Recently, a famous food blog featured an article about Yit Lim, a hawker stall dedicated to the fine culinary art of soya sauce chicken rice, in the otherwise unremarkable Bendemeer Market & Food Centre. My dad has an unofficial hobby of comparing everyone’s soya sauce chickens to his own, so naturally he went to sample this highly rated stall. Now he’s a devotee of Yit Lim Hong Kong Soy Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle, and he makes weekly excursions to have his fix of soya sauce chicken.⠀
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Naturally I had to experience this revolutionary bird for myself, so one morning I followed my dad down to Yit Lim and endured a two hour long queue for a plate of this promising looking chicken rice. A plate of chicken rice here is an astoundingly affordable $3.50 or $4.50, and even buying a whole chicken is rather reasonable at twenty dollars per bird. I took one bite and oh my God…I get it. I understand why Yit Lim sees queues like prime Hawker Chan when he first got the Michelin Star.⠀
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This is most certainly one of the most supple & tender chickens I’ve ever had the privilege of dining on. Each morsel of meat is super smooth & stunningly soft, and minimal chewing is required. The sight of the slightly bloody bone might make some squeamish, but that’s how you know a piece of dark meat is cooked just right. ⠀
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The umami braising broth of soya sauce & other spices had bonded to the chicken at a molecular level, and each gloriously juicy & supple bit of chicken was superbly savoury. The beautifully browned chicken skin was the cherry on top of the chicken, with a delightful gelatinous texture that easily split apart. Most of the fat under the skin had been rendered out while braising, which is the only reason why the skin is so utterly perfect.⠀
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For years my undisputed GOAT of soya sauce chicken was Fatty Ox at Chinatown Complex. Now the Ox has some serious competition.

The last time I dined at @hanamaruken_sg , I had rice instead of their famous ramen that’s achieved legendary status in its hometown of Osaka. So this time I had to set things right, and I ordered a Double Happiness Ramen ($19.80++). Double Happiness barely begins to describe the joy of seeing this bowl of ramen laden with chashu, a sizeable slab of soft bone pork rib, a whole ramen egg, and lots of bamboo shoots.⠀
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I am well acquainted with the stellar soft bone pork rib, and it was just as tremendously tender and tasty as the last time. It has been stewed for so long until the soft bones, which are normally inedible, have turned into tubes of pure collagen. Ladies, forget all that overpriced crap from that skee-skee ass cosmetics company that keeps putting unavoidable twenty second ads on my YouTube mobile videos. Just eat a whole slab of this astonishingly tender pork rib that falls apart when you pick it up with chopsticks regularly, and you’ll have skin as smooth as a baby’s.⠀
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Of course, the broth is the pride and joy of Hanamaruken for good reason. It’s easily the most flavourful, richest & most luscious ramen broth I’ve had in Singapore, and it’s the perfect bath for the springy handmade ramen along with all the amazing accoutrements. Crazy what boiling pork bones along with soy sauce & a whole bevy of secret spices for more than eight hours can do. The chashu is more familiar to us Chinese as regular braised pork belly, but it’s even more tender & delicious thanks to the low & slow stewing process.⠀
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Now, whoever said that money can’t buy happiness needs to get over here so I can smack some sense into them.

Mala can be an exorbitantly expensive dining option if you’re not careful, but it can be worth your resources. Jiehuanxi Malatang is a brand new mala diner on the ground floor of Lazada One, and a google search reveals absolutely nothing. No social media page, and not even a business registration result. Very odd in this day & age.⠀
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What is most certainly not odd is their terrific tomato mala soup. The soup is incredibly flavourful & tangy thanks to the tomatoes getting boiled with what I assume are pork bones to give it that deeply flavourful broth, and I was sorely tempted to savour every last drop. Jiehuanxi does the standard sketchy practice of a lot of mala merchants by not clearly stating how their prices work, so buyer beware. I don’t remember any prices, but I do know for a fact that this tomato mala soup with 540 grams of ingredients cost me $18.25 nett.⠀
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The ingredients presented were flawlessly fresh and of decent quality, but the price tags were nowhere to be found. Still, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy this tangy & tasty bowl of tomato mala with a beautiful bevy of meats, vegetables & seafood available, and they’ve just earned themselves a repeat, albeit irregular diner.

Grilled unagi speciality restaurants are far from a new concept in Singapore, but none of them would be classified as anything approaching ‘affordable’. However, @unatoto_sg is here to right that wrong, offering a whole tail fillet of grilled eel over rice for thirteen dollars before GST & service charge.⠀
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Eating unagi is a bit like Russian Roulette, you never know if you’re gonna get a fillet full of pin-bones or one with relatively few pin-bones, so proceed with caution. The eel is expertly grilled and retains its moist, soft texture, while the teriyaki glaze amply brushed on the unagi is more than sufficient to flavour it with savoury & salty notes, intermingled with a seductive smokiness from the charcoal grill.⠀
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If you really wanna make a meal out of it, you can turn it into a meal with unagi liver soup & a side dish for an extra $5.50++. I was a bit apprehensive about the unagi liver soup, but it surprised me with its light yet satisfyingly savoury qualities. It’s a light, yet tasty broth, and it’s probably an excellent hangover remedy.⠀
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Here at @unatoto_sg, you don’t need to strike the lottery just to afford a fulfilling meal that’s sufficiently sumptuous. Now that’s a winning ticket if you ask me.

(PARTIALLY SPONSORED) @britishhainan has been in business for over a decade now, and they’ve been serving up consistently decent Hainanese western food. Plus, they’re preserving a piece of Singapore’s culinary history that was created by Hainanese cooks working for the British during the colonial era.⠀
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Unfortunately, it wasn’t nothing but the hits that night, as the Onion Soup ($8 nett) was a disappointment. Initially we were quite keen on this soup seeing the abundance of caramelised onions in the soup, but the soup was woefully watery and possessed none of the expected robustness of a soup made from beef stock. And yes, it was super sweet, almost saccharine even.⠀
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Still, as long as you main British Hainan’s mains, you’ll be alright. Thanks for the invite, @britishhainan & @scalemicroinfluencers!

(PARTIALLY SPONSORED) @britishhainan has been in business for over a decade now, and they’ve been serving up consistently decent Hainanese western food. Plus, they’re preserving a piece of Singapore’s culinary history that was created by Hainanese cooks working for the British during the colonial era.⠀

The surprise hit of the night was the Porky Combo ($20.90 nett), which featured a porcine trio of British Hainan’s signature Hainanese pork chop, mustard pork chop and a classic bri’ish pork banger. The Hainanese pork chop was truly tender and sported a beautiful breaded exterior, and the sweet and sour sauce was tasty enough albeit a little sweet. ⠀
The mustard pork chop was the true standout, and not just because of its smoky & sapid flavours. The pork chop had a texture that hit peak neuron activation in my caveman brain, as it was tender enough to be swallowed with a moderate amount of chewing, but possessed enough resistance to give my jaw a decent workout and give me a chiseled jawline without mewing. And of course, the bri’ish banger was an absolute banger, with its juicy, meaty and bouncy qualities all encased in a snappy sausage skin.⠀
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Still, as long as you main British Hainan’s mains, you’ll be alright. Thanks for the invite, @britishhainan & @scalemicroinfluencers!

(PARTIALLY SPONSORED) @britishhainan has been in business for over a decade now, and they’ve been serving up consistently decent Hainanese western food. Plus, they’re preserving a piece of Singapore’s culinary history that was created by Hainanese cooks working for the British during the colonial era.⠀
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One common thread I noticed about British Hainan’s food is that it tends to be noticeably sweet, as evidenced by their Signature Oxtail Stew ($32.90 nett). The oxtail is tremendously tender, with the meat separating from the bone with minimal fuss. It wouldn’t be much of a stew if the meat wasn’t accompanied by potatoes & carrots, and both root vegetables were present and stewed till they were super soft. The stew gravy was satisfactorily savoury, but after a while I noticed it getting increasingly sweeter.⠀

Still, as long as you main British Hainan’s mains, you’ll be alright. Thanks for the invite, @britishhainan & @scalemicroinfluencers!

As the more deductive of my audience have already guessed, Miss Saigon is an offshoot of Banh Mi Saigon, Singapore’s preeminent banh mi maestro. The menu is almost a carbon copy of the mother store, but how about the quality? Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure to inform you that standards here at their new digs in Fortune Centre are very close to the original outlet.⠀
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Their Grilled BBQ Pork ($8.90 nett) did subvert expectations, as I was expecting slices of barbecued meat like char siew. Instead I got a heaping helping of pork that resembles meatloaf more thar barbecue pork, but the sweet & salty marinade certainly does taste a lot like char siew. As you may expect of something made out of ground pork, the meat was very tender and quite moist inside. The sweet & salty marinade was perfect with the pork, applied in just the right amount for maximum flavour without going overboard.⠀
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The baguette was crustier than a boomer on the internet, and each bite sent bread shrapnel flying everywhere. There’s no neat eating with Miss Saigon, so just come in ready to get down & dirty. And while you’re doing the nasty with Miss Saigon, just take a moment to appreciate just how ambrosial & affordable her banh mis are, and scarf down another one.

Hey look at us, dining at a halal steakhouse with nary a drop of alcohol. Who would’ve thought? Not me! @asapnco might just be the swankiest steakhouse that’s halal (or Muslim friendly at the very least), and they pride themselves on their choice cuts of cow from the most prized of bovine breeds.⠀
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My order of the Southern Ranges Hereford breed mixed with Angus ribeye ($47++ for 300 grams) was flawless. It was perfectly medium rare as I ordered, and the juicy & tremendously tender steak was sublimely seasoned. The side of King Oyster mushrooms weren’t quite as stellar as the steak though. Don’t get me wrong the ‘shrooms were quite alright, it’s just that ASAP & Co forgot to sufficiently salt the ‘shooms. They did compensate for that when I mentioned the lack of seasoning on the ‘shrooms and served me another portion of king oyster mushrooms, liberally seasoned with a spice mix.⠀
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Minor nitpick aside, I would certainly head down to @asapnco ASAP the next time a steak craving hits. These steaks do cost a pretty penny, but they are certainly worth every last penny.⠀

Hey look at us, dining at a halal steakhouse with nary a drop of alcohol. Who would’ve thought? Not me! @asapnco might just be the swankiest steakhouse that’s halal (or Muslim friendly at the very least), and they pride themselves on their choice cuts of cow from the most prized of bovine breeds.⠀
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ASAP & Co’s Smoked Beef Bone Marrow is a little expensive at twenty eight dollars before adding GST & service charge, but when they served this starter I fully understood the pricing. Three massive bones, each filled with that much coveted marrow, are grilled over charcoal till perfection. For those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of sampling beef bone marrow, it would be best described as a beef butter. It’s like someone took the entire cow & distilled it into a ridiculously rich mix that’s not far off from butter, but better. ASAP & Co also serve their own beautifully baked dinner rolls complimentary, and I really wish I left one to enjoy the beautiful bovine butter. Oh well, next time it is.

There’s a new stall on the block in Hougang Mall’s flashy Foodies’ Garden food court, and @rongguangbbq is in the business of dishing out hearty meals on hotplates. The offering that caught my eye was the Hot Plate Pomfret Fish Rice Set, which set me back $9.90 flat. No tax nonsense, no service charge, just a man and his fish.⠀
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Pomfret is notorious for being a bony fish, so caution is advised as you fish for the bones & remove them. Once you’ve fished out all the bones, you can finally fully savour the deliciousness of the pomfret along with the spicy & salty sambal paste. The pomfret is very lightly seasoned, relying solely on the savoury & spicy sambal. The sambal chili certainly does not disappoint, as it is salty, spicy & complements the firm flesh of the pomfret. ⠀
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The only gripes I have with this is that the sambal chili is a paste, and lacks the fluidity to be a sauce for the pomfret. This also means that the sambal has insufficient sauce to flavour the broccoli on the side, and this did lead to a bit of burning. Additionally, I personally think that they could add more vegetables to fully flesh out the meal and make it more substantial.⠀
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Still, at just $9.90 for a flavourful fish dish, this is good eating. Now all I need is a $7 pint from the bar, and I’ve got myself a good night out.

@nadeshiko_sg has opened recently, taking over the space vacated by the dearly departed The Flying Pan (rip, press F to pay respects). Nadeshiko is a bit of an oddity when it comes to Japanese food hawkers, as they don’t do donburis or bentos. Instead, they dish out homely teishoku (set meals) and hot udon as the sole option for the noodle contingent.⠀
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I could not resist the allure of the Hamburg Stew Set, priced at a sensible twelve dollars flat. I won’t lie, I was somewhat catfished by the menu photo, as the photo promised a phat patty (a phatty, if you will) inundated with a deluge of tomato sauce, served with a side of salad and an interesting combo of sautéed asparagus & shimeiji shrooms. Instead, I got a phatty covered in a tomato sauce that looks & tastes like Italian marinara, a small portion of pickles and some plain old shredded cabbage. ⠀
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Sides aside, this phatty, constructed from a blend of minced beef & pork, was sublime. Biting into it revealed a loosely packed texture, which was impressive considering the strong sear on the exterior. Meatballs & patties tend to fall apart when place on high heat, so the fact that Nadeshiko’s phatty stayed intact was impressive. While there was a healthy amount of tomato sauce, it certainly wasn’t enough to be considered a stew. However, the moderate amount of tomato sauce was a blessing in disguise, as it accentuated the simple yet superb seasoning of the beef & pork patty. This Hamburg Stew Set was so simple yet so supremely satisfying with the combination of well seasoned & juicy meat, paired with the subtly sweet & tangy tomato marinara. It was the culinary equivalent of getting a hug from your grandma, and I kid you not, that’s how homely & comforting this meal was.
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As for the cabbage on the side, it was sparsely dressed with some soya sauce, but mix all that in with the kewpie mayo that’s on the plate for some reason, and voila, you’ve got an impossibly delicious & thick dressing to mix the shredded cabbage in. Sure, I would’ve preferred to have the sautéed asparagus & shimeji mushrooms shown on the menu, but this cabbage salad will do.