Singapore in a weekend - on the bourdain trail

I prepared myself before my weekend trip to Singapore by watching Bourdain in Singapore. I decided before I went that my weekend would only involve hawker markets, the restaurants had no appeal to me when there was so much good street food to be had!

Sweet pork ribs

Fried Garlic prawns

I pitched my accommodation at a Hotel 81 Joo Chiat, in the heart of the Geylang district. Singapore is a funny place. As you arrive at the airport you are greeted with a sign that should you overstay your visa, you will be beaten with a Rattan Cane. Pornography is banned in Singapore yet prostitution is legal. The Geylang area was a hotbed for expats and backpackers to stay: the streets were filled with internet cafes, strip clubs and on every block was also a hawker centre. I arrived late on a Friday night and found myself in a windowless room in Hotel 81 (a decision I regretted the next morning, as I felt like I was sleeping in a morgue). Not wishing to spend much time in the sweatbox I quickly headed out and let my nose direct me. I found a small hawker centre around the corner. There was a few options for the stands: noodles, Italian or seafood. It was open air, the décor was simple: it didn’t look thrilling. I ordered deep fried garlic tiger prawns and pork ribs with rice (see two images below). The prawns were amazing. The shell was crispy, the garlic flavour really penetrated into the succulent prawns and I ended up eating everything – head, shell and all. Such a simple meal with a beer cost me around USD 12, great value!

The next day I decided to check out the fabled Chicken Rice at Tian Tian, Maxwell Road. Bourdain was very impressed by this. I came expecting something rather heavenly but the reality was just a modest dish. That’s what Chicken Rice is: home comfort food. It is what dumplings is to the people of Northern China, what Macaroni Cheese is to Americans and what Pie and gravy is to the British. At first sight, you have fragrant chicken that has been simmered in an aromatic broth. In reality, it is of a torso part (not from the breast/legs) with minimal meat on it, served with some rice and small amount of vegetables (see below). Not exquisite dining, but I can see why Singaporeans might miss this on prolonged absences away from the country. Maxwell road is a good hawker centre with many options and a recommended place to visit.

Tian Tian stand

Chicken rice!

In the evening I went to tackle Sup Tulang (Haji Tadir) at another hawker centre near Geylang. Tulang is lamb bones simmered in a fierce red curry sauce – invented in Singapore by the Muslims from the Indian subcontinent. When Bourdain tackled it, it was a pretty messy affair – eating with the hands so I came prepared with wet wipes. I ordered a bowl of Tulang with some Prathi bread (there were about small shanks), and sat down next to an Indonesian family to eat. It troubled me to define what I was actually supposed to eat – the meat on the bones were rather minimal. Do I tackle the soft cartilage or try and scoop out bone marrow with my knife? Or do I just enjoy the fiery red curry with my bread? I ended up holding the bone with both hands, pulling what I can off with my teeth. My face was smeared with sauce on every contact. Keeping western etiquette was impossible. The Indonesian family next to me observed with keen interest, their rather dignified meal of assorted rice and meat seemed a hierarchy above the madmen next to them chomping away. Eventually I got through all 6 shanks and had used all the Prathis to scoop the sauce up. By this point, I was a sweaty heap – the humidity of Singapore and the curry attacking me with a double edged sword. Emerging from my victory, the father of the family next to me gave me a smile and a big thumbs up. I smiled back. I left feeling that there perhaps should have been a point to eating Tulang – either for meat, marrow, or just the sauce (rich in flavour and marrow), but the particular vendor I ate at only presented the last option. A fun dish to eat with friends and have an adventure over (as long as they dont mind getting messy). Or one to tackle by yourself when no one familiar is watching...

Calm before the storm - Tulang

The carnage

During my final day, I roamed around the markets in the old Chinatown area and then saw the pretty Marina. It was nice and tranquil. A pure hybrid of East and West - Pasta and burger joints in a steamy tropical port. Interesting to see. But didn't have my appetite racing. I headed off once again in a cab to find a hawker market for food. I really craved roast pork. Instead, I found a recently emigrated Chinese couple running a pancake (bing) stand which caught my eye. Simple stuff from my homeland in the North of China: Pan cooked flour buns with chives and egg. Served with some suspicious sausages. My mum hasn't made the buns for years so I really enjoyed them.

Egg and chive buns, with Chinese red sausage

And that was all I had time for. I really liked the place. A jewel in SE Asia 

Fried chicken and me

I’ve always been fascinated by junk food. I come from an Asian culture which didn’t have many taboos on eating, where people eat for pleasure, so I had a pretty open mind regarding food and could empathize with people who crave junk food. After all, junk food creates so much more endorphins for the brain than salad ever could. There’s a show on the travel channel called Man Vs Food and that pretty much sums up my fascination. I like seeing how BAD things can be. My stomach for junk food however is somewhat laughable. I don’t have the stomach to finish a 15 inch pizza by myself or even more than 1 krispy kreme donut in a sitting, nor do I want to be filled up with a fast food meal: I just enjoy sampling everything out there.

Perhaps the junk food I have the most affection for is fried chicken. Fried chicken and I go back a long time. My favourite food memory from my childhood is having an original recipe meal when KFC first opened in China in the early 90s. Back then, the chickens used were raised in good condition. They were cooked tenderly and drained well by an army of proud and adoring workers (or so I like to think). The skin coating/batter was extraordinary in taste and created a permanent foodie memory. 

I’ve not been able to experience the same taste in the KFC shops I’ve been to since. I left China in 1991. When I next returned to China for a holiday in 2001 and tried KFC, it was disappointing and no different to the UK standard. Every time I go to a new country, I wonder to myself what KFC would taste like there, whether it would be as my childhood memory. When I eat a chicken from KFC, I’m not actually bothered about the meat (often grey/ bruised), I’m more interested in the zingy skin coating/batter, and quite happy not to eat the meat. The secret batter mix today is probably very different from the original Colonel’s recipe and dominated by MSG. 

I’ve tried eating fried chicken in Southern/Soul food restaurants. I’ve tried Japanese style fried chicken. I’ve tried recreating the Colonel’s recipe in the kitchen. Sure, the meat is better but the taste of the coating just can’t reach satisfy me in the same way as the taste of the KFC skin. I would love to get my hands on the secret recipe (locked in a secure vault at KFC HQ), and start a more upscale fried chicken shack. 

The Doubledown

In 2010 KFC released the Doubledown in the USA: A breadless sandwich consisting of 2 fried chicken breasts sandwiching cheese, bacon and ranch sauce. The UK press had a field day over this – the product had nearly a full day’s recommended sodium intake. Despite this, it sounded so...amazing. I eagerly followed the Doubledown’s progress and hoped it would withstand the media pressure long enough so I could get my hands on one. In the summer of 2010 I took a 3 week holiday in the US and finally got my hands on a Doubledown meal. It was delicious and the best thing I’ve had at KFC for a long time. Ok so yes, salty, but no more salty than a whole bag of Kettle Chips in one sitting. The chicken breast is very lean and well seasoned, and of course breast is much better than leg / thigh meat. There was no chicken skin, and so the fat content was quite low (less than the fat in a serving of McDonald’s chicken salad). If KFC could have made this with less salt, the RDA stats of this meal would probably be no worse than a portion of Lasagne. I’m all in favour of the Doubledown being rolled out elsewhere – and hopefully Europe.

My Doubledown meal (chicken sandwich on right)

Hotstar

When I moved to Hong Kong in late 2010, one of the first things I tried was KFC (an original meal). It was bad, as bad as it was in the UK. I did not expect Hong Kong to produce any fried chicken to my liking. One night, Nena and I were on our way to an all you can eat hotpot place in Mongkok (a vibrant ex-Triad neighbourhood better known these days for seedy massage parlours, night markets and probably the best street food). As we wandered through the humid streets I suddenly caught whiff of a smell: fried chicken with a smell rather like KFC! There was a street stall (Hotstar) making fried chicken.

Hotstar shack in MongKok (G/F, Tat Lee Building, 2Y Sai Yeung Choi Street South)

Hotstar started life in 1992 in a Taiwan street market and has since opened up a second stall in Mongkok, Hong Kong, and is hugely popular in both countries. It is a very small open-front chicken shack selling only a few products: Fried chicken breast (sliced open in butterfly shape) and fried chicken pieces. No effort wasted on chips or salad. Not wanting to ruin our hotpot meal, I decided to go for the smaller chicken pieces option. It was delicious. The batter was very crisp and tasty. The batter mix wasn’t quite the same as KFC, but it was close, and had a stronger chilli/herb taste. The staff would add some extra powder seasoning to the chicken post frying. I believe it was some close variant of Cajun seasoning. This was the best fried chicken ecstasy I’ve had since that first childhood KFC meal.

I was very impressed and came back a week later to get my hands on the house special – the chicken breast. I ordered a mixed seasoning version (Cajun + Chilli powder). The size of the chicken breast escalope was very impressive – and made you wonder what size chicken it came from. It was way larger and thinner than a standard butterfly breast. Maybe they made two butterfly cuts on a normal chicken breast. As you see from the picture, the batter texture is breadcrumb like, and the batter is drained very well and retained little grease. It was a humid day and I was dripping with sweat, but I didn’t care. I took my fried chicken into a nearby park and ate it there in the sweltering heat, gasping from the fire of the chilli and the tongue burning heat of the just-fried-chicken. There were other people sat there, furiously devouring chicken as well. Our eyes met and heads nodded in appreciation. When I was done, I felt great. I felt like I made great progress in my chicken quest, and no longer had to lament the inability to relive a childhood experience. I was free to move on.

The Hotstar chicken breast

So who would have thought it: my best fried chicken discovery of recent years in one of Asia’s more eyebrow raising areas. Do visit Hotstar if you pass through Taipei / Hong Kong, and do try the Doubledown if you are in North America. And if someone wants to join me in burrowing into KFC HQ...do let me know.

Crispy ground catfish / Yum Pla Fu

Ok, so this is my first post. I want to share the most mesmerising dish that I've ate. Something which makes my tongue tingle when I think of it. Something which has me beaming with delight when I eat it. This has to be Crispy Ground Catfish, (catfish substituted with any other suitable fish is also acceptable), a Thai dish that I first tasted at the legendary Sripraphai in Woodside, New York City. This dish is extremely hard to find and when you do find it, make sure you stuff yourself, for the next helping could be some time away.

I arrived in NYC for my 8 week analyst training with an un-named investment bank back in September 2007. USD/GBP was around 2.0 and good food in Manhattan was easily affordable. Stepping out of Manhattan was something I hardly considered given the rich pickings within. For my first meeting with my cousin Dave I was taken to Woodside in Queens, out of the comfort of Manhattan, on a 45min subway journey. I wondered what on earth would be worthwhile in this area to visit: Woodside was a beaten neighbourhood. We walked down a few streets of dilapidated bungalows and townhouses with steel fences protecting overgrown yards and abandoned toys. It smelled of poverty. Amidst all of this was Sripraphai. It didn't look elaborate inside, but it was inviting. Simple yet sufficient. A place which lets the food do the talking. Dave proceeded to order an enormous number of dishes of mouth watering Thai food. I had never had it so good. In the middle of the orders was dish A-7, Crispy Ground Catfish.

Crispy ground catfish (Bottom left) @ Sripraphai, 2007

This dish requires some preparation (check out Sheshimmer's recipe). Essentially, one needs to prepare dehydrated Catfish meat flakes (shred/ground pre-cooked catfish meat, then dehydrate it). The flakes are deep fried and gathered into a "nest" shape, then served with a spicy mango salad (with sweet lime juice dressing). The taste and texture of the deep fried fish is quite exquisite. Texture wise it is like biting through crispy batter, except the batter is made of fish not flour. The tangy lime juice complements the meat, it soaks through the meat and each bite releases more of the tangy taste. I was blown away by the experience at Sripraphai and gained a deep respect for Thai cuisine.

After my stint in NYC, I returned to the UK and was unable to find the crispy ground catfish dish anywhere. This may be due to catfish not being as readily available in the UK, or a lack of decent Thai restaurants altogether. I was unable to introduce the catfish dish to my supper club buddies Fig, DMP Woodward and Burnley. They had all heard my deep, almost religious praising of Sripraphai everytime NYC was mentioned. I was desperate to show them.

Three years passed without sight of this elusive dish, until the supper club gang found themselves all in NYC at the same time for work. The eating itinerary was well planned in advance by Fig. Among exquisite experiences to be had at Momofuku, Le Bernadin and other haunts, we also dedicated a special slot for Sripraphai. We visited on a sunny Sunday evening, taking the option of dining al fresco in the back garden. The catfish arrived and got the approval from the gang. However, I was slightly disappointed in the portion. Sizes clearly had shrunk, what was a main dish portion back in 2007 had been chopped down to the size of a starter plate. After three years of anticipation, the climax was not all I envisaged. It was good but not quite like I remembered it. I was slightly embarrassed and apologised to the gang as it had not been the heavenly manna I promised (yet still a delightful experience). Why was the portion so much smaller? Maybe Sripraphai had hit its peak and was getting tired. It still however, is excellent value for money, and as popular as ever (check out the reviews in the NY Mag and NYtimes etc).

Crispy ground catfish @ Sripraphai, 2010 (on right, note smaller size. Supper club started devouring before pics were taken)

At the end of 2010 I transferred to HK for work. During my stay in HK I had the delight of sharing a flat with MB, a fellow foodie who also got me into Bourdain's travel shows. MB had heard great things about Tuk Tuk (Graham St), a tiny Thai restaurant in the heart of Soho. The signature dish here was seafood curry served in a pumpkin. As we glanced over the menu I noticed that one of the house specials was Yum Pla Foo, described as a deep fried pounded red snapper. I immediately knew we hit the jackpot. The dish was huge in size. Tuk Tuk's version was not as electrifying as Sripraphai's in taste, but the quantity was more than generous. I think the difference is down to a superior lime dressing at Sripraphai which soaked through the meat. Tuk Tuk's Red Snapper version was nevertheless, worth every penny and gave me gratification. I also have to note Tuk Tuk's seafood curry was very tasty as well. The pumpkin in which the curry was served in was cooked perfectly. The moist, sweet flesh a perfect counterbalance to the fire from the curry.

Yum Pla Foo @ Tuk Tuk, 2011 (Red snapper instead of catfish)

I made a trip to Thailand during my stay in Asia but did not see a similar ground fish dish on the menu. Maybe the catfish dish originates from further inland, given catfish is a freshwater fish. Having returned back to Europe (I'm based in hip Berlin for the summer), my chances of seeing this in a local restaurant is extremely slim, so I'm going to recreate this in my own kitchen sometime. The cooking steps involved are tricky, and finding catfish is also a challenge. I think I might be able to get away with using the more commonly sold mahi mahi/tillapia fillets instead of catfish.