Rumah Baba Fred : homey Nonya dishes

This Peranakan cafe is located along Changi Road run by a passionate husband and wife team. It is quite small with limited seating capacity indoor and outdoor. It is cozy and welcoming, just like eating at a friend's house. 

I ordered a bundle of Nonya Kueh Chang on their Facebook and went to collect it on a Saturday. I waited in front of their counter, behind another customer. Baba Fred was serving that customer and his wife greeted me. She asked, "Collecting your chang?" I nodded then said, "I am having lunch too." She placed a piece of banana leaf on a plate then scooped some rice on it. I pointed to the Beef Rendang and the Curry Vegetable followed by a piece of Ngor Hiang. I also ordered a glass of Lemon Grass to go along. She said, "You go take a seat first, I will heat up the Ngor Hiang and bring it to you together with the Lemon Grass drink." I went to take a seat outside the shop. She brought the Ngor Hiang over first. She said, "If you could not finish the Ngor Hiang, I can pack them for you to take away." Baba Fred sent the Lemon Grass drink later. He asked, "You are collecting your chang too? It is under what name?" I mentioned it. His wife came over later with the Lemon Grass drink and also a bag of Nonya Kueh Chang. She counted them to make sure it is 10 pieces. She also presented a receipt that stated the amount to pay for the lunch. 

There were another 2 customers seated at the table beside me. The wife walked past with their orders. She smiled and said, "You managed to finish the Ngor Hiang." I replied, "It tasted different from others." She said, "We freshly made them with quite a few ingredients." I said, "It is very nice." These classic Nonya dishes were so comforting. 

Their Nonya Kueh Chang is only available upon advance order. It has already fully booked for the month of August. It is still prepared in the traditional method, the rice is first steamed then putting it with the filling to be wrapped in those bamboo leaves then steamed again. The intense blue color in the rice is derived from the Blue Pea. Each piece consists of a generous amount of filling, it is soft and moist. It is, in my humble opinion, better than those that I used to order from Kim Choo Kueh Chang.

RUMAN BABA FRED

116 Changi Road #01-01 WIS@Changi SINGAPORE 419718

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm (Saturday & Sunday)

Nyonya Fish Maw Soup : the comforting taste

This is an interesting find amongst the others in this food centre. It is located at the corner unit, and it was quiet during lunch on a Public Holiday as I was their only customer at about 1 pm. I decided to go with the smaller portion of Fish Maw Soup at $6, there are also the larger portions at $8, $10 and $12. 

The older man took my order, and the younger one was preparing it. They are not particularly friendly nor chatty but when the older man overheard I told my dining companion that I ordered a bowl of rice to share and he asked, "Do you need another bowl?" which I declined. A friend on Facebook shared his encounter. He tried asking when he was at this stall whether they are Nyonya but was given an unpleasant response. 

After a few sips, the soup was quite flavorful though not as "gao gao" ("thick thick") as indicated on the poster that they displayed at their stall. It has a homely taste though, this is something simple that most Peranakan families would be cooking at home. The soup is lightly flavored, and there were fish maw, prawns and handmade meatballs in it, the ingredients tasted fresh.

The handmade meatballs were made of minced meat with bits of water chestnuts embedded in it. My dining companion commented that the texture was a bit too soft and he did not like it.

They are serving it with rice and tang hoon at 0.50 cents each.

This is worth a try if you are looking for something different yet filling.

NYONYA FISH MAW SOUP

505 Beach Road #01-80 Golden Mile Food Centre SINGAPORE 199583

Kueh Ho Jiak : Handmade Sweet Potatoes Ang Ku Kueh

This stall has recently opened at Tanjong Pagar Plaza Food Centre on 7 May 2017. They used to be at Ci Yuan Food Centre for a while before moving here. This is an unassuming stall serving the good old-fashioned handmade Peranakan kueh. They are freshly made with quality ingredients laboriously without using artificial colouring and preservatives with recipes created by Chef Sandy Hannah Tan, the founder. And, Sandy is working along with Elizabeth Elisha Chan, her daughter. 

Elizabeth was manning the stall all by herself when I was there. She said, "Our Kuehs are made of sweet potatoes and they are very healthy." She then said, heartwarmingly, "你可以放心吃!", which means "you can eat without worry!". They handcrafted every piece painstakingly, with a great amount of patience, demonstrating the love for handmade and this is what differentiate theirs from the others. 

They serve not just Ang Ku Kueh and also Pumpkin Yam Cake ($1.60), Sweet Potatoes Rice Kueh ($1.60), Rice Kueh with Salted Egg ($2.20), Soon Kueh ($0.80), Ubi Kayu ($2.20) and Glutinous Rice ($3.00).

I decided to go with one of each flavour of their Ang Ku Kueh and there was a total of 7 flavours on that day, starting from Hae Bee Hiam ($1.60), Mung Bean ($1.20), Yam ($1.60), Red Bean ($1.20), Peanuts ($1.20), Coconut ($1.20) and Durian was at a discounted price of $1.00. Elizabeth packed them neatly in a plastic box and held it for me to take a picture. Those Ang Ku Kueh came in different shapes and sizes, there was a hello kitty, a bear, 2 flowers, a heart with the 爱 (love) in the centre and a round shaped one with a 囍 (double happiness) on it. The skin is made of purple sweet potatoes, it is very thin and firm with a delightful chewiness and not greasy as well. And, why did they choose to use sweet potatoes? The main reason has to be it is different from those regular sweet potatoes in flavour and texture, it is denser and has a richer taste with a well-balanced sweetness. Overall, it strikes a good balance between the intensity, flavour and texture. Those were one of the nicest Ang Ku Kuehs that I have ever eaten.

When I was about to walk away, Elizabeth asked me to wait for a bit. She was serving other customers at that time. She placed a piece of Pumpkin Yam Cake and a Sweet Potato Rice Kueh on a disposable boat shaped bowl then drizzled some dark sweet sauce on it with chilli by the side and handed it to me. She said, "请你吃!" which I happily obliged. It tasted different from the usual Yam Cake and Rice Kueh, it is the healthier version and with a good amount of ingredients embedded in it. Though slightly expensive, the level of thoughtfulness behind each of it is worth the value. 

This was in one of their posts on the Facebook page, "There is no love, more sincere than the love of food. Food is a passion, food is love. Cook with Love & Passion." 

KUEH HO JIAK

6 Tanjong Pagar Road #02-20 Tanjong Pagar Plaza Food Centre SINGAPORE 081006

Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 2.00 pm (Closed on Sundays)