What’s a meal fit for Presidents?
Well, we’ve been reading that President Donald Trump’s been pretty well fed while he was hosted to a working lunch on Monday (June 11) with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Trump had lobster bisque, angus beef tenderloin (we know he likes his steak well done) and some ice cream.
Today (June 12), Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had a mix of Asian and Western cuisine that included starters like mango kerabu – a Malay salad – and oiseon or Korean stuffed cucumbers and main dishes
like beef short rib confit and sweet and sour crispy pork with Yangzhou fried rice.
While that’s all fine and good, we say, these world leaders should not leave without trying our local hawker food . They can have them plated to their presidential suites, if they wish, but here are some of the best local food delights (there are too many of our favourites to name all) to get a true taste of Singapore.
Photo: 123rf.com
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This one is a local staple and is nothing new for us, but carrot cake would surely be something unique to Trump and Kim, who are probably more familiar with the sweet confectionary with the same name that actually has carrots in it.
Our version of carrot cake is made with white radish (also called white carrot) and rice flour. It’s steamed till it’s soft and bouncy, then cubed and fried in a large wok with eggs to hold it all together.
The result? A steaming hot, plate of soft but firm white radish cubes sitting under a thick layer of omelette, with lightly crispy edges where the egg has been fried well.
For your fix of carrot cake, try Lagoon Carrot Cake, which plumps up its crispy carrot cake with succulent prawns, or He Zhong Carrot Cake, which cuts serves the carrot cake in big stacks and has its eggs done slightly runny.
Lagoon Carrot Cake is at 1220 East Coast Parkway
He Zhong Carrot Cake is at 51 Upper Bukit Timah Rd.
Photo: Burpple / @whatlizhaseaten – Lagoon Carrot Cake
Chicken rice – it’s one of the distinctly Singaporean dishes most locals can’t do without. A plump and juicy chicken is poached as a whole, and the fatty stock is used to cook the rice. Not the healthiest, but definitely delicious.
When it’s paired with minced chilli and garlic sauce as well as soya sauce, the dish really comes together. What can we say? It tastes of home.
Now when it comes to picking the best place for chicken rice in Singapore, it’s hard to tell because there are so many great ones and each person you ask might recommend a different stall.
So we picked one chicken rice stall which is best known for great chicken rice – Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. The chicken rice at Tian Tian beat Gordon Ramsay’s version during a food competition in 2013, and the late Anthony Bourdain said how the rice was so delicious and fragrant it could be eaten on its own.
The chicken too is known for being delicate, moist, and packed with flavour, having been put in an ice bath to seal in the flavour.
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice is in Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur St.
Photo: Burpple / @rawrensia
The origins of laksa is said to be from inter-racial marriages. When Chinese settlers moved into the Katong district of olden Singapore, some married Peranakan ladies, and it is said that through their combined cuisines, a special dish like laksa was born.
And we can see how the different influences created something pretty different – noodles based in a milk curry broth instead of the typical clear one.
As for where to get the best Katong laksa, we can’t think of a place that fits the bill better than the 328 Katong Laksa, which uses a recipe passed down for generations. Also, did we mention that their laksa beat Gordon Ramsay’s rendition at the same food competition we mentioned earlier, when talking about the chicken rice?
328 Katong Laksa is at 51 East Coast Rd.
Photo: Burpple / @TheHungryGeek
Did you know that chilli crab is an original Singaporean recipe? It was born in the mid-1950s when some hawkers wanted to do their steamed crabs differently and so they stir-fried them with tomato and chilli sauce.
Today, the dish is going strong, and it’s so tasty it was listed as one of the best foods in the world, according to CNN’s food poll.
We think some of the places worth trying chilli crab at are Jumbo Seafood and No Signboard Seafood.
The former is very popular among the tourists, for its milder (and more palatable) sauce, delicious crab, and classic recipe since the 1980s.
On the other hand, No Signboard Seafood is really popular among the locals, as it evolved from a tiny hawker stall to a restaurant with multiple outlets today. And the crab? It’s huge and meaty, and the accompanying sauce is pleasantly spicy and flecked generously with eggs.
Jumbo Seafood is at various locations.
No Signboard Seafood is at various locations too.
Photo: Burpple / @jxeats – No Signboard Seafood
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Prata is Singapore’s own version of the Indian paratha (which is a flat, dense piece of bread). We do it slightly differently here, as the dough is repeatedly tossed and flung onto a hot stove top to cook it.
This makes for a moist, buttery inside and crispy, flaky exterior. Dip that in a tangy fish curry, or any other type you prefer, and you’ve got a classic Singaporean breakfast, lunch and dinner rolled into one.
Our picks for prata are Sin Ming Roti Prata, for the classic prata taste we’ve described above. The stall is manned by a family, and is currently down to its second generation – a young man who intends to make this his career, like his father. That’s pretty rare and commendable, given the hawker culture these days.
Our second pick is Mr and Mrs Mohgan’s Super Crispy Roti Prata. These pratas are thick, and the crispy exterior is extremely satisfying to bite into. What’s not to love?
Sin Ming Roti Prata is at 24 Sin Ming Rd.
Mr and Mrs Mohgan’s Super Crispy Roti Prata is at 7 Crane Rd.
Photo: Burpple / @BurppleGuides
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Char kway teow might seem pretty common to us, but it is actually a pretty unique dish, given how most stir fried noodles are made with lighter sauces.
The combination of light and dark soya sauce sweetens the kway teow. And bits of cockles, prawns, egg, pork lard and bean sprouts all create a yummy plate of noodles with a unique melange of flavours and fragrance of char that comes about when you cook in a wok.
We recommend an old favourite among the locals, the Chomp Chomp Fried Kway Teow Mee, which is deliciously savoury and charred, with just a slight bit of sweetness.
Another tasty (and healthier option) would be Heng Huat Char Kway Teow. It’s great char kway teow, that’s laden with a heap of chye sim, which adds a little bit of freshness to the dish.
Chomp Chomp Fried Kway Teow Mee is at Chomp Chomp Food Centre, 20 Kensington Park Rd.
Heng Huat Char Kway Teow is at PAsir Panjang Food Centre, 121 Pasir Panjang Rd.
Photo: Burpple / @4223 – Chomp Chomp Fried Kway Teow Mee
Though tea is ubiquitous, teh tarik is not. Tea’s usually drunk plain or with a splash of milk and bit of sugar, whereas teh tarik is made with black tea, sugar, evaporated and/or condensed milk, and one more component that makes it extra enjoyable – the tarik (translated from Malay as ‘pull’).
When the tea is hand-pulled, it gets aerated and is a lot frothier and lighter, making it really nice to drink as opposed to tea that’s served still. And taste wise, teh tarik is milky and sweet, yet retains the strong, robust taste of black tea.
We think the place Kim or Trump should try the tea is No Name Teh Sarabat Stall, an establishment that’s been thriving since 1956. The man behind the tea has been brewing and pulling the tea for decades now, so if there’s any place with authentic teh tarik, this is it.
No Name Teh Sarabat Stall is at 21 Baghdad St.
Photo: Burpple / @gigglesandjiggles
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This one’s a uniquely Singaporean breakfast. Stacks of toast with eggs on the side and a cup of coffee are common; but not when the eggs are soft boiled and eaten with soy sauce, or when the jam in the toast is made from coconut, instead of berries.
For some of the real deal, we think Trump and Kim should head to one of these places:
Heap Seng Leong, where the thick and fluffy slices of bread are grilled at a high heat till it’s slightly charred, for a pleasant smoky, sweet and savoury sandwich.
Or Ah Tong Eating House, which offers thinner kaya toast which comes as a stack of crispy slabs that you’ll finish in no time. Don’t be thrown off by the grey-tinged kaya. It doesn’t use food colouring (and doesn’t need to) as it makes up for it in flavour.
Heap Seng Leong is at 10 North Bridge Rd.
Ah Tong Eating House is at 35 Keong Saik Rd.
Photo: Heap Seng Leong’s breakfast set – Burpple / @Thechoyalicious
If you’re adventurous with your food, you can’t come to Singapore from a far country and not try durian.
We think that if Trump and Kim don’t find even mao shan wang durian (one of the premium durian varieties) nice, they should at least try durian pastries, which are great as an introduction to the fruit.
Our one stop shop for durian pastries is the Goodwood Durian Fiesta (which lasts till 22 July this year) for durian mousse cakes, white chocolate durian tarts, and a lot more. Go grab them now, as we’re currently in the peak durian season.
As as for fresh durians, we love mao shan wang durian for its soft and creamy fruit with an ever so slight bitter aftertaste. Try Combat Durian, one of the most popular durian stands in Singapore.
The Goodwood Durian Fiesta is at Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Rd.
Combat durian is at 249 Balestier Rd
Photo: 123rf.com
We’ve got different varieties of curry puffs all over Singapore but no, we are not going to recommend Old Chang Kee. Instead, Trump and Kim should try the puffs from Tanglin Crispy Curry Puffs (which are true to their name and crackle with each bite). The curry puffs here are made freshly by hand, and have been featured in various newspapers and a TV to show too.
Another curry puff place to try would be Tip Top Curry Puff, which does them with a buttery pie skin that flakes and crumbles softly as you take a bite, unlike the super crispy Tanglin curry puffs. Also, it’s made with a secret recipe with 18 herbs and spices, which really makes a difference in the flavour and aroma.
Tanglin Crispy Curry Puffs is at Hong Lim Food Centre, 531A Upper Cross Street.
Tip Top Curry Puff is at various locations.
Photo: Facebook / Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff
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