Foodie Story : Briyani by a young Chinese lady

Yishi Lam, a 20+ Chinese lady is the owner of this newly opened hawker stall serving Briyani. Now, you do not just get a handsome Indian man cooking Bak Chor Mee but also a young Chinese lady cooking Briyani. She seated at the table in front of her stall and was having lunch.

She stood up and asked, "What do you want to eat?" I asked, "What do you recommend?" She said, "Most of the customers would go for the Chicken Briyani ($4.50) or Mutton Briyani ($5.50)." I asked, "I would like to have both. How much would that be?" She replied, "It will be $3 to add on 1 meat." I paid $9.50 in total. I said, "I gotta know about your stall from Martin. Why did you decide to sell Briyani?" She said, "A Malay auntie taught me how to make Briyani."

My dining companion tried it and said, "This is good. I did not expect it to be cooked by a young Chinese lady. It is as good as some of those by Malay stalls. The chicken and mutton were cooked to the desired softness. If I have to choose, the mutton is slightly more flavorful." It was served with a piece of papadum and achar.

This stall is only slightly more than a month at a quiet corner of Circuit Road Food Centre. There are also Breaded Chicken Cutlet Briyani ($5.00), Crispy Fried Chicken Briyani ($5.00) and Beef Briyani ($5.50) on the menu. Go support her if you happen to be there for lunch.

FOODIE STORY

79 Circuit Road #01-106 Circuit Road Food Centre SINGAPORE 371079

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 10.00 pm (Daily)

Yes! Nasi Kukus : Steamed Rice Fried Chicken

The owner is from Kelantan, Malaysia and he acquired the skills from Mujur Catering, a famous caterer there before setting up his stall at Jurong East in November 2017 and moving to Woodlands in June 2018. The stall is known for serving Nasi Kukus, it is steamed rice that is done traditionally in individual aluminum cups and cooked in a metal steamer to supposedly achieve a fluffier and softer texture. Nasi Dagang, a mixture of normal and red rice that is cooked in coconut milk is also available. There was a queue when we were there on a Sunday for lunch. They are located in a coffee shop that is a distance from Woodlands MRT. 

Nasi Kukus though not as common but it is not exactly something new. There was a Nasi Lemak Kukus that started in a shop along Upper Thomson Road before moving to Selegie followed by Toa Payoh, it was closed for good in December 2018. 

Nasi Kukus with Signature Fried Chicken ($5) is listed as Set 1 on their menu, it is likely to be the most popular item as most of their customers ordered it so we ordered too. My dining companion said, "Maybe we should order another set with Nasi Dagang but he changed his mind later as almost everyone in the queue wanted it with Nasi Kukus. Nasi Dagang is available at an extra $0.50. I wanted to order set 2, Nasi Kukus with Fried Pomfret Fish ($6) but was told it is not available. I went with set 2, Nasi Kukus with Curry Chicken ($4) and added an extra piece of Fried Chicken ($4). The sets came with half of a boiled egg and a portion of achar. 

The rice was slightly disappointing. My dining companion said, "It did not taste as nice as the one from Nasi Lemak Kukus. It is actually just plain steamed rice that did not taste much different. Maybe, Nasi Dagang might be a better choice after all." We agreed that the Fried Chicken tasted nice. It was fried well to perfect crispiness but still retained its juiciness with the flavors of fennel seeds and turmeric. The level of spiciness of the chilli was rather manageable. The Curry Chicken tasted just fine, the texture of the chicken was noticeably soft.

My dining companion also said, "This coffee shop is so out of the way. I would not actually come all the way here just to eat this." 

YES! NASI KUKUS

Block 573 Woodlands Drive 53 SINGAPORE 732573

Operating Hours: 10.30 am to 9.00 pm (Daily)

Che' Rose Nasi Padang : Chicken Rendang

I have walked past this stall many times but never really thought of trying. The "probably the best Rendang in Singapore" on their signboard has managed to catch my attention though. This stall used to be at Toa Payoh Lorong 2 before moving to this coffee and it has been here for a few years. Che' Rose, the founder, has been selling Nasi Padang since 1968, using the recipes that handed down from her grandparents. Her son and his wife are planning to take over the stall. 

We were there for lunch on a Sunday and most of their dishes have already finished. I asked, "Chicken Rendang is the popular dish here?" The lady smiled and nodded. She wanted to give me a chicken drumstick but I asked for a bigger piece so she suggested that I should take the breast part. There were not many choices left so I went with a Sambal Egg and Ikan Belis with peanuts. She added a bit of achar, too. I paid $6.00 for it.

The Chicken Rendang is the dry version, the rendang sauce is only added to the fried chicken when is about to be served. My dining companion said, "It is not bad but I do not think this is the best Rendang in Singapore." It was slightly tough as it is usually so from the breast part. The sauce somewhat reminded me of curry sauce that has a mild spiciness. I have not tasted another Chicken Rendang to actually compare but this particular one was not quite memorable. The Sambal Egg and the Ikan Belis with peanuts were just normal. I might just come early someday to try the other dishes that were not available on that day. 

CHE' ROSE NASI PADANG

Block 128 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 #01-811 SINGAPORE 310128

Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 3.00 pm (Closed on Fridays)

Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang at Yishun Park Hawker Centre

Mohammed Noorman Mubarak, 38 together with Puti Andam Dewi Henry, 31, his Indonesian-born wife, are the owners of this stall. Noorman used to help up at his father's stalls that served nasi lemak, nasi ayam in hawker centres in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok and Newton. He started doing so since he was just 5 years old. He did not take over the stall when his father retired in 2003. He joined Singapore Airlines as cabin crew and he met his wife while working together. He then worked as a project manager in oil rig industry for another 7 years before he decided to set up this stall with his wife and Muhammad Ikhram, 38, his long-time friend.

Their signature dish is Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang, a local spicy grilled chicken dish from Lombok in Indonesia. It resembles the regular grilled chicken but the taste is different, it is sweet, tangy and spicy rather than just plain spiciness. Noorman was first introduced to Ayam Taliwang when he visited Lombok in Indonesia with his wife about 3 years on their honeymoon. They felt that this humble dish complements the Malay nasi lemak and decided to bring this well-loved taste to Singapore. The Ayam Taliwang is based on a recipe by Puti's mother and the recipe for sambal and the coconut-infused rice is from Noorman's father. They started to experiment the recipes, recreating it using different spices and ingredients in different proportions for sambal and marinade. After about 6 months and underwent many experiments, they perfected the recipe and concluded the right level of spiciness that is more suited to the local taste buds. The marinade is made by hand with a good amount of fresh chilli, shallots, belachan and tamarind juice and it is used to coat the chicken before steaming it and then grilling it. Though it is typically served with white rice, they choose to serve with coconut infused rice that is for nasi lamak.

Ayam Taliwang ($5.50) was sold out during my first visit when they just opened. This time, I was lucky enough to have the last set. It is served together with the spicy grilled chicken, tempeh, ikan bilis and kang kong with sambal chili by the side. The level of spiciness has toned down quite a bit as my dining companion that has a little tolerance for spicy food think its spiciness is quite manageable. The flavor is addictively strong but I do prefer it to be a little spicier. 

I also got to try their basic Nasi Lemak ($3.50) with Chicken Wing during my first visit when they just opened. The queue was long at that time as they run out of rice and we were asked to wait for the new batch. Though it did not taste as memorable as their Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang, it was not too bad particularly the fried chicken wing. 

There are also Ayam Cabe Ijo (grilled chicken with green chilli) and Ayam Balado (grilled chicken with sambal chilli) on their menu for $5.50 each.

NASI LEMAK AYAM TALIWANG
51 Yishun Avenue 11 #01-33 Yishun Park Hawker Centre SINGAPORE 768867
Operating Hours: 7.30 am to 8.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Nasi Lemak Specialist @ Street 11 : Beef Rendang Nasi Lemak

This recently opened stall is owned by Madam Mazwin and working alone with her son, Qadir Yusoff, serving Nasi Lemak, Mee Siam, Mee Rebus, Lontong and Chicken Briyani during the weekends. Her sister owned a stall in AMK 628 Food Centre, their signboards are identical and they have a similar menu. 

I was there at about 1 pm when they were about to close and most of the items have already finished. I wanted the Beef Rendang set ($5.50) but was told that they have already run out of Begedil (potato cutlet) and Madam Mazwin offered to take 0.50 cents off from the set. I added the remaining piece of the chicken wing for $1.50. The set also includes a fried egg with some ikan belis and peanuts. 

My dining companion prefers the beef rendang to their chicken wing, the chicken wing though had had its crispiness but not as flavorful within. The beef rendang was pretty good. It had an amazingly tender texture and a depth of flavor with complexity. 

All of their ingredients are freshly prepared and cooking it directly from scratch to give it a homely taste. Just like some of the other Malay stalls, they are using basmati rice though it is not a common choice as the cost incurred is usually higher. It is cooked using freshly squeezed coconut milk for an aromatic fragrance and a lighter texture. The sambal tumis has a slight sweetness with a rather mild level of spiciness but it complemented the rice well.

Their Lontong is as highly recommended but it usually sold out quite early and I did not get to eat it this time. 

NASI LEMAK SPECIALIST @ STREET 11

137 Tampines Street 11 #01-14 Tampines Round Market SINGAPORE 521137

Operating Hours: 7.30 am to 1.00 pm