Potong Curry Rice . Porridge . Fish Head

There was still a queue even after 2 pm and I decided to join in. When it was my turn to order, I opted to have fried pork chop, curry chicken and stir-fried shark fish for $5.50. The choices were nothing fanciful, the taste was simple yet satisfying that reminded me of home.

Though not like the best tasting curry rice that I have tasted, I find comfort in it. 

PATONG CURRY RICE . PORRIDGE . FISH HEAD

Block 210 Toa Payoh Lorong 8 #01-58 Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Food Centre SINGAPORE 310210

Tong Tai Hainanese Scissors Curry Rice : homely feel

I was there for a late lunch and most of the dishes have already finished and even so, there was still a short queue, a few customers in front of me and another few customers right after. I went with whatever choices that were left. I opted for the fried pork chop, braised pork and also, the braised cabbage for just $4.00. The whole plate of rice was nicely drenched in curry gravy, exactly how I liked it. 

The braised pork was nicely cooked to desired softness. The thinly sliced breaded pork chop still retained a slight crisp and tasted tender. The braised cabbage was soft but not mushy. The curry sauce was a combination of 2 different types of sauces, it was rather thick and flavorful. It might not look like it but it was actually quite appetizing. All the dishes have a homely feel.

TONG TAI HAINANESE SCISSORS CURRY RICE

17 Upper Boon Keng Road #01-31 Upper Boon Keng Food Centre SINGAPORE 380017

Yong Fa Hainanese Curry Rice & Curry Fish Head : homely taste

This stall is amongst those that have the longest queue in this food centre. I was there at about 1.30 pm on a weekday and there was still a short queue, I joined in and waited for about 15 minutes before ordering. The waiting time is expected to be longer during the peak period. They serve Hainanese-style curry rice, Curry Fish Head, Sambal Squid, Pork Chop and Braised Meat are their popular dishes. You would not need to queue if you are ordering their Fish Head.

I decided to go with Sambal Sotong. The young chap that was taking the order said, "Not cheap." I smiled and replied, "I still remember the article in the newspaper that someone complained about the price of the sotong at this stall." He nodded. It is actually good that they made an effort to inform you that certain items are more expensive at its seasonal prices.

I wanted to order Curry Vegetable but was told that they only have it on certain days and he suggested to go with the Braised Cabbage instead. I also added the Long Bean Omelette for $8.90 in total. I was asked whether I want to have gravy to be drizzled over the rice. I nodded. He asked, "You want the spicy or non-spicy gravy?" which I replied, "Spicy, please."

I was deciding in between Curry Fish and Sambal Sotong when ordering but decided to go with Sambal Sotong as the customer in front of me ordered it. I regretted it the moment when I took my first bite as its texture was too chewy for my liking, even my dining companion agreed so. The sambal sauce was nice though, slightly spicy but thick and fragrant. 

The Long Bean Omelette was another simple but done well. The Braised Cabbage was nicely stir-fried with black fungus and glass noodles. Both dishes have a homely taste that reminded me of my late Grandpa, he used to cook them at home. 

I could not find their operating hours on the net so if you do know, please leave me a comment. Sometimes I was there at about 3.30 pm, though the light of the signboard was still on, they did not want to serve.

This is the place to go for homely cooking, it has a motherly taste in it though simple but is so satisfying. 

YONG FA HAINANESE CURRY RICE & 

CURRY FISH HEAD

Block 448 Clementi Avenue 3 #01-25 Clementi Central Food Centre SINGAPORE 120448

RedRing Treasures : Chicken Cutlet Noodle is worth a try!

In the past, the boss, David was a taxi driver and Esther, the lady boss, was a housewife. They started RedRing Wanton Mee, their first outlet at Holland Drive in 2013. Their son, Roy, a Chemistry Student from NUS that is currently pursuing his graduate studies at Stanford University scientifically developed recipes for their sauces. The first version of the recipes for their sauce were developed by Roy then. Their family has made 4 major upgrades to the recipes since then and they are offering the latest version which is the Version 5. They kept the written recipes in a safe with the exact formulation known only to 4 family members. 

The service was warm and adequate, the orders were quickly taken by the smiling auntie in the picture. She asked, 'Do you want to eat noodles or rice? Do you want it with Chicken Cutlet, Pork Cutlet or Fish Cutlet?' After some thoughts, i decided to have Chicken Cutlet with the noodles and Pork Cutlet with the rice. The Chicken Cutlet Noodle is priced at $5.90 and the Pork Cutlet Curry Rice is at $6.40. I was expected to pay then waited right at the counter to collect my orders. They have a policy to deep-fried their cutlets upon order to ensure its crispiness but they do it in large batches during peak hours to shorten the queue.

You might want to take note they have their own dining area to cater to their own customers. Auntie said, 'As long as you order something from us, you are allowed to bring in food items from the other stalls in the food court.' I paid and waited at the counter for the collection. When Auntie spotted me at the condiments station, she said, 'The red chili is very hot and it could burnt your lips, be careful.' 

There is a limited time offer to give a free drink with every order of Chicken Cutlet Noodle. That auntie was kind enough to offer a free drink even for the Curry Pork Cutlet Rice. 

Everything is prepared fresh on a daily basis from using fresh ingredients to prepare their sauces, their broths and marinade of their cutlets, all are done using their secret recipes. They developed a process to marinate their cutlets for 24 hours in their secret marinade to allow maximum infusion of flavor into the meat. Apparently, the chili sauce did not taste as spicy as warned by the auntie but there was a sharp spiciness though without the spicy aftertaste, it is not quite intimidating. 

Their noodles are made to their specification using special high protein flour and eggs in the right ratio to achieve the desired springiness without relying on the traditional alkaline water and so, their noodles do not have any alkaline taste. The use of egg in the noodles provide a full-bodied flavor that is perfect to go with their signatures sauces. Apparently, the most important step is the 8-hours aging period where they cool the noodles to allow the natural enzymes in the eggs and flour to break down complex sugars and proteins into simpler but rich flavor.

They cooked their noodles in a custom built noodle cooking machine to ensure a perfectly cooked dish with the right consistency. The thermostat of the machine to keep the water temperature at exactly 100C to allow precision in cooking each ball of noodles for just 18 seconds. This is the key that contributed to precision cooking in achieving the springy texture of their noodles. During the process, they kept replacing the old starchy water with the fresh hot water to give their noodles a very clean surface texture to better adsorb their 2 different sauces, the red and the clear. 

Their signature red sauce is made with a strong pork bone broth that boiled for a full 4 hours to derive a maximum flavor. It is the combined with their secret 'rempah' paste made from a solid reduction of onion, garlic, chili and several other as part of their 14 secret ingredients like shitake mushroom and ikan bilis to be the major ingredients to maximize the umami sensation. Their traditional clear sauce is a simpler and less complex sauce made from a rich chicken broth that is designed to be umami rich yet subtle to allow a full enjoyment of the texture and taste.

The Pork Cutlet Curry Rice did not look as good as how it was illustrated on their picture.

Apparently, it did not fare as good as the Chicken Cutlet Noodle. It was served with a good portion of Pork Cutlet with Curry Vegetable and a bowl of curry sauce with a piece of potato in it. The Pork Cutlet was not too bad though a bit too thin. The Curry Vegetable did not cook well enough to give it the desired softness and not too much flavor. The curry sauce was quite good though, rather aromatic and creamy with a slight hint of spiciness.

The other must-try has to be their Onion Flower, just like the Bloomin' Onion by Outback Steakhouse. They serve it crispy and fragrant to pair with their sweet garlic oil. 

REDRING TREASURES

. Block 480 Toa Payoh Lorong 6 #B1-01 Gourmet Paradise SINGAPORE 310480

. 435 Orchard Road Food Republic @ Level 4 Wisma Atria SINGAPORE 238877

Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 10.00 pm (Daily)

Sin Chie Toke Huan : Comforting Hainanese Curry Rice

There was already a long queue right outside the closed shutter, patiently waiting for the shop to be opened at 6.00 pm. I know there is a famous Hainanese Curry Rice stall in this coffee shop but i have never get to try it. I decided to join in the queue as i was told to come back later by that curly hair Auntie selling satay at the corner coffee shop. She could not quite cope with the massive amount of orders at that time when i wanted to order earlier. When the roller shutter raised, the assistants started to arrange tables and chairs along the pathway. Some of those in the queue moved away leaving their friend or family member to be in the queue to do the ordering later and they went to sit at one of those tables. 

As this was my first visit, i decided to order some of those dishes more commonly selected by their regular customers. After ordering, i was expected to pay then they handed over the 2 plates of rice to me to carry it together with an assistant that got the rest of the dishes on a tray and followed me to my table. 

First dish was sliced pork cooked in soya sauce and sesame oil with bits of shredded ginger, a homely dish that done well. It was nicely flavored and went rather well with the plain rice. I could finish my plate of rice just with this particular dish.

Braised cabbage has always been my favourite and my usual order whenever having Hainanese Curry Rice. It might not looked too appetising given its color but the texture was of the desired softness and it actually tasted alright with a hint of natural sweetness detected.

The steamed meatballs did not taste too memorable though, it was just pleasant tasting.

My favourite dish has to be these squids cooked in curry sauce. This dish reminded me of a similar dish that my dearest Grandpa used to cook. The texture of these squids was of the desired softness with a slight chewiness. It was tasty when had it with the curry sauce together with rice. I would likely to order this again.

All the dishes went rather well with the rice. This was a simple yet homely dinner that i really enjoyed. I could not quite remember the exact price that i paid but if i remember correctly, it should be less than $12 for all. 

There was still a long queue when i left. I was told that the pork porridge stall in this coffee shop is pretty good as well. Maybe i should just order a bowl of pork porridge to go with some of those dishes when i am there again.

SIN CHIE TOKE HUAN

1018 Upper Serangoon Road SINGAPORE 534756

Operating Hours: 6.00 pm to 5.00 am

Hainanese Curry Rice

The turnover of stalls in this food centre seemed to be rather high in just 2 months since my last visit. And, this particular stall is one of the newest stalls in this food centre. This stall reminded me of another stall in Ang Mo Kio and might be a possible relationship between them.

There are 4 sets available for selection, namely Curry Chicken Set ($2.80), Pork Chop Set ($3.00), Braised Meat Set ($3.00) and Fried Prawn Set ($3.50).

I decided to go with Pork Chop Set. It came with a generous portion of braised cabbage, a fried egg and slices of pork chop. It was served with a good amount of curry sauce over the rice.

The pork chop is the undeniable star of this plate of rice.

The pork chop was of the right thickness and nicely seasoned before coated with a thin layer of flour and deep-fried to give it the desired crispiness. It tasted nice when eaten with the aromatic curry sauce.  Though the cabbage was nicely braised to give it the delightful softness but the taste was rather light. It tasted better when go with the curry sauce too. The fried egg was overdone so not to my liking.

A pretty economical choice for lunch in this food centre and that explained the queue when i was there.

HAINANESE CURRY RICE

Block 29 Bendemeer Road #01-59 Bendemeer Food Centre SINGAPORE 330029.

The not quite worth the queue Hainanese Curry Rice.

It was a rainy morning. I was there at about 1.30 pm. There was a really long queue of about 15 people right there. This stall has been featured in a TV programme recently. I guess the long queue might be due to the TV effect.

I came across a mixture of good and bad reviews for this particular Hainanese Curry Rice stall.

 I waited for about 25 minutes to order.

I was left with limited choices for dishes.

I ordered for a portion of highly recommended braised cabbage, fried pork chops and also the left 2 pieces of Asam fish to go. I paid a total of $9.00 for all. I was also given a packet of curry gravy for taking away.

The curry gravy was a bit too diluted. It did not have the aromatic curry taste as expected. It was rather thin with no distinctive coconut milk to give it the creamy texture. It did not taste like most Chinese curry out there nor like the indian curry as well. It does have a rather slight taste of spices though.

The braised cabbage is highly raved by a food tester on that TV programme. The portion for 2 has been quite a lot. Though braised cabbage is a simple homely dish but doing it well would definitely required a certain level of skill. This one definitely tasted good. I would think this is one of the better braised cabbage so far after eaten at different Hainanese Curry Rice stalls. The cabbage has been braised well to give it the desired softness with light soya sauce.

The fried pork chop is also one of the highly recommended dishes. I did not quite like it though. The thinly sliced pork chop itself has been marinated then deep fried it to give it the crispy texture. As the thickness of these sliced pork was rather thin so the chances of over fried it is rather high. And, it might be so in this case as most of the smaller pieces tasted a bit too hard and rather dry too. I had it with the curry gravy but it did not enhance the taste of the pork chop a bit.

I managed to have the last 2 slices of asam fish. It served with lady finger, tomato and onion. The sourish taste of the sauce was rather distinctive with a minimum level of spiciness. The fish did not taste too fresh though as it got a rather slight bitterness. I suppose the meat might be from the part nearer to the stomach to explain the bitter taste.

So, is it worth the time to queue for it? No. I seriously do not think so though i believe this particular stall has their group of faithful supporters though this is not the best Hainanese Cury Rice in town. And, the only worth recommending dish has to be the braised cabbage.

There are a better one at Tiong Bahru and another good one at Bukit Merah to go for these Hainanese dishes with their signature Hainanese curry gravy.

NO SIGNBOARD HAINANESE CURRY RICE

Block 40 Beo Crescent

He Bing Yuan

SINGAPORE 160040.