无招牌海鲜汤








Chiak Ba Boh?

Haven't done any reviews for quite a long time. Haven't been eating out a lot recently, just the same old places cos wife's not in the mood and of course...work, work, work and more work...
Took this picture just the Sunday that flew by recently - its just one of our favourite stalls in Bukit Panjang, but mostly it is just plain heart warming stuff...I call it 无招牌XXX again cos - you guessed it...actually I juz don't know the stall's name and I was a bit lazy to walk up to the stall and check. I don't actually remember seeing one...mebbe its a feature with stalls in Bukit Panjang.

Enough blabbering.

Situated at a coffee shop at Bangkit (off Bukit Panjang Ring Road again) - named Bangkit Food House as shown above in the photo (juz behind that pillar there...), this stall opens in the morning thru lunch everyday and serves fantastic seafood and fish soup. Don't be deceived by the photos, you will have to wait quite a while especially on Saturdays and Sundays. I find the fish soup quite ok only but the seafood soup is something to behold. Laden in tasty clear broth, are generous pieces of Batang fish slices, prawns and other condiments. The soup is also served with pieces of Bak Chor which makes it a winner. The Bak Chor is well marinated with a hint of fried "Bian Yu" (Sole Fish) - simply delicious! Tell you a secret, actually this soup is quite simply to make, the only thing that sets this apart from the rest is that all the ingredients are extremely fresh...you can almost see the cut-up fish still gasping for air lying in a dustbin tucked in a corner behind the stall... and the Bak Chor....no, no, no...its air pork from aussie land and not exactly nice to 挂猪头 at the stall...Worth a try if you are around the area. Prices at $3 a bowl.

FatPapa rating: 3 stars out of 5

I have been reviewing a lot of stuff in Bukit Panjang. So sorry...but I will try to 走出 Bukit Panjang and review some stuff elsewhere...I have some in mind, so give me some time to visit them when I can. Ciao!

无招牌烧腊



Chiak Ba Boh?

My mother once told me - for the best 烧腊 (roast meat) you must always look out for the big round metal roasters in the kitchen. You can never go far off if you can spot one. While checking out my neighbourhood coffeeshops, bored of the usual stuff, i ventured on a non-descript coffeeshop that i have never bothered to visit even after staying 2 years in the estate. Situated at the newly built cluster of flats at Senja located just off Bukit Panjang Ring Road, in a coffeshop that I don't even know its name (a stone's throw away from a small NTUC supermarket), my "tum chiak" (贪吃） nature took me into the coffeshop in search of anything interesting. And then I saw it - I turned to my wife and said， “Ah Li, 有炉的!"

This roast meat stall doesn't have a signboard, so i will just call it "No Signboard Roast Meat (无招牌烧腊)". Hooked up behind the clear glass counter is the usual fare associated wuth this type of stall, 烧鸭, 叉烧 and 烧肉. I tell you, you will salivate at the sight of those 叉烧, nicely roasted to perfection with bits of charred ends! The 叉烧 is covered virtually in a nice red sauce, shimmering and dripping with oil. If looks can kill, this one definately slaughtered the competition! You could also see the 诚意 in the roast duck and roast meat. The uncle at the stall cuts the meat whereras the auntie mans the noodle section.

To the ultimate taste test - the well marinated 叉烧 is tender to the brink of melting away in your mouth, unlike many that looked dry and tasted even drier. The roast duck is reasonably well done and the 烧肉 tasted even better. What's surprising is that the 云吞面 did not disappoint. The whole egg noodles are smooth yet crunchy with every bite. Coupled with the excellent "melt in your mouth" pieces of 叉烧 - one word to describe...赞! The soup version tasted just as good - good thing to have in a wet cold day. Prices start from $3 -$5.50. Open most days.



FatPapa rating:4 stars out of 5
Pull radius: 30km

Remarks: You know, the uncle really has got a great way with meat and the auntie superb with flour but i must say they really "Kua Buay Kwee" (看不开). You see, One day I wanted to try their roast duck, so i ordered a plate but uncle suddenly took out the 烧肉 from the roaster and the devil in me wanted some to try. So i casually told the auntie, "Auntie, 加烧肉!" But Auntie replied "加烧肉要两块". "我只要一点点...一块可以吗?" “不可以..." Ouch...

btw, Tan Wei Lian won against all odds! “...不在乎他在台上不能做的，而是它能够呈现给你的..."

Chye Tow Kway



Chiak Ba Boh?

Located in a dingy coffeshop along Upper Bukit Timah Road (Off Bukit Panjang, Opposite Mindef, next to the new condo project (The Linear). This inconspicuous stall "Mei Fa Na Shou Cai Tou Guo" probably makes (imho) the best Fried Carrot Cake on this side of the island - much better than the one (and many fake ones) at the nearby "7 mile" market across Beauty World Centre. I used to patronise the one at "7 mile" when I was young and was probably one of my favourites. The old skinny old uncle with white hair fries the carrpt cake to perfection and there was usually a long wait for a $1.50 plate. I don't know whether the uncle is still around (i dunno but the uncle then didn't particularly looked in the pink of health - i hope he is still well and healthy) but I think the current standard has dropped tremendously.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand - This stall (Mei Fa that is) makes their own carrot cake and fries it to crispy perfection. Order the white one rather than the black one and you will know what i mean. The carrot cake is crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. Compared to the famous carrot cake stall at Redhill market (one of my faourite), the "kway" is a bit harder but this is more than compensated by excellent frying technique which the Redhill one lacks. The Redhill one on the other hand has the tastiest and smoothest "kway" (imho) of all the carrot cakes that I have tasted so far. Prices start at $2 and the stall is open most days.

FatPapa Rating: Mei Fa (3.5 out of 5 stars); Redhill (4 out of 5 stars)
Pull radius: Mei Fa (20km); Redhill (50km)

Remarks: The coffeshop also has a stall that sells Prawn/Pork Intestine Noodles. Unlike the usual Prawn noodle, this one uses black soy sauce, the style more commonly found in Malaysia. Either you love it or you hate it - I found it quite ok, worth a try.

Chiak Ba Boh?

"Chiak Ba Boh"? (Have you eaten?) The cleaning auntie at my office will always greet me when I meet her along the corridor. "Chiak Ba Liao, Le Leh?" (I have eaten, how about you?) is my usual reply. Kind auntie she is...always worried about me going hungry (I didn't tell her I had Yong Tau Foo for lunch again though). It's really funny that someone would rather ask you whether you "Chiak Ba Boh?" than "Le Ho Boh?" (How are you?). But then I kinda felt that the former is a lot more faceted than the latter. "Chiak Ba Boh" - Isn't a bliss to be full? The warmth in the stomach and the tightness at the waist - such joy! Isn't it a blessing to be able to have a satisfying meal be it a "Man Han Quan Xi" (Imperial Feast) or just a simple plate of "Chap Chye Peng" (Economic Rice)? And apparently if you can have a satisfying meal, it simply meant that you have nothing to worry about! (except for the calories!) Cos your next meal will come - and the next after the next...shouldn't you be happy that you don't have to worry about the (next + n) meal(s)? Mebbe the auntie meant more than a simple "Hi! Bye!". A casual remark but so deep in meaning. For that, we should give her a double PhD in "Hospitality" and "Environmental Engineering". Some people with PhD's don't even say "Hi!" to you along the corridors - lagi worse if they don't even know your first name.

I still don't know the kind auntie's name - and I doubt she knew mine.

家传菜 - Heirloom Recipes

I have always enjoyed watching "家传菜" (aka Heirloom Recipes) on Channel 8. I think there are currently 3 instalments to this series. Every episode would have people from all walks of life come in and describe a "家传菜" that would evoke their memories - be it their childhood, family or friends. Intresting to watch as there would be a heartwarming story behind every dish.

I shared with my mother one day over dinner that if the producers of this story wanted me on the show, there would be 2 dishes that will definately be my "家传菜" The 1st would be "甜猪肉" (Sweet Pork) and the 2nd "白菜汤" (White Cabbage Soup). It was just a casual remark but my mother made "甜猪肉" the next time i went home for dinner - after I reckon, a 15 year hiatus...and her reason for not doing so? "I thought you all don't like..."

Now for the recipe...

"甜猪肉" (Sweet Pork)
Ingredients
"五花肉" - Pork Collar (~600g) You can either cut the meat in slabs or you can just leave it uncut
Finely chopped garlic
Sugar
Peeled hard boiled eggs
Cooking Oil

Method
1) For around 600g of meat (well at least this was the amount i bought last time i prepared this dish), add ~2 tablespoons of garlic and fry till fragrant. You may char the garlic a wee bit but not too much.
2) Add sugar - lots of it (its Sweet Pork!) 4 - 5 tablespoons should suffice. Caramelise together with oil and garlic.
3) Add in dark soy sauce - buy good quality ones...avoid the watery ones. 3-4 tablespoons should suffice (i usually agar one...add more if u think the pork not black enuf...if add too little the pork may not be "giam" enuf)
4) Put in the pork. DO NOT ADD WATER. Slowly braise over small fire in a covered pot. Turn the pork in the pot occasionally so that it is well lathered with the black sauce. Your pork will start to "sweat" now...the thick black sauce will turn watery as the pork starts to "lau chap". Allow the pot to simmer for 1-2hrs. Do not open the pot except tp turn the pork.
5) The pork should now be ready (i think). Open the lid and start to reduce the sauce. Put in the eggs now to brown it. The eggs shld readily pick up a nice brownish tinge. The pork is ready to serve once the sauce thickens to a quarter or less of what it originally was. Careful not to burn the pork otherwise you will get "苦猪肉" (Bitter pork)
6) Transfer the pork onto a plate. Cut into bite size portions. Cut the braised eggs into 1/2s or 1/4s according to your own liking. Finally, layer the sauce left over in the pot onto the pork and eggs.

There you have it! "甜猪肉". My heirloom recipe. Why "甜猪肉"? It never occured to me till quite recently, only after i have prepared this dish myself. Its CHEAP. The pork costs $6 and mebbe the eggs another $2. The rest of the condiments are basic stuff (garlic, soy sauce etc) that u can usually find in the kitchen. I remember when i was young, my mother would cook this dish for the whole family (of 5) and this could last us 1-2 meals. The pork goes especially well with rice and for $10 - $15, that's great value! And yeah, I remember our old flat at Farrer Road where I spent most of my childhood. I don't remember my mother cooking this dish ever since we shifted places. So it was with loads of memories when I tasted this dish after so long.

Well, I shan't bore you guys too much with the 2nd dish "白菜汤" (White cabbage soup). It's really easy to prepare. For the untalented and uninitiated, this dish is really peanuts (not the $60,000 kind). Cut white cabbage, "Wong Bok", into pieces, throw them into a pot. Add chicken broth. Boil slowly over small fire until the cabbage become soft. Add fish balls, YONG TAU FOO (arrgh!), "Hee Peow" (Fish maw) or whatever u want into the pot. The taste of the soup is simply heavenly, especially after cooking for a long time. This dish is nothing special, but it did evoke happy memories. For me, it always represented the CNY, especially the 1st day of the CNY. We would usually use this soup for steamboat on reunion dinner and have the same thing for breakfast the next day, which is the 1st day of CNY. The soup would taste even better now, with loads of seafood and abalone. Most importantly, after partaking breakfast, my parents would give each of us an Ang Pow and so starts a day of "财源滚滚来" (Fortune roll roll in)...got $$ got good food, not to mention good soup...this type of "Kang Tau" where to find?

So how, Mediacorp? Got space on your 4th instalment of "家传菜"? I promise at least to look good on TV...

Yong Tau Foo