Old-School Wonton Mee – the Noodles are the Star!

Hi Makan Kakis,

We welcome back Gek Pang, founder of Surrey Hills Grocer, who certainly has been keeping busy! Since we last had her in the GOLD 905 studio, she has expanded her Aussie produce & cafe empire with a new fourth outlet at Raffles City!

Today, Gek recommends a go-to comfort food that isn’t fancy, but its flavour fills her with nostalgia and is a family favourite. She loves this wonton mee so much that when she used to live in Melbourne, Australia, she would bookend her trips back home to Singapore with visits to this place. Her interest in the noodles was so serious that before opening Surrey Hills Grocer, she even approached the owners with the possibility of franchising the business! Listen to our chat & download the podcast below. And scroll down for the video and more!

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Found in a heritage shophouse along East Coast Road and flanked by perhaps more famous and swankier eateries, Mei Yuen Restaurant’s slightly run-down appearance adds the charm of a bygone era to the food they serve. Their wonton mee is not immediately impressive, rather its selling point is how simple and basic it is. Consisting of just egg noodles, sliced char siew, a few wontons and caixin, Mei Yuen Restaurant’s signature dish gives you a really old school taste.

Best of 2015 – Makan Kakis’ Top Ten List!

Hello Makan Kakis,

2015 has been such a delicious year and as we usher in a brand new year of eating, let’s take a look back at the makan places that really caught your attention & appetites! The following Top 10 list features a great variety of yummy hawker stalls, restaurants and dishes that grabbed the most views on our blog. Click on each for details & enjoy!

10. Tasty Teochew at Lee Kui
9. Luscious Burgers with a Buah Keluak twist!
8. Lor Mee with Crispy Battered Fish
7. Ayam Penyet Obama!
6. Killer Kway Chap
5. Outstanding Roasted Meats – Char Siew & Sio Bak
4. Local & International Buffet at a hidden Oasis
3. Nor’s Nasi Padang
2. Jaggi’s Northern Indian
1. Mee Rebus, Soto Ayam & Satay POWER!

Thank you so much for your support of our tasty little segment on Gold 905 and if you could, do help spread the word about Makan Kakis! Here’s to a hearty 2016 full of delicious things to eat! Season’s Eatings & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Really Outstanding Roasted Meats

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For the audio of this week’s episode, click here to listen!

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If you’re looking for really good roasted meats done traditionally by a guy who absolutely knows what he’s doing, you have got to try Yee Kee in the Bukit Merah/ Redhill area. For Char Siew, Sio Bak, Roasted Duck and all things beautifully burnished and carnivorously charred, this is our Makan Kaki Lee Chin Sin‘s go-to stall!

Why is it Chin Sin’s first choice for roasted meats? First of all, all dishes come with a serving of salted vegetable soup, which is a delightful foil to the rich, fatty meats.

Secondly, the uncle manning the stall, when he’s not too busy dealing with his streams of customers, is friendly and refreshingly candid. Case in point – when asked which is the best part of the duck to order, rather than recommend the more expensive thigh meat, he advised Chin Sin to go for a cheaper, but much tastier part, in his opinion. By the way, that part is just adjacent to the thigh, kind of the duck version of chicken oysters.

While we’re on the meats, everything here is done simply but so skillfully and deliciously. You really can’t go wrong ordering their Roasted Duck or Sio Bak (both pictured). The Sio Bak, in particular, is outstanding. Tender meat and a delightfully crisp crackling, as you can see in the picture!

TASTE:
Yee Kee Specialist Roasted Duck
Add: Blk 148, Silat Avenue (Jalan Bukit Merah), #01-14
Tel: +65 96977083

P.S. Last chance to try this marvelous Old School stall, if this is to be believed! Yee Kee is shutting for good at the end of this month?!

Fanning the Embers of Flavour

This week, Makan Kaki Don Mendoza recommends a restaurant that has been around for a long time and has made a name for itself under the helm of the talented Chef Sebastian Ng, who recently handed the reins over to another who’s also no slouch in the kitchen himself. The new chef? Sufian Bin Zain, formerly of Iggy’s and Waku Ghin. The restaurant? Restaurant Ember, of course!

Twice-cooked Duck Confit

So with this change in head chefs, how’s the food? There isn’t a huge change, but in contrast to the restaurant’s more robust signature dishes like the slow-cooked pork belly and the twice-cooked duck confit, what Chef Sufian literally brings to the table is a certain refined interpretation of contemporary European dining, with just enough Asian inflections to keep things interesting. And he has succeeded in celebrating Restaurant Ember’s legacy, yet bringing something fresh to to the updated menu.

Seafood Bouillabaisse

Perhaps the dish that marries those two worlds is Chef Sufian’s Seafood Bouillabaisse. Not the expected thick stew we imagine for cold winter nourishment, but a lighter, more refined version, featuring fresh seared sea bass, Hokkaido scallops, clams and just-cooked sweet scampi that are really fresh, and cooked to perfection separately.This mini mountain of ocean treasures is then topped at the table with a rich yet delicately flavoured broth. The end result is an absolutely delicious seafood dish that has the texture of a silky bisque.

Now, this is just one of several outstanding, deftly-handled dishes from Chef Sufian’s updated menu, so do dine at Restaurant Ember soon and take advantage of their value-for-money set lunches!

LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S EPISODE AGAIN!

Read Don’s full review of Restaurant Ember on Today Online here.

Restaurant Ember
Hotel 1929
50 Keong Saik Road
Reservations: 63471928
Open: Mondays to Fridays, lunch 11.30am – 2pm; dinner 6.30 -10pm.
Saturdays, closed for lunch, open for dinner.
Closed on Sundays.

Wok & Roll with this Duck!

This week, we bring you the unique, addictive, delicious creation of a man who is the disciple of one of the 4 Heavenly Chefs of Singapore. These titles were conferred to 4 young talented chefs back in the 1970s by a local Chinese Culinary Institution and such an honour has never been bestowed since.

So back to said disciple, who is a man already in his 60s, manning a cze char restaurant and turning out plate after plate of awesomeness somewhere in Clementi…

He has 3 signature dishes on his menu, but the one to really get excited about is his Tempura Duck Roll. Check it: He debones duck, leaving the fatty skin on, pounds it thin and steams it. He then rolls the steam-tender fillets up with prawn, coriander, mushroom, minced five-spice pork and other tasty morsels, before dipping them in his tempura batter and deep frying them! You have crazy flavour from the fat in the skin, juicy meatiness from the duck and lots more texture from the stuffing, not to mention the CRRRUNCH from the deep-fried batter.

Forget party in your mouth, it’s a month-long fiesta – it’s like Chinese New Year, Christmas, National Day, the wedding of Kate and William all rolled in one, PLUS fireworks!!! This tempura duck roll is a winner and a DIE DIE MUST TRY!

For more on the signature dishes like pig’s stomach soup, click here!

LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S EPISODE AGAIN.

HOY YONG SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
BLK 352 CLEMENTI AVE 2
#01-153
Open Daily 5.30-10.30pm