In a head-to-head competition between Chinese 白萝卜 and Korean 무, which radish will reign supreme?
Continue readingTag: Chinese Food
Nanyang Chinese fusion cuisine done right at Famous Treasure
There’s an abundance of Chinese restaurants in Singapore, many of which specialise in specific regional cuisine such as Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien, Sichuan, Hakka etc. But even though Famous Treasure is also a Chinese restaurant, they don’t quite fit the mold.
Yes, they have Cantonese roast meats on their menu and serve traditional Teochew orh nee dessert, but what makes them special are their well-executed Nanyang (南洋) dishes, many of which you’d typically find at neighbourhood tze char stalls.
Continue readingOld school Hainanese Western food at Prince Coffee House
The oxtail stew arrived next, with chunky pieces of soft and beefy meat drenched in brown sauce and accompanied by steamed potatoes and vegetables. Given the fall-off-the-(tail)bone-ness of the meat, it was obvious that it was slow-cooked for many many hours. The sides were, as expected, boiled to death but were still delicious with the slightly peppery brown sauce. Because a good brown sauce makes anything taste good.
Continue readingHotpot at home using ingredients from Don Don Donki
To officially put our new induction cooker into service, we headed down to Don Don Donki at Orchard Central and picked up some fresh meats and vegetables for a simple home hotpot.
Continue readingSurfer dudes make the best seafood BBQ
We were glad that the walk back to the hotel was relatively long, as it gave us time to slowly digest the huge meal. The next time we’re back in Kaohsiung, we will definitely return.
Until then, at least we can enjoy the livestreams that they put out regularly on Facebook. Nothing much happens during those sessions, but it’s strangely calming to watch a surfer dude patiently cook seafood over red hot coals for one and a half hours.
Continue readingRojak from the heartlands of Singapore
Abdhus Salam is a second generation Indian rojak hawker with a stall named after him.
Continue readingSeven vegetables on the seventh day of the Chinese New Year
The seventh day of the Chinese New Year is known as 人日. It’s traditional to have lo hei (捞鱼生) on that day, but for Teochew people, it’s also the day that they cook seven vegetables (七样菜 or 七样羹).
Continue readingThe adorable old folks at Poh Guan Cake House
ME (turns to SHOP AUNTIE #2 and asks a question that probably no one has ever dared to ask before): “Auntie, 有什么东西不好吃的吗?”
If they can’t go to the crabs, then the crabs will have to come to them
The Old Folks are very particular about their crabs and have strict criteria on which to choose and how they should be prepared.
First, the crabs must be alive and fresh, which is usually the case in Singapore and not a problem.
Second, the size should be around 1kg — too small and it’s not worth the effort; too large and the meat would be too stringy.
Third, whenever possible, choose pregnant female crabs for maximum roe, which unfortunately weren’t available that day.
Fourth and finally, when cooking, do not, I repeat, do not, deep fry the crabs first. Most stalls do that to speed up the process, but it affects the final texture and causes the meat to stick to the shell.
Continue readingAnother duck was harmed in the making of this post
We thought that we wouldn’t be able to finish the entire duck, and were indeed struggling around the three-quarter mark. But we decided to press on and managed to wipe out the whole bird, leaving only its lonely head.
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