Tong Heng 东兴 ............... Egg Tart Specialist!

After years of eating egg tarts, without considering the ones in Hong Kong, the best in Singapore (in my opinion) is from Tong Heng 东兴. When the egg tarts are just out of the oven, the flaky pastry is crispy and the custard hot and soft. This is when I like to eat it as soon as it gets out of the oven. When you leave it too long, like all crispy pastries in humid weather, they all turn squishy after absorbing moisture from the air.

Apart from the egg tart 蛋挞, the "egg cake" 鸡蛋糕 is nice too. Both me and my wife have been eating both these favourites from Tong Heng. They also have the coconut egg tart and the lou po biscuit (wife's biscuit)

.............. egg tart close up

.......... egg cake close up

Tong Heng caters these traditional goodies for special occasions like baby showers and weddings too.

Cost : S$1.30/egg tart, S$1.40/coconut egg tart, S$1.20/egg cake

Address : 285 South Bridge Road. (It's very near Maxwell Market)

Tel : 6223 0398

Thasevi Food ............... probably the best Roto Prata in Singapore

Thasevi Food is the original Roti Prata from Jalan Kayu. There are many stalls in Singapore that claims the Jalan Kayu Roti Prata. When people want to make such claims, it just means that Thasevi's roti prata should be good.

It was years ago that I had their roti prata when I was still an army boy and was in the Seletar area for a short training stint. After all these years, their standard haven't change but they've extended from one shophouse space to two. The variety of roti prata have increased to catch up with the competitors that try to steal the king of the Jalan Kayu roti prata crown from Thasevi.

The sign below that was hanging outside the shop gives a brief history on Thasevi and warns that there will be a long weekend queue but the wait will be rewarded. I've eaten here and I totally agree.

For parking you can try your luck with the spaces right outside the prata shop. If not, you can park at the public carpark further up Jalan Kayu. It is quite a walk to the prata shop though.

Thasevi have permanently placed canvas shelters to extend there sitting area. I will opt to sit out there as I wouldn't want to risk smelling like one of their curries if you seat inside.

I've ordered a ;

1) Banana prata (S$4.00) - The banana is placed inside the prata and butter is added inside. The slightly salty butter and the sweet banana blends nicely and makes the prata fragrant. The crust of the prata is crispy. I recommend this good stuff to be eaten freshly made at the shop as it'll definitely turn mushy if you take it away.

................ the banana filled prata when I split the prata open

2) Mutton mysore (curry with mutton) and a plain prata to go with it (S$5.50 for the mutton mysore and S$0.80 for the plain prata) - The mutton mysore has good spiciness and the mutton is very tender. Have the egg or plain prata to go with it.

Address : 237/239 Jalan Kayu

Country : Singapore

黄亚细肉骨茶 Rangoon Road Bak Kut Teh ............... White Pepper Bak Kut Teh

Bak Kut Teh is directly translated as pork rib tea. But in actual fact, you don't mix the pork rib with tea. The pork rib is usually boiled in a soup base that is mixed with several spices. Some soup base has a herbal fragrance and some a more peppery one. The Chinese tea is drank as a compliment to the pork rib soup. In many places in Singapore and Malaysia, this local delight may be consumed as a breakfast (like dim sum in Cantonese cuisine).

I have always wanted to bring my wife to savour this Bak Kut Teh at Rangoon Road (黄亚细肉骨茶). Well, I finally brought her to this place. She liked the soup very much. It doesn't have a herbal taste but a very strong peppery one. When we were there, the place was crowded and the car park at the sides of the road are full. There are some extra public car park just behind the block of flats opposite the shop. Although crowded, the place is very efficient. As soon as your order is keyed into a PDA and wirelessly transferred to the kitchen, your food will be out in no time. You just need to wait for an empty table.

We had the following dishes with 2 other friends;

1) Pork rib soup (4 servings)

2) Pig trotter - There's no choice of leaner pig trotters. I prefer the pig trotters served by Han's Bak Kut Teh.

3) Pig Liver soup

4) Tang Or vegetable and lettuce
5) Fried dough sticks (油条)
6) Chinese tea - Called "Gan" tea 甘茶 from Kuala Lumpur. This is a nice complimentary drink to the peppery pork rib soup. It has a sweet after taste after you've drank a small cupful of it.

Other Good Bak Kut Teh Places :

Founder Bak Kut Teh

Outram Ya Hua Rou Gu Cha

Cost : S$ 13.00 per person.

Address : No. 208 Rangoon Road, Singapore 218453

Tel : +65 6294 7545 or +65 6291 4537

Business hours : 6.00am ~ 2.00pm (Closed on Mondays)

Niu Che Shui Famous Glutinous Rice 牛车水著名糯米饭 ............... the 40 over years old glutinous rice stall

When you talk about only the best glutinous rice, Niu Che Shui Famous Glutinous 牛车水著名糯米饭 rice is definitely one of the best in Singapore. The stall is rated 6 chopsticks by the Makansutra team. Even if you don't believe in the Makansutra's rating, you have to trust their 40 over years of experience in making this local delight and also their string of customers at 9am in the morning during the weekends ......... see the photo below.

You have a choice of the salty one, the sweet one or mixed. Generous serving of fried shallots is sprinkled over the glutinious rice. The photo below shows the mixed sweet and salty glutinous rice that I had ordered. The more translucent portion of the glutinous rice is the sweetened one.

The stall is opened at about 7.30am and they'll finish selling before noon. So go queue and try it!

Cost : S$1.20/1.50/2.00 per serving

Address : Blk 335 Smith Street Chinatown Complex #02-40

Teh Halia, Ginger infused tea ............... My favourite Teh Halia joints

I recalled the days when I was a little kid and my dad would bring me to Farrer park to watch the National team soccer practice. After that, we'll proceed to have a drink at a Sarabat stall in a nearby hawker centre. The hawker centre was long gone but what's left with me was a developed fondness to Teh Halia.

Teh Halia is actually tea with milk, infused with ginger. Some stalls would blend the ginger and filter out the ginger juice and then add water to dilute. Some would boil sliced ginger in water to get the ginger-spicy brew. This ginger juice/water is then added to the tea to give it a spicy taste. For this gingery beverage, is not appreciated by all even though the goodness of ginger is known. It is an acquired taste. If you like to have more halia power, you can have it more spicy. Sometimes, the extra spiciness will be compromising the taste of the tea. Wadai (pronounced as Wa-Day) is a good complimentary Indian finger food for Teh Halia. Wadai is made of flour and is fried with shrimps embedded in the flour.

Where to find good Teh Halia.........
1) Sarabat stall along Baghdad street, opposite Kampong Glam Cafe. - This stall is famous after being featured in the Singapore Tourism Guide and is found in Japanese guide books.

2) Sarabat stall at Telok Blangah drive hawker centre, Noordeen Teh Tarik, #01-39 - This stall can unleash the spiciness of the halia. You can ask the boss to make it more potent if you like it.

Cost : S$0.70 ~ 0.90

Soon Lee Porridge ............... value for your money

For the tasty porridge that they served, I don't see the "accreditation" from Makansutra at the front of the stall or the need for it. Soon Lee don't need the extra crowd. The porridge that is served here is not the smooth type as in some places but definitely tasty. For S$2.20, which is considered budget food, there is a good quantity of meat in a single bowl. The meat balls are tasty and the "dang cai"东菜 bits mixed inside the porridge makes it nice. For the people who eats hawker fare and still like to manoeuvre along the healthier edge of life, try to be careful. Sometimes you can expect one or 2 cubes of fried pork lard, 猪油渣 ........ yummy

Soon Lee serves the standard pork, chicken and fish porridge. You can ask for a different mix of the meat e.g. fish with pork, to cater for your unique taste buds.

If you decide to visit during lunchtime on a weekday, prepare to wait 25mins for your porridge. You're lucky if the wait is less than 25mins.

Cost : S$2.20 per bowl, S$2.50 per bowl with egg, S$3.00 per bowl with extra meat.

Address : Blk 448 Clementi Ave 3 #01-26 Clementi Central Market and Hawker Centre

Opening hours : Opens daily from 6.00am ~ 7.00pm. Closed on Sunday.

The Best of Crispy Curry Puffs

Possible origin of our curry puffs ............

Aren't you intrigued by the similarities between a Cornish pasty and the curry puff? Well since Singapore was once a British Colony, maybe, one British did bring it over here. Some clever local enterpreneur must have changed the filling which evolved into the curry puff that we see today. Ever noticed why the curry puff is sealed with the thicker wavy crust at the edge, like a double fold? Well if you follow the suggestion that curry puff could brought into Singapore by the British ..........

The Cornish Pasty, when it evolved to meet the need for miners in Cornwall, it was folded and sealed the way it is as in our curry puff for the miners who ate their food in the mines. To avoid arsenic poisoning, they'll hold the pasty with their dirty hand at the thick edge. After eating most of the pasty, the crust is thrown away. Of course in Singapore, we eat all of it. To some, the crust at the edge is the prized portion that should be eaten last.

My choice of best curry puffs in Singapore are as follows;

1) Wang Wang Crispy Curry Puff 旺旺脆皮咖哩卜专卖店 ............... the stall in Old Airport Road Market

The curry puffs that Wang Wang create have the lighter, flaky crust. When eaten fresh, the crispy crust and the tasty filling blends together. The curry is quite spicy. Apart from the original potato curry puffs, Wang Wang also sells the black pepper chicken puff. The one with the black filling show in the photo is the black pepper chicken puff. Another curry puff chain, A1 curry puff, has the same type of crust but I still prefer Wang Wang as the potato is slightly more spicy.

............. the crispy puffs in a box of six

............... the puffs cut open.

Cost : S$ 1.10 / curry puff, S$1.30 / back pepper chicken puff

Address : 51 Old Airport Road, #01-126, Old Airport Road Food Centre

2) Tip Top Curry Puffs

When you visit the stall, you'll notice that there is a CCTV in the stall that shows some workers kneading the dough meant for making the crust. The pre-prepared dough are those that you can see on the bar top ledge of the stall in the photo. The curry puffs here are also freshly made.

............... Tip Top Curry Puff stall

............... the puffs cut open.

Cost : S$1.10 / curry puff

Address : 722 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, #01-2843

Both the curry puffs if best to eat within the next few hours. When you leave it overnight, you can put it in the toaster to heat it for a while but the taste dropped a few levels.

Tiong Bahru Mian Jian Kueh 中岜鲁面煎糕 .................. No Peanut Allergy allowed!

I liked this local delight since I'm young kid but until I'm going out with my wife 9 years ago was I introduced to what I considered a pinnacle for making this Peanut Cake 面煎糕. Tiong Bahru Mian Jian Kueh Stall 中岜鲁面煎糕 have been making this local snack since I knew Tiong Bahru Food Centre as a single storey congested food haven. The following are the characteristics of their good peanut cake;

1) the outer crust is crispy, especially the edge.
2) the texture of the pancake is tangy on the inside.
3) the generous serving of peanut between the pancake.

If you look inside the stall, they have a customised machine to grind and roast their own peanut. Maybe that's why this peanut pancake that they make is so fragrant.

Like many other peanut cake stall, they have coconut and red bean paste other than the peanut. After the years, they've also tried mixing all three into a pancake (3-in-1). It's a really unique taste.

............... 3-in-1 combo

I still like the original peanut cake best and will always ask to have slices that have the crispy edges.

There's another good peanut pancake stall in Tanglin Halt  (Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake).

Cost : S$0.70 per slice/piece

Address : 30 Seng Poh Road, Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre, #02-34

Country : Singapore

Golden Rooster 可爱鸡................ probably the best fried chicken around

This stall has been around for some years now. Its advertising sign board says......since 1989. Golden Rooster 可爱鸡 was formerly known as the Tenderfresh Fried and BBQ Chicken. I was still a part time student in a nearby university a year ago and had been visiting this stall frequently after lesson at 9.30pm. Many students from my alma mater also come here for food. Apart from the fried chicken, they have grilled (BBQ) chicken that seems also well liked by folks sitting around me when I was there recently.

The fried chicken that they serve is crispy but not overly coated with batter like fried chicken in fast food joints. I liked the Happiness plate that has a piece of thigh meat, a piece of breast, a piece of breast meat, one bun and fries (as shown in the photo below). This meal will cost S$6.

To cater for the student crowd they have fried chicken with rice or grilled chicken with rice combi that cost S$2.80 per plate.

There was a simliar stall in Jurong West that I frequent during my university days. Wonder if it is the same one.......... hmm

I haven't eaten their BBQ (grilled) chicken so I cannot say much about the taste except that there are about equal number of people ordering the grilled and the fried one.

Address : Blk 450 Clementi Ave 3 #01-305 Varinice Eating House

Country : Singapore

记得吃 Desert Store ............... for 姜汁撞奶 ginger milk curd

记得吃 Ji De Chi (translated to mean Remember to Eat) desert store is among the many eateries along Liang Seah Street right across Bugis junction at the North Bridge Road side. The place is bustling with people and I can hardly find any seats. One of their speciality is the 姜汁撞奶 milk curd which I had ordered. This desert can be commonly found at the Kowloon area along Nathan Road. The curd is really smooth and the taste of ginger makes it all the more fragrant. If you're a fan of milk and ginger............ you will "remember to eat" at this place.

I haven't tried the other deserts but they all seem nice as I observed people ordering all their different deserts on the menu.

Cost : S$2~5 (depending on what desert you order)

Address : 8, Liang Seah Street, #01-03 (another shop at 46 Upper Cross Street, #01-02, Tel : +65 6226 6628)

Tel : +65 6339 9928

Country : Singapore

Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee 南星福建虾面........... Old Airport Road's best

Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee 南星福建虾面 been in the Old Airport Road hawker center for sometime now. The uncle wears safety googles while whipping up his fare. The fried prawn mee here is a slightly damp/wet version but ultimately flavourful. Delicious! Its worth a 30~40mins wait! Anyway you won't be the only one waiting :)

Cost : S$3/4/5 depends on your appetite.

Address : Old Airport Road hawker centre 1st Floor Stall No. 32

Country : Singapore

Han’s Bak Kut Teh 韩家肉骨茶 …………… for STEWED PIG TROTTERS not Bak Kut Teh.

It's not that Han’s bak kut teh韩家肉骨茶 is not good. But what the customers in the queue ordered cannot tell lies. Most of the people you see in the queue ordered their stewed pig trotters. Typically, you’ll be served the trotters with the equivalent balance of fats and lean meat in one serving. However, that is too much fat for my liking. I’ll usually ask for the leaner serving where the boss will willingly help forage out of his huge steel pot of trotters. The stew sauce that comes with the trotters is thick and good for mixing with the white rice. I’ve tried the Bak Kut Teh but I think the Pig Trotters is the draw.

Somehow the pig trotters taste better during lunch than eaten for dinner.

Cost : SS5.50 Pig Trotters with a bowl of white rice

Address : East Coast Park Hawker Centre, Stall 42.

Desert Hut ............... for traditional Chinese desert

During lunch today, my friends introduced me to this traditional Chinese desert shop. Although the shop is located in a corner, on the second floor of the mall, the lunch time crowd still bring in brisk business. After tasting the desert you'll find out why Desert Hut attracts so many people even though it does not have a good location. When you're there, you can tell that its original shop is not able to hold the number of customers streaming in. The owners have to rent 2 extra standard shop spaces right across the original shop just for extending their sitting space.

The group of us ate
1) Walnut cream
2) Almond cream
3) Yam cream
4) Sesame cream
5) Ice Kacang

There are many other traditional desert in the menu.

The almond cream that I ate was smooth and just adequately sweet. Yummy.

Cost : S$1.50~2.00 per bowl

Address : 101 Upper Cross Street, People's park Centre, #02-48

Spooky Eight Layer Bean Dip

I may have just added the spider web as an excuse to make an eight layer bean dip for a Halloween party! I know that these kinds of bean dips are common and made frequently, but I'm actually pretty proud of mine, it's so yummy! The picture shows the bean dip in a smaller pan, but I'm going to give the recipe for a 9x13, just because it's easier. If you want it smaller, just half it, there's really no science to it.

Ingredients

1 can refried beans

1 8oz pkge sour cream

1 8oz pkge cream cheese

1 pkge dry taco mix

1 1/2 cups guacamole or diced avocados

1 can sliced olives

1 bunch slices scallions

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

3 tomatoes seeded and chopped

1 head romaine or iceburg lettuce chopped

Directions

With your kitchen mixer combine sour cream, cream cheese and taco seasoning. Beat until smooth. In 9x13 inch pan spread refried beans, cream cheese mixture, guacamole, olives, scallions, tomatoes, cheese and lettuce. Chill until served. Serve with tortilla chips.

Breakfast Taco

While this isn't anything too exciting or original, it's quite delicious, and may help in aiding your "breakfast boredom," something I tend to get about once a week. It's also very light and very filling!

Ingredients

1 small corn tortilla (1 pt)

1/4 cup refried beans (1 pt)

1/8 cup shredded cheddar or mozz (1 pt)

1 scrambled egg (2 pts)

1/8 cup red onion (0 pts)

1/4 avocado diced (optional, avocado does add more fat, 2 pts)

salsa

fat free sour cream

cilantro

Directions

Arrange refried beans and cheese in center of tortilla and heat in microwave for 30 seconds (I know, this is some high-tech cooking!). Add onion, egg, avocado, salsa, sour cream and cilantro.

Enjoy!

*And hey, if you are working to "health-en" up and trim down, like I am, refried beans are a GREAT appetite suppressor. 1 cup is 2 pts, meaning it's really low in fat and calories, and really high in fiber. Plus the density and amount will fill your belly like you won't believe. I love it!