Hidden Local Gems

No time to queue for the Michelin Star Soya Sauce chicken? Then this Virgin Mary Soya Sauce chicken will be the perfect substitute. At an affordable price of $7/half a chicken, the protein was tender, juicy and slightly sweet. Rice comes at an additional $0.50/bowl. To our delight, it's the chicken rice rice, not plain rice!

Our only gripe: the chicken seems a little small. But half a chicken is more than sufficient for 2 people.

Pictured here is a meal for 3 that came up to only $18. We had ordered too much for our own good, but we kept stuffing ourselves anyway.

I personally thought the best dishes here were the spicy chili wanton ($4.50 for 10 pieces) and the pan fried dumplings ($6 for 10 pieces). As the dumplings and wanton are all handmade, the skin is just thick enough to seal in the freshness, but not so thin that the dumpling will fall apart when you pick it up. Also, I dare say the spicy chili wanton is as good as that of a famous Chinese restaurant chain....

The queue is never ending, so go early to avoid long waiting times.

Yet another delish and satisfying find at Chinatown Complex. Fresh, tender fish head steamed and drenched in a sour, slightly spicy sauce (which tastes uncannily like a sour chilli crab sauce), topped with a spoonful of freshly fried lard. The combination was addictive, we kept going for more. And the dish was cleaned up really quickly, even though I thought the portion was pretty generous.

This fish head is from An Ji, Chinatown Complex #02-06.

Pro tip: go early. Patrons who came at 7pm were told to wait for up to an hour for their prized dish.

Lunch was spent chowing down on this really lean pig trotter. The layer of fat peels off so nicely, we easily got to the tender layer of lean meat. And that braised sauce is........ So fragrant and savoury. Just um, ignore the layer of oil on top.

After an intensive session at the Katong Amped trampoline park, I was tempted to have this plate of tau gua pau, which essentially is a beautiful mess of tau gua, fish cake, braised egg and yam, drizzled with braised duck. And don't forget to add that spicy, sour and slightly sweet bowl of chilli sauce on the side, for a spicy kick to this plate of goodness.

Gave Minang another try as a friend told me that the curry here is like liquid gold. Ordered tempeh, redang, tauhu and hard boiled egg and the verdict still remains..... That Hjh Maimunah (situated at Jln Pisang) still tastes much better.