The Great Curry Puff Shoot-out

Chiak Bah Boh?

Watched a show over Channel 8 about 5 places selling great curry puffs last week. Having nothing to do over the weekend, decided to review all 5 places in 1 single sitting. Besides, this is the 1st time fatpapa is doing this curry puff shootout thingy - so who won eventually?

Legend (or Channel 8) has it that the best curry puffs can be found at the following 5 places:

1) Old Airport Road FC (Wang Wang)

2) Ang Mo Kio, Blk 722 (Tip Top curry puff)

3) Hong Lim FC (Tanglin)

4) 1A (various outlets over the island)

5) M hotel, M2000 Cafe

Now what makes a good puff? Crispy or Soft Skin? Spicy or non-Spicy fillings? Its all up to the individual actually - for some those limp 30 cents for 1 curry pok can be world's best but for some $30 one then can consider world's best. So what I have done in this shootout comparison is strictly based on those exquisite tongue of mine and of my opinion only. Judge at your own risk! And please don't sue me hor....

So we began on this curry puff expedition by first checking out the HongLim (HL) ones before swinging east towards Old Airport Rd. Here we hot a brick wall - 10 people queued up in front of the stall with no curry puff in sight. Gave up the wait and hit north towards Ang Mo Kio for Tip Top and 1A curry puffs. Finally flew down south towards M hotel - our final destination and last of the 5 famous puffs - for our shootout location.

As I only managed to find 4 of the 5 puffs, this shootout will have the old airport rd one missing. I remembered eating it sometime ago but can't remember much, just that it is quite nice. So i have decided to give all 5 puffs a cursory 3.5 stars out of 5 first, and see how far off the final rating is from the standard. So in this case, since the old airport one is not reviewed - it gets a cursory 3.5 stars out of 5.

(1 being best, 4 being worst; Y = yes, N=no)

M hotel TipTop HongLim 1A

Skin 1 4 2 3

Spiciness 4 2 1 3

Juiciness 2 4 3 1

Flavour 3 1 2 4

Egg? N Y Y N

Price $3.50 $1.00 $1.20 $1.10

Individual remarks

M Motel: Best puff skin of the lot. Soft, layered, not too thick. Healthier choice as the puffs are baked and not fried. The puffs are also the least spicy of all, bodering on the sweet. $3.50 (exclusive of GST) is a liitle expensive, but you can really taste the chunks of chicken meat in this one.

Tip Top: The skin is a little like the "Old Chang Kee" type, a bit thick and rubbery. Not to my liking. The fillings are also very dry but that probably also explains why the curry is spicier and flavourful. If you like the taste of Indian curry, this one really tops the group. At $1 per piece, it is also the cheapest.

Hong Lim: Has the crispiest skin of the lot and is also the spiciest. The spice has a nice endnote that hits you right in the gut lasting long after devouring the puff. Perhaps the most well balanced of the 4, with the right mix of flavour, spiciness and juiciness.

1A: Worst of the lot. Even though it has the juiciest fillings, it suffers from lack of taste which just doesn't titilate the senses. Too commercialised - it simply tasted like its mass produced and lacking in character.

My take? The Hong Lim one. Most well balanced of the lot combining great skin, flavour and spiciness. The M hotel one is quite good actually, the flavour is sweet but flavourful. Didn;t like the Tip Top skin, but the fillings though a bit dry, is perhaps the best around. 1A? Sorry didn;t quite hit the mark.

Fatpapa rating

M hotel: Cursory 3.5, Fatpapa 4

Tip Top: Cursory 3.5, Fatpapa 3.5

Hong Lim: Cursory 3.5, Fatpapa 4.25

1A: Cursory 3.5, Fatpapa 2.5

Old Airport Rd: Cursory 3.5

咸菜鸭





Chiak Bah Boh?

Its been eons since I last blogged. Today I am a bit free and and due to constant nagging by me wifey, I have decided to relaunch my postings.

This time it is about duck - the salted kind. Actually done this review long time ago and the pics are tucked like kiam chye somewhere in my laptop. This accidental review was done (yes! accidental!) becos the original intended review didn't quite make it. You see, my original intent was to review the so called Bak Kut Teh at Sin Ming Rd (Blk 22) but as it was a Sunday, the queue was long, and the most pek chek thing is that the Bak Kut was only SO-SO (the ter kah - braised pig trotters was actually not too bad). So while we waited and waited for our Bak Kut, my attention turned to this stall selling teochew braised ark (ark = duck in teochew) that had a healthy queue lined up infront of the stall. So being the typical Singaporean - I joined the queue.

Disappointing...

What came certainly didn't disappoint. You start salivating at the very sight of it - the kind you get before munching on 酸梅. The Ark came in a thick rich broth that was delightfully salty, sour and spicy, with big chunks of salted veges, sour prunes, mushrooms and tomatos thrown in. In fact, the soup was so peppery that we soon worked up a sweat after taking it. The duck was tender to the bone but some may complain that it is a tad overdone. My take? The meat is secondary - whats alluring is the OOmmmpph the soup possess. With a plate of white rice - Purrrfect! The teochew braised duck also not bad but don't miss the Kiam Chye Ark!

Fatpapa rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (2.5 stars out of 5 for the Bak Kut Teh)

阿宝 BBQ Seafood

Chiak Bah Boh?

Who blogs on Friday nites anyway? I doing this specially for someone so that her Mother doesn't need to cook dinner on her own birthday. Happy Birthday Auntie - even though having Char Siew should have be the better option...

My friend once mentioned to me that Bukit Timah Food Centre has the best BBQ Stingray on this planet. I didn't believe it then and when he brought me there I also didn;t believed him even though he claimed that the cook was having an off day. Nothing spectacular.

I never tried it ever since.

For some unkown reason, I had to treat my wife to something special for dinner and unfortunately ran out of places to eat. So I thought - why not since we are in the area. We ordered the previously "nothing spectacular" bbq stingray not expecting any exceptional suprises.

$%$$#%^^&^%* The stingray is fresh but what makes it really outstanding is the sambal chilli. The sambal chilli had a distinct black pepper taste which is seldom found elsewhere and this gives it the edge over others because it gave it an extra facet of flavour. The bbq stingray also was not oily, slightly crispy on the outside but not over done. Perfect!

Perhaps the cook really had an off day on that fateful night 5 years ago...



Fatpapa rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Bukit Timah Secrets Reloaded

Chiak Bah Boh?

Bukit Timah has recently developed into a "niche" dining area from the "so infamous" Newton FC to the more upmarket 6th Avenue / Turf City area and the very "atas" (read: snobbish) Greenwood Place. Riding on the wave of such renaissance, a couple of interesting restaurants have sprung up at the "previously so very dead" Railway Mall. There were previously 2 pubs, a couple of cake shops and a small supermarket along this stretch of shops. Now, there is a famous ramen shop, a 24hr prata / kaya toast place as well as a 24 hr fish ball noodle shop.


First up, an unpretentious italian deli called Garbaltis (or something - didn't really check properly). No menus here - the menu is right in front of you in the refridgerated counter. They have everything ranging from pastas, pizzas to seafood to roast meats or cuts. Evrything is sold by the weight - so u just choose the amount you want and the staff will weigh and heat it up for you. The lasagne and pizza are really good - in fact very authentic (chef is an italian) and the pasta came with chopped red chillies (which I have since adapted into my very own seafood marinara creation) which gave it a nice spicy twist. Do be forwarned though - don't get too greedy with your selections - the bill can be a tad expensive.



I think I am the first to make this review. Hooked! A Fish & Co copycat but a far better imposter than the real thing. When Fish & Co first started in Singapore (by some ex SIA fella), the concept was fresh and an instant hit. following such success, there were a few copycats that emerged by didn't quite hit the same heights as Fish & Co. Fish & Co has since opened several outlets across the country but disappointingly i feel that the standard has also dropped tremendously since its flagship days at Plaza Singapura. Chanced upon this outlet 2 weeks ago and was told that this joint is opened by the same creators of Cafe Cartel. Thought it was a bit odd to open their first flagship in a place as "ulu"(read: rural) as Railway Mall. After trying the food, I am inclined to believe that we should see this at more popular places in the near future. I had their self recommended fish and chips and my wife had some herb snapper with spaghetti. For side dishes, we had Otah Toast as well as some chicken wing name I can't remember (as you can see - the chicken wings didn't leave an impression so try at your own risk). For seafood to taste good, it is extremely imprtant for it to be fresh cos no matter how good the condiments are or sauces, a bad fish is a bad fish - nothing can change that fact. So I was plesantly surprised to find that the quality of the fish used were all exceptionally fresh - no cutting corners here. The snapper with herbs and spaghetti that my wife had was also delightfully tasty and most importantly - Fresh! The Otah Toast was quite good too, with real chunks of dish meat but i would prefer the taste of the otah to be spicer and stronger. Due to its opening special, we were also served party portions of the Shark vindaloo. The shark meat was good but we found the curry a bit weak but still relatively ok. Prices are reasonable and the portions quite big - slightly cheaper than Fish & Co and with better quality. The jury is still out on them whether they can still maintain the same standards in future with expanded operations.





Fatpapa rating:
Garbalti's (or something) - 4 stars out of 5
Hooked! - 3.5 stars out of 5

Bukit Timah Secrets

Chiak Bah Boh?

I really need to be more consistent with my posting...but truly I have been gathering good eats, do let me intro you to some Bukit Timah secrets...

Bukit Timah Plaza...a once forgotten place I used to visit when I was young...yes...I do remember the old Yaohan, the "Strawberry Shortcake" near the glass lifts, "Gallen Sports" where i bought my first New Balance running shoes...distant memories now.

Haven't visited this place for eons and it really took me by surprise when I popped by for lunch one fine staurday afternoon...



Check out the queue! There were like 15 pple infront of me at a plain looking food kiosk selling authentic nonya food. Newspaper cuttings splashed all over the main counter...must be good. Tried the Laksa and it certainly didn't disappoint. Lemak but not too ovepowering. Mee Siam is nicely sour and the famous "Nasi Kunyit (Curry Chicken with yellow rice)" is certainly something to look forward to - especially the yellow rice which carried a nice tinge of cinnamon. One grouse though - the servings are a bit small and the food is not exactly cheap, not that the lot of us queuing up really cared.


Nonya Delights

Still hungry, we came across this shop selling Nasi Lemak tucked just around the corner. Quite aptly named "Nasi Lemak House", this non-pretentious looking shop sells Malay Nasi Lemak as well as Nasi Padang. The nasi lemak was alright but the real killer is the beef rendang - whoa steamz sia...not too mushy and each mouthful releases a burst of flavours.





Quite full now - we took a nice stroll around the mall and chanced upon this taiwanese eatery called "Liu San". Operated by a bunch of cheery staff, we sat down to have a taste of what it has to offer. We had "Guo Tie" as well as "Or Ah Mee Sua (Oyster Noodles) and was pleasantly suprised to find that the stuff didn't turn oyt to be all that bad. Apparently everything (yes everything including the cakes, coffee, desserts) are all self made. The Guo Tie was excellent and the Mee Sua quite good too. The coffee beans are also specially selected and mixed by the chef cum owner - a full sized effigy can be found beckoning you at the shop front. Nice!

Wah lau...really eat too much liao....





Fatpapa rating:
1) Nonya Delicatseen (3.5 stars out of 5)
2) Nasi Lemak House (Nasi Lemak - 3/5 stars; Beef rendang - 4/5 stars)
3) Liu San (4 stars out of 5)

Yung Kee Roast Goose, Hong Kong

Chiak Bah Boh?

This post is made specially for Audrey aka Shimeimei. You MUST try this in Hong Kong and please please please help me buy 1 box of 皮蛋 and Roast Goose when you come back in 7 weeks time ok?

We came to know of this restaurant during the flight to HK. An auntie told my wifey this is a "must go, must eat" place in HK and highly recommended the roast goose. It even had a webby (www.yungkee.com.hk) and i quote from their website, "In 1968, Yung Kee has been named by the Fortune Magazine to be one of the Top Fifteen Restaurants in the World, the only Chinese restaurant on the list." Top 15!! How often in your life time can you have the privilege of dining in one? So the first thing we did after checking in the hotel was to pay this place a visit.



First impessions? Nay....nothing to crow about. Place was small and we had to 搭台 (something that is really common in HK but we absolutely dislike...mebbe we SGPs not friendly enough). We were given a plate of their famous 皮蛋 and boy did it look gorgeous! Unlike the local SGP version where the yolk is one big mash, the YungKee one had clear distinct rings and an absolutely stunning gluey interior. One bite.....ooooh...crunchy on the outside, creamy in the inside. Fantastic!

We ordered their 三拼 (suckling pig, famous roast goose, char siew) and I also had a bowl of wanton noodles. When the dish came, no words were uttered...simply out of this world! The goose really lived up to its name, more tender than any roast duck that i have tasted, texture of the meat is a little more exquisite than duck meat, and the fatty skin...melts in your mouth! 真 #$%&!&^(&* 的好吃！！ The wanton noodles were however only so so...

Fatpapa rating: 4.99999999 stars out of 5 (MUST TRY!!!!)

Address: 32-40 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong Island (just next to Lan Kwai Fong)

Hokkien Mee

Chiak Ba Boh?

Wah Lau eh.... its been almost 3 months since I last blogged. I promised a local review the last time, so here goes.

Hard to find good hokkien mee nowadays. Too many pretenders pretending to whip up this simple dish. Soggy noodles, bland sauce, miserly prawns, shitty chilli are common grouses.

Here we have one that posses none of the above. Found this accidentally actually, tucked away on east coast road, along the same stretch leading up to siglap centre, St Michaels school and the Hong Kong Tea Cafe (Wang Jiao). This stall is located at a "FoodMore" coffeeshop right beside the road, and is called Geylang Lorong 29 fried Hokkien Mee. What is special about this hokkien mee is that the noodles are fried over charcoal...not over gas. This seemed to give the noodles a nice charcoal smell and a nice "wok hei". The noodles are done just nice, with thick pieces of sotong and prawn, and the "chup" is thick and strong. Chilli is alright though, though if belacan chilli is provided it would be better imho. Comparable to the famous Old Airport road one (the one just kenna the Makansutra hawker legend one...) even though the one at old airport rd is a little over rated...

Fatpapa rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

A few shops down, you can find a shop selling Bak Kwa... apparently been there for ages...much much much better than Bee Chun Hiang.