Tiong Bahru Reminisce Part 2

After morning course finished, I decided to walk down leisurely to Tiong Bahru Market. This time I remembered to capture the rustic post colonial building with my PSP cam. As you can see the place seem to untouched by the rapid urbanization brought forth by the Singapore government. However, urbanization signs already creeping in. Nevertheless, I enjoyed whatever that left as I walked down to Tiong Bahru Market.



This is one of the famous food stalls in Tiong Bahru that specialised in Roasted Pig (Roast Suckling Pig) and was showcased in many food variety show in Channel U and 8. I decided to give it a try since there isn't much of a queue.



Since Roast Suckling Pig price had jump due to shortage of supply from China, I decided to go for the cheaper alternative (Charsiew & Roast Pork rice) $5.00 SGD since Roast Suckling Pig price had jump due to shortage of supply from China. The Charsiew is rather lean but very tender unlike those comtemporary Charsiew rice stall out there whereby the pork was roasted too long result it being too tough. It is not sweet to extent of overpowering the pork . However, I prefer my Charsiew to have traces of pork fat adhere to the meat which those health conscious beings will shun. Charsiew tends to taste better with some pork fats as it protect the meat from being overcook and maintain its succulency.

Next, the Roasted Pork is pleasantly crispy at the skin and the fatty portion doesn't cover over 70% of it as compared to those Roasted Pork you find in others store. Unfortunately some of roasted pork skin is rather tough probably due to Singapore high humidity that result in the skin loses it crispiness and become tough. In conclusion, overall the charsiew roasted pork rice is pretty good but I believe there is a lot of room for improvement considering they had garnered so media recognition and awards.

Kimchi Gyoza/Dumplings

Lately, I have been brooding over what dishes will we be having for reunion dinner. Steamboat always has been the usual fanfare. I decided a change is needed for this upcoming reunion dinner. How about Gyoza/Dumplings instead of the boring steamboat?

Gyoza or Dumplings is one of the dishes that is commonly made during Chinese New Year. Chinese Dumplings normally made from mixture of minced pork, chives and spring onions. I decide to give it a korean twist this time - Kimchi Gyoza/Dumplings. This concept was given to me by a Korean Drama "Precious Family" that was screened in Channel U few months back. I decided to give it a try with my own rendition since not much information was given and it turn out quite good.



Kimchi Gyoza/Dumpling

1. Dumpling Skin 2 packet (available $1.90 at Sheng Siong)
2. Minced Pork 500g
3. Mat Kimchi 250g (available in alot of supermart, avoid local brand called Gana)
4. Pressed Tofu (not tau kwa or tau poh)
   
5. Egg
6. Corn Starch
7. Dry Chili Flakes (optional)
8. Ginseng Powder (optional)

For minced pork, it best not to get lean meat as you need retain certain amount fat when you frying the gyoza on a pan to retain the meat juiciness. First you need to buy Kimichi that is cut to smaller pieces, for this gyoza you to chop it up further so that it will mix well with mince meat. For 500g of mince meat, you need 250g of gyoza about 1 normal soup bowl. For a square piece of pressed tofu, you only need half of it.

First, mash the tofu into bits. After that, mix in the chopped kimchi into the mash tofu until it is blend well. Next add in the mince meat, you might want to use your hand this time (make sure you detox before you mix it) to ensure the kimichi gyoza filling is blend well. At this juncture, you can add in the 1 or 2 eggs, 3 teaspoons of corn starch and 2 tablespoon of light soya sauce to flavour and congeal the fillings. Knead the whole gyoza fillings until it blends well and it time to wrap the gyoza and do a taste test.

Normally, I will wrap 2 gyoza. One will be use for the pan fried another is for boiling in soup. After cooking this 2 gyoza, you ask someone to taste test it to see whether it is too salty or too bland. From there, you just adjust the soya sauce or kimichi consistency to your liking. After you finalized the exact flavour, it is time to wrap them up and pan fry them or cook them in broth. Make sure you finish up the whole gyoza mixture, as the mixture cannot be keep overnight as the meat composition will start to turn due to the lactic acid in kimchi.

For extra power, I add in 1 teaspoon of ginseng powder and korean chili flakes which even bring more flavour to this dish. For pan fried gyoza, make sure you got a non stick frying pan with a lid put in 1 tablespoon oil and ensure all areas of the pan is coated with oil then you line up all the gyoza in the pan and fired up the pan. Fried for about 10mins, you add half a cup of broth or water into the pan and cover it. Let it boil and steam cook the gyo for 15mins or so uncover the lid and let it boil until the broth/water evaporate. Then let it fry for another 10 mins to ensure the gyoza bottom is crisp then it is ready to serve.

Old Tiong Bahru Market Reminsce

I went early to Tiong Bahru Plaza to finalize my course payment. Since it has been 13 years since my last visit to Tiong Bahru Market, I decided to walk down to take a look at the new Tiong Bahru market that reopened in 13 November 2006. As I walk idly down Tiong Bahru Road enjoying the view of Tiong Bahru old building that lined up both side of Tiong Bahru.

I wondering those Tiong Bahru Market delicacies that I had enjoyed past 13 years whether they still be there after the major renovation. As it is a common that previous hawkers due to high rental after renovation, they will choose to move to other food centres. It took me about 15mins walk till I reached the new Tiong Bahru Market. I was suprised it is 2 storey and the food stalls is located at the second storey.


I always like the Tiong Bahru Lor Mee as I remembered correctly one particular Lor Mee store they serve steam fish as opposed to just with normal ngoh hiang and braised pork belly. I finally found the store Lor Mee 178, unfortunately they no longer serve Lor Mee with steam fish but Fried Shark Meat. I decided to give the evolved Lor Mee a try to see if it is better than the predecessor.

The Lor Mee thick soup is thick in the right constituency with hint of cinnamon that is missing in other Lor Mee that only taste of soy and nothing else. But the soup is not as robust in taste as compared to previous. Nevertheless, it is still superior to other Lor Mee soup base out there as other Lor Mee soup base become watery as you eat further. The usual Lor Mee condiment still there shred of pork belly and fried crispy flour bits. I decide to start on the fried shark meat and found it to be quite nice without the oily aftertaste. You can taste the shark meat is marinate well with ginger yet not too overpowering.

In conclusion, I still prefer if they still serve steam fish over fried shark meat as too much fried stuff don't really compliment the Lor Mee well and it is the steam fish that draw me to this Lor Mee. For those that like fried food, this is probably a welcome change they have been waiting to happen.

Tired of Your Regular French Fries

It been a while since I updated the blog. Been busy with work since the new year started, nevertheless grocery shopping is always a stress reliever for me than being a chore for most people. With the shopping list that I drafted out in my mind, I decided to make my first stop at Bugis Junction to see the renovation progress with the basement. To my surprise, I found a rather interesting food stall (Yella Fellas) in Bugis Junction basement selling only French Fries. Yes French Fries not those you find in KFC, MacDonalds but Fries that are straight cut from russet potato and serve with assorted gravy (beef gravy, etc), dip sauce (wasabi mayo, salsa, cheese, etc) and condiments (crab meat, etc).

Unlike fast food french fries, Yella Fellas Fries are made straight from russet potato and did not undergo treatment to increase it physical mass while the potato pulp is seriously missing which is common in fast food restaurant fries. I found one particular Yellow Fellas French Fries combo rather unique as the french fries is served with real Spicy Crab meat topping and I decided give a try. Unfortunately, it is only available by 12pm and I was too early. Rather than waiting 1 hour, I decide to settle for the next best combo The Poutine - French Fries drizzle with beef gravy and serve with premium cheese $4.90 (not those cheese sauce you see KFC cheese fries but cheese cubes)

After 15 mins wait, I was serve with a piping hot tray of fries drizzle with beef gravy and cheese. Pardon the lack of photo as it is hard to take a picture with a PSP cam with one hand holding the tray while trying to fix the camera device to my PSP. My first impression - the fries is rather crisp on the outside but full of pulp in the inside which is nice and do not have the oily aftertaste you get from those fries in fast food restaurant. The beef gravy is a disappointment as it taste like instant gravy sauce (Gravox, Erin or Bistro) as I was expecting to see bits of ground beef coupled with beefy thick stock similar to the beefy sauce they serve in MOS burger. The premium cheese (cream cheese) serving is rather generous but it doesn't look goes that well with hot fries as it start to disintegrate, I would prefer if they serve with Feta cheese as they tend to be more resistance to heat.

Overall, it is a valiant attempt to bring novelty to Singapore boring F&B scene where there are so many food outlet selling similar food items (Donuts, Taiwan XXL Chicken etc). Yellow Fellas really need to strengthen their toppings in order justify the price for their fries. For those bored with fast food french fries and wanted something new and exciting can give it a try.