The combination of selling Nasi Briyani and Fuzhou Oyster Cake is an unusual one. However, that is exactly what Uncle Bobby sells at his stall in Chinatown Complex!

Chinatown Complex is home to over a hundred different hawkers, and The Asian Makanstall is tucked away in a little corner of the maze. Just follow the green pillars, and you’ll reach there easily!

Opened in March 2018, The Asian Makanstall is run solely by Uncle Bobby. On why he only has two items in his menu, the 65-year-old shared that these two items are things that he can cook fairly well, and received good response when he makes them for friends and family.

Uncle Bobby has been working in the food and beverage industry since he was 50, after he lost his full time job as a quality control officer. He had stints in many restaurant chains, such as Subway, Burger King and even Ya Kun Kaya Toast! He then decided to venture out on his own, and started The Asian Makanstall.

Fuzhou Oyster Cake isn’t a common item you’ll find in Singapore, and not many hawkers are willing to recreate this old school delicacy. However, uncle Bobby learnt how to make this addictive snack from his friend, and currently sells it at his stall.

Retailing at $3 per piece, these golden brown UFO discs are stuffed with large, plump oysters, minced meat and coriander. You may think that it is quite expensive for a snack, but the process of making the oyster cake is a highly laborious one. Each cake is made using a special mould, which gives the oyster cake its signature UFO shape. Uncle Bobby has a limited number of moulds, so he can only make 2 oyster cakes at one go. However, he shared that he cooks the oyster cakes in batches, and leaves them in a warmer to ensure that customers don’t have to wait too long to get their hands on a piece.

These golden discs are so delicious! The crispy batter encapsulates the fragrant and tasty filling, which is really quite addictive. I’m not a big fan of coriander, but in this case, the fragrance of the herb complements the savouriness of the oysters and minced meat. It’s such a delightful snack!

Uncle Bobby shared with us that if diners like to purchase the oyster cakes and have them at a later timing, they can just wrap the cakes in aluminium foil, pop them in the microwave oven, to get the exact same texture as freshly fried oyster cakes. How convenient!

The plate of nasi briyani may look unassuming, but it is indeed delicious. Each grain of basmati rice is well separated, and the rice has a collective fragrance of Indian herbs and spices, without being too overpowering.

However, what we loved the most was the chicken. Uncle Bobby shared that he marinates the chicken overnight, to ensure that the flavours can fully permeate into the meat. And he’s right, for the meat is very flavourful down to the bone. What’s more, Uncle Bobby is currently having a promotion! Each plate of nasi briyani is sold at only $3.50! I don’t think you’ll be able to find such a steal anywhere in Singapore.

Although there are only two items on the menu, uncle Bobby has indeed carved out a niche in this area. He shares with us that he wants to offer ‘yummy-yummy, good for money’ dishes to diners, and hopes that they would enjoy what he offers. We know we did, because our tummies were definitely satisfied when we left the stall!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

The post The Asian Makanstall – Yummy-Yummy, Good For Money Delights! appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Many Singaporeans pay pilgrimage to Geylang Serai for the annual Ramadan Bazaar. Aside from the festivities and celebrations, there are also gems to be found at the nearby Haig Road Market & Hawker Centre. Malay Muslim food is its speciality as it is situated in the neighbourhood of Singapore’s oldest Malay settlement.

HK Waliti HJ Mazuki is a 50 year old shop tucked in a corner directly opposite the famous Afandi Hawa & Family. The nondescript storefront features several photos of carb based Malay dishes such as Mee Rebus, Mee Soto and Burbur Ayam. We tried the Mee Rebus ($3) and Soto Ayam ($3) with the top-up of perkedel (potato cutlet) for an additional 50 cents. The friendly macik reminded me to add dollops of chilli to both dishes.

The Mee Rebus was a familiar rendition with key aspects done right: sweet, thick gravy coating the generous portion of firm noodles and accompanied by hard-boiled egg, green chilli, bean sprouts and fried shallots.

The green chilli was largely masked by the much stronger gravy but its crunch contrasted nicely with the noodles, giving it a spicy kick. It might just be me but I thought there was even a hint of mutton in the gravy.

The Soto Ayam was my personal favourite. Do not be deceived by the looks of this plain and unassuming dish. The yellow chicken broth was light and flavourful, garnished with chicken shreds and chunks of lontong. By itself, the Soto Ayam might not be enough for most. Top up with a fried potato cutler for a more filling meal. Its texture is similar to hash brown, albeit more crumbly and less crispy. Do finish it quickly to avoid over-soaking the fried cutlet and making it soggy.

The highlight of this Soto Ayam lies in the chilli padi kicap (small spicy red chilli with soy sauce) which elevated the taste of broth and gave it robustness and depth. Similar to belacan, the chilli was oily and potent which spiced up the broth, making it extremely addictive and almost impossible to stop slurping up the soup.

Overall, HK Waliti HJ Mazuki is a good place to get your fix of Malay food. Its shorter queue and waiting time also makes it more attractive when you’re in a rush during lunch hour. The food is simple yet heartwarming, with its strong soup broth and gravy capable of lifting one’s spirits after a long day.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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Whenever we order duck rice in Singapore, there are two kinds of duck rice to choose from. The Cantonese style roasted duck rice, or the braised variety that is symbolically Teochew. Ah Nian Duck Rice serves up the braised duck variant, alongside other braised items such as intestines and pork belly.

The brand currently has three outlets in Singapore, the newest one located along Balestier Road. We visited their Upper Cross Street outlet on a weekday afternoon for lunch. Even before the stall was opened, there was already a number of patrons waiting to get their hands on a plate of the fragrant duck rice!

You might not already know, but there are a number of stalls in Singapore that get their braised duck directly from the supplier. This way, they minimise the need to cook their own ducks. But at the same time, this makes the ducks very generic, and there isn’t any individuality between the stalls.

Therefore, despite it being additional work, it is heart-warming to know that Ah Nian Duck Rice braise their own ducks. This extra effort does pay off, indeed.

We got the Braised Duck Rice Set ($4.50), which came with a medley of braised items – duck, peanuts, half a boiled egg and beancurd. The stall serves flavoured rice as well, which sadly, didn’t really have much flavour to it despite its dark brown colour.

Nevertheless, the braised duck meat was done nicely. We could taste the rich aromas of the spices that went into the braising of the duck, which helped to perfume the meat and musk any gaminess. The meat was not excessively dry, but it did have a bit of stringiness to it.

We also tried the Kway Chap ($4++). The square sheets of kway were not overcooked, and had a little bite to them which we thoroughly enjoyed. The assortment of ingredients that came with the kway chap include the usual braised pork belly, pig intestines and tau pok. The intestines were lacking in flavour, but a good thing was that it was washed very thoroughly. There wasn’t any funky odour when we ate it.

An ingredient worth mentioning was the braised pork belly. Cut into thick chunks, the pork belly has a thicker layer of fat as compared to the lean meat. The pork belly was also very flavourful, with the same aroma of spices as the braised duck. However, we felt that the belly was a little more savoury than the duck, which made it very toothsome.

In conclusion, I think it’s comforting to know that there are still hawkers that take pride in their food. Instead of choosing the easier way out by getting ready made stocks from suppliers, they still make an effort to braise their own ducks, sticking to time tested recipes that has garnered a good number of fans.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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Did you know that nasi lemak was once dubbed by Time Magazine as one of 10 healthiest breakfast dishes worldwide? It sure came as a shocker to us Singaporeans. But healthy or not, such news would not curb our voracious appetites for the Malay staple food.  We chanced upon Ar-Rina Nasi Padang, an unassuming stall located within a coffee shop in Bukit Batok, which is allegedly home to delicious nasi lemak and nasi padang. 

Ar-rina Nasi Padang starts selling their nasi lemak as early as 6 in the morning. For $3.50, the Nasi Lemak comes with the usual medley of fried ikan bilis & peanut, chicken wing as well as an egg. The star of the show was the fragrant rice. While the grains were not as rich as I had hoped, the coconut fragrance really came through. The short grains remained fairly moist and nicely separate as well. Add a dollop of sambal chilli to give the rice a pleasant, light kick. Second to the rice was the chicken wing, which was seasoned decently. Owing to the fact that the chicken wings were prepared in the wee hours of the day, the outer crust of the chicken did lack that crispiness when it was served to us (we were there at 10am). Portion-wise, Ar-Rina was generous with their servings. Overall, the nasi lemak was pretty ordinary, but hey, it was a good enough breakfast for the folks of Bukit Batok. Next time, we will be sure to head back at 7 in the morning to try their freshly made nasi lemak!

While some of the Bukit Batok dwellers have raved about the nasi lemak, we could not resist also trying their nasi padang. For $7, we fetched ourselves a pretty decent portion of chicken rendang, stingray fish, curry vegetables atop short–grain rice. Unfortunately, the texture and taste of the chicken rendang was far from ideal. Unlike the fork-tender meat you get in a good rendang, the rendang ($3) here was slightly tough and stringy. The meat and the sauce felt like two separate elements which failed to come together. We were not impressed with the mildly–flavoured stingray as well, which was tough and dry. We suspect that the fish could have been overcooked. The only saving grace of the nasi padang was the curry vegetables, which arrived soft and lemak enough. A word of caution: If you have ordered either the stingray or the rendang, be prepared for a fiery experience. 

Epok epok served at Ar-Rina Nasi Padang goes for a mere 50 cents. Now, isn’t that cheap? The epok epok here however will qualify as a below average snack. The crust of these Malay curry puff was slightly stale, which might mean that the epok epok – like the nasi lemak – was prepared earlier in the morning. Each epok epok comes either in potato or sardine filling, both of which were unfortunately unmemorable. The former was pretty sweet, while the latter was unpleasantly tart. This version pales in comparison to the one at MakanBoleh, located at Seah Im Food Centre.

It is difficult to decide whether Ar-Nina Nasi Padang is really worth the visit. However, if you are willing to sacrifice your sleep and drop by to try their nasi lemak early in the morning when the food is freshly made, do share with us your thoughts about this stall!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to Ar-Rina Nasi Padang. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!

The post Ar-Rina Nasi Padang – Bukit Batok Dwellers Love Their Nasi Lemak! appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

As the years go by, it is getting increasingly harder to source for places that sell old school memorabilia, much less, snacks.

Although I am considered a millennial, I was lucky enough to have enjoyed the times where, internet connection required a dial up, and after school fun meant going to the playground or longkang (drain), to catch fish. I too was also lucky enough to get a taste of some of the nostalgic snacks that our ancestors used to have back when they were my age. 

One such traditional snack would be the min chiang kueh. Commonly found in Southeast Asia, it is a type of pancake, filled with filling, before being folded into half, and then served. It’s usually eaten out of a bag, unlike their western counterparts, which is eaten with a knife and fork.

Under the min chiang kueh category, you can further split it into two different types. One features a thick, chewy texture, and the other is thinner, and crispier. Bing Cheng Mian Jian Guo serves the latter.

The stall, which has been around for 10 over years, is run by Uncle Tommy Lee. He shared that he decided to make min jiang kueh for a living as this, too, was his childhood snack. 

Uncle Tommy comes from Alor Setar, which is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. According to him, its located just further up of Penang, which most Singaporeans are more familiar with. He came to Singapore when he was 19, in search for a better life for his family.

On where he learnt the art of making min jiang kueh, he shared that he learnt it about 20 years ago, from an uncle in his hometown. The uncle was about to retire, and wanted to pass on the tradition to someone. Uncle Tommy decided to seize that opportunity to learn, and soon started selling min jiang kueh in Singapore.

Diners can choose from a variety of toppings such as peanut ($1.10), coconut ($1.10) and even sweet corn ($1.10) to be sandwiched between their pancakes. The min chiang kueh at Bing Cheng Mian Jian Guo is freshly made upon order, which ensures that everything is piping hot and fresh. Definitely a delicious mid-day snack, or a satisfactory bite for anyone who’s filling a little tam chiak!

Because everything is made to order, it may take a while for Uncle Tommy to whip up the min chiang kuehs. But trust us on it, it’s definitely worth the wait!

We tried three flavours – chocolate ($1.40), cheese ($1.50) and butter sugar ($1). The min chiang kueh shell was thick and chewy, with a crispy edge that shattered very easily. Talk about a mix of textures!

My favourite was the cheese version. The square cheese slice reminded me of what I used to eat when I was a child! The pancake was sweet and savoury and tasted just like good old comfort food.

Out of the lot, I felt that the butter-sugar was the most traditional version. It’s a simple and unpretentious pancake but carries with it so much nostalgia.

Uncle Tommy, who is 66-years-old this year, shared that his son was also running a min chiang kueh stall at Kampung Admiralty. Called Yuan Ge, Uncle Tommy said that he plans to move over to his son’s stall when the lease here is over. I think it’s great to see that there are more young generation hawkers willing to recreate and sell old-school snacks, to ensure that the tradition doesn’t fade!

Tthe min chiang kueh makes for a great afternoon snack. If it’s in between meal time and your child (or yourself) is craving for a munch, why not get a quick bite at Bing Cheng Mian Jian Guo? It will be an enjoyable experience for everyone. 

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

Previously, we covered another good pancake at Ang Mo Kio, you may also want to check that article out!

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Amoy Street Food Centre

Located in the CBD area, Amoy Street Food Centre is a bustling hawker centre which houses Michelin Bib Gourmand awardees A Noodle Story, J2 Famous Crispy Curry Puff and Hong Kee Beef Noodles. Other than these highly decorated stalls, we were curious to see how the rest fared in taste. Here are our thoughts on what we tried!

Han Kee Fish Soup

Sliced fish soup seems to be in demand among office workers, with at least four to five stalls in Amoy Street Food Centre offering similar variations of the dish. We visited Han Kee before it opened at 11am and to our surprise, a short queue had already begun to form. The menu is straightforward: sliced fish soup with the choice of bee hoon, porridge or rice at small ($5), medium ($7) and large ($9) portion respectively. They also do fish head soup which is more expensive by a dollar each.

We ordered the Medium Sliced Fish Soup Bee Hoon ($7) and the bowl was filled to the brim with many generous pieces of thickly cut mackerel. The fish was fresh and bathed in a light, clear broth that had a hint of sweetness. Personally, I find it harder to get the distinct sweetness in clear sliced fish soup right as compared to the milk version. The fact that Han Kee could nail it spectacularly spoke volumes of their skill in the preparation of fish broth. Being a fan of hot soupy food, I would have this everyday if I worked in the CBD. Do go early to avoid the office crowd as the queue can stretch up to 45 minutes long!

Wah Kee Noodles

Our boss recommended Wah Kee and claimed it to be ‘one of the better wanton mee’ around. Wah Kee priced their Wanton Noodle at $3.50 and offer other staples such as Dumpling Noodle ($3.50) and Mushroom Noodle ($3.50). We all agreed that it was an above average bowl of wanton mee, with the wetness and seasoning of the springy noodles done perfectly.

Wah Kee’s char siew was on the smokier side and balances the tendency towards dryness in charred meat well.

The wanton was plump and packed with more ingredients than usual. The next time you are at Amoy Street, why not consider having a satisfying plate of old-school wanton mee at Wah Kee?

Li Xing Nasi Lemak

A quick glance around the food centre saw quite a few people eating nasi lemak from Li Xing. Intrigued, we decided to give it a try.

Our standard Nasi Lemak ($3) came with chicken wing, luncheon meat, fish cake and ikan bilis. The coconut taste in their rice was quite strong, however the rest of the ingredients were lacklustre.

Mix the sweet sambal into the rice for greater flavour!

Koryori Hayashi

This Japanese stall offers a decent variety of dons, udon, ramen and pasta starting at $6, with their most popular dish being the Namban Don. The term ‘Namban’ connotes foreign influences as the Europeans originally brought fried food to Japan in the Muromachi and Edo period. Chicken Namban came from Miyazaki province in Kyushu where fried chicken karaage is soaked in sweet and sour namban sauce topped off with tartar. Koryori Hayashi uses mentaiko sauce instead of tartar to make the don more exciting and relevant to our modern taste buds.

The karaage was nicely fried with moist and juicy meat. But the cabbage which came with the don on the side was dry and bland, making it redundant as it did not add to the overall taste of the dish.

Bee Kee Wanton Noodles

Bee Kee prides itself on its signature truffle wanton mee – a rare sight in the local hawker scene. Besides the outlet at Amoy Street, they have another outlet at Serangoon as well.

The noodles of the Truffle Wanton Mee ($6) were doused with truffle oil, and topped with fried and steamed wanton, char siew and vegetables. The aroma from the truffle was initially appetising, but the strong alkaline aftertaste of the noodles made it less enjoyable.

The char siew was extremely dry and the wantons were mediocre. I think I still prefer my wanton mee done the traditional way.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visits and paid its own meals at the stalls featured here.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to the stalls listed above. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! You may also want to try the Fuzhou Oyster Cake at Maxwell Food Centre which is just a stone’s throw away!

The post Amoy Street Food Centre – Exciting Finds Besides Michelin Food! appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

As a Westie, I hardly travel to the East side of Singapore. So on one rare occasion that I happened to be in the East, we decided to head to a random coffee shop at Tampines Street 23 for lunch.

It was noon when we arrived at the kopitiam next to Blk 201E and the place was already bustling with the lunch crowd. My boss recommended Ji Tou Chicken Rice and gushed about their roasted chicken in particular. Admittedly, I was highly skeptical when I saw the brightly-lit storefront because it seemed like the kind of “chain franchise” at hawker centres and kopitiams. The stall name also sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where I have seen it before. Nevertheless, we ordered their Steamed Chicken Rice ($3) and Roasted Chicken Rice ($3).

I am more biased towards steamed chicken in general as compared to roasted chicken. Steamed chicken is usually more tender and smooth compared to roasted chicken, which many places tend to do it too dry. When the food came, I dug into the Steamed Chicken Rice immediately, confident that it would be the better of the two based on past experiences.

To my surprise, I was greatly disappointed. The steamed chicken was uncharacteristically dry, saved for the chicken skin, and lacked the usual silkiness that I was used to. I didn’t think it was possible for steamed chicken to taste so mediocre, given that it was normally the method of roasting which leaves the chicken stringier and drier.

I moved on to the Roasted Chicken Rice with tempered expectations. If the standard of the steamed chicken was as such, how much better could the roasted chicken be?

That day, I was gladly proven wrong twice during lunch. The roasted skin was sublime: crispy yet capturing that stirring greasy fragrance from the chicken. The breast meat was surprisingly not as dry as expected, with oil from the skin penetrating the meat to make it juicier. I found myself continuously reaching for more and more of the evenly-cooked pieces of golden brown goodness.

The rice grains were oily and flavourful, indicative of how the chicken stock has been sufficiently cooked together with the rice. For the best experience, take a small mountain of rice and pile it with a few pieces of roasted chicken.

The sauces were however quite ordinary. Ji Tou’s ginger was too watery for me as I prefer my ginger to be more fibrous and pasty.

After the meal, I found out that Ji Tou actually has another outlet in Clementi 448 Market and Hawker Centre. Having patronised the Clementi outlet, I don’t remember it being as good as the Tampines one. I guess that even within the same franchise, there can be substantial differences in the quality of food at different branches.

Ji Tou Chicken Rice exceeds what I would expect out of an ordinary kopitiam. The lads tending the stall were also friendly and ready to strike up a conversation. Don’t expect Boon Tong Kee standards from Ji Tou, but it is a stall I will return to if I am in Tampines or around the area.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to Ji Tou Chicken Rice. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!

The post Ji Tou Chicken Rice: Surprisingly Good Roasted Chicken! appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Tong Bee Kopitiam may be well known for being home to the famous Boon Kee Fishball Mee, but there’s a new tenant in the house called Sizzling K’pot, and they are selling aromatic claypot dishes!

Sizzling K’pot is a 100% Muslim owned hawker that specialises in claypot dishes. The stall is run by Anuar, who left his full time job to pursue his passion for cooking. He shared that Sizzling K’pot is his first venture into the food and beverage industry following his previous job in a design firm.

The stall has two menus- breakfast and lunch. Breakfast items include homemade lontong ($3.50) and mee soto ($3.50). It is only during lunch time that they start firing up the gas burners, and preparing the various claypot dishes to feed the hungry lunch time crowd.

Anuar shared that their signature dish would be their Claypot Asam Pedas with red snapper ($5.50). Like their claypot curry, each order is served with a side of white rice and papadum, making it a complete meal.

The Assam pedas may appear extremely spicy with its deep red colour, but it really is not. Instead, the distinct tartness of the Assam shines through and pairs beautifully with the natural sweetness of the fish.

The Claypot Curry ($5/$5.50) served at Sizzling K’pot is rather different. The gravy is thinner in consistency than the usual creamy variations but not to fret as the flavour is still robust and piquant. 

The curry sauce tasted similar to their Assasm pedas sauce and personally we felt that the “lemak” taste was lacking in the former. Maybe more coconut milk would have done the trick!

For the Assam pedas and curry sauce, Anuar shared that they are his family recipes, which makes the dishes here so unique. He quipped: “The sauces are well liked by my family, and so I wanted to share this with others too.”

If you are not a fan of spicy food, the hawker stall also offers Claypot Chicken Rice ($4). Although the well-seasoned rice was flavourful and coated evenly with black sauce, we felt that it was a little too watery and it didn’t have the crispy charred base that was characteristic of claypot rice. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the well marinated and juicy chicken meat.

Although Tong Bee Kopitiam may not be the most accessible (it’s a 10 minute walk from the main road), it is still worth a visit for some affordable and halal claypot dishes!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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With the recent spike in the number of young generation hawkers, it seems that our endangered hawker culture is safe for now. Cheng Fa Shou Shi 成发熟食 may be a brand that’s familiar to those who frequented the now defunct wet market and hawker centre at Hougang Avenue 7. It is currently run by a third generation young hawker, Eu Siang under a new name: Xiang Zai Prawn Noodle 祥仔蝦面.

Opened in late March this year, the stall is currently located at Ang Mo Kio avenue 4. On why he wanted to start a hawker stall, the ex-air force specialist shared that he had always wanted to go into the food and beverage industry, and starting out as a hawker was the most viable option for him.

The 30-year-old recounts his childhood, when he would help out at his grandmother’s stall with the serving of noodles to customers, and the peeling of prawn shells. It was a tiring process, but he did enjoy himself. Now, he is reliving his childhood memories as he runs Xiang Zai Prawn Noodle.

The stall focuses mainly on hae mee, but has other items as well, such as Clam Noodle ($4), Pork Rib Noodle ($4), as well as Pig Tail Noodle ($4). All the noodles share the same broth, which is the basis to a tasty prawn noodle dish.

Ah Siang, which is what most people call him, shares that he boils his broth for 2 hours. What goes into his broth is a secret, but a generous portion of the usual ingredients, such as prawn shells and pork bones are definitely included.

The hearty broth is indeed tasty. It isn’t overly thick or cloying and has a natural sweetness from the prawn shells. The dark brown broth isn’t overly fishy or peppery, which makes it very smooth to swallow.

We tried the Prawn Noodle (w) Clam ($5), which came with a generous portion of fresh seafood. Ah Siang mentioned that he uses fresh seafood delivered directly from the fishery port. Although the freshness of the seafood was unquestionable, we felt that the prawns were a little dry and overcooked.

We also enjoyed the sambal chilli Ah Siang uses in his dry noodles, such as the Prawn Noodle (w) Pork Ribs ($5). The flavours of the sambal isn’t overly complex. You get your savouriness and a lot of heat. It delivers what it is meant to taste like, without any excess flavours.

I think it is extremely heart-warming to see that Ah Siang is making an effort to continue his grandmother’s legacy. Working as a hawker is definitely not the easiest path, but with Ah Siang’s determination and time-tested recipe, we’re rooting for his success.

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! You may also want to check out our articles on Ah Pang Seafood which serves remarkable steamboat, or Chinatown Special, a stall in Chinatown that only sells fried rice!

The post Xiang Zai Prawn Noodle – Third Gen Hae Mee with Time Tested Recipe! appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Remember that lady in Taiwan who appeared in the news for holding on to her pau for dear life as she braved the storm? Well, you will not have to do that here at Waraporn Salapao because it offers a safe space that will protect your paos from the harshest of weathers in Bangkok, Thailand.

Famous for their homemade steamed buns, Waraporn Salapao began as a small steamed bun shop on the Nang Lerng Neighbourhood in 1992. Currently, there are more than 70 branches across Bangkok. Recommended by our local Thai guide driver, team Tam Chiak visited the original Waraporn Salapao branch.

The shop is recognisable by its red and white sign illustrating a steamed bun, so look out for that when you traverse the streets to find this eatery. Its interior resembles a somewhat modern day dim sum house that comfortably sits about 20 people.

True enough, the white buns were steamed to a soft and pillowy texture. Their steamed buns were all made in-house as well, so you are guaranteed quality buns which taste like heaven. Pair the bun with the variety of fillings offered in the shop and you’ll fall straight into Pao-radise! Buns like this are always a delight to have with a cup of tea, or in this case, a cup of milky Cha Yen. 

Available ONLY at Waraporn in the whole of Bangkok is the Green Curry with Chicken Bun (22 Baht), which was recommended by our driver. To our dismay, it ran out of stock. If that happens, you can still order the Green Curry with Chicken served with Buns (50baht for small, 90 baht for large). While the former supposedly has green curry chicken filled within its pillowy case, the latter has a bowl of green curry chicken served alongside three (or more) steamed buns. Fragrant as it was, the green curry wasn’t as thick as I liked it to be. It delivered an enjoyable spicy kick that left as quickly as it entered our mouths. It’s herb-y notes melded well with the soft buns. As for the chicken, it was pretty mediocre though.

The Ground Pork Bun (22Baht) resembles that of our big pao, albeit having a drier meat filling. There’s a slight peppery taste to the meat. You’ll find a quarter of an egg inside too. Nothing too fancy, but this pao is a good option to have for a fuss-free afternoon snack.

What is interesting here is the Pandan Paste Served with Buns (50 baht). The custard-like texture on the pandan paste is smooth and fragrant, but it gets rather cloying after repeatedly dipping your buns in. Underlying the paste is a surprisingly subtle tea undertone, which pairs excellently with the cup of cha yen (35 baht) which doesn’t taste as sweet as it sounds. Best to share the pandan paste with a group of friends!

If you’re craving for a delicious, convenient delicatessen while exploring Bangkok, why not make a short visit to Waraporn? They will definitely make your afternoons in Bangkok a bit better.

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to Waraporn Salapao. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!

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Once in a blue moon, my mom will get the strongest cravings for the beef hor fun at Changi Village Market and Food Centre. Being a hardcore Westie, I would dread the arduous journey all the way to the other side of Singapore for just a mere plate of hor fun. But once the steaming plate of gooey goodness is set in front of me, all my complaints always magically vanish.

Wong Hing Kitchenette serves up Cantonese-style zi char in a hawker centre setting — a rare sight in Singapore’s foodscape. Their menu comprises popular Cantonese dishes. Highlights include the signature Fried Mee with Bitter Gourd and Pork Ribs ($4.80), Bean Sauce Beef Hor Fun ($5) and Fried Ee Mee ($5.50). We ordered the first two dishes.

Although I have patronised Wong Hing multiple times, this is the first time that I’ve tried their signature Fried Mee with Bitter Gourd and Pork Ribs. The dish consists of crispy ee mian drizzled with thick brown gravy, bitter gourd slices and chunks of pork ribs. There was a crunch in every bite of the crispy noodles as the gravy had not fully softened it yet. Wait a little longer and the familiar ee mian we know emerges, bringing with it a unique fried fragrance. I am not a fan of pork ribs but there was an abundance of them in Wong Hing’s fried mee, with most having a good mix of lean meat and soft bone, and some being particularly fatty and delicious.

The Bean Sauce Beef Hor Fun is the dish that I repeatedly return to Changi for. Wong Hing stir fries their slippery hor fun in gooey brown gravy and tender slices of beef. Made to order, this hearty hor fun never fails to satisfy. The most important component of the dish is the gravy which sets the flavour. For Wong Hing, the hor fun’s texture was enhanced by their lip-smacking bean sauce which bore a hint of pepper, with both elements complementing each other in perfect harmony. The beef was much more tender as compared to the chunky pork ribs, making it less intimidating to finish. However, the standards of Wong Hing tend to be inconsistent, with the hor fun being saltier on some days.

The outstanding feature about Wong Hing is probably the use of bitter gourd in their dishes. In zi char, oil is frequently used to stir fry dishes at high temperatures to achieve wok hei. Many hearty dishes, thus, border on greasiness and that is where the bitter gourd plays a pivotal role in balancing out the greasiness. 

I prefer hor fun as it usually carries more gravy, and meant more opportunities for “slurping”. But because of the hor fun’s thickness, some may find it overwhelming to finish the gigantic plate at one go. I recommend adding some green chili for a refreshing sweetness and extra crunch! The crispy ee mian is likely to be the more popular dish.

Wong Hing Kitchenette has always been a part of my life and I have seen it transformed over the years from when its zi char pricing started at $3.80. Perhaps it is the far-away location that attracts me, or their value-for-money portions. Whatever it is, a good plate of beef hor fun is always worth travelling for. 

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to Wong Hing Kitchenette. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! You may want to check out our article on Casper Seafood, a zi char eatery in Whampoa!

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When someone asks me about carrot cake, it’s important for me to clarify with them which kind they’re talking about. Is it the rich, creamy and sweet Western carrot cake, or is it our local hawker delight, which can be black (with dark soy sauce) or white (without soy sauce)? After my trip to He Zhong Carrot Cake, I now have a fourth classification of carrot cake. This carrot cake stall isn’t similar to any typical fried carrot cake stall in a hawker centre.

This family-run carrot cake stall has been in Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre since 1973. He Zhong Carrot Cake is currently run by Mr Teo Boon Kuang, who is 57 years old. His daughter, Alberta Teo, 29, plans to take over the stall to carry on the family business.

Why are they different, you might ask. First of all, this stall only does white carrot cake. Secondly, the carrot cake comes in big and chunky pieces, unlike the usual flat pancake style!

On why the stall only sells white carrot cake, the owners revealed that the founder of the stall, Mr Teo’s father, just wanted to sell white carrot cake. Sometimes, the reasons can be as simple and straightforward as such!

These springy chunks of goodness are very flavourful, with a strong garlicky aroma and fragrance of fish sauce. The generous amount of chai poh studded throughout the cake gives a sweetness that complements the savouriness perfectly.

The relatively large pieces of kueh are glued together by an ample amount of egg. The combination of a well charred and crispy exterior, and a springy and eggy interior, makes this carrot cake so addictive!

Another thing that I like about the carrot cake here is that the stall makes their own kueh, according to their own special recipe, daily. You can see it from the piles of stainless steel trays that sit beside the wok, where each piece of kueh is cut into blocks, before being transferred over to the wok. The pieces of kueh have a good bite to them and are not overly soft.

I tried both the fried carrot cakes — with and without chilli — and definitely preferred the former. The homemade chilli sauce, which is smeared all over the top of the well-charred carrot cake prior to serving, lends a delightful fragrance and delicate spice to the carrot cake.

The carrot cake is very affordable, with the smallest portion starting at just $2.50.

Many have reported that they have to queue for a long time for the carrot cake. Thankfully, when I arrived around 5.30pm on a weekday, there was no queue at all. 

The simple and old school signboard at He Zhong Carrot Cake exudes a sense of nostalgia, and it is a testament to the time-tested recipe that has sated many happy bellies for countless of years, and hopefully, for many more years to come!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! You may want to check out our article on Poh Cheu, a stall that sells traditional kuehs!

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Located at Toa Payoh Central is Hollin, a relatively new bubble tea shop. The brand originated from Taiwan, and has a few outlets in China as well.

The interior decor at Hollin is a sight to behold — pretty pastel pink walls, and a beautiful artificial flower display. The flowers are in different hues of blue and white, and is the perfect backdrop for photo-taking.

What’s special about Hollin is that they offer a different variety of pearls each day — Monday(bittersweet matcha pearls), Tuesday(rich cocoa pearls), Wednesday(palmy coconut pearls), Thursday(invigorating coffee pearls) Friday(roasty peanut pearls), Saturdays(lustrous black sesame pearls) and Sundays(fresh rock salt pearls) They offer honey white pearls daily, should you not be a fan of the pearls available that day.

The pearls at Hollin are all made in-house. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to witness the making of the pearls at ‘The Pearl Incubator’, which is located just beside the counter. The staff told us that they make the pearls in the morning daily, and will remake them when stock runs low.

We visited the outlet on a Friday and tried their roasty peanut pearls, which costs an additional $0.70 on top of the drink. We paired the peanut pearls with the HOLLIN Black Tea Latte (Medium: $3.20, Large: $4.20) with a 25% sugar level and less ice. The flavours of the black tea did come through, and there was a good amount of milk that did not overpower the astringent taste of the tea. I thought that the chewy pearls didn’t have much of a peanut taste, albeit a tad gritty(possibly from the presence of peanut bits).

We also tried their Honey Black Tea Latte (Medium: $4.20, Large: $5.20) with the honey white pearls. We couldn’t really taste the difference between the honey tea latte and the black tea latte, and the only difference in taste came from the pearls. The honey pearls were sweeter, softer and springier, and had that lovely honey flavour.

The store also has a line of Rock Salt Macchiatos that come in different tea variations. There’s black tea (Medium: $3.20, Large: $4.20), matcha (Medium: $4.20, Large: $5.20) and even caramel tea (Medium: $4.20, Large: $5.20)! We tried the matcha version, and we felt that there was a severe lack of matcha flavours in the drink. The foam on top was salty and creamy, but the matcha macchiato underneath tasted very similar to the other black teas that we had.

While we felt that the teas could definitely use some work, we appreciated the fact that a different version of pearls is available daily. I’m looking forward to trying their bittersweet matcha pearls, which are only available on Mondays!

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! You may want to check out our article on Shi Zhen Fish Soup which serves steamed grouper in a tray or Haru Singapore, which serves unique Japanese-Korean fusion grain bowls!

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Located in Waterway Point, Guschlbauer is an Austrian bakery that has been around for almost a century. The bakery was first started in 1919, and has since opened franchise outlets in Toronto, Seoul, Hong Kong, and now, Singapore.

Guschlbauer offers a variety of baked goods such as cream puffs, and cheese tarts. Their bestselling and most famous item is the Signature Austrian Cheese Quarter Buns. Currently, the Singapore outlet only has the cheese quarter buns, toasts and Kissling for sale.

The cheese quarter buns come in four different flavours, and each bun retails at $5.80. The salesperson shared that even though the cream cheese is stuffed into the bread in the store, the bread is made in a central kitchen.

The original bun, which is filled with a thick and decadent cream cheese, is undoubtedly the most popular item here. The buns taste better when they’re warm, as expected. It’s a quick step, simply microwave the buns for about 10 seconds on medium-high heat. When it was warm, the bread was softer, and the milky fragrance of the cheese seemed to be more distinct.

The tiramisu bun boasted a very soft bread, and the combination of coffee and cheese was heavenly.

Although the tiramisu flavoured bun was good, the matcha bun fell a little short of expectations. We would have loved for a stronger matcha flavour.

If you’re wondering why these cream cheese buns carry such a hefty price tag, it’s most probably because of the ingredients used. The brand uses only premium Austrian ingredients, even down to the most basic ingredient, flour.

I also got their Kissling ($8.80), which is a croissant-donut hybrid. The Kisslings are flavoured with a garlic-herb butter. I placed the Kissling in the microwave oven for about 30 seconds on medium-high heat. This extra step does pay off. The garlic-herb spread melts into the bread and perfumes the Kissling with a sweet garlicky aroma. The heat helps with the texture of the Kissling too. Buttery, rich and definitely addictive!

If you love buns with a cream cheese stuffing, I’ll recommend that you give the buns here a go! The Kissling is a great purchase as it is quite large, and will make a wonderful breakfast for a family of four!

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! You may want to check out our article on Avorush if you want to enjoy healthy and yummy avocado toasts in town!

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9 Places in Singapore That Serve Superb Fried Chicken

What’s a snack that can never go wrong? Fried chicken! Although it isn’t the healthiest snack to have, fried chicken is a tantalising item that is loved by many. Crispy and succulent fried chicken is highly addictive, and definitely very hard to stay away from.

It’s probably not a good idea to indulge in fried chicken every day, but an occasional indulgence is a necessity!

We have sussed out nine places in Singapore where you can get yourself a cluckingly good fried chicken!

Ah Tan Wings

25-year-old Wee Yang’s har cheong gai is so well loved that the wings always run out way before the closing time. Go for the Atas Wing Meal ($4.90) which comprises four pieces of har cheong kai, rice and a sunny side up, or the Atas Cutlet Meal ($5.90) which comes with a har cheong cutlet instead of 4 wings (u.p: $1.60 each)

The wings are marinated for a minimum of 2 days to ensure that the meat fully absorbs the savoury har cheong marinade. Each crispy wing exudes a strong fragrance that will leave anyone lusting for more!

Eng Kee

If you’re a fan of chicken wings, you shouldn’t miss out on the ones offered at Eng Kee. Located along Commonwealth Drive, this economic bee hoon hawker stall has wowed many patrons with their mouth-watering chicken wings.

The chicken wings ($1.30/pc) here are fried to perfection — crisp exterior, thin layer of greasy fat and juicy, flavourful meat. You can have the chicken wings on their own, or have them as an accompaniment to the economic bee hoon ($0.80/plate), along with other dishes, such as long beans ($0.50/portion), otah ($1.20/pc) and ngoh hiang ($1.10).

Goldhill Family Restaurant

If you’re looking for a super affordable meal that consists of delicious fried chicken, look no further than Goldhill Family Restaurant.

For $2, you get a plate of rice, 2 vegetables and 1 chicken wing at this zhap chye png stall. How affordable is that?!

The chicken wings ($1/pc) here are fried in small batches, which ensures that every diner gets a piping hot crispy chicken wing. Although there isn’t a ton of batter covering the wing, there is still a good amount that ensures a loud crunch, before your teeth touches the greasy skin.

Hi Leskmi Nasi Lemak

Hi Leskmi Nasi Lemak sells Chinese-style nasi lemak. Diners are able to choose from 3 nasi lemak sets, or customise their own nasi lemak meal.

Although the chicken wings were on the drier side, the skin was still nicely crisp, and the meat well-seasoned. The homemade sambal complemented the chicken wings perfectly with its smoky sweetness and slight spicy kick.

Ponggol Nasi Lemak

Punggol Nasi Lemak is no stranger to long queues. They are especially known for their fried chicken wing, and drumstick, which are lightly seasoned. A crunchy exterior, and wonderfully succulent meat, what more can you ask for? The wings are a little greasy, but that shouldn’t stop you from savouring every bit of it!

The wings are so popular that almost every patron orders one, or two!

Salt

Unlike the other places in this listing, Salt doesn’t have chicken wings. Instead, their version of fried chicken is in a cutlet form!

The menu at Salt is rather lean. Diners either choose fried chicken cutlet, or the sous vide grilled chicken, to go with their pasta or fried rice.

The chicken cutlet had a beautiful golden brown skin, that was shatteringly crispy. Within it lies a tender and juicy piece of chicken thigh. The owners shared that they use their own flour mixture to achieve that flawless crisp. 

Tony Cafe

Tucked within Adelphi Shopping Centre is Tony Café, a no-frills eatery that sells zhap chye png. What’s so special about this place is that on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, Tony Café sells their own rendition of fried chicken wings!

The owner, Shirley, shared that their recipe is adapted from the corona chicken recipe, which explains how the well-cooked chicken’s beautiful golden brown exterior. The chicken wings were all well-seasoned, and boasted tender and succulent flesh that was highly addictive!

Two Wings

Two Wings, which started out as a hawker stall in Bukit Merah, has grown into a chicken wing empire. The brand currently has two outlets, one at Timbre+ and the other at Essen At The Pinnacle.

The wings($8.90/6 pieces) which are sourced from Brazil, as they are supposed to be fattier and meatier, are all fried upon order. This ensures that every customer gets a freshly fried and crispy wing. 3 different flavours — salted egg yolk, chilli crab, and the original heritage flavour— are available.

Yon Yan

Touted as the “Prime Minster Fried Chicken”, Yon Yan rose to fame after PM Lee braved a 30-minute queue for their fried chicken wings at its previous outlet in Redhill. The hawker stall has relocated to West Coast Market Square.

Although the stall sells economic bee hoon ($0.60/plate), it is famous for its fried chicken wings ($1.40/pc). The stall fries the chicken in small batches, which ensures that everyone gets piping hot fried chicken. These delicious chicken wings had a nice crisp exterior, encapsulating the juicy and moist chicken meat. Like with any deep-fried food, the greasiness was present, but not overwhelming.

And, that’s a wrap! Gather your troops and head to one, or more, of the places on our list to satisfy your craving for mouth-watering fried chicken! We sure know what we will be eating this weekend!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visits and paid its own meals at the stalls featured here.

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! You may also want to check out our article on 618 Sim Carrot Cake which serves delicious carrot cake with heaps of chye poh, or Kemono Chicken which offers delivery for its healthy and guilt-free roast chicken!

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Bak Kut Teh is a perennial favourite amongst Singaporeans and Malaysians. If you’re a fan of the Malaysian version, which serves the herbal variety of bak kut teh, you’re in luck! Situated in Midview City is ABC Herbal Claypot Bak Kut Teh, which delivers bowls of Malaysian-style bak kut teh. The owner, who comes from Malaysia, has been working in Singapore for over 6 years. “We were interested to bring a taste of Malaysian bak kut teh to Singaporeans,” shared the owner.

I’ve always preferred bak kut teh to be cooked over a charcoal fire, as I enjoy watching chefs control the blazing fire with an old-fashioned straw fan. The Herbal Claypot Bak Kut Teh ($5) here is prepared using a gas stove, so I didn’t get to see any intense fanning. The garlicky broth boasted a light herbal taste. However, I was expecting this Malaysian bak kut teh to deliver a much more robust herbal flavour. I thoroughly enjoyed the sweet tones of the broth’s aftertaste though. The pork ribs were decent, but not outstanding. Some ribs were tender, while some were tough. The delightful garlic-chilli mix will be able to save the tough ribs. The broth also came with pork intestines, enoki mushrooms and tau kee. I loved that the intestines were cleaned well. Portion-wise, each serving is definitely sufficient for one.

Since the stall specializes in Malaysian bak kut teh, we definitely had to order the Dry Bak Kut Teh ($6.50). Watching it being prepared right in front of eyes made us drool! A clay pot is placed over the fire, and ladies’ fingers and chilli are added. Shortly after, the cooked pork ribs are thrown in before the entire mix is doused in a sweet soya sauce. The beautifully caramelized pork ribs and charred spices in a sizzling clay pot will captivate you with just its aroma. Each pork rib carried a strong wok hei. The sauce could have been sweeter though. Thankfully, the light heat in the sauce made up for it. We suspected that this dish was overcooked during our visit.. Similar to the herbal clay pot version, the texture of the pork was pretty inconsistent. 

I was pretty surprised by the Sesame Oil Chicken ($4). While the ones I had in Malaysia usually come in a thicker and more flavourful sauce, the version here is different. The sauce was pretty watered–down and lacked that crucial sesame oil flavour. What you get is a watery gravy with a hint of ginger. Unfortunately, the chicken was not well-executed too. It took some effort to chow down the fibrous and stringy flesh. While the dishes can use some work, the portions are pretty generous. 

ABC Herbal Claypot Bak Kut Teh’s usage of clay pots definitely contributes to the authenticity of their dishes. However, there is still some room for improvement.

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to ABC Herbal Claypot Bak Kut Teh. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! Check out our article on what are the 14 dishes that fans of Korean food must try when at Patbingsoo!

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We visited Cheok Kee Boneless Braised Duck on a rainy Monday morning. The famous stall has received much media coverage in the last few years. Owner and chef, Mr Ong, told us that Cheok Kee has been opened for thirty years. Its first location was at Old Airport Road, the second at Jalan Eunos, and it’s currently located at Geylang Bahru Hawker Centre. Mr Ong shared that at the age of 19, he quit his old job at a nightclub in search of a more stable, long-term career. Mr Ong eventually learnt the art of braising duck from his ex-boss, a hawker who sold braised duck at an open-air food stall along the streets of Geylang Lorong 27 in 1974.

But Mr Ong’s hawker journey did not just begin after learning the ropes from his master. It took years of experimentation before he finally achieves the right balance of spices in Cheok Kee’s delicious braised gravy. He shared that in addition to a solid gravy, the next most important thing would be having good control over the stove fire when braising the ducks.

We ordered half a duck ($17) and it came with an assortment of nicely plated meat garnished with coriander. Cheok Kee’s gravy was on the sweeter side and complemented the tender slices of fatty duck perfectly. Mr Ong’s gravy draws heavily on the Guangdong-style of cooking as cornstarch is used to thicken the gravy. Cheok Kee uses Chai Ya (Lit Vegetable Duck) that weighs around 3 kg which has more succulent meat compared to the Ban Chai Ya, which is tougher.

Unfortunately, the rice was a tad disappointing. Cooked with braised broth instead of yam, the rice grains were harder and difficult to chew, giving the impression that it was not cooked well. 

On the other hand, Cheok Kee’s duck porridge ($3) was one of the best I have ever had. The gravy matched the gooey porridge superbly and made it extremely flavourful. Unlike most places that offer porridge that is too watery, Cheok Kee’s piping hot version has just the right consistency. This is the kind of breakfast I want to eat every day!

Moving on to the next key aspect of a delicious plate of duck rice — chilli sauce. Mr Ong told us that he experimented for two years before he finally created the right recipe. The homemade chilli sauce is made from a unique blend of chilli vinegar and sambal belacan. The chilli sauce was a little too spicy for me but it certainly went well with the duck rice. It was not particularly outstanding in any way, but it was satisfying, no less.

Cheok Kee’s business has always been good, attracting large crowds during lunchtime and even sizable queues during non-peak hours. When asked about future plans for expansion, Mr Ong replied that there is none at the moment, as it is difficult to hire employees to manage the stall.

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to Cheok Kee Boneless Braised Duck. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! You may also want to check out our article on Ah Nian Briased Duck Rice or He Ji Braised Duck Rice!

The post Cheok Kee Duck Rice – Famous Braised Duck at Geylang Bahru! appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Derived from the words ‘makan’ and ‘fashionista’, Makanista offers fun and trendy interpretations of familiar dishes. Located in Tampines Mall, Makanista opened its doors in April this year and currently houses four stalls — Prata & Desserts, Western, Chicken Rice and Yong Tau Foo. Makanista is in the midst of applying for Halal certification.

Prata & Desserts

This prata stall serves both traditional and speciality pratas.

We tried the Japanese-inspired Okonomiyaki prata ($7) which comprises shredded carrots and cabbage encased in a cheese and egg prata. The mix of mayonnaise, okonomiyaki sauce and bonito flakes was a winning combination. It closely resembled the actual savoury pancake. The fillings were generous, albeit a tad sweet from the mix of sauces, and the eye-catching presentation makes the prata extremely Instagram-worthy. This is arguably the only place on the island that sells such an interesting flavour of prata, truly reinventing the Japanese pancake to give it a unique identity.

We also tried the Mutton Prata Burger ($8.50), a hybrid between the all-time favourite Ramly burger and local murtabak. The mutton patty is seasoned with masala spice, curry powder and fresh cilantro, and wrapped together with sauteed onions and fried egg inside the crispy prata. The ensemble is then drizzled with mayonnaise and black pepper sauce. Despite their innovative efforts, the prata tasted no different from the conventional mutton prata. This is a safe choice for those who prefer familiar flavours. Due to its thin prata skin, the texture is more one-dimensional as compared to the usual pan-fried prata which is more doughy.

Other inventive pratas include Chicken Luncheon & Floss ($8.50), Special Tandoori Chicken ($8.50) and Peanut Butter and Jam ($2.80). The stall is also currently having a Prata Breakfast promotion from 8am to 11am where Prata Set 1 (2 plain prata and 1 drink) retails at $3.50 (UP. $4.30) and Prata Set 2 (1 plain prata, 1 egg and 1 drink) retails at $3.90 (UP. $5.60).

Western

The signature Beef Hamburg & Fries ($10.90) combines hamburg steak, poutine (a Canadian dish consisting of fries and cheese chunks topped with brown gravy), fried egg, black pepper, and truffle cheese sauce together. This dish gives you the best of both worlds — a thick beef patty for a more substantial meal, and lightly salted fries with sinful cheese sauce for the perfect snack. Atas fries usually comes in just one sauce, and we all know how tough it can be to choose, so the fries here are great for the indecisive. The fried egg atop the patty is just the icing on the cake. Cut open the egg and let its runny yolk run all over the beef patty and fries. Mix everything together and prepare yourself for an explosion of flavours in your mouth!

Chicken Rice

We are all familiar with our national dish, chicken rice. Apart from having Hainanese Chicken Rice ($5.50) and Signature Roasted Chicken Rice ($5.50), this stall delivers a wicked twist to the humble rice with their Mala Chicken Rice ($5.80). The chef attempts to mimic the mala taste by concocting a thick red spicy paste made from chilli, garlic, black vinegar, oil and house-made sweet sauce. The chilli paste is then laid on a sizeable but dry portion of poached chicken. Be warned, ash the chef as very successfully captured the intense mala spiciness and the chilli is capable of setting your tongue on fire. However, the numbness and fragrance of mala was missing due to the absence of Sichuan peppercorn. Unless you are a fervent mala fan who requires potent doses of spiciness, I’ll say that the traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice is what you should go for.

Yong Tau Foo

Nothing evokes comfort food like pieces of tau kwa, fried fritters and vegetables in a bowl of soothing hot soup. What differentiates this stall from the typical Yong Tau Foo stalls is their use of unusual soup bases such as Soto Ayam, Mee Siam, Satay and Curry ($7.50 each). My personal favourite would be the Mee Siam as it brought a sweet spicy tang to the Yong Tau Foo and made it delightfully appetising. It came as a pleasant surprise that Yong Tau Foo and Mee Siam would be a perfect match! The aromatic Curry carried a fragrant coconut hint while the ground peanuts in the Satay added a grainy texture and addictive indulgence to the otherwise clear tasting soup. I felt that the Soto Ayam was the weakest of the three, with the broth having little flavour apart from mere saltiness. This stall promises a refreshing change from the normal Yong Tau Foo!

Overall, Makanista is a strong entrant to the local F&B scene. Its concept of livening up well-known hawker fare is certainly exciting and bound to attract the hipster younger crowd.

Note: This is an invited tasting.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to Makanista. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! You may also want to check out our article on Raimah Eating House, a great hideout for halal western food in Kembangan!

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Thanks to Facebook, we came to know of this obscure Malay stall, Tabuk Soto and Nasi Ambeng, selling sedap nasi ambeng in Loyang Point. The Facebook post shared that the stall is owned by a Malay macik who whips up great ayam lemak chilli padi but business has been poor due to the stall’s inconvenient location. Curious, we headed to Pasir Ris East to try the food for ourselves.

We ordered the signature Ayam Lemak Chilli Padi Set ($5.50) which was highly recommended by the Facebook user. The Ayam Lemak Chilli Padi, or Chicken in Coconut Cream with Bird’s Eye Chilli, came with a whole chicken drumstick, tempeh, sambal telur, potato cutlet and rich yellow curry.

The drumstick was well marinated, and tender with strips of meat peeling off the bone easily.

The sambal telur and soggy potato cutlet were nothing to shout about. The tempeh was arguably the most disappointing part of the meal as the green beans were extremely tough and bland.

Another nasi ambeng, the Beef Rendang Set ($6) had the exact same ingredients as the Ayam Lemak, just that the chicken drumstick is now replaced with generous beef chunks suffused with coconut milk and ground spices. I felt that the beef was on the dry side, and slightly chewy. The rendang gravy was strong in its coconut aroma and packed a fiery punch. The spice level is definitely not for the faint-hearted!

So far, the supposed main highlights of the dish have been average at best. But wait, I am forgetting the most important part of the dish — the curry. To me, the curry can either make or break a dish. Even if the other ingredients have been lacklustre, a good curry can give the dish character and ultimately salvage it. The saving grace was definitely the yellow curry which was fragrant, rich and addictively spicy. Unlike the thicker curries found in Chinese cuisine, the gravy was rather thin, but it was so flavourful that it could make anything taste good. The yellow curry was also significantly less spicy than that of the beef rendang, making it fantastic for someone who can’t really handle spicy food, like me.

Despite a real solid curry, Tabuk Soto and Nasi Ambeng has some perfecting to do. Overall, Tabuk can be considered an above average joint for affordable Malay food.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to Tabuk. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!

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Earlier this year, Master Chicken Rice debuted on Buzzing Hawkers as one of the struggling stalls that sought help from celebrity mentor chefs to rescue their businesses. We recently checked in with the owner of Master Chicken Rice, Jason, to see how the stall was faring a few months after changing its recipe to the new improved recipe that was developed on the show.

Jason is no greenhorn to the chicken rice business. He apprenticed at Tong Fong Fatt for sixteen years before leaving to work at various chicken rice stalls. He then decided to try his hand at entrepreneurship and give running his own business a shot, eventually opening Master Chicken Rice at Kim Keat Palm Food Centre three years ago. We ordered Half Chicken which came with a mix of roasted and steamed chicken ($11).

Let’s start with the chicken first. The steamed chicken was mostly tender and smooth even though it lacked depth in taste.

Similarly, the roasted chicken nailed the basic components of having a crispy skin and juicy meat but was missing that oomph. Jason told us that Master Chicken practises the conventional method of preparing the chicken by first poaching the chicken before submerging it in an ice bath to achieve that jelly-like layer of skin.

An important feature of chicken rice lies in having a delicious bowl of rice. The rice grains should be fragrant and distinct, clearly separated for a nice bite to complement the tenderness of chicken. Sadly, Master Chicken was unable to attain this gold standard despite using a reputable brand of rice. This was because in order to achieve the ‘li li fen ming’ effect, old grains have to be used instead of younger ones. Jason shared that older, more established chicken rice brands tend to monopolize the demand for ‘old grains’ and have more bargaining power compared to newcomers like Master Chicken. Nonetheless, Jason uses a mix of old and new grains to go as close to the li li fen ming effect as possible. The rice from Master Chicken is therefore softer and have lesser mouth-feel while still managing to retain its flavour. Jason also revealed that he used to cook the rice with rock sugar added into the chicken stock. However, after participating in Buzzing Hawker, Chef Robin explained that the addition of more sugar to the already starchy rice would only make the dish unnecessarily sweeter, and Jason had followed the advice of his mentor ever since.

For the various sauces, Jason shared that he improved on the chicken gravy and ginger sauce from Chef Robin’s recipe while the chilli remained his very own. Master Chicken uses hua diao wine, chicken stock and soya sauce from a well-established household brand in its chicken gravy. Indeed, the gravy is slightly more fragrant than usual despite the higher cost of production.The ginger sauce comprises both lao jiang and zi jiang for an extra spicy kick, with a dash of extra hua diao wine. I found the ginger sauce to be overly watery and subpar. Overall, the sauces were an adequate companion to the chicken rice but did not leave much of an impression.

We observed Jason while he was preparing the chicken and wondered why he lightly tapped the chicken with the back of his knife when he was chopping it up. Jason explained that the common misconception people have of ‘da bian’ was so that the chicken rice stall owners could scrimp on cost and give less chicken by making the chicken slices look fuller and more generous in portion. Actually, the action of ‘da bian’ is to tenderise the chicken and make the slabs of meat taste less heavy.

With multiple chicken rice stalls in just one hawker centre and a Dong Fong Fatt outlet several stall fronts down, Master Chicken has to continually improve and innovate their menu to differentiate themselves from the rest. Jason shared that the stall has plans to expand into selling curry chicken mee as a response to the stiff competition. We wish Master Chicken Rice all the best!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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