Focus on Females in F&B: Awfully Chocolate & Sinpopo Brand’s Lyn Lee Loves this Char Siew

Hi Makan Kakis, 

This week I had the honour of visiting Foodie Friend Lyn Lee at her latest F&B project for a meal and chat.

Lyn is no stranger to us in Singapore, as the founder of Awfully Chocolate & Sinpopo Brand, but this is really the first time I’ve had a chance to delve a little deeper into how her business started and what makes her tick.

Over coffee and pandan coconut drinks; crayfish curry, beef cheek rendang and more at the new Sinpopo Flagship Restaurant at Tangs, Lyn looked back on the last 25 years and waxed lyrical on a whole range of topics.

From how Awfully Chocolate was born from one single chocolate cake recipe; to branching out into Sinpopo Brand; to advice for budding F&B entrepreneurs, to championing young talents (there’s an Awfully Chocolate “scholarship”!); to who she’d invite to her fantasy dinner party (3 letters and a legendary local leader might ring some bells) – have a listen to what she had to say in the podcasts below.

As always, she was also ready with a makan recommendation, one that will please lovers of chicken rice and roasted meats!

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Lyn’s always been tremendous at sniffing out some of the best Eastside eats and this one ranks high on her list for excellent chicken rice and roasted meats like char siew and siew yoke (crispy pork belly). It’s a stall located in an old corner coffeeshop along Tanjong Katong Road and she used to visit it almost every week. Pre-Covid, the stall would see long lunchtime queues at least 20 customers deep.

When I went to check it out on a Sunday morning right at opening time, there were already 3 customers ahead of me at 9.15am. An attractive array of freshly-roasted delights hung enticingly in the stall’s glass display – slabs of crispy pork, chunky strips of char siew, glistening roasted ducks, whole roasted chicken and even a couple of poached chickens (pak cham gai in Cantonese).

Fiery-Hot Old School Wanton Mee

• LISTEN: & download the podcast of this week’s fiery-hot episode
• READ: the full story at CNA Lifestyle.
• WATCH: Denise try this makan recommendation on GOLD 905’s facebook page.

If you think spice is nice and are looking for dishes that really turn up the heat, then this wanton mee stall is for you. Fellow hot head and foodie friend Chef Shen Tan of OG Lemak recommended I try the Eunos branch of a Dunman Food Centre stall that’s famous for serving up some of the spiciest noodles in Singapore. I gamely placed my asbestos taste buds at the mercy of Mr Sam Ng, whose family owns the two Dunman Char Siew Wan Ton Mee outlets. He’s in charge of the Eunos branch, which opened in March of 2019.

STAY HOME & EAT – Charcoal-Roasted Meats

HEAR:
Click here to listen/ download the podcast of this week’s charcoal roasted episode.

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As we count down to the easing of the circuit breaker, how about a charcoal roasted meat feast? This week, have a gorgeously smokey set meal from RV Roasted Delight delivered straight to your doorstep at a reasonable price! Their meal sets for three to 8 people range from $21.80 to $71.80 and set meals for two range from $18.80 – 20.80, which is the one I chose. Package C for 2 consists of ¼ roast duck (upper quarter – which means I got a lovely juicy leg, breast meat and a little rib meat), plus an extra choice of 2 meats – choose from roast duck, chicken, char siew, roasted crispy pork belly or sausage. I went with the classic combo of roasted pork and char siew. White rice and oyster sauce vegetable with fried shallot rounded off the meal.

The roasted duck, in my opinion was the clear winner – really beautifully seasoned, with quite a refined taste that wasn’t too game-y or overpowering.

STAY HOME & EAT – DIY Wanton Noodles

HEAR:
Click to listen/ download podcast of this week’s delightfully do-it-yourself episode!

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Bee Kee Wanton Noodles created in my kitchen from their DIY kit!

This week, let’s bring on the best of both worlds and combine cooking at home with hawker quality wanton mee, all in a DIY kit delivered straight to your doorstep. You may already know Bee Kee Wanton Noodle in Lorong Lew Lian for their truffle & traditional wanton mee and now you can reproduce the latter in the comfort of your own kitchen!

Here’s what you get in the kit: 40 wantons, 10 bundles of noodles, 3 jars of sauces (crispy lard chunks sold separately).

I filled up a quick online order form for the Bee Kee wanton noodle kit, consisting of 10 bundles of their fresh thin egg noodles, 40 freshly wrapped pork wantons and 3 jars of sauce – homemade chilli, fragrant oil & signature soy sauce. Delivery was prompt and I received a text message with cooking instructions that were easy to follow and foolproof. I managed to turn out delicious wanton noodles of my own in less than 5 minutes!

Alternative Asian-Style Roasts for Christmas

‘Tis the season for roasted turkeys, glazed hams and other festive eats. But why not embrace the flavours of Asia instead and celebrate with Cantonese-style roasted meats?

After hearing about this place from my Gold 905 Makan Kaki Chef Lim Yew Aun of The Cicheti Group, I hurried over to Keong Saik Road for some season’s eatings in the form of char siew (barbequed pork) and siew yoke (crispy pork belly), with some roasted duck thrown in for good measure. One bite and I knew I was going to have myself a tasty, er, merry little Christmas, thanks to Foong Kee Coffee Shop.

• LISTEN: & download the podcast of this week’s roasty episode.
• READ: the full story at CNA Lifestyle.
• WATCH: Denise try this makan recommendation on GOLD 905’s facebook page.

With chef-owner Derrick Wong Wai Chiew

TASTE: Foong Kee Traditional Charcoal Roasted is located at
Foong Kee Coffee Shop, 6 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089114.
It’s open Mondays to Saturdays, 11am – 8pm. They close on Sundays and public holidays.

ROASTED MEATS RULE GHIM MOH!

HEAR:
Click here to listen/ download the podcast of this week’s episode!

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This week, Roasted Meat fans, Our Makan Kaki, Chef-Owner of Summer Hill Bistro, Anthony Yeoh has a treat for you. If you’re looking for Malaysian Cantonese style roasted meat, you’ve got to pay this Ghim Moh stall a visit.

Jiu Jiang Shao La (九江烧腊) often boasts super-long queues & for good reason. First of all, their meats are roasted fresh in a roaster right in their stall. The result is quality meat that has customers coming back over and over for more.

Unbeatable Kampung Chicken Rice

Greetings, Makan Kakis, we start 2018 with a brand new foodie friend, one who’s no stranger to the F&B business, having successfully started his own Chinese casual dining restaurant that broke even within 3 months of its opening, probably due to their signature recipe for saucy, succulent Char Siew (which you can see and read about here). Please meet Anthony Ung of CHAR Restaurant! 

CHAR Restaurant first appeared on the dining scene in Singapore in 2014 when it was launched by Vietnam-born, Birmingham-UK-raised Anthony & his brother Alvin, a chef by profession. With his 30 years of experience working in Chinese restaurants in Birmingham from dishwasher to head chef in traditional Chinese cooking, Alvin’s culinary expertise combined perfectly with Anthony’s meticulous science and IT background & passion for experimenting with Western food preparation techniques on Asian ingredients and produce. They definitely hit on a winning formula and after a wildly successful run at their original location along Guillemard Road, Anthony and his Singaporean Wife are delighted to have moved CHAR to a bigger, brighter space along Jalan Besar.

HEAR:
Click here to listen to Anthony’s story about fleeing Vietnam to the UK and how Char got started in Singapore
Click here to listen to Anthony’s culinary influences, childhood food memories and why he loves Chicken Rice
Click here to listen to Anthony’s recommendation for his favourite Chicken Rice in Singapore

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Anthony professes an obsession with our local Chicken Rice, which he ate everyday for 3 months when he first moved to Singapore, leading to a 5 kg weight gain, which also means he’s eaten his way through many plates, many brands and many types to arrive at the conclusion that this is HIS FAVOURITE Chicken Rice and in his humble opinion, THE BEST in Singapore.

VIDEO: LOCAL ROAST MEATS FOR CHRISTMAS

Click to watch this month’s roasty-toasty video!

‘Tis the season for chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Actually, why settle for chestnuts or turkeys, when we can celebrate with a decidedly more Asian-style roast – Char Siew (roast pork), Siew Yoke (crispy pork belly) and other porky delights. In this video, follow Denise for two delicious options – one gives you a hearty hawker feast and the other, a more refined restaurant experience.