shiokadelicious!

Glutton’s Square

The annual Singapore Food Festival is now on. And this year, it has been extended to one whole month of gastronomic feasting, food fairs, eating tours, themed events, culinary lectures and workshops, cooking lessons and then some. The list of events in this year’s festival is impressively comprehensive, and pretty exciting.

After our dinner at Aiwo the other night, we decided to stop by one of the festival's headlining events – the recreation of the famous Glutton’s Square in the “carpark opposite Cold Storage”.

Now, the name “Glutton’s Square” suggests something grander than what the original food market really was. What it was in actual fact was a make-shift “night market” that existed in the 1960s and 1970s. During the day, the spot was an open-air carpark (or parkade/parking lot to those outside of South East Asia). However, each evening, within a couple of minutes of the carpark’s closing at 5pm, there would be a mad frenzy as eighty itinerant hawkers rushed to set up stalls in the empty compound. In the blink of an eye, the place was completely transformed; hawker stalls were packed almost cheek to jowl, with two tiny carts stationed on each parking space. They jostled for breathing room with the surging crowds that descended on the area. And throughout the night, delicious bowls of wondrous hawker street food were dished out from these small, ramshackle carts. Laborers, courting couples, families, and even the young, chic and beautiful flocked to the carpark for incredibly good food at basement prices. Soon, the place acquired informal monikers like “Glutton’s Square”, “Jaws Centre”, or just plain “Car Park”.

While it may have been a foodie’s paradise, it was a hygiene and environmental nightmare. There were no running water or electricity; leftovers were simply dumped into the public drain system. And so, inevitably, the Government eventually shut the place down, and moved the hawkers into proper hawker centers with the requisite facilities. With that, a legendary Singapore food destination became history. Now, in 2004, it (or at least its memory) has been resurrected and reincarnated – but for one month only.

In the exact same spot, opposite Centrepoint’s Cold Storage, 10 hawkers have been invited to set up shop and to serve up quintessential local food – food that defines the epicurean landscape of Singapore, food that is identified the world over as being “Singaporean”.

Of course, certain things have changed irreversibly. The mobile stalls now come with electricity, proper water supply, grease extractors and waste disposal; they are modern and cost a bomb to rent. Some things though have not really changed, or at least have been created to recapture the spirit and ambience of the old Glutton’s Square, such as the wobbly, rickety tables…

There is also still that same special, indefinable magic of sitting under the stars, feeling the cool night breeze, squeezing with the masses and tucking into plates of delicious hawker food.

The ten stalls provide a wonderful snapshot of Singapore local food. Sure, there are some dishes which many would consider to be quintessential local hawker food that are not represented. However, for a visitor to Singapore, this is a great way to sample a full range of famous hawker food in one place, and to enjoy an incredibly unique atmosphere. For the Singaporeans, especially the younger generation, this is a much longed for opportunity to enjoy the eclectic and electrifying ambience of night food markets which no longer exist and which they have never known. For the older generation, it is a time to relive those memories of shy dates in “the Car Park”.

Of the ten hawkers, there are two that operated in the original market. The rest are well-known in their own right as purveyors of tasty hawker food in Singapore.

Here’s a quick run-down (please excuse the poor shots; my small point-and-shoot doesn’t like being made to work under night conditions, much less with glaring fluorescent lighting thrown in to confuse it even more)…

One cannot talk about Singapore food without mentioning Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice. A must-try dish for any visitor to Singapore.

This stall is also serving up Teochew Fish Porridge (congee).

Another “must” on Singapore’s hawker food scene: Chai Tow Kueh (Fried Carrot Cake). This is a dish of steamed radish cakes that have been diced and fried with egg and preserved radish. You can have the “black” version fried with dark sweet sauce, or the “white” version that is sautéed with only light soy sauce.

Char Kuay Teow or fried flat rice noodles. This dish plays many a leading role in the food dreams of many overseas Singaporeans; it is probably the one dish that can make any Singaporean outside Singapore long for home.

There is also Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodles – a uniquely Singaporean rendition; very different from the versions found in neighboring countries.

Minced pork noodles, or better known to Singaporeans as Bak Chor Mee (literally, meat vinegar noodles). It is a dish of noodles “dry-tossed” with a vinegary sauce and topped with minced pork and crispy deep fried pork fat. Each hawker will have their own unique version… some are more vinegary than others, some have noodles that are springier than others; and which hawker you rave about really depends on your personal taste preferences.

Crab Beehoon (rice vermicelli). Perhaps the perfect combination of something humble and unassuming (the noodles) with something rather indulgent (the crustacean)?

Fried oyster omelette, or Or Luak to the locals. A yummilicious, though sinfully artery clogging, dish of plump, juicy oysters fried with eggs and a light batter.

It was nigh impossible to snap pictures of the food; there were people everywhere! But notice the stacks and stacks of eggs? That’s how many they go through in one night! And notice the sign on the upper left hand corner? “Die die must try”. This is one of the most succinct colloquial phrases you are going to come across in Singapore when it comes to food. You will hear Singaporeans utter it when they meet something that is close to gastronomic heaven. What does it mean? Well, when translated into more eloquent English, it is simply “too good to miss”. I don’t know about you, but I think “die die must try” has a punchier ring to it, wouldn’t you agree?

Here’s a close-up of the omelette. This was the take-away version (which was very kindly bought for me a few days after our visit). This is one dish that must be eaten freshly dished up and piping hot. It never tastes (or looks) the same once brought home. But you can get a vague idea of how tasty it is, with all the crispy golden brown bits, when it comes straight from the sizzling wok onto your plate. It is greasy, sinful stuff. But good stuff nevertheless.

The hawker food landscape is not complete without Roti Prata (Indian fluffy pan-fried pancakes). And here served up alongside Mutton Soup.

The prata man in action: twirling the pieces of dough non-stop to meet the appetites of the snaking lines of humanity.

Ah! Satay, satay, satay! Skewers of meaty delight.

Here’s more about the food and the famous stall owner. (Click on image to read.)

Click on photo for larger view.

Nasi Lemak (literally translated as "rich rice") – another firmly entrenched Singapore food love.

Bak Kut Teh (or literally, “pork ribs tea”). Read more here…

Click for enlarged view.

And yes, if you have been counting, I missed one of the stalls… the BBQ seafood stall, where you can make your own selection from a range of seafood (like stingray, crayfish and many more), get it all BBQed to your specifications, then served up on banana leaves. One of the best foods to savor while sitting under the stars, in my opinion.

The crowds were amazing. We were glad we had already had our dinner. Lines snaked in front of every stall. At some stalls, it looked as if it would have been at least an hour wait (and most probably a lot more) before you got your food. According to some press reports, the stalls have been serving up to 12,000 people each and every night!

That evening, looking at what everyone was eating, the or luak (oyster omelette) looked especially tempting (and which I subsequently got to taste a few days later). The roti prata looked very nice too. The char kuay teow seemed to be of the rather “wet” variety – not the type I like. The satay looked very good though.

Sure, the prices are perhaps slightly higher than normal, but I think the atmosphere more than makes up for it. It is nice to just visit and enjoy the food under the stars instead of in the regular hawker centers. I’m thinking that it is the perfect spot for my usual 3am supper! Yes, this place operates nightly from 6pm to 6am. So, for all the night owls, I think this is a prayer answered!

There are many other interesting food events going on throughout the month. They range from high-brow events where dinner costs thousands of dollars, to simple, free events that allow the family to enjoy a great outing together. “Supper Madness @ Chinatown” sounds interesting; as does “Katong – The Spice of Life”. There are also many, many different food bazaars going on in various shopping malls. Lots of makan-ing (eating) to do this month!

Happy festival feasting!

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
Please contact me for permission to copy, publish, distribute or display any of the images or text contained in this article.

Satiated At Last!

About 2 weeks (?) ago, I blogged about my craving for Malaysian-style konlo mee / wantan mee. Well, today I finally got to eat the noodles from the said stall. My mum ta-powed it as lunch for me (isn’t she sweet?). Am satiated now.

Cooked an Indian-style yogurt chicken for dinner tonight, but will post about it some other time… am tired now… it has been a very long day. G’nite! Happy konlo mee-ing!

Update: Just found out from my mum today that the food centre at Redhill Close Market will be closing on Monday (8/12), and moving to temporary premises next to Redhill MRT station (where the old HDB blocks have been torn down). They'll be there for a year whilst existing premises are upgraded. But I think some stall-owners may be choosing to take a break for a year, so won't be around during that time. : (

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
Please contact me for permission to copy, distribute or display any of the images and text contained in this article.

The Lunch That Wasn't

Had cravings for noodles today. But not just any noodles (mee) though... wanted kon loh mee - as distinct from wantan mee. Although both are noodles tossed in special sauces and topped with slices of char siew (roast pork), they taste completely different. Not sure what the exact differences are in the sauces used, but the texture of the noodles used is very different too. The noodles used in the Hong Kong style wantan mee is a lot more chewy or springy, due to the large amounts of alkaline water used in the making of the noodles. The noodles used in the Malaysian-style kon loh mee are slightly thicker and have a much softer bite. I personally am more partial to the Malaysian-styled noodle, whilst most Singaporeans prefer the so-called "Q-Q" texture of the Hong Kong noodles. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a true authentic Malaysian-style kon loh mee in Singapore in all these years. It's usually the Hong Kong version that is served in all the hawker centres, food courts and restaurants. But all this changed last week...

Last week, my mum ta-powed (bought takeaway) from the market hawker centre, and lo and behold! the noodles tasted just like the Malaysian kon loh mee! Stole a couple of mouthfuls from her, and it tasted really good! The sauce tasted right, the noodle texture was right. Wow!

And today, I just had to have that noodle... but alas, it was not to be. Found the stall all shuttered and locked up. The owner was off on a week-long vacation. Sigh!

And so it was back to our regular chye tow kueh stall. This is small chunks of steamed radish cake fried with eggs and chye poh (preserved radish). It comes in a black or white version, with the former being fried with dark sweet sauce and the latter with just light soy sauce.

This particular stall - Red Hill Carrot Cake (#01-380 Red Hill Market Food Centre, Blk 85 Red Hill Close) - is our favorite*. I think it serves a very good version of this dish. The radish or carrot cake have a good balance between the cripsy exterior and soft insides. It's run by a mother and daughter team, with the father helping out with the serving. Personally, I have a preference for the mother's version - which has more of the "chau-ta" or burnt/crispy bits, making it that extra bit more tasty ; )

It was the daughter manning the stove today, but we are such regulars of the stall that they know exactly how we like the dish. The father was thoroughly bemused that I had shown up with my digital camera and was taking snapshots of them and the food. He was so facinated with the camera that he ended up watching me take the shots, and wanting to play with the camera, rather than serving his customers! LoL!

That's the very young looking father in blue in the foreground, and the daughter in her regular "protective gear" of cap, long-sleeved polo tee and gloves, cooking up plates and plates of the carrot cake. Why the "protective gear"? To protect her skin and hair from the grease and intense heat! Cute, huh?

Unfortunately, none of the pics of the carrot cake turned out. For some unknown reason, the food in all the pics came out with eery red hues, similar to the bright red color of the plate it was being served on! Alien food! Hmmm... what happened there?

But here is a pic of the plate of char kuay teow we also ordered. Flat rice noodles fried with egg, beansprouts, fishcake and very often, clams. (S$2 for regular; S$2.50 with an additional egg). Again, it comes in either the black of white version. This is the white version. I sneaked a few mouths, but found this version from a previously un-tried stall rather too oily for my liking.

In case some of you are wondering what a hawker centre is... it is a customized, non-airconditioned building with rows and rows of small stalls. Each specializes in just one or two dishes, such as chicken rice, or noodles etc. This is where one can find some of the best and most authentic local Singaporean dishes. And it is very, very cheap. For S$2-5 (~US$1.20-3.00) one can have a delicious meal. And so it is a common sight to see professionals in their business shirts and ties, or suits lunching in these centres. It can get sweltering hot and humid in these places, but the food is really good!

Almost all of these stalls are family-run, with the owners being true specialists in the dishes they sell. Many of them have been cooking just that particular dish for 10, 20 and even 30+ years! Unfortunately, when many of these hawkers retire, their dishes disappear with them, as their children are often unwilling to continue the business. They are open 7 days a week, for 8-12 hours a day. No breaks... maybe only 1 week off during Chinese New Year, and for some, no break at all for as long as 10 or more years!

These were originally itinerant hawkers, plying their trade from mobile push-carts in the streets in the 50s and 60s. Then, for hygiene and health reasons, the Government relocated them to specially built buildings with running water and proper waste disposal. And now these hawker centres are found in every residential neighbourhood and even right in the heart of the business and financial district.

[*Update 29 May 2025: The old Redhill Market has been closed for renovations and many of the food stalls, along with the market stalls, have moved across the road into temporary premises. Unfortunately, with this move, both the elderly lady and her daughter have "retired" and no longer cook at this carrot cake stall, which is now manned by the son. When we tried his version of the carrot cake 3-4 weeks back, we were sorely disappointed. And sad to say, I don't think we will be returning to the stall again.
The closure of the original market has also seen many of the more popular food stalls disappear, as the owners took the opportunity to retire or simply to take a long hiatus. It's sad.]

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
Please contact me for permission to copy, distribute or display any of the images and text contained in this article.