ieatishootipost Survey: Singapore Top 10 Cze Char Dishes

Another survey conducted by ieatishootipost. This time round was on Singapore Top 10 Cze Char Dishes. A total of 8497 votes has been casted. Below is the result:

1. Har Cheong Gai (Prawn Paste Chicken) 1002
2. Sambal Kangkong 821
3. Hot Plate Tofu 758
4. Sweet and Sour Pork 685
5. Cereal Prawns 572
6. Pai Gu Wang 550
7. Hor Fun 538
8. Curry Fish Head 506
9. Salted Egg Prawns 491
10. Hae Zhor 451

The results seem quite reasonable to me.

Chicken meat is probably the most popular meat as it is acceptable in terms of palate to most and rarely restricted due to religious reason. As such, I am not surprised to see Har Cheong Gai so high up in the ranking.

Interesting to see only one veggie dish making into the top 10. Maybe the votes are spread across different types of vegetables with various types of cooking methods, except for Sambal Kangkong which is more distinct.

Personally, I would place Curry Fish Head high in the ranking, but I could understand not all people can take spicy food and Curry Fish Head is not something you would order every time when you eat Cze Char. 

A little surprised to see two prawn dishes, with Salted Egg Prawns being the second one, in the Top 10. I would have thought that at least one egg dish to be included.

Do you agree with the results? Any of your choices not up in Top 10?

Most importantly, where are the best ones of these top dishes?

Sembawang White Bee Hoon You Huak Restaurant - Sembawang

The length of the queue usually can provide some indication whether the food is good or not. However, it does not mean if the queue is long, the food must be good. Many times, the long queue is a result of convenience. For example, if a place has very few eating options nearby and many people happen to be there for some other reason (e.g. exhibition, theme park), I will not be surprised that the queue is long, even the food is subpar. On the other hand, if it is a place of inconvenience and people are willing to travel and queue, this speaks a lot about the quality of the food.

This is the case for Sembawang White Bee Hoon, which is located in the relatively quiet Northern part of Singapore. But not so quiet for the restaurant itself. Despite arriving before 6pm, I still need to queue up for close to an hour.

The attraction of the dinner was of course the White Bee Hoon itself, a dish being ordered at every table. Frankly speaking, I have never heard of White Bee Hoon before this meal. I am not a big fan of bee hoon and usually find it too plain. But in this case, I was totally wrong. Wow! This was the feeling when I took the first mouthful of the bee hoon. It was so flavouful, a contrast from its white colour. The White Bee Hoon is simmered in the tasty stock and comes with wok hei flavour. The large serving is good for 4 people, if you order some other dishes as well. Definitely a Must-try dish here.

I found the chilli sauce to be very nice too, spicy enough and more sour than the typical. Really stimulate one's appetite.

Another very popular dish here. The crispy beancurd skin of the Meat & Prawn Roll (Ngor Hiong) has a lighter shade of brown and has a clean fresh taste, probably they change the cooking oil very frequently. The filling includes fish paste, in addition to the usual minced pork and prawns. Cannot really say it is among the best, but is another Must-try. Comes with the sweet chilli dip, instead of the typical sweet brown sauce.

I love Stir Fry Fish Head here. The chopped fish head chunks are cooked with mildly spicy flavoured chilli paste, which balances the sweetness of the fish meat. Should try.

Originally intended to order the wet version of Bittergourd Omelette and forgot to specific clearly when I ordered, I did not have any feeling of regret after tasting the dry version. The omelette is fragrantly fried, producing a layer of crispy surface. The sliced bittergourd will start to reveal when you tear open the omelette and is a nice pairing with the egg. Should try. But I probably will get wet version for comparison when I return again.

The Fried Chicken Wings served here is Indo-Style like those in some Nasi Lemak stalls, instead of the Prawn Paste flavour that you would find in most of the Cze Char places. Though recommended by the restaurant, it is just decent and some will find it too dry and not breaded enough. Can try.

Nice and not-so-filling Ice Jelly dessert to complement the hearty dinner. Can try.

Here is the menu with the prices and restaurant recommendations.

Will I come back again? Yes. Is it worth the wait? Yes.

I will probably try Homemade Fried Bean Curd, Sambal Kang Kong and Sambal Lala the next time round

Budget: $ $

Rating: 8.5 / 10

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