Food-at-Large

As I said in my earlier post on Treasure Toast, I will be back to feature Bao Er Cafe which likewise serves kaya toast and hokkien mee.

Their kaya spread uses fresh coconut milk and you can immediately taste the creamy and nutty flavours in it. For those with a sweet tooth, you will definitely like their kaya which is on the sweet side.

I also like that they have somehow found the golden ratio of butter, kaya and bread, ensuring that you get a good balance of all in one mouth!

I personally peg this together with Coffee Hut at Jalan Berseh as my go to for kaya toast!

I usually go for chicken satay because it's harder to go wrong with them as compared to pork satay which can be a little tough if undercooked and I'm not really of the big tough chunk of fat most stalls put in the middle.

Pang's pork satay though had none of these issues. They used a leaner cut of pork, marinated it thoroughly and grilled it to perfection, keeping it sweet, juicy and tender. It's the perfect starter for any meal!

Claypot & Cooked Food Kitchen's signature dish is the quintessential Cantonese classic - sweet and sour pork.

Whilst most stalls use tomato sauce for this dish, C&c mixes deep fried slices of pork with sweet caramelised onions, sweet tomatoes and crunchy bell peppers and coats them all in a sweet tart and tangy hawthorn sauce, giving it a slightly different omph.

Although all I had were some takeaway leftovers, I guess I was fortunate in a way that i at least got to sample their food before they hung up their wok for good.

Unlike most stalls which serve either drumlets or winglets for their prawn paste chicken, Claypot & Chicken Food Kitchen serves theirs using chunks. I'm not a big fan of this because it usually means that you get weird ends of bones in each piece.

Thst said, the chicken was well marinated and oozing with juices. I like that the marinate permeates through the meat to give this dish a deeper depth in flavour.

I'm bummed though because I was really looking forward to trying their fish maw and claypot liver!

Claypot & Cooked Food Kitchen was a little hidden gem of a stall that specialises in Cantonese style tzichar.

Runned by an elderly couple, they officially open at 11 am but unofficially, they start taking orders at around 10.15 to 10.30 and are usually 'sold out' at around 11.15. They are closed at around 1 pm. Despite this, they attract a steady group of regulars.

I have made at least 3 attempts to dine at their stall but never succeeded due to various reasons 😂😂😂 the parents however loved their fish slices with ginger onion for its bold savoury flavours and fresh sliced fish!

On my latest attempt last Wednesday, the elderly couple was there cleaning up their stall because they have decided to give it up for good 😭😭😭

I have read abou "Mr Grumpy's" nasi ayam goreng in Lucky Plaza but never got down to trying it after reading about the long queues and his ahem reputation. That said, I did have a good laugh after reading that the owner has adopted the "Mr Grumpy" moniker for his Instagram.

I love a smashing good fried chicken and Fiie's definitely qualifies as one. The chicken meat is tender, juicy and nicely marinated with hints of ginger, lemongrass and turmeric. The thin crisp batter makes it easy to bite off the bone but for those who like the crispy crunch, there are generous crispy bits of fried batter sprinkled over the rice.

I will of course be back for more!

Runned by a mother and daughter, Pak Mandir is a mecca for excellent and affordable nasi lemak in the Yishun area.

There was a really long queue at Pak Mandor even on an early Sunday morning and some of the ingredients like the (legendary) begedil were sold out.

That said, the key to a good nasi lemak is the rice and Pak Mandor's version aced it. Ignoring the artificial looking bright green colour, the coconut and pandan infused rice was soft, fluffy, aromatic and savoury. It's one of the best I have had and all I need is the spicy and savoury samba chilli to go with it and the really really awesome ikan bills which they refuse to sell on its own but was shattering crisp and tasty!

Swensen's japanese katsu curry baked rice was a hit around the dining table.

The dish features a tender and juicy boneless chicken leg katsu fried to a golden brown crisp on Japanese rice, and covered in a layer of Japanese curry. It is then finished with furikake and pink ginger.

The katsu was enjoyable but the Japanese curry was undoubtedly the star of this dish. We liked that the curry was atypical and incorporated other spices in it. I do wish though that they had added cheese to this dish too but that's me being greedy!

Swensens has introduced new dishes to their range of baked rice!

Their shrimp doria baked rice features a bed of rice topped with three deep fried prawns covered with a creamy béchamel sauce infused with the sweetness of shrimps, and finished with a golden crust of mixed cheeses and a sprinkling of furikake.

The creamy béchamel sauce with the baked golden crust of mixed cheese was the best part of the dish for me. The rice was rather bland and the prawns rather dry.

Dear Mum,

Can we please get these her giao for our CNY steamboat please.

Love,
The Hungry Fatty

P. S. Definitely better than Song Kee and comparable to LiXin's!

Another feature of One Pot is that their fish balls and fish dumplings are freshly made in-house.

I have a soft spot for these handmade fishballs because each fishball is uniquely (mis)shaped and the texture tends to be more bouncy and qq compared to commercially available fishball.

One Pot does sell them for retail. You can also order their steamboat to go and have it in the air conditioned comfort of your home (but you will have to do all the washing up then). I do advise calling ahead for a reservation. They open at 6 pm and when we did a walk-in on a whim at 6.45 pm, they were pretty much sold out with items such as their prawn roe balls all gone!

The key to a good steamboat is a good broth base which is good enough to drink on its own and yet continues to build depth in terms of flavours when more and more ingredients get added into it.

One Pot's premium Japanese pork bone broth base checks all these boxes. It is clear, light and yet savoury without being too salty. The flavour profile changes as the night goes on but it never gets too heavy on the palate. You can easily drink it all night long!

One Pot's service is basically self-service. They will set up the steamboat and ingredients for you but you will have to get your own cutleries (good luck finding a matched self of utensils), top up your soup broth using big metal kettles and get your own drinks and ice. That said, this are little frills which I am willing to forgo when I am getting restaurant style food at more affordable prices!