moved back to their permanent location

115 Desserts
Chinatown Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith St
Stall #02-206
8.30am to 5.30pm
Closed Tuesdays

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Ah Balling Peanut Soup - Golden Mile FC: Part 7 of 8

Make sure you leave some room in your tummy after all that feasting cos if you like Ah Balling, this is not to be missed. Incidentally, you know what Ah Bor Ling means right? Ah Bor is Momma Duck and Ling is the egg that is still within the duck without the shell. So Ah Balling is meant to resemble yet to be laid duck egg. (This is my own theory worked out from the name - please let me know if I am talking rubbish)

The picture above proves that they still handmake their Ah Balling and not buy it frozen from a factory. The difference in the taste is evident.



The peanut soup is one of the best ones I have tasted. The peanuts have been boiled for long enough (I heard for at least 10 hours) so that it is nice and soft. The skin of the Ah Balling is smooth and chewy and the fillings now come in six different flavours, including the Green Tea Ah Balling shown in the middle of the picture.



Conclusion

Although they have a few branches now, it is good to know that they still stick to the traditional way of making Ah Balling. $2 for a bowl with 6 glutinous balls still pretty good value. 4/5
For me the ultimate is Ah Balling in peanut paste made from roasted peanuts. The last time I had that was at the old Airport Road FC before they closed for renovations.

Ah Balling Peanut Soup
505 Beach Road
Golden Mile Food Centre 01-75
97605710

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Delectable Blessings - Desserts for Health

Healthy desserts!? If only we can discover some way to surmount this incontrovertible oxymoron! Come a little eatery by the name of "by the servings" to the rescue! With the caption, "Dessert Boutique of Delectable Blessings", how can you not be drawn in to be blessed?




So while your brain is still trying to unravel the mystery of the true meaning behind the caption, you walk in to be greeted by a lovely, cheerful young lady. Ah! The revelation suddenly sinks in -- "Delectable Blessings" indeed. But seriously, let's get down to business. So what is this dessert shop all about? Certainly the menu board reads like the proverbial Eastern Western fusion cuisine or the way I see it, Bugs Bunny meeting Sun Wu Kong (The Monkey King - Chinese Mythological Character - who's going to outsmart who?)

The first item on the menu was Bugs Bunny which is described as Carrot Raisin Jelly. A carrot dessert? Isn't carrot supposed to be healthy? What it really is, is carrot juice in koniyaku jelly. Actually quite nice and refreshing. $1.80 4/5. The pale green stuff behind Bugs Bunny is their "Popeye's Pudding" which is a spinach pudding. Yes, a spinach dessert. Mom would be proud of me. It tastes like a spinachy version of creme caramel but not as sweet. Not so robust in taste, but hey, if your boss is on your back and you need some extra power...... "Popeye's jingle" $2. 3.5/5 The purple color stuff is their "Purple Petals" which is Hawthorn Roselle Nata De-Coco Jelly. Bit on the tangy side for me, but I am sure it will be a hit with the pregnant ladies. $1.80 3/5 (Joking only lah, please don't start cyberslapping me)



Aside from their cold desserts, they also have a range of hot stuff. The dessert above is "Wild Blossoms" and it's described as Red Bean, Lotus Seed, Glutinous Rice with Wolfberry. (Actually its Cheng Ting with Red Bean and Glutinous Rice!) It just was not sweet enough for me, but hey, this is supposed to be healthy right? $3.50 3/5. (The health conscious would definitely rate it higher). What I liked was the "Red Scarlet" (no photo), which is Red Bean, Yam, Sago with Milk. Thick creamy and full of Yammy goodness with my favourite mushy red beans! I would take this home and add some sinful coconut cream in it and it would have a perfect score. $2.80 4/5




For those who just been to a big makan session the night before and suffering from guilt, you will be glad to know that they serve a list of healthy breakfast alternatives. Pictured above is the Black Oats, which is piping hot black sesame oatmeal with raisins. Quite nice and certainly affordable redemption for the guilty soul. They also serve a selection of takeaway dried fruits and cereals. The Chocolate Farm is quite delightful and I will bet you'd finish a whole cup all by yourself in one sitting.



Aside from the very innovative East/West, Bugs/Sun Wu Kong fusion desserts, they also have a few all time favourites like the Oriental Beauty $3 above which is their name for Almond Cream. Quite nice 3.5/5 They also serve peanut soup which they call "Oh Nutz!" and Pink Balls which is Ah Balling but in a Rose Bud soup. $2.80. Oh, and before I sign off, I just have to let you know that their hot favourite is Mango Tango, which is chilled Mango Sago with Pomelo & Watermelon. $3.50 3.5/5

Conclusion

It's novel, it's innovative, it's healthy, it's interesting enough for you to pay them a visit if you are working in the CBD area. And it can be addictive if you are the health conscious type. For me, I would go back for the Red Scarlet, cos that is only one close enough to be called sinful. No die-die-must-try here, we're talking healthy desserts! So go in and get Delectably Blessed!

Alert! Fans of HK artiste Nnadia Chan listen up! She will be there at their official launch on October 11 from 12pm to 2pm.

Note: This is a take-away shop and there are no seats. They do delivery within the vicinity of the Market Street Car Park area.


by the servings
146 Market Street #01-41,
Market Street Car Park (Diagonally opposite Lau Pa Sat and the shop is just opp Maybank)
6536 6739
(Guys, I am not going to give you Geraldine's mobile no.-- you'll have to ask her yourself!)
www.bytheservings.com
Mon-Fri 8am-8pm
Sat 8am-2pm
Closed Sundays and Public Holidays.

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