Ugly Delicious

It’s even better when it involves lots of curry, braised sauce and sambal. Famed for their namesake, they will literally use a pair of scissors to cut whatever ingredients you choose from the window of food. The rice is then drenched with three kinds of gravy; two types of thick viscous curry and a braised gravy. My usual picks that I get to go with my rice include the chicken cutlet, braised cabbage and ngor hiang which is a pork filling with water chestnuts that’s rolled into a beancurd skin and deep fried.
_________________
Scissors Cut Curry Rice
Address: 229, Jalan Besar, Singapore 208905
_________________
#hawkersg #hawkerfood #sghawker #jiaklocal #hawkerhopping #OurHawkerCulture #burpple #burpplesg #foreverhungry #sgfood #sgig #sgfoodies #instafood_sg #instasg #setheats #hungrygowhere #singaporeinsiders #foodstagram #foodphotography #instafood #buzzfeedfood #aworldtoeat

This time round, instead of just walking by it, the smell led me right into the restaurant to a plate of Chicken Beryani ($11). My recent craving for a good plate of chicken biryani was duly satisfied here, as the fluffy basmati rice was clearly the winner on this plate. It was so well cooked with their secret spice blend and the fried onions made it even better. As this is a dum biryani, the chicken is cooked with the rice and each order comes with a side of cucumber salad. Don’t look down on the salad as the spicy tangy cucumbers sort of cut through the heaviness of the dish to ensure you don’t get filled up as quickly. However, what is a slight let down to an otherwise good plate of biryani is probably the chicken which is not as well marinated as the inside of the meat has a lack of flavours. The bowl of curry that comes with it is good but not necessary as the rice itself is good enough to be eaten on its own.
_____________
Islamic Restaurant
Address: 745, North Bridge Road, Singapore 198713
_________________
#sgrestaurants #restaurantsg #exploresingapore #stfoodtrending #burpple #burpplesg #foreverhungry #whatmakessg #sgfood #sgig #sgfoodies #instafood_sg #instasg #setheats #hungrygowhere #singaporeinsiders #foodspotting #foodporn #foodstagram #foodphotography #instafood #buzzfeedfood #aworldtoeat #biryani #chickenbiryani

Go during the peak hours and be prepared to wait in line for a good 15-30mins. As you slowly made your way to the front of the line, you will be greeted with a selection of braised and fried items, which you point to the staff for your order. After choosing your dishes, the staff will then proceed to scoop up three kinds of sauces; curry, braised and chilli, and heap them onto your rice mountain. As you conquer this mountain with the dishes that you have ordered, you will soon realized the comfort and joy in this. At the end of the meal, you might walk out feeling a bit groggy as the food coma slowly starts to hit you. This is the type of ugly delicious food that I am talking about, this is the type of the brown food that many people feel its not “instagram-worthy” to post or eat, but give me this any day and I will be happy.
_________________
Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice
Address: 229, Jalan Besar, Singapore 208905
_________________
#hawkersg #hawkerfood #sghawker #jiaklocal #OurHawkerCulture #burpple #burpplesg #foreverhungry #whatmakessg #sgfood #sgig #sgfoodies #instafood_sg #instasg #setheats #hungrygowhere #singaporeinsiders #foodspotting #foodporn #foodstagram #foodphotography #instafood #buzzfeedfood #aworldtoeat #scissorscutcurryrice #curryrice

That’s what an ugly delicious dish brings to you as it might not look artfully curated; the flavours however will bring you to another level of deliciousness. This is the legendary “MacPherson Kway Chap”, housed in Sin Fong Restaurant, famed for their thick and rich herbal sauce, braided innards and the best of them all, the deep fried pig intestines. The star of the show was well cleaned that there was neither the gaminess nor the odour. If this was a Fear Factor eating round, I will definitely pass with flying colours.
_________________
Quan Lai Kway Chap
Address: 560, MacPherson Road, Singapore 368233
_________________
#hawkersg #hawkerfood #sghawker #jiaklocal #burpple #burpproved #foodie #foodspotting #foodporn #foodlover #foodstagram #foodphotography #foodiegram #foreverhungry #instafood #igfood #igfoodies #onthetable #whati8today #buzzfeedfood #aworldtoeat #burpplesg #sgfood #sgig #sgfoodies #instafood_sg #instasg #setheats #singaporeinsiders #hungrygowhere

If you have not had it before, be prepared for bites of thick and crunchy peanut butter with mixed berry jam, sandwiched in a cornflake crusted milk and chocolate bread. Not the healthiest of sandwiches around, hell yeah you damn right, but I am willing to spend a little more time in the gym so that I can afford the calories for this. Also, first timers beware, this is not your so-called dessert bread so do share it with someone since sharing is caring. You know you are getting a damn good sandwich when you start to hear oooohs and ahhhhs from each bite.
_________________
Park Bench Deli
Address: 179, Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068627

Not your usual peppery broth, this has preserved vegetables in it which has a slight twang while the pig organs, pork belly and pork slices are cleaned and treated so well that there is no porky stench to it. A very enjoyable bowl of soup that’s refillable and will surely fill you up.
_________________
Cheng Mun Chee Kee Pig Organ Soup
Available: 24, Foch Road, Singapore 209263

Can someone recommend me somewhere or anywhere that sells good roasted pork in Singapore? Till then, this shall rank as my top choice for its biscuit-like skin and excellent fat to meat ratio. The other generic ones usually come off as the meat being too dry or too salty but this is just perfectly seasoned with a good bite.
_________________
Hong Kong 88 Roast Meat Specialist
Available: 153, Tyrwhitt Road, Singapore 207566

I’m so glad that I have finally tried the curry rice here as this place has been on my wishlist for the longest time but every single time that I am at the Tiong Bahru area, it’s either closed or I simply gravitate towards the market. Between this and the supposedly other famous one around the area, Loo’s wins hands down for me for their heartier portions and having a more complex range of flavours. Everything that we ordered that day was on point from the braised cabbage to the pork chop that has a drizzle of tomato sauce and the irresistible squid dish that will leave a spicy sweet punch on your tastebuds. The popularity of Loo’s is clearly evident with the long queues that stretches all the way out of the coffeeshop but you will be rewarded with an awesome meal that will leave you sweating buckets but with the feeling of “shiok”. This place is definitely worth a return soon.
_________________
Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice
Address: 71, Seng Poh Road, Unit 01-49, Singapore 160071

And best, these two hawkers have won it since the first award ceremony which means that throughout the years, there are no new hawker awardees. Echoing what many of the prominent foodies in the industry have commented, where are the nasi padangs, char kway teows and fried hokkien noodles? The Michelin inspectors clearly need to step up their game if not they will be further ridiculed next year. I highly recommend when they are doing their rounds to comb deeper into the heartlands and maybe try a few more hawker stalls? One such stall would be Tiong Bahru Yi Sheng Hokkien Mee which might not be the most artfully presented or having the most organized cooking area, but looking at the space constraints these hawkers have compared to high end restaurants, they definitely deserved the accolade for dishing out plates after plates of wok hei deliciousness in such a confined space with minimal cooking equipment.
_________________
Tiong Bahru Yi Sheng Hokkien Mee
Address: 6, Jalan Bukit Merah, ABC Brickworks Market Food Centre, Unit 01-13, Singapore 150006

Yes, “gold” that’s edible and in the form of liquid. And I’m referring to none other than the thick gooey caramelized gula melaka that makes this Power Chendol ($2) shine bright like a diamond. If you’ve not tried this yet, I highly recommend you make the trip here and be wowed by how this bowl of dessert is able to bring so much joy.
_________________
Jin Jin Hot/Cold Dessert
Address: 6, Jalan Bukit Merah, ABC Brickworks Market Food Centre, Unit 01-21, Singapore 150006

The moment this plate of Fried Mee Sua ($5) reaches your table, your nostrils will be able to detect the strong charred aroma that’s coated on every strand of the noodles. To have a different take on fried noodles, the menu not only consists of the usual fried hokkien prawn noodles and fried vermicelli, there’s the fried mee sua which I will recommend from the trio. Not only does the mee sua able to hold onto the charred flavour perfectly, the crispy ends give it a contrasting texture from the other noodles. Add a scoop of fried pork lard, squeeze a lime and you will have a satisfying plate of fried noodles.
_________________
Yong Huat
Address: 125/127, East Coast Road, Alibabar The Hawker Bar, Singapore 428810

Now that I am no longer working in the Chinatown area, I still patronize them on many occasions, bringing different groups of people to try this cuisine and even recommend to others if they are out of options in the area. One dish that will definitely be on the order list is the cold appetizer of Green Bean Glass Noodles. Though it might seem unassuming, it’s the entire combination of the glass noodles mixed in with special red sauce, cucumber strips, carrot strips and coriander that creates a harmonious plate of “salad”. They have a entire menu of other authentic Chinese dishes and it would be wise to grab a few others so that you can get to savour more of it.
_________________
Dong Bei Ren Jia 东北人家
Address: 22, Upper Cross Street, Singapore 058334