Chef Chik : Cantonese-style dishes at hawker price

Chef Chik Ka Chung, came from Hong Kong in the 90s to work as a Cantonese chef in different hotels including as an Executive Chef at Wan Hao Cantonese restaurant in Marriot Tang Plaza Hotel before starting this hawker stall with his wife in 2012. He is concentrating on Cantonese-style cooking like the double-boiled soups, claypot rice, and steamed dishes as well as some off-menu items depending on what he gets from the wet market. 

We ordered the Claypot Sausage Chicken Rice ($8), Black Fungus Steamed Chicken ($8), Salted Fish Pork Patty ($3.50) and Lotus Root Dried Oyster Pork Ribs Soup ($4.50) with a small bowl of rice. 

The Claypot Sausage Chicken Rice is done using gas instead of a charcoal fire, it was still aromatic with a nice crispy crust right below the rice. It was served with ingredients like Chinese sausage, liver sausage, cured pork belly, salted fish, chicken, and bok choy. It tasted quite similar to those that I had eaten in Hong Kong. 

The Black Fungus Steamed Chicken is a comforting dish. The chicken was tender and smooth doused in soy sauce, served together with soft black fungus and topped with chopped spring onions. I enjoyed eating this and it went well with rice. My dining companion did not like it as much though. 

Salted Fish Pork Patty tasted homely and that is the reason why I ordered a bowl of rice. The meat was finely chopped to have better textural contrast. The only taste of salted fish was from that small piece placed on top of the patty. My dining companion said, "I mashed the salted fish to mix it with the minced meat for more flavor. The choice of fattier meat has given it a softer texture."

The Lotus Root Dried Oyster Pork Ribs Soup was a pleasant surprise. My dining companion started looking for the dried oyster and there were 2 in total. It reminded me of those double-boiled soups that I had in Hong Kong. 

The dried oyster is not a common ingredient to be found in these soups offer by the hawker stalls here. It usually have a deeper, stronger and earthy flavor and not to everyone's taste but it has given it an extra flavor and not as monotonous as compared to most of the others. 

We were during lunch on Friday but the waiting time was a short one.

CHEF CHIK

14 Haig Road #01-36 Haig Road Food Centre SINGAPORE 430014

Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 7.30 pm (Closed on Sundays and Mondays)/

Claypot & Cooked Food Kitchen : Cheap & Good Cantonese style cze char

This humble stall that does not even have a name is a hidden gem amongst the other popular food stalls at Chinatown Complex Food Centre. Uncle Hong (洪哥), the owner cum chef, has about 40 years of culinary experiences. He was trained under Chef Tham Mui Kam, one of the legendary Four Heavenly Kings that specialized in Cantonese Cuisine before starting his stall at Silat and moving to Chinatown Complex Food Centre much later. He is still manning the stall with his wife. The menu is quite extensive and there are also a few dishes that are off the menu like Glutinous Rice Chicken (Lo Mai Kai). Most of the dishes are served in the claypot.

There were already some of the regular customers seated at the tables near to the stall waiting for their orders when I was there. I stood in front of the stall for a few minutes, the elderly auntie was busy getting those freshly out of the wok dishes to be served. I waited for a while before telling her that I want to order. I wanted to order Deep Fried Salt and Pepper Squid but was told it is not available. I tried ordering Salted Fish Minced Chicken ($7) and Prawn Paste Chicken ($8) with 2 bowls of rice ($0.50 each). I wanted to try their signature Claypot Pork Liver but did not order as my dining companion does not eat it. I left my table number with her.

While waiting, I went to order the glutinous rice from the stall right at the corner. The friendly uncle there asked me to take the late plate of yam cake as well. I brought it back to our table and told my dining companion to eat these while waiting. We waited for about 45 minutes before it was served to our table.

Salted Fish Minced Chicken ($7) was a pleasant surprise. Though this is a simple dish but was perfectly executed. You could actually taste bits of salted fish amongst the chicken, tofu, onions, green pepper, and chilli. It went really well with rice. The homely taste is quite memorable. Prawn Paste Chicken ($8) is my favorite dish to order at different cze char places. It was quite a big portion for $8 and chicken parts were used instead of the usual chicken wings. My dining companion tasted and said, "This is very good. I would think it is one of the better ones. Those chicken pieces were flavorful and deep-fried for the desired crispiness."

I was told that the uncle can be temperamental and might close the stall earlier depending on his mood. He is one of those pioneer hawkers left but not for much longer before he retires. He reminded me of the late Uncle Hai Zai (虾叔) of Mitzi (美食之家) and Master Tang that have already passed on. This should that kind of hawker stall that truly deserved to be awarded a Michelin-star. Again, for a self reason, I am hoping that Michelin will never find this stall.

I was surprised to see the stall has already opened at 10.30 am when I went back to try the Claypot Pig Liver and I ordered a bowl of rice to go with it. I pointed to the corner of the long table in front of the stall when I was asked for the table number. I went to get the iced coffee from the stall behind and went to wait at that table. I waited for less than 5 minutes before it was served.

Those slices of liver were of the right thickness and size, nicely stir-fried with ginger, spring onion, and garlic. The texture of liver was tender, not overly powdery and not gamey. It was served sizzling hot in the claypot, aromatic with a slight smokiness and the tenderness remained throughout the meal. The tasty gravy went well with the rice. It is cheap and good for just $8, the same dish is for $15 over at Keng Eng Kee Seafood, it is their signature dish too.

CLAYPOT & COOKED FOOD KITCHEN

335 Smith Street #02-83 Chinatown Complex Food Centre SINGAPORE 050335

Operating Hours: 10.30 am to 6.30 pm (Closed on Saturdays & Sundays)

名厨车老板 : Beef Brisket Noodle, must-try

This Hong Kong eatery is located at Casuarina, along Sembawang Road. The boss is originated from Hong Kong and he is always ready to greet his customers, chatting with them in his strong Cantonese accent Chinese. It is like the usual Cha Chaan Teng in Hong Kong as they serve mostly the Cantonese fare. A lady came over to take our orders upon seated. Their Beef Brisket Noodle ($5) is a must-try which I ordered together with their Wanton Noodle ($4.50), Carrot Cake ($4) and Chee Cheong Fun ($4). 

The Beef Brisket Noodle consists of a good portion of nicely cooked thin noodles with a few chunks of braised beef brisket with just a piece of tendon. The beef was quite lean but rather soft and flavorful. This is still one of the best Beef Brisket Noodle that I have tasted in Singapore. The soup that came along has got a distinct dried shrimp flavor like those that I tasted in Hong Kong. 

I have recently tasted a really good Beef Brisket Noodle from Lao Jie Fang Braised Beef Noodles at Mei Chin Food Centre. I also got to try the same dish from One Mouth Noodle at Yishun Park Hawker Centre which I did not quite like it. 

The Wanton Noodle was good though not amongst the best that I had tried. It was served with a few slices of char siew and 3 pieces of wanton. The char siew was slightly tough but the wanton was good, the tasty filling was in a thin layer of wrapper. My dining companion said, "I would come back for just the wanton."

My dining companion did not like the carrot cake though. He said, "I could taste a bit of OX sauce in it but the texture was too mushy,  it will be nicer if it is firmer."

The Chee Cheong Fun was unexpectedly good. It was steamed then pan-fried before serving it in a pool of sauce, garnished with sesame seeds and chopped spring onion. There are 3 types of fillings for selection, the char siew, the prawn and also the filling. We ordered the char siew and we enjoyed it. 

名厨车老板

134 Casuarina Road SINGAPORE 579522

Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 12.00 am

Mitzi 美食之家 : It is still the Best!

Mitzi 美食之家 used to be along Tras Street in Tanjong Pagar that closed down about 2 years ago due to shortage of manpower and rental hike. Uncle Hai Zai (虾叔), 76, the main chef and owner, is now back with a humble hawker stall at Chinatown Complex Food Centre serving comforting Zi Char dishes at a much lower price. 

We were there when they were just about to close for their afternoon break. Uncle Hai Zai was busy cooking all the dishes all by himself. Given his age, that is really amazing. I decided to go with Stir-fry Beef with Ginger and Spring Onion ($10) and Steamed Fish Head with Bean Sauce ($13) to go with rice.

The Stir-fry Beef with Ginger and Spring Onion came first. It was served in a generous portion with quite a handful of beef slices. The texture of those sliced beef was tender and flavorful though slightly saltish but the saltiness was just right to go with rice. It might be a rather simple dish but it still required a certain level of skills to done it well. I am very much impressed in this instance. 

The Steamed Fish Head with Bean Sauce came right after. The fish head was quite a big one, much bigger than the other stalls serving the same dish in this food centre. Though the Song Fish is used to prepare this dish but the usual mud taste was not detected as it tasted really fresh. The sauce was well-balanced and tasted slightly different than the other stalls.

I have gotten news that Uncle Hai Zai has been pondering over the thoughts of taking a break as it has been rather tiring for him. Uncle Hai Zai is very particular of the consistence of his standard as he would rather keep the customers waiting during the peak period and still insisted to serve the best. 

I have to go back soon to try some of his other signature dishes when he is still around. 

UPDATED [25 October 2014]: Uncle is taking a break indefinitely, though he has the intention to come back but not likely to be back to his current location. 

MITZI 美食之家

Block 335 Smith Street Chinatown Complex Food Centre #01-153 Singapore 050335

Operating Hours: 11:00 am to 2.30 pm / 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Lunch at YUET LOY, Chinatown

This humble looking Cantonese style Tze Cha stall could easily been overlooked if not because of the few good reviews floating around the internet. It just gotten me to be really curious and it seems to be a definitely must try stall for a foodie like myself.

I was there for a late lunch just before they closed at 2.30 pm for their afternoon break. I ordered few of their signature dishes like the Golden Tofu ($4.50), Steamed Chicken with Salted Fish ($11.00)and Fried Beef Horfun ($6.00). I given my table number. The friendly female assistant suggested that we sit at the table right in front of the stall. She even volunteered to 'chope' the table with bowls, chopsticks and spoons first while i go over to the table to fetch my lunch partner over. She informed that i might have to wait for a while while they prepared a take away order. I expected it to be longer but the first dish came at about 15 minutes.

Golden Tofu ($4.50)[. This is one of their signature dishes strongly recommended by a few reviewers. The tofu is homemade. It was steamed and shaped into the bite sized pieces to resemble the look of a golden coin then coated with egg yolk to have it deep fried once more to achieve the delightful texture. It was silky smooth deep within with a distinctive eggy taste and slightly crispy if you eat upon it served. It came in 6 pieces in a pool of savory gravy with a handful of crunchy beansprouts. It was a comforting dish though not an outstanding one.

Steamed Chicken with Salted Fish ($11.00). Not a fancy dish but a rather homely tasting dish. This seems to be a dish that could easily prepared even right at home. It is mainly chicken meat steamed with salted fish but they done it well to infuse the chicken meat with a rather distinctive taste of salted fish. It is an ideal taste to go with rice as it tasted rather salty if eat it on its own. I would think the sauce itself is good to finish at least 2 bowls of rice. Another comforting dish and not an outstanding one too.

Fried Beef Horfun ($6.00). The worth recommending dish has to be their signature Beef Horfun. Even without tasting it, i could smell the appetizing wok smell. It is usually achieved by stir-frying rapidly over a very high fire. It might sounded rather simple but not many hawkers are willing to put in that kind of effort to do so or may be they are just not skillful enough to done so. And, this alone is worth all efforts to travel here just to have it to satisfy my crave for a plate of wonderfully stir-fried horfun. I could taste a certain amount of fermented black bean sauce was added to enhance its flavor. So, if you are not fan of black bean sauce then you might want to order their Fried Seafood Horfun instead. The horfun only fried upon order unlike most of the stalls that stir=fried it before hand. A certain amount of waiting time is expected. 

Again, good foods are always worth waiting for. This Beef Horfun is definitely one of those dishes. This is easily one of the better Fried Beef Horfun in Singapore.

YUET LOY

Block 335 Smith Street

#02-151 Chinatown Complex Food Centre

SINGAPORE 051335.