Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee: Is this really the Best in Singapore?

Char Kway Teow $4

Outram Park Char Kway Teow ranks up there amongst the top five Char Kway Teows in Singapore in most people's books, except mine because when I last reviewed them back in 2007, I really wasn't overly impressed.  However over the last few years, the feeback on the ground has been largely favourable and their stall always seem to be mentioned when we ask around for the best Char Kway Teow.  Then, at the beginning of this year, they won first place in the Hawker Street Food masters.   So I thought I might try them again to see if they really deserved the award.

The uncle at the wok has been frying Kway Teow with his father for at least 30 years before taking over stall for the last 11.  During lunch time, the stall feels like a Char Kway Teow factory as he churns out Char Kway Teow at around a plate a minute.  Some Char Kway Teow men employ a two stage frying process where they first fry the kway teow and noodles and transfer it out of the wok and refry smaller portions where the eggs, sweet soy sauce, chilli and cockles are added.   But this uncle does things a little different.

The secret to a great Char Kway Teow-- Eggs!

He adds the eggs into the Char Kway Teow in the first stage of the frying process and as you can see, he uses at least 15 to 20 eggs in each batch of Kway Teow.  Once the eggs are mixed evenly in the Kway Teow, he adds a blend of fish sauce, soy sauce and other secret ingredients from an old plastic bottle.  This is the only part of the frying process where he cannot be disturbed because he is counting the number of squirts he is adding to the Kway Teow.  Astonishingly, the number of squirts to the Ulitmate Char Kway Teow is also the same number that explains the Ulitmate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything.... 42.

After stirring the Kway Teow around for a while, he finishes off each plate at the far end of the wok with the addition of cockles, chilli and dark soy sauce. He tells me that on average, each plate will get at least one and a half eggs instead of the usual one egg in most other places and that is the secret of his Char Kway Teow.... more eggs. But not only that, I notice too that the eggs are not cooked as much so that it gives the Kway Teow a creamy texture just like how you would add a raw egg to your pasta carbonara.



I have to say that this time round, I found that the Char Kway Teow was much better than the last time.  The Kway Teow was sweet and lively and has that addictive flavour that makes you want to finish the whole plate.  It is an excellent plate of Char Kway Teow which is worth a few of those precious calories and so I have revised my ratings to 4.5/5.


Conclusion

A very good plate of Char Kway Teow which many consider to be the best in Singapore.  For me it is certainly one of the best and I think they certainly deserve their win.  It might not be the number one for me, but it is certainly amongst the top five.


Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee
Hong Lim Market and Food Centre
Blk 531A, Stall 02-17
Mon - Sat: 6am to 4.30pm
Closed Sun and PH

Iconic Foods of Kunming: Win a 3D2N Holiday plus $5000 by sharing your holiday photos!

This Food Trip was brought to you by Grand Park Kunming

Guo Qiao Mi Xian

People call me a Food Critic, a term which I am quite uncomfortable with.  I feel I am more of a Food Adventurer because what draws me to write this food blog is not so much to tell everyone whether the dishes of a certain restaurant are up to par but more of an exploration of food culture.  Nowadays, food is a big part of my travel itinerary.  I find that when you go on a food adventure, it doesn't matter if you are in a small obscure town in Malaysia or smack in the middle of Tokyo, there is always new foods to be discovered.

My latest Food Adventure brings me to the city of Kunming in Yunnan province of China.  Kunming is a convenient 3.5 hour flight from Singapore and is best known as a golf destination and Shilin Stone Forest.  The wonderful thing about Kunming is that it is located on a plateau at an altitude of 1300m, so the weather is like springtime all year round so the best golf courses in China are found there.  Yunnan is also well known for its diverse tribal culture with 23 of the 56 ethnic groups calling the forests of Yunnan their home.  Then of course there is the famous Pu Erh tea which harvested from thousand year old tea forests.  There is so much to talk about, but my focus today is on the food, so let's start by talking about the most famous dish found in Kunming - Guo Qiao Mi Xian. (lit Cross Bridge Rice Strings)


Guo Qiao Mi Xian- Superior Set - 30 Yuan ($6)

What the Kunming people call Mi Xian is what we in Singapore call Chor Bee Hoon. (Thick rice vermicelli)  It is exactly the same thing and Guo Qiao Mi Xian is simply Chor Bee Hoon in Chicken Soup with thinly sliced slivers of meat and other stuff that you throw into the soup to cook.  I am not kidding you when I say that it is THE food of Kunming.  My local guide, Xiao Li, tells me that they can eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner everyday!

There is of course a story about how Guo Qiao Mi Xian was invented, and, as most Chinese folklore goes, it involves a Scholar and his long suffering wife.

It all started a long long time ago in a small village in China......  A scholar was studying for his imperial exams in a small island found in the middle of a lake which was of course connected by a bridge.  Being a scholar and not a foodie, he studied too much and ate too little.  So his long suffering wife got worried that her macho husband was losing muscle tone and brought him food everyday.  The inconsiderate man was so focussed on his study that he forgot to eat the food that was lovingly prepared by his wife, which subsequently got cold. But one day the wife came back to check on him and found that even though he hadn't eaten the chicken soup that she prepared for him, it was still warm because of a thick layer of oil on top of the soup!  So she began to prepare this form of chicken soup with lots of chicken oil on top everyday for him.  Needless to say, he passed his exams, but there are no records of whether he died of a heart attack early in life due to excessive consumption of chicken fat.

Guo Qiao Mi Xian was introduced to Kunming in the 1920s and you can find it in almost every street corner.  One the the more popular chains is Jian Xin Yuan which was were our guide brought us which has many branches all over the city and it is one of the earliest stalls that started selling this dish.

Qi Guo Ji (Steam Pot Chicken Soup)

Another dish which is very common is Qi Guo Ji or Steam Pot Chicken.  There is of course another story connected to this dish and it goes something like this.  Years ago the Emperor (Chinese stories are always about Scholars and Emperors) was feeling really sick and wanted something really good to eat.  So he issued an Imperial edict that he will reward anyone who can come up with a dish that would heal his body and at the same time, satisfy his already overstimulated taste buds.  To cut a long story short, (truth is, I forgot the rest of the details) the person who won the contest came up with this novel way of making soup with a specially made pot where the chicken and spices are first placed inside the pot without any water.  The pot is then put over steaming water and the steam would travel up the spout into the enclosed pot and slowly extract the nutritious essence of the chicken.  The emperor was of course really happy with the dish and gave it his imperial stamp of approval. (and probably got all the rest of his chefs beheaded for their incompetence - I have watch too many period dramas I think).

Now here is skinny.  This is nothing more than a very nice chicken soup because my guide assures me that no one bothers doing it the traditional way anymore.  So the pot is simply a vessel which the pre-prepared soup is served in.  Maybe it would spend some time in the steamer but it is unlikely that you will get authentic Qi Guo Ji anywhere nowadays. 

Fried Goat's Cheese

If you are one who goes for everything organic and natural, then Kunming is a great place to be.  The surrounding mountains provide for many wierd and wonderful wild veggies which are hand picked by the gatherers there and sold in the markets.  During our trip to Shilin, we stopped at one of these tribal restaurants for lunch and managed to try all sorts of veggies.  But I have to honestly say that I haven't come across any that I can highly recommend you to try.  Veggies are veggies are veggies.  Whether wild or domesticated, they all taste pretty similar to me.  The other thing you might want to try when you visit Shilin is the local goat cheese made by the farmers there.  This cheese is simply fried and served with a sprinkling of salt and tastes very similar to Halumi cheese.  This is one of the very few Chinese cheeses that are made and eaten in China.


Yiliang Roast Duck

On the way back from Shilin, you will pass a little village call Yiliang.  This is the original birthplace of the Yiliang Roast Duck which is supposed to give Beijing Roast Duck a run for the money.  What makes Yiliang Roast Duck so special is that they use a smaller breed of local ducks found in Yiliang itself.  Unlike the fat duck that is usually served in Beijing, Yiliang Roast Duck is relatively lean with little fat under the skin.  The roasting method is also different.  The ducks are roasted in standing ovens over pine leaves.  The ovens are actually quite similar to the ones our hawkers use for Char Siew.

It is said that the founder of Yiliang Roast Duck had honed his skills by working in a Beijing Roast Duck restaurant for 8 years before coming back to his hometown of Yiliang.

When we finished our tour of Shilin and Jiu Xiang, it was a bit early for dinner, so we bypassed Yiliang on our way back to Kunming and had Yiliang Roast Duck at one of the many branches of Xue Cheng restaurant which serves Yiliang Roast Duck. 

One of the best ways to experience the tribal cultures of Yunnan is to book yourselves tickets for Dynamic Yunnan.  This show combines songs and dance from different tribes of Yunnan and showcases the different folklores of the tribes. It was entertaining enough such that my two kids could sit through the whole show.

A word from our Sponsors and how to win a holiday package for yourselves!
This trip to Kunming was kindly sponsored by Park Hotels Group as part of their Unlimited Discoveries campaign. Grand Park Kunming is ranked as one of the top business and leisure hotels in Kunming city.  It is iconic landmark located along the picturesque Green Lake Park and provides easy access to many scenic destinations of the city.With 300 rooms and suites and meeting spaces for over 350 people, the hotel is only minutes away from the Central Business District and 20 minutes’ drive from Kunming International Airport.

We found the hotel staff to be excellent, especially Thomas, the head of guest relations who is full of energy and speaks fluent English.  We were told that it is one of only 6 hotels in Kunming that has been rated 5 stars.  The rooms and facilities are well maintained, albeit, a little dated. (The Hotel is scheduled for renovations soon) By Singapore standards, it would be a very good 4 star Hotel.  Green Lake Park is only 3 minutes away and I enjoyed my morning runs there, observing the locals playing badminton and doing Tai Chi.  I must warn you that you will get tired easily as the air is thin (altitude 1300m), so don't flog yourself if you can't finish your 2.4km run in record time.

Unlimited Discoveries Campaign

Park Hotel Group launched Unlimited Discoveries, a 2-month long worldwide campaign in conjunction with its 50th anniversary this year.

50 lucky participants will stand a chance to win a 3D2N holiday package for two persons at 6 destinations located in Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Japan. Packages include return air-tickets, accommodations and admission charges for attractions in the selected itinerary. Participants can pre-select their ideal holiday package based on themes such as Adventure, Culture, Gourmet or Romance.

Simply share your most memorable moment on the Unlimited Discoveries website and be one of the 50 lucky winners. What’s more, choose to upload your memorable photo with your entry and stand to win an additional SGD$5,000 in cash.

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Durian Degustation IX: Durian Season is here again!

Registration is closed! Thanks for the overwhelming support!

Notice is hereby given that registration for Durian Degustation IX is now opened! Depending on supply on that day, there should be the usual Mao Shan Wang, D24, Hong Xia, Golden Phoenix, XO and perhaps Green Bamboo.  

Details
Date: 2nd July 2011
Venue: 229 East Coast Road (Opp Jago Close)
Time: 8.30pm
Price: $30
Kids below 6: $15
($10 will be donated to our Sandakan School Building Fund which will be matched $ for $ by MHCAsia.

Seng Heng Chicken Rice: My Lunch with Dr Tan Cheng Bock

Roast Chicken (half) $12

You are probably wondering why I am writing about having lunch with Dr Tan Cheng Bock. Well the answer is very simple. Firstly, his wife, Cecilia Tan happens to be the Chairman of MHCAsia, the patron of our School Building Projects in Sandakan, Sabah. In fact, I travelled with her on my first trip to Sandakan and, like everyone else, she was walking through the mud and the rain to get to the various villages to see the work done by Goducate. You have read her own story of why she is so passionate about supporting the kids here.

Secondly, I feel a sense of camaraderie with Dr Tan even though I haven't met him before. Like myself, he is a General Practitioner who is still running his own clinic in Jurong. We GPs are pretty much in touch with the community and the joy that I derive most in my practice is to see the kids growing up. I have only been running my clinic for five years so I have some kids whom I have seen when mom first discovered she was pregnant in the clinic. Now the kids are already running into the clinic and jumping on my sofa! I imagine that Dr Tan might be already seeing the kids of the kids that have already grown up and gotten married!


Dr Tan tells me that he had started his clinic back in 1970 at Ama Keng, a remote part of Singapore near Lim Chu Kang. In those days, Ama Keng was pretty much as Ulu as Ulu gets. Even now, that area is still one of the last places in Singapore that you can call Ulu. But back in those days, the nearest hospital was miles away, so it takes a doctor with a real sense of mission to want to work there. He recalled that his clinic was merely a zinc-roofed structure, and one had to cross planks to get it. Of course, being a rural GP, he had to do everything from surgical procedures to delivering babies!

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As you know, I have a "President's Picks" label where I blog about what our President likes to eat.  But it is difficult to get hold of the President when he is already the President, so I have to hedge my bets and try to get Dr Tan's picks now in case he really becomes the President! After that I think there would be too much red tape to meet him in a hawker centre as you would have to contend with muscular blokes wearing sunglasses and black suits.

Dr Tan was having lunch at Bukit Timah Food Centre that day and I must say that the chicken rice he picked was pretty good! The rice was fragrant and the grains were nice and plump with a good toothy bite. Although the white chicken was pretty competent 4.25/5, it was the roast chicken that I would definitely come back for. The seasoning mix was excellent and the flesh was succulent and tender. 4.5/5. If you are looking for chicken rice around the upper Bukit Timah area, this is one stall that will definitely be able to satisfy the craving, although it’s not one for which you would travel across the island to eat.



Our facebook page readers had several questions for Dr Tan. So I have summarized the following Q&As for you.

Questions for Dr Tan Cheng Bock from readers of our Facebook Page.

Q: Are you a PAP-endorsed candidate?

Dr Tan: Absolutely not. I have always spoken my mind when it came to government policies. In fact, when I first joined politics, I was blasted in my maiden speech by 1st DPM Goh Keng Swee because I spoke out against the streaming of school students as I felt it would create class divisions. I am merely a backbencher and not a minister so I am entering this Presidential race on my own.

Q: What is your comfort food and why?

Dr Tan: I worked for 15 years in the farmlands of Ama Keng, so I enjoy simple food because that's what I ate everyday. Some of my patients paid me with their produce instead of cash! Some also brought me dishes they made. So I am very much still an Ama Keng person at heart.

Q: What is your take on Minister's pay?

Dr Tan: The salaries of the ministers and top civil servants need to be revised. The President's pay included. For too many years it was pegged to GDP growth, but when it got too high, no one relooked at the mechanics of the pay scales, so it got out of hand.

Q: Many Singaporeans are wary that being a former PAP member, you may not be as independent as most of us would like our President to be. What do you say to this?

Dr Tan: I have been in the PAP for many years, so that is one thing I cannot shake off. Even as a PAP member, I have opposed many government policies. You can read about the policies I stood against in my blog: http://www.tanchengbock.org. I have always let conscience be my guide. I do believe very strongly that the President should be a person who can unite all Singaporeans.

Q: If you become President, what will you do for Singaporeans?

Dr Tan: The President serves to represent all Singaporeans. It is the government who determines policies so although the President can voice his views, there is little he can do except to weld veto powers when it comes to the national reserves and appointment of key civil servants. I feel strongly that the President must be in touch with the people on the ground. He must be the unifying figure of the people. The first thing I will do is to appoint two independent advisors who have no links to the government to advise me. I have already been supporting a few charities for many years, and being the President would open up a lot more opportunities to increase the scope of the work.

If you have other questions, you can post it on Dr Tan's wall at:  http://www.facebook.com/tanchengbock



Conclusion
So have you given thought about what our President should be? Who do you think is the best President we have had so far? What do you think are the qualities you would like to see in the President and what is his role. Most importantly, do you think that just because he is the President, he should be able to recommend good hawker food? (Don't take the last one too seriously)

Seng Heng Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice
Bukit Timah Food Centre
#02-177
10.45am to 3pm
Sunday closed
96624263

De Burg: Puts most restaurant Burgers to shame

This stall is in the process of relocating

De Burg Wagyu Burger $26.95

You know, we all lament the fact many of our favourite hawkers have difficulty finding someone to take over the wok when they retire.  You know why?  Because all the passionate people who would have done very well as hawkers in the past are now channeling that energy to other cuisines!   There are many young people who are now selling stuff like Ramen, Pastas and Hamburgers and using the hawker stall as a testing ground for their ideas. So that entrepreneurial hawker spirit is still there, but it is simply expressed in new dishes.

Click "Like" and donate $1 to our Sandakan Project

"Like" this photo to donate $1

Thanks to all ieatishootipost readers for your generous support for our Sandakan School Building Project.  So far, total collection this year is approaching $70k and I shall be leading a team to visit the villages in July to see some of the new schools that have been set up with the money that you all have donated.   Our target is to raise $100k in order to start schools in 100 villages in Sandakan so there is still a way to go.

Our sponsors MHCAsia has been very generous and has been matching our makan sessions dollar for dollar.  Before we head up to Sandakan next month, they have proposed another way of raising funds.  MHCAsia will donate $1 for every "like" on their facebook page. 

Kwong Woh Hing: The World's Best Soy Sauce Might be Right in Our Own Backyard!

Urns of Soya Beans Fermenting in the Singapore Sun

The inspiration to visit a soy sauce factory first came about when I was watching the Korean drama, "Le Grand Chef". There was one particular scene where Sung Chan visited a Soya Sauce factory where rows of Soy Sauce Urns where silently fermenting away in the field.  It was then that I told myself that I have to visit such a place one day. It never ever crossed my mind that there was such a place just 5 mins from my home!

I first got wind of Kwong Woh Hing when I visited the Food Nazi.  The old uncle was telling me that we Singaporeans are foolish to think that food in Malaysia is better when the best food is really found in Singapore.  He then went on to tell me that the best Soya Sauces came from Singapore and they were better than the ones from Malaysia or even Japan. He mentioned one particular Soya Sauce factory in the Hougang area which made excellent Soya Sauce, but he wasn't sure if it was still in business.  So I assumed that like most traditional industries, the factory must have stopped functioning already.

Prive: Introducing the Josper Grill. One Step closer to that Perfect Steak!

USDA Prime Ribeye Cap: 280 gm $75

Steak lovers, listen carefully. Especially those of you who like Ribeye Steaks.  This one is for you.  (for me too!).  What if I told you that there is a place where you can order just the Ribeye Cap?  You know, that nice, tender, juicy, melt in your mouth bit of the Ribeye that you always keep for yourself when you share a Ribeye steak with someone who doesn't know any better?  Ever had the fantasy of only eating that bit of the Ribeye?

Lai Heng Mushroom Minced Meat Mee: Why some stalls have queues?

Bak Chor Mee

Having blogged so many hawker stalls over the last five years, I have come to the conclusion that there are many factors other than just good food that determine the success of any particular hawker stall.  (But you knew that already!) I have come across many stalls that dish up really good food who fail to attract the hordes of people that some other stalls with arguably less spectacular food can. 

Take for instance the stall in question today.  While I was waiting 40 mins for my bowl of Bak Chor Mee, I casually asked the man who was finishing his bowl of noodles why the stall is so popular.  He simply said he eats there because there really isn't another good alternative nearby.  Is that all?  Then what about the hordes of people who are at various stages of ingesting their bowl of noodles across the coffeeshop?  Are they all here just because there isn't a good alternative?

Sushi Files: Hikari Mono: Saba and Sayori

Shime Nama Saba

The Fish
Saba is a favourite fish amongst the Japanese.  It is served in sushi, grilled, stewed and even canned.   Like Sardine, it is a plentiful fish that is found in the waters of Japan.  It is a fish that is rich in oils and very flavourful.  However, this oiliness is also its drawback as it doesn't keep very well.  So in the good old days, Saba is often cured and the only people fortunate enough to be able to eat fresh Saba as sashimi are the fishermen themselves.  Nowadays, modern refrigeration has made it also possible for us to eat fresh Saba, although it should still be eaten very fresh or it would cause Scombroid poisoning.

Cantonese Delights: Laksa Yong Tau Foo - One word - Shiok!

Laksa is just the kind of thing you yearn for when you have been umami deprived.  It's the kind of thing that you would need to eat when you have just been on a raw vegetable diet for a week for whatever inconceivable reason.  Yep, nothing quite hits the spot as a bowl of fragrant, well balanced laksa.  When I say well balanced, I mean that some places tend to be too heavy on the coconut cream and the chilli, resulting in too much of a good thing.  A nice bowl of laksa should be something you can finish a whole bowl of and still feel that you can have another.

First ieat Sushi Appreciation Workshop

Report and photos by Joao

Meet and Eat Session

Recently some readers got a crash course in sushi at the ieatishootipost Sushi Appreciation Workshop.  Sushi and sushi-know-how were dished out in equal measure by chef Thomas Kok of Hokkaido Sushi Restaurant.  Throughout the course of the afternoon

Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake: A Blast from the Past

Peanut Pancake (Mi Chiam Kueh) 60 cents

Nostalgia doesn't get better than this.  If you really want to experience a slice of Singapore's history, you really need to head for Tanglin Halt Market and try the peanut pancake there.  The old couple who has been selling the Peanut Pancake there tell me that they don't use commercial yeast to make their batter.  Instead, they have been using a mother starter which has been passed down from the previous generation and can trace a lineage back to the 60's!