The secret to an amazing Zi Char meal is "Wok Hei" (breath of wok) and the key to finding that elusive "Wok Hei" is to find a good chef with a well seasoned wok! That might sound quite intuitive, but the reality is that it is difficult to find an established chef who still cooks all the dishes himself! Most of the time, the arduous task of wok cooking is designated to a lower ranked cook.
When I first wrote about New Ubin Seafood in 2011, they were still located amongst the automotive workshops in Sin Ming. The place was the unusual place to find a zi char but it suited New Ubin's founder, Pang Seng Meng, really well as it was the kind of ulu (remote) place that would remind you of Pulau Ubin itself!
Discovering stalls like Chef Chik is the Holy Grail of every gastronome. I mean, finding really good food is actually not difficult. Just go to a reputable restaurant and pay top dollar for it and you will most likely get a very good meal. But the real trick is to be able to find the […]
I have driven past Yu Cun Fish Head Curry countless of times on the way home but it has never occurred to me that I should have a meal there. The shop's fascade is inescapable. If you travel along Upper Paya Lebar road, often enough, there is no way you will miss it.
Our mid-week makan group continue to scour the island for good zi char places and we begin the new year with a very good meal at Hwa Seafood which is one of these zi char places that is located in an industrial estate. Our kakis are no strangers to Hwa Seafood. In fact, we had […]
I recently discovered a young wok master in Toa Payoh! His name is Jeremy, he's Singaporean and he is 38 this year! As you know, Singaporean born zi char chefs are rarer than the Northern hairy nose wombat, so to be able to find one who can infuse serious wok hei into a plate of hor fun is quite a find!
Singapore’s Top Ten Zi Char Dishes: The Ultimate Zi Char Trail
Previously I took you on a Food Trail for ten iconic hawker dishes, this time we are going to visit 10 zi char stalls for 10 signature dishes! These are some of the most memorable dishes that I have eaten over the last 12 years while writing this blog. If you wanted a whirlwind tour of the Singapore zi char scene, you could hop on a cab and just visit each stall for the one dish and it could all be done in a day!
Picture this scenario: You have some important guests in town and you want to bring them somewhere to taste some local Chinese cuisine. Your first choice is your favourite zi char place, but you want somewhere a little more clean and comfortable. You could bring them to one of the many Chinese restaurants around, but […]
Wong po lou meen, (lit yellow cloth, blanched noodles) is one those old school dishes that is so old that I don't remember eating it as a child! But then again, I didn't come from a family of adventurous gastronomes so that might not mean much.
Eastern House of Seafood Delicacy: Lobster Hokkien Mee!
I first wrote about Eastern House of Seafood Delicacy in 2014 and since then we have been back there for our family meals quite a few times. The food has always been good and prices reasonable and we like that it is located at the bottom of a secluded block of flats in Chai Chee. They have just relocated and even though they are in the heart of Geylang, their new place still has that "ulu" (secluded) feel and best of all, there's free parking on the premises!
I am sure most foodies here would be familiar with Ban Leong Wah Hoe or at least you should know it as that zi char place at Casuarina road. This venerable seafood restaurant has been at the same spot since 1986 and still has that old school coffeeshop feel about it.
Our makan new year got off to a great start with lunch at Whampoa Keng's new flagship restaurant at Killiney road. I wrote about them in 2011 at their place in Balestier. Since then, I have been a regular there and at their other branch at Rangoon road.
