Ri Ri Hong Mala Hot Pot (日日红麻辣香锅) - Chinatown

The waves of the Mala Xiang Guo (麻辣香锅) have hit the shores of Singapore around 2 years back and have shown no signs of abating. This popular dish, orginated from Sichuan, can now be found in almost all the hawker centres and food courts.

Do not get mistaken this with the usual Mala hotpot, of which the ingredients are cooked in the steamboat with the boiling spicy Mala soup.

To whip up Mala Xiang Guo, these elements must be present. 麻 literally means numbling sensation. This is achieved by the use of Sichuan peppercorn, containing 3% hydroxy-alpha-sanshool. 辣 refers to spiciness. Dried chilli pepper and a number of herbs and spices are simmered with oil for many hours to create the Mala sauce. The Mala sauce is then used to stir-fried the ingredients until the dish is fragrant 香 in a wok 锅.

So how do you order this dish? Here are step-by-step guide:
1. Pick the ingredients as if you are eating yong tau foo. At Ri Ri Hong, the ingredients are kept in the fridge to maintain freshness. Someone will assist you to retrieve the items.

There is a price list on display to indicate the cost of vegetables, meat and seafood.

2. Once you have chosen the ingredients, select the spiciness level (low, medium, high, very high). You even choose the dish not to be spicy at all. If you are eating this for the first time and can take spicy food, I will recommend you to start with medium spiciness.

3. Get a queue number and wait for your turn while the cook is performing his magic.

4. It's done! The fragrant Mala Xiang Guo is served in a big bowl for you to bring back happily to your table.

The ingredients are fresh and well cooked with the spicy gravy which is very flavourful. The dish may look slightly oily, but is in actual fact not excessive. At each mouthful, you can experience the stimulating spiciness, with occasional numbling effect if you happen to chew the Sichuan peppercorn. The spiciness continues to grow as you progress, but yet you will crave for more.

Definitely one of the best Mala Xiang Guo I have ever tried. And the best price is that the price level is unmatchable with such superior taste quality!

Budget : $

Rating : 8.75 / 10

UFM 100.3 Survey: Best Rojak

Results of this week 美食大PK on the best Rojak:

1. Soon Heng at #B1-23 HDB Hub
2. Hoover at Whampoa Food Centre
3. Brothers at 449 Clementi Ave 3

Remember to cast your vote before 7.45am every Tuesday!

Geylang Serai Hari Raya Bazaar

The annual Geylang Serai Hari Raya Bazaar is back. Starting Jun 29, this bazaar houses many stalls, selling from traditional costumes to toys to carpets, and naturally becomes a must-go place for many as part of Hari Raya celebration before it ends on Jul 27. Located conveniently near Paya Lebar MRT station, this is also a great hunting place for food lovers like us.

Facing Sims Ave

Requiring little introduction is the all-time favourite Ramly burger. Being sold in numerous stalls and each having long queue, it is really tough to tell which one offers the best. Unlike other burgers, the chicken or beef patty is grilled on the electric griddle before being wrapped in a layer of egg and stuffed into the bun. Look at the stacks of buns ready for consumption!

My top find is the Turkish Pita from Turkish Kebab House. You can see how the pita bread was freshly made, from preparing the dough to baking it in the electric oven. The pita bread is then sliced to create a "flap". Cheese and garlic are applied and vegetables is added, before the warm, juicy slices of meat is cut and inserted to create the wonderful final product.

Try the Prawn Vadai. The dough with a prawn is deep fried on the spot and served hot. Originated from South India, this is best eaten with fresh green chillis.

How about Sotong Panggang? The squid is huge as you can tell from the long sticks used for grilling. Both options of spicy and non-spicy sauces are available.

First time eating Dendeng, equivalent of beef "bak kwa". The meat is well marinated and BBQ. Very juicy!

Facing Paya Lebar MRT station

Another ultra-popular stall. A queue will start way before the stall opens at 7pm. A young Thai coconut is cut into half. 2 scoops of ice-cream are placed in one of the half, and topped with peanut, corns and attap seed before drizzled with gula melaka. So nice and sweet! I bet you will scrap off every bit of the coconut flesh.

Come and enjoy the festive mood as well as these great food!

UFM 100.3 Survey: Best Ma La Xiang Guo

Results for the best Ma La Xiang Guo:

1. No.1 日日红 at People's Park Hawker Centre - Read full review here
2. Somerset 313 Food Republic food court
3. JEM 5th level food court

Give your fullest support to UFM 100.3 美食大PK !

Pince & Pints - Tanjong Pagar

Singapore 1st Lobster-only restaurant. Yes, Singapore, but not the world. If you have been to London, you probably have heard about Burger and Lobster, a famous chain that offers nice and affordable lobster set meals. At Pince & Pints, you will be able to find many similarities, such as a simple menu with 3 options. Even the pricing is also set at a similar level (S$48 vs £20). Am I complaining? Of course not. In fact, I love lobsters and am thrilled that I can enjoy a lobster meal without forking out money for expensive air ticket!

Pince & Pints does not take reservation and with limited seating capacity, this could mean a wait of more than an hour, depending on the number of people in your group. My advice is either you turn early or provide your phone number to the staff and have a drink elsewhere while waiting for your turn.

Once seated, you will be given a menu in a "lobster cage".

The first two items are the same as Burger and Lobster: Whole Lobster, steamed or grilled, as well as Lobster Roll. Instead of beef burger (I really wonder how many people actually chose beef burger at lobster restaurant), Pince & Pints offers a local twist, with Chilli Lobster as a third item.

The lobsters here are around 600g each and imported from Atlantic Coast, such as Boston. Pince & Pints is very particular about how these lobsters are sourced and only work with fisheries that adhere to certain rules and regulations to ensure sustainability. The wild-caught lobsters are air-flown here and kept in speically designed environment before transferring to the restaurant to maintain freshness.

Chilli Lobster is served in a claypot and is accompanied by a plate of 5 deep fried mantous (buns). The gravy is though nice, is not spicy enough for me. I found it more of ketchup than chilli. Maybe this is to cater to non-spicy eaters and perhaps a solution to this could be offering different levels of spiciness, as the preference differs widely from one diner to another. Given the size of the mantous, they are not enough to soak up all the gravy. Good that they do offer additional serving at S$3.50. Would like to caution here that things could get quite messy when handling lobster drenched in the gravy.

Also tried the Grilled Lobster, which I prefer over the Chilli Lobster as the chilli gravy tends to cover the natural sweetness of crustacean. The fragrant smoky taste attached to the succulent meat is well enhanced by the accompanied herbed butter sauce.

Overall, I will still put Burger and Lobster ahead of Pince & Pints based on taste and overall experience, but I would also say Pince & Pints is not far behind. Given time, I believe they will get better. Will definitely come back and try to Steamed Lobster and Lobster Roll.

Budget : $ $ $

Rating : 8 / 10

Eat Like An Expert: Durian - D197 Mao Shan Wang (猫山王)

D24, Mao Shan Wang, D13, XO, Red Prawns, D1, Black Pearl....so many types of durians. Can you differentiate them? Do you know why there is a prefix 'D'? Which are the better ones? If you are the type who enjoys eating good durians but can't be bothered to "research" about them, I would say that sticking to Mao Shan Wang is a safe bet. However, the issue is that Mao Shan Wang commands a premium over an average durian due to the taste and popularity. That is why it is important to have some basic knowledge to avoid being cheated, and at the same time, make you seem like an expert!

Before I go straight into Mao Shan Wang, here are some general knowledge about durians.  There are many numerous durian cultivars, i.e. varieties, selected for having more superior qualities. In Malaysia, once registered with Department of Agriculture, the cultivar will be given a code name 'Dxxx' with the numeric in chronological order and serves as copyright equivalent for the planters. Planting using seeds from trees with superior fruits have historically ended in mixed results. Therefore, nowadays these cultivars are cloned using cultivation techniques such as marcotting. In addition, to the code name, most of the durians also have local names that convey certain characteristics.

In the case of Mao Shan Wang, it is also known as Musang King (毛山王) or Cat Mountain King. This name is derived from Gua Musang region, where the clone is first planted and where the main fruit trading centre in Kelatan is located. The birth origin of Mao Shan Wang is at Tanah Merah, Kelantan. Sometimes, it is also called Raja Kunyit - kunyit literally means tumeric yellow, the colour of the flesh. Registered in 1993, it has a code name D197.

Mao Shan Wang is now grown in different states in Malaysia. Majority of those exported to Singapore comes from Pahang and Johor.

How to tell if a durian is Mao Shan Wang?

On the surface,

• "Birthmark" - brownish starfish-like shape at the base. There is a Thai variety Chanee with similar feature. But if there is no "starfish", it is definitely not Mao Shan Wang

• Shape - oval or "pear" shape, and seldom round

• Thorns - short and thick pyramid shape with 4 to 6 sides at the base, and seldom cone

• Colour - various shades of green, but usually light green. The lighter the green, the bitter the taste. Some are greyish brown

Inside the husk,

• Flesh colour - bright buttery yellow. That is why it has the word kunyit in its name

• Flesh texture - creamy and rich, but lack of fibre. Flesh can get dislodge from the seed quite easily

• Seed - small and usually sunk in

• Taste - sweet at first bite transforming to bitter as you swallow; some say the other way round

• Smell - sweet aroma, with mild pungent

However, not all the Mao Shan Wang are created equal. 

There are some species that some claim are of higher quality. At some stalls, some of the Mao Shan Wang are labelled as "King of Kings" (王中王). These are the Mao Shang Wang from the original established plantations where the trees are very old. Some like the ones from Bentong region in Pahang and consider them to be the best. Another popular type is the mini Mao Shan Wang, each weighs less than 1 kg.

UFM 100.3 Survey: Best Curry Puff

Results of this week 美食大PK on UFM 100.3 for best curry puff:

1. Tip Top Curry Puff at 722 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8
2. Killiney Curry Puff at 93 Killiney Road
3. Rolina at Serangoon Garden Food Centre

Let's continue to support this segment and tell the world of your favourite choice.