The Final Battlestar Galactica Apocalypse - Right here!!!

[General Veers]

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[General Veers]

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[General Veers]

I don't have a secret recipe

The New Paper
Sunday, Nov 10, 2013

Char kway teow stallholder chosen as hawker master trainer says anyone can cook the dish.

I have no secret char kway teow recipe, said Mr Tan Ah Guan, 62, who has been cooking the dish for more than 40 years.

He has been running the popular Apollo Fresh Cockle Fried Kway Teow at Marine Parade Food Centre since 1975.

He said anyone can do it.

"Everyone keeps asking me, but there is really no secret.

"Okay, you will need some hand-eye coordination and you need to fry it with some effort," he said.

Mr Tan is one of the Hawker Master Trainers in the Hawker Master Trainer Pilot Programme, which was launched last month to preserve Singapore's hawker heritage. Other veteran hawkers involved include Mr Thian Boon Hua, who owns chicken rice chain Boon Tong Kee, and Madam Lai Yau Kiew of Ji Ji Wanton Noodle Specialist at Upper Cross Street.

The slim Mr Tan shyly declined an interview at first because he was worried about the attention. "Too many people know me. They don't call me by my name, but they will call out, 'Apollo, Apollo', instead," he said. The self-taught hawker started out selling fried carrot cake from a makeshift cart with two younger brothers at Haig Road, opposite the former Paramount Hotel.

They also helped their parents, who sold durians at the same place. Mr Tan moved into a stall in Marine Parade Food Centre in 1975. In 1997, he paid $17,500 for a 20-year lease of the stall. His stall sees an endless stream of customers, even during the non-peak period in the mid-afternoon, and it is open from 8am to 8pm, six days a week.

A friend helps collect the money. He has three children, a 24-year-old son and two daughters in their 30s who are university graduates. They are not interested in taking over the business. Mr Tan, who lives in a four-room flat in Bedok and cycles to the hawker centre every day, said: "They like char kway teow and I take it home for them. They have never stepped into this hawker centre.

"I didn't want them to hang around here when they were younger because I was worried that they would mix with the wrong company." He told us the kind of apprentice he prefers to teach. He said: "Preferably someone in his 30s because this is a tiring job. He needs to have the patience too. "And the person should be a Singaporean because char kway teow is a Singapore dish, after all."

He conceded, however, that this job may not be for everyone. Although he can retire soon, Mr Tan wants to continue selling char kway teow, at least until his stall's lease ends in four years' time. A plate of his char kway teow costs $3 or $5. Gesturing to his tiny work space, he said: "This place is hot and oily and once you step inside, you are stuck here for almost the whole day.

"But I've been doing it from the start for so many years so I'm used to it." Before signing on to the pilot programme, Mr Tan was not able to find a successor. When asked if it would be a pity, he shrugged.
Added Mr Tan: "Char kway teow is a popular Singapore dish that everyone knows. "I will try my best to teach. If he puts in the effort, the apprentice should be able to master the skill."

---

HIS RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Location

His stall is near Parkway Parade. Business was at its peak in the 1980s, when the mall first opened.

Be generous with ingredients

Mr Tan says he is not stingy with ingredients because customers can tell the difference. Stalls that try to cut costs this way will become unpopular, he reasons. He buys about 50 bags of cockles a day.

Be different

His char kway teow is "watery" compared to other versions of the dish.
This makes his noodles special, says Mr Tan.
He uses the sauce from the cockles to create the effect, and says this makes it more delicious.

Have a catchy name

His stall is named Apollo, after the historic Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969. It is an easy name to remember and customers associate it with him and his dish.

Use lard

He acknowledges that lard is unhealthy, but insists that char kway teow will not be tasty if cooked using other types of oil. He adds that he does not use a lot of lard and people usually do not eat char kway teow every day.

By the numbers

12: The number of hours he's on his feet daily at his stall (except on Tuesdays, his day off).

100: The minimum number of plates of noodles he sells a day.

1984: The year his stall became really popular as Parkway Parade opened nearby, bringing in the crowds.

$2,000: That's how much he makes in a month.

 

[AhMeng]

His children really stupid. Got own biz dun want to do and want to work as slaves for others. Dumbfucks sinkies indeed.

 

[General Veers]

30 famous local foods to eat in Singapore before you die

By Seth Lui
sethlui.com
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013

Singapore is a melting pot of different cuisines, incorporating a rich heritage of food dishes consisting of Chinese, Indian, Malaysian and Indonesian influences. If you are a Singaporean, you would have seen these dishes in the hawker centres below your void deck, in the food courts of shopping centres and in the quaint decades old shop-houses.

These are the real dishes you need to eat in Singapore before you die. I know there are still dozens of dishes in Singapore that are true to our heritage, but if I were to cover them all, this list would take you two years to finish reading.

As a Singaporean, there is no excuse not to try these time-tested foods we all grew up with. As a tourist, this is a good checklist of authentic local cuisine in Singapore. These are the foods to eat in Singapore when you visit.

Many others have tried to cover Singapore's food and although I appreciate Chef Anthony Bourdain for his wonderful exploration of Singapore food in his travel journals, I feel only a local can truly express the adequate love for our unique cuisine.

*Note that most restaurants close on Mondays

1. Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶, literally Meat bone tea)

One of the many stories of Bak Kut Teh's invention was that during the olden days of Singapore, a poor, starving beggar came by a road side pork noodle store to beg for food. The stall owner was in poverty, but wanted to help him. He boiled some of his left over pork bones and added whatever cheap spices he had to flavour the soup, including star anise and pepper which created a soup resembling tea in colour. Thus pork bone tea was born.

Bak Kut Teh has been in Singapore since we were still a developing country and deserves its recognition as a simple, humble dish. Most of the Bak Kut Teh here are the pepper variety. Choose pork ribs meat in your soup for a more tender bite. The other variant would be the Klang Bak Kut Teh, a dark and highly flavoured herbal soup originating from Malaysia.

Best Bak Kut Teh stalls:

Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh: 7 Keppel Road, #01-05/07, PSA Tanjong Pagar Complex, Singapore 089053

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh: 11 New Bridge Road #01-01, Singapore 059383

Ng Ah Sio Pork Ribs Soup: 208 Rangoon Road, Hong Building Singapore 218453

Leong Kee (Klang) Bak Kut Teh: 321 Beach Road, Singapore 199557

2. Wanton Mee (云吞面)

The Singapore Wanton noodles was probably influenced by Hong Kong cuisine, but has become entrenched in our culture over the years. The Singapore version is typically eaten 'dry', drenched with some light sweet sauce, slices of pork char siew and wanton dumplings filled with pork, with a small bowl of soup on the side. Auntie will also ask if you want spicy or not. The spicy type sees chilli being mixed into the noodles, while the non-spicy kids version will have tomato sauce mixed in. Wanton dumplings may be either deep fried or come in soup dumplings.
The Malaysian variant is a darker colored sauce, sweeter tasting mee.

Best Wanton Mee stalls:

Fei Fei Wanton Mee: 62 Joo Chiat Place, Singapore 427785

Kok Kee Wanton Mee: 380 Jalan Besar, Lavender Food Square, #01-06, Singapore 209000

Parklane Zha Yun Tun Mee House: 91 Bencoolen Street, #01-53, Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652

3. Fried Carrot Cake (菜头粿)

No, this isn't the American Dessert. This is far from it. The Singaporean Fried Carrot cake is made with eggs, preserved radish (chai poh) and white radish flour cake, which resembles a 'white carrot' and how the name comes about.

This is a Teochew dish popular both in Singapore and Malaysia. Variants include the 'black' version, which is with sweet sauce (molasses) added, or a crispy version with the cake fried on top of a beaten egg to create a crust and chunks of cake. Most commonly seen in Singapore though is the chopped up version with individual radish cake cubes.

Best Fried Carrot Cake Stalls:

Carrot Cake 菜頭粿 (that's the literal name of the store): 20 Kensington Park Road, Chomp Chomp Food Centre, Singapore 557269

Fu Ming Carrot Cake: Blk 85 Redhill Lane, Redhill Food Centre, Singapore 150085

Hai Sheng Carrot Cake: Blk 724 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6, Market and Food Centre, #01-09, Singapore 560724

4. Dim sum (点心)

Another Hong Kong-/ Shanghai-inspired type of dish available in Singapore is the Dim Sum or 'Dian xin'. This is not exactly one dish, but a set of small dishes to be savoured in a group - a typical Chinese dining sharing custom. Popular dim sum dishes include the BBQ Pork Bun, Xiao Long Bao, Siew Mai, Chee Chong Fun and many more.

Best Dim Sum Stalls:

Swee Choon Tim Sum: 191 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208882

Tim Ho Wan: 450 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, #02-02, ERA Centre, Singapore 319394

Wen Dao Shi (搵到食): 126 Sims Ave, Singapore 387449

5. Kaya Toast and Soft-boiled Eggs

The one and only traditional Singaporean breakfast - Kaya toast with soft-boiled eggs. The traditional bread is an old school rectangular white loaf, toasted with a bread grill, lathered with coconut or egg kaya, then slapped with a thick slice of SCS butter to slowly melt within two slices of warm bread. This is the classic kaya toast. Variations include using thinly sliced brown bread, round buns or 'Jiam Tao Loh Tee' which is similar to a French baguette.

For the eggs, it's usually put in a large hot water metal pot and covered with a plate. Then you time it and take out the egg when it's ready (about 7-10 minutes depending on how well you like your egg). Trying not to scream like a little girl, crack open the eggs with your bare hands onto one of the two plates given and throw the shells on the remaining plate. Season with pepper and dark/light soya sauce.

Best Kaya Toast stalls:

Killiney Kopitiam: 67 Killiney Road, Singapore 239525

Chin Mee Chin Confectionery: 204 East Coast Road, Singapore 428903

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe: 20 Upper Pickering Street, Hong Lim Green Community Centre, Singapore 058284

Ya Kun Kaya Toast: 18 China Street #01-01, Far East Square, Singapore 049560 (there are over 30 outlets of Ya Kun in Singapore now)

6. Crabs (Chilli or Pepper)

The two most famous styles of crab cooking in Singapore are with a sweet, spicy tomato-ish chilli sauce, or with black pepper sauce. Chilli crabs are usually eaten along with fried mantous (buns), which are dipped in the luscious chilli sauce. Well prepared crabs go through a 2 step cooking process, boiled first then fried so that the meat doesn't stick to the shell. Recently, many popular styles of cooking have surfaced as well, like salted-egg crabs or crab bee hoon.

Best Singapore Crab stalls:

Red House Seafood Restaurant: 68 Prinsep Street, Singapore 188661

No Signboard Seafood: 414 Geylang Singapore 389392

Long Beach Seafood: Blk 1018 East Coast Parkway, Singapore 449877

Crab Party: 98 Yio Chu Kang Road, Singapore 545576

Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood: 122 Casuarina Road, Singapore 579510

7. Laksa

Laksa is a dish merged from Chinese and Malay elements otherwise known as Peranakan culture. There are two main types of laksa - curry laksa and assam laksa. Curry laksa is more predominant in Singapore, while assam laksa is found more in Malaysian regions like Penang Laksa. In fact there loads of variants of laksas differing in fish type, broth and even noodles.

Traditional Singapore Curry Laksa uses vermicelli, coconut milk, tau pok (beancurd puffs), fish slices, shrimp and cockles (hum). Due to cost cutting or taste preference, some stalls might opt out of shrimp and cockles. A unique Singapore variant known as Katong Laksa has its vermicelli cut into short ends and is eaten only with a spoon. There is much debate on who is the original Katong Laksa.

Best Laksa Stalls:

328 Katong Laksa: 51/53 East Coast Road, Singapore 428770

Sungei Road Laksa: Blk 27 Jalan Berseh, #01-100 Singapore 200027

Janggut Laksa: 1 Queensway, Queensway Shopping Centre, #01-59, Singapore 149053

8. Curry Fish Head

Is it Chinese, Indian or Malay? This is another ambiguous dish whose heritage we will never know. What I do know, is that it's delicious. Either half a head or the whole head of a red snapper is stewed in curry with assorted vegetables like lady's finger (okra) and brinjal. The Indian style of curry has heavier spices and flavours, while the Chinese styles are lighter and sweeter.Variants include the Assam style fish head curry, which adds in a tinge of sourness with tamarind fruit (assam).

Best Curry Fish head stalls:

Ocean Curry Fish Head (assam style): 92 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310092

Bao Ma Curry Fish Head (chinese style): #B1-01/07, 505 Beach Road, Golden Mile Food Centre, Singapore 199583

Zai Shun Curry Fish Head (chinese style): Blk 253, Jurong East St 24, #01-205, Singapore 600253

Karu's Indian Banana Leaf Restaurant (Indian style): 808/810, Upper Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 678145

Muthu's Curry (Indian style): Blk 7, Dempsey Road, Singapore 249671

9. Bak Chor Mee (肉脞面)

Colloquially known as Bak Chor Mee, this is a noodle dish with minced pork, liver, meat balls/fish balls, fish cake slices and a signature vinegar braised sauce that adds some wetness. Typically, the dish is ordered 'dry' to savour full flavours of the sauce and you can choose between chilli or ketchup, and the type of noodle to use. Noodle choices are normally either Mee Pok (a flat noodle) or Mee Kia (thin noodle), while some stalls offer bee hoon, mee sua or mee tai mak as well. Variants include an exclusively soup version with home-made noodles famous at Bedok Blk 85.

Best Bak Chor mee stalls:

Tai Hwa Pork Noodle: Blk 466 Crawford Lane #01-12 S(190465), Singapore 190465

58 Minced Meat Mee: 3 Yung Sheng Road, #03-150, Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre, Singapore 618495

Seng Hiang Food Stall (soup variant): Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4, Fengshan Market & FoodCentre, Singapore 460085

Seng Kee Mushroom Minced Pork Noodles: 49A Serangoon Garden Way, Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre, Singapore 555945

10. Oyster Omelette (Orh Lua)

A dish popular in Singapore's hawker centres as well as Taiwan's night markets, this is a dish many foreigners and locals love. Stalls that sell carrot cake typically also sell oyster omelettes as it's a similar cooking process as well as utilizing a common ingredient: Eggs. Potato starch is usually mixed into frying the egg and gives a thicker, fuller taste. Variants include a version without the starch, which is priced slightly higher due to more eggs needed instead. A special vinegar chilli is also paired exclusively with oyster omelettes in Singapore.

Best Oyster Omelette stalls:

Simon Road Oyster Omelette: 965 Upper Serangoon Road, Mee Sek Coffeeshop, Singapore 534721

Ang Sa Lee Oyster Omelette: 20 Kensington Park Road, Chomp Chomp, Singapore 557269

Bedok 85 Fried Oyster Omelette: Blk 85 Bedok North Street 4, Fengshan Market & FoodCentre, Singapore 460085

 

[TeamDrifter]

Boh Seng Li???

Maybe they are waiting for the mole head to be out?

 

[TeamDrifter]

I don't have a secret recipe

$2,000: That's how much he makes in a month.

$2,000? Limpeh tok, limpeh really tok. He must have forgotten a zero?

 

[ilovesingapore]

More camps appearing....ALAMAKING AND JW5 AND SHARING NICKS ....OKAY

POWERFUL TEAM...AMBIVALENT...CAN BE EITHER SIDE, BUT ALSO FEROCIOUSLY ANTI PAPA.....TOGETHER WITH THE TWIN SWORD TFBH AND ZHIHAU, THEY FORM
ANOTHER FORMIDABLE TEAM....BUT THEY ARE ALSO THE UNTOUCHABLES....BUT NOT AS VULGAR AND MERCILESS AS THE THAI MAFIA GANG - DAMNED SHORlOR!!!
EPITOMISED BY I H P AND CHONBRURIFC AND WIKIPHILE - THE WORST LOW DOWN SCUMBAGS IN THIS FORUM.....

FROGGY JOE, ONCE VERY ADORABLE AND ADMIRABLE, HAS TURNED TO THE VERY DARK SIDE.....with all the profanities and obscenities of I H P ....PLEASE JUDGE ME...THERE IS NO NEED TO JUDGE YOU NOW FROGGY, YOU HAVE JUDGED YOURSELF WORTHY OF CONDEMNATION....belong to the class of IHP Chon Wikiphile....

 

[ilovesingapore]

now more Heads are emerging...clone head, mafia head, turdhead, cookhead, shithead...and all sorts of heads...all trying to fish in this muddy water

and that stupid ahbeng group are still eating bananas and pangsai paw while LIFE HERE IS AT STAKE.....nahbeh still spoiling the thread and trivializing it....TUI!!!

 

[ilovesingapore]

Who are the monkeys here who ate away the bananas of this wonderful and important thread?

1. Joetys the Froggy Head >>> A gentleman turned genitals. A decent forummer turned vulgar. A humble man turned big time samseng bully.
2. I H P >>> The iconic daily masturbator of SBF.Big time gambler and gangster head of Geylang and Joo Chiat. The most vulgar in SBF.
3. Chonburifc >>> Confucius scholar turned ugly. A filial son turned treacherous and evil. A sage turned demon. A henchman of Joetys.Ball less
4. Wikphile >>> The most hideous and the most diabolical .The most merciless and the most obscene forummer .Beat I H P hands and pants down.
5. Ah Meng >>> The epitome of utter foolishness and stupidity aka I H P - the plaything of this forum, abused,whanking orang utan of SBF.
6. Cockeyed Clones and Handles >> Playing to the fiddle and spoiling the broth ....All little Geylang samsengkias out to disrupt and destroy.
7. Zhihau >>> The King Player who fell from Grace like his Mentor JW5 - who is inflicted with Screwballism and is still in severe pain.
8. ILOVEPAP >>> Eager and desperate to know the Revelations and the Masters behind the Universe >>> Double Crosser and Diabolical>>>
9. M B S S L O T S >>> The Man To Watch - silent, powerful, mysterious and King Maker in this forum>>> The Culling Master >>>
10. D R I F T E R >>> Another POWER in this SBF >>> Another King Maker - Man mover, Power shifter and Mysterious Behind....>>>Great Cook<<<
11. ALAMAKING AND HIS NICKS >>> Another power Group <<< AMBIVALENT >>>
12. ANONYMOUS GROUP...eErotica...Fishypie....Equally Powerful and Fair and Just POWER

The rest are just players, pawns and foot soldiers....Happy Sunday Singapore!!!!!! HUAT AH!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ilovesingapore]

wHY IS drifter SUDdenly back on star trek battleship ???

 

[zhihau]

$2,000? Limpeh tok, limpeh really tok.

so ho tarn meh? 20K a month?

 

[AhMeng]

Should I go sheng shiong or ntuc?

Which one better?

 

[GoldenDragon]

Today istana ground open boh? Ah Meng need to do some exercise and need a good clean park leh.

If close, can always try Oxley. Your companion can be found there. Older than you though.

 

[ilovesingapore]

what is happening to my battlestar galactica ?? wtf is happening here ?

now got fight until into the Istana...even using the Golden Dragon Sword too...waupiang!!!...lausia liao lah!!!

 

[ilovesingapore]

talk no more KOPI, i am going to finish you off tonite....tonight is the nite....

 

[ilovesingapore]

i will join you to finish off kopi....he is the troll...he is the snowdenite.....

 

[ilovesingapore]

Kopi, you cannot escape now. you are surrounded and you are going to disappear tonite...

 

[ilovesingapore]

Kopi we are going to take you tonite....

where have all the pangsai paos gone to tonite???

 

[AhMeng]

If close, can always try Oxley. Your companion can be found there. Older than you though.

I rather visit Ah Neh Mustafa than to go Oxley leh