In this new Makan Kakis series, drivers show us where some of the best eats across the island are. But instead of them driving me, I turn the tables and drive them so they can play food guide to my chauffeur. This week, I picked up my Makan Kaki, taxi driver and former full-time cameraman Mohammad Nazli bin Johar who also runs his own video production company for events.
He’s been a cabbie for two years and “started after the COVID situation”. “After spending 30 years of being an employee, I wanted to strike out on my own and have more time with my family,” he said. There was no clearer way to make his point – Naz (for short) showed up with his son Riduansyah for our makan rendezvous. Naz’s youngest child is a 14-year-old student at Northlight School, where he’s a keen forward on the floorball team. It was patently obvious how close father and son are. Both were wearing identical red Iron Man T-shirts and often finished each other’s sentences.
For our day out, I was driving Naz and Riduan to East Coast Lagoon Food Centre. Their firm family favourite is a stall called Ahmad Spring, known for its varied menu that includes satay and other charcoal grilled delights.
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“The reason I chose this stall is because it’s the only one serving halal BBQ chicken wings. And also, because he’s the boss,” Naz said pointing to Riduan affectionately. The family goes at least once a month for his chicken wing fix.
According to third generation hawker and manager of Ahmad Spring, Nur Sahara, they can sell about 150 skewers of chicken wings on a good day. That’s 11 wings per skewer for a whopping 1,650 BBQ chicken wings in total!
And my makan trio was about to add to that number. We ordered a dozen wings, along with satay and grilled prawns for a massive seaside feast.
When the stacked plate of BBQ chicken wings arrived, Riduan wasted no time digging in. “The meat is well marinated, very succulent and you can see it’s very tender,” said Naz. The spicy food fan also reminded me to try the accompanying hot and tangy chilli sauce. “It’s also a little bit sweet to complement the saltiness of the chicken and the chicken actually has quite a few spices in it as well.”
Oyster sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and garlic paste were some of the ingredients Nur Sahara had mentioned in their marinade. One bite of a fat, juicy wing gave a smoky burst of down-to-the-bone flavour, moist meat breaking through crispy, charcoal-kissed chicken skin.
Next, we moved on to mutton satay – the favourite of both father and son. “Because they make it the sweetest of all. Traditionally mutton will always have a smell, so to trick your senses they use a sweeter marinade,” Naz explained. With lots of charred crispy edges to chew on, the satay was sweet, which balanced the intense flavour of the mutton.
As for the array of other sticks – chicken, beef, hati (liver) and babat (tripe), the glossy, generous chunks of chicken meat stood out for how tender and fresh they were. My favourite babat delivered on taste and texture – four springy little pieces on a stick that gave off good beefy flavour, without any offal pungency.
The hati was good too, with a firm, crunchy bite and the distinct mineral twang of innards. I didn’t mind that at all, but thought it was a good time to finally sample the peanut sauce, which was not too sweet, aromatic and nutty, with a hint of chilli heat.
“The consistency is just nice, so it’s easy to stick on the meat and easy on your mouth,” said Naz, who also asked if I knew why raw cucumber and onions are served with satay. I decided to let him enlighten me. “It’s to neutralise and balance before the next thing,” Naz replied sagely. Just what we needed between bites of spiced, fatty meats – a palate cleanser.
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