Noshtalgia

Perhaps it’s the start of a new year but I was hit by a wave of nostalgia and thought of Oasis Taiwan Porridge, a Chinese restaurant TH and I used to frequent very regularly for suppers about two decades ago. This was during the time when it was located in Kallang - also in a round building and surrounded by water, just like it is now at Toa Payoh Gardens (and if you know what I’m talking about, I guess we’re about the same age 😂).
Since there were just us two yesterday, I could only order most of our old favourites: Stirfried Szechuan Vegetable with Pork, Chye Por Omelette, Cold Silken Tofu in Soya Sauce with Century Egg and Pork Floss, Stirfried Beansprouts with Salted Fish, and Braised Pork.
The highlight for me though, has always been their porridge which is cooked to the perfect consistency with sweet potato. And because it is served in a thermos container wheeled over on a trolley which stays by your table, it is still nice and warm when you help yourself to more later.
Aside from the rather dry braised pork we encountered yesterday, the rest of the dishes were fine. Flavours tasted as old-school and robust as I recall. The food was still on the oily side (it’s like they never got the government’s memo to go healthier 😂) but it’s exactly why the clean-tasting porridge paired well with them I guess.

G I F T E D
Not exaggerating at all when I say this Muah Chee is in a class of its own.
The simple prep requires the big block of sticky rice cake to be cut into bite-sized pieces, then gently tossed in the sweetened ground #peanut with sesame seeds (this intensely fragrant mixture comes in a separate bag) until every piece is evenly coated.
My mum-in-law who’s been deprived of her Muah Chee fix since the start of Circuit Breaker couldn’t stop herself from inhaling it.
To be frank, I don’t usually seek out this traditional snack/dessert for myself which is why I am slightly taken aback at how much I enjoyed @tiaptiapwithsoph’s super-soft and squishy version that’s even scented with fried shallot oil. I’ve told her it is my favourite amongst the food items she had kindly sent me but I assure you, it was a close fight because the others were really tasty too.
Please don’t hesitate to DM her on Instagram if you would like to order her homecooked goodies.

Had a pig-out session recently at this casual but cosy eatery in Far East Plaza. I ordered a childhood favourite dish of mine, the Pig’s Trotter Beehoon and found that it’s done really well here. The strands of rice noodles are properly saturated in the braising sauce and there is so much of the fatty, wobbly, unctuous meat too. Even if you order the small portion ($10.80 nett) which is what I did, there is no doubt the serving is very generous. So unless you have a huge appetite, I suggest sharing.

H O S T E D
Resonating strongest with me from the lunch at @restaurantkin.sg was this - the “Selar”.
Yes, it is probably seen as simple compared to the more labour-intensive dishes (hellooooo Nasi Ulam) but it is #Noshtalgia for me as I grew up eating this very often at home.
My late maternal grandmother who looked after us, use to prepare it at least once or twice a week. And when I got to my tween years, I was roped in to help. The process would involve cutting big red chillies (and shallots if we were going to have the other rempah that incorporated belachan), then hand-pounding it with buah keras (candlenut) using a traditional stone pestle and mortar. I would then carefully stuff the spicy paste into the Selar which I had made a lengthwise slit in prior. Later on, I was also put in charge of the frying which would see me skittishly hopping around the wok to avoid the splitter-splatter of the hot oil when I slid the fishes in. After a few attempts, I managed to produce much better looking results. The earlier fishes I fried looked like a mess as I had a tendency to flip them too soon, which made their not-yet-completely-crisped and hardened skin stick to the wok and tear. At the table, we would pour some light soya sauce over before digging in. But ah, those were the good ol’ days before we were told to watch our sodium intake.

Chef Marcus (@markerpenn) who’s involved in R&D at the restaurant, kindly brought us spoons piled with cubes of Buri that had been aged for 11 days and tossed in a light dressing that includes calamansi. Bossman Ken Loon told us it‘s inspired by the raw fish that use to be available at local hawker stalls selling congee. We were wow-ed by the deliciousness and perfect balance of fattiness and acidity of this.

The only Fuzhou oyster cake I'd spend my calories on is the one from Maxwell Road Hawker Centre.
It's oilier than a teenager's face but that freshly-fried, crispy batter pocket stuffed with chopped up oysters, minced pork, prawns and cilantro has a one-of-a-kind taste that I can't get enough of.

At this family-owned and run casual restaurant that's been around since 2005, you get hearty portions of both Hainanese and Western dishes with a home-cooked touch. One fine example is their Hainanese pork chop. Fried to a crispy-crunchy finish that is admirably grease-free, the breaded piece of meat comes smothered in an appetising tomato-based gravy. Served with rice and some braised mixed vegetables ("chap chye"), this is comfort food done well.

I believe how we feel about food is profoundly influenced by the people who brought us up. Our preferences, how open we are to different flavours and tastes are pretty much shaped early on in our lives. That's why I have my late maternal grandmother to thank for my appreciation of Teochew-style beef "kway teow" soup. Specifically the one from the "Empress Place" stall.
I remember she wasn't one to eat much red meat but for this dish, she would make an exception. Clearly, it was the concentrated, sweet broth that delighted her because her bowl would be drained dry each time. Especially when the hawker obliged her with an extra helping of finely sliced "kiam chye" (preserved salted vegetables).
When she first introduced the dish to us grandkids decades ago, the stall operated at its namesake location. Now run by the son of the original owner, it can be found at LTN Eating House at Siglap where it moved to a few years back. The quality of the food however, remains unchanged through the generations, with the fragrant beefy soup still as potent as ever. Because the present hawker also takes pains to cook each order with care, I know every component in my bowl of "mixed beef kway teow", will unerringly taste good. I have never not had the satisfaction of sinking my teeth into still-pink slices of juicy beef, slender strips of tender tripe, bouncy beefballs and silky-smooth rice noodles.
In my opinion, the one here is in a league of its own. And for cultivating the opinionated foodie in me, I have to give my grandmother credit. 😊 #Hawkerpedia

I get a craving once in a while for this traditional local breakfast of fried dough sticks and black coffee. Otherwise known as "you char kway" and "kopi o". Probably not the healthiest way to start my day but I am surrounded by octogenarians in this hawker centre who prove otherwise 😜
My absolute favourite place to indulge in this combo is at Bedok North Blk 216 hawker centre where you can find the "kopi" and "you char kway" stalls side-by-side.
Fellow Burpplers, the "Rui Xing Ka Fei Cha Shi" stall located at #01-42 is no ordinary "kopi" stall. Open from 3am to 10am everyday except for Mondays, it has a never-ending but fast-moving queue of thirsty customers who long for their strong and aromatic "kopi" (I think their most popular drink is the "kopi c"). The stall is run by middle-aged siblings and they have a really smooth operation. One of the main guys is a joy to watch as he has the slickest moves and practically gets jiggy with it while making each cup. The "you char kway" right next door is already tasty on its own. I have however, always preferred dipping it into my "kopi o" because that's the way my grandma used to have hers. #hawkerpedia

When it comes to a very satisfying one-dish meal, this is pretty hard to beat.
Occupying three units #02-197 to #02-199 at Smith Street Hawker Centre, "Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice" is a business that started back in 1979 and has been handed from father to daughter-in-law (who then roped in her sisters which explains the stall's nickname). The good thing is his traditional methods and use of quality ingredients have not been altered or compromised. Up till today, each order of claypot rice is cooked from scratch by first steaming for a few minutes before being transferred to old-fashioned charcoal stoves to cook for another 20mins. Which explains the extremely long waiting time. Double that for peak periods. These days however, there's the option to call and book in advance.
On cool and/or rainy evenings, this is one of the dishes my parents and I crave for. Our preferred order is the $15 portion (to share of course) because there's more "liaw" a.k.a. the star ingredients of chicken, "lup cheong" and duck liver sausages. When our claypot is finally served at the table and the lid is lifted, there is a collective sigh of pleasure as the wonderful aroma billows out. My mum does the honour of stirring our preferred amount of the black sauce and oil mixture (served separately) into the steaming rice. We then fill our bowls with the incredible deliciousness of fluffy grains and tasty meats, and dig in enthusiastically. #hawkerpedia

If you were not brought up eating this, it's highly unlikely that a chilled gelatin block containing chopped up pig's trotters (or in some cases, pig's ears and other bits) will get you clapping for joy. However, it's a traditional Teochew cold dish that's really quite unique and you should give a try if the opportunity presents itself. Think of it as a soft savoury jelly with a variety of textures thrown in together, such as the crunchiness of cartilage from the trotter contrasting with leaner parts of the meat. The coriander garnish adds a key flavour perk to the full experience of this dish which is served on plastic-bagged ice cubes, and it's imperative to dip it in the complementary vinegary chilli sauce.

This is my late paternal grandmother's favourite restaurant. Over the years, we'd celebrated her birthdays here several times, dutifully following the restaurant when it moved locations.
When you step through the entrance, you'll notice the place is filled with families. More often than not, three generations or more can be seen happily feasting on classic Teochew specialties together. One of these is their famous cold steamed crab which unfortunately, wasn't part of our order during my most recent trip here (so there's no pic of it - sorry).
Instead, we opted to have other well-known dishes like the "signature sambal crayfish" (its thick gravy is well-balanced and not too spicy), stir-fried spinach, braised sea cucumber with tofu, "hae chor" (crispy deep-fried prawn roll), fish maw soup and braised duck with "tau kwa" amongst others. All of which went down very well with our entire table of diners. Needless to say, dessert had to be the all-time favourite "orh nee" - that hot sweet paste made from mashed yam and sweet potato with ginkgo nuts thrown in. Their rendition was light and smooth, without the overwhelming oiliness that's present in a few others. #hawkerpedia