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Gluttons Square returns to Orchard Road Carpark
Annex A:
Orchard Road Carpark Stalls
1/ Bak Chor
Mee/ Crab Beehoon
(Lam’s Noodles)
1a/ Bak Chor
Mee:
Minced meat
wheat noodles cooked slightly al-dente (hot and cold water
dip-n-dunk technique) and swathed in specially cooked chilli
paste, flavoured oils, a dash of soy sauce, black vinegar
and topped with minced/sliced meat, fish cakes, lettuce or
fish balls. The soup version has these ingredients all
sitting in a beautiful pork broth.
1b/
Crab Beehoon
Marinated and
wok tossed savoury rice noodles (beehoon) is steamed under a
fresh and juicy Sri Lanka meat crab. The juices are absorbed
by the noodles which are further softened by the steaming
process. This outstanding concoction is an invention by the
owners here.
Lam’s
is actually a noodle business started by the Yap brothers,
helmed by the older Eng Lam, in the mid 1980s. The younger
Eng Ho joined almost ten years later and today, Lam’s Noodle
is somewhat of a household name in Minced Meat (bak chor in
Hokkien) Noodles in Singapore. Their success hinges on the
very simple motto of listening to customers’ feedback and
using only the best ingredients, like black fungus
mushrooms, soft liver, dried fish slices (tee po) and fresh
minced pork. Their magic is the sauce, which has a tinge of
black vinegar and gives the noodle a hearty sensation when
eating it. It is a family secret they have been improving on
over the years and today they have six outlets all over
Singapore and a franchise business model. In 2000, they
tinkered with the crab beehoon concept and today it is
available at their Rangoon Road outlet.
2/ Roti Prata/Soup
Kambing
(Casuarina Curry)
2a/ Roti Prata
A south Indian
classic staple pancake from Chennai. Simple flavoured dough
is flipped, stretched and folded into shape to contain air
traps before pan frying. The resultant crispy on the outside
and lightly soft on the inside, roti prata, is best eaten
with a fish or meat curry dip or dhal.
2b/ Soup Kambing
A very rich and
spicy lamb broth that is enhanced with galangal, turmeric
and masala spices. Served with bit cubes of lamb and offal
(upon request) and topped with fried shallots.
The preferred staple with Soup Kambing is usually
bread slices, rolls or wedges of French loaf which is great
for dunking it in. Very popular dish in South India.
Casuarina
is one of the top Indian street food restaurants in
Singapore. The brothers that run it inherited the business
from their father and went one up on its recipe. Their
crispy Roti Prata is voted numero uno here by the
local media. They employ roti and Indian food experts from
the region and India, and re-orientate them on how to fry
Roti Prata, Casuarina style. They were one of the “warring
factions” along the infamous Jalan Kayu Roti Prata ghetto.
Business sense got the better of them and they moved to
Casuarina Road where they set their new foundation and
reputation. Today they have another outlet at the Soul Food
eatery in the Biopolis complex at Buona Vista Road.
3/ Satay
(Fatman Satay)
Pieces of bite
sized meat marinated in rich spices like turmeric, lemon
grass and ginger which are lightly sweetened and skewered on
a stick before it is char-grilled to perfection with a smoky
taste. It comes with a spicy peanut sauce dip. Natural side
orders include ketupat, leaf wrapped compressed soft
rice cakes and served with raw onion slices and cool
cucumbers.
Fatman Satay
is yet another household food legend in Singapore. It
started along Beach Road just outside the Alhambra Theatre
in the 1940s and was later relocated to the now defunct
Satay Club by the Esplanade some 20 years ago. The family
business is now in the hands of the second generation. They
have stalls in the Old Airport Road food center and at the
Lau Pa Sat satay club. While traditional satay uses cut
meat, the folks here popularized the use of minced meat. It
is much softer to the bite and takes the marinade more
evenly. Their peanut sauce is smooth with a fine peanut
texture.
4/ Chicken
Rice/ Teochew Fish Porridge
(Lee Kwang Kee Chicken Rice/Teochew Fish Porridge)
4a/ Chicken
Rice
A Singapore
national dish. The Singapore Hainanese Chicken rice is
special because this version is not originally found in
Hainan, China. The unique appeal lies in the passion behind
its creation. The grains are firstly fried in flavoured oils
and garlic before boiling in chicken stock. The chilli sauce
must have a spicy and zingy tang to it and the fowl must be
stock boiled
for flavour and immediately ice dunked for texture. This
technique firms the skin, locks the juices and oils and
keeps the flesh moist and soft.
4b/Teochew Fish Porridge
This light
porridge is actually steamed rice simmered in a clear and
light fish broth. Fresh and succulent mackerel fish slices
tops the porridge with leaves of lettuce. Usually a
sprinkling of dried seaweed, fried shallots, spring onions
and coriander is added for a lift to this South China
Teochew classic. A very clean, tasty yet light meal.
Mr Lee Jim Kwang
is a hawker who specializes in two recipes - chicken rice
and Teochew fish porridge. One, he acquired from his Teochew
heritage and the other, he learnt from working for Hainanese
chicken rice sellers more than twenty years ago. His fish
porridge uses hand cut slices of fresh mackerel, as opposed
to machine cut frozen ones. The broth has a nice flavour of
dried shrimps (heibi) and dried cuttlefish.
Their Chicken
Rice has an important edge - the rice. They believe that the
art in frying the grains in their special recipe before
boiling it in stock is what makes the difference. While any
customer can demand that their chicken pieces be fresh and
tender, Mr Lee adds that it should also be smooth and
slippery.
Both their
fish porridge and chicken rice are separate businesses and
they have a few stalls located all over the island.
5/ Bak Kut
Teh
(Rong Chen Bak Kut Teh)
Literally, Bak
Kut Teh refers to Pork Ribs Tea. Once a national breakfast
icon, it is also enjoyed all day and night now. Tender and
long pieces of pork back ribs are boiled, flavoured and
served in a clear soupy stock of garlic and pepper with a
dash of spices like cloves, coriander roots and red dates.
Accompanied by a bowl of white rice and chilli dip, it is
customary to wash this meal down with cups of Chinese tea
“espresso” made fresh and in the traditional style (the
hawkers will show you how when you order it).
Rong Chen Bak Kut Teh
has been in the business for over 25 years. Theirs is the
classic Teochew style recipe - clear garlic and peppery soup
with succulent ribs. Their formula for success is equally a
classic - use good quality ribs, ensure perfect fire when
cooking and give the customers what they want, says owner Mr
Lee Yew Suan, who inherited the business from his father.
Customers swear by their clear looking yet porky and peppery
broth and the long ribs which sit so appealingly in the
bowl. While the senior Lee had never been selfish about his
recipe secrets, not one of his previous “disciples” has
offered to inherit the business. However, he is still
receptive to anyone willing to work, learn and inherit this
Singapore culinary icon.
6/Fried
Carrot Cake/ BBQ Chicken Wings
(Newton Heng Carrot Cake) /
(Newton Huat Huat BBQ Chicken Wings)
6a/Fried
Carrot Cake
The “cake” is
made by steaming a doughy mix of flour, stock and grated
radish. The soft cake is then cut into pieces and fried with
eggs, chopped pickled radish and garlic. The blackened and
slightly sweet savoury version has black sweet soy sauce
fried in for extra taste.
6b/ BBQ Chicken
Wings
These
char-grilled chicken wings are a nocturnal finger food
delight. The specially marinated wings are grilled for
succulence and the skin is oh-so lightly roasted for texture
and smokiness. Absolute bliss is achieved when calamansi
lime is squeezed over it and dunked in the tangy and spicy
chilli sauce…just before devouring with your fingers, no
etiquette required.
As a child,
Mr Tan Sai Heng had helped out at his father’s carrot
cake stall at the Newton hawker centre in the 1970s. Father
was one of the legendary Koek Road hawkers. And till this
day, he still insists on a stubborn but well appreciated
task of making his own carrot cake by hand. Factory supplies
just won’t do. His carrot cakes are softer and tastier to
the bite. Mr Tan fries his “pancake style” and believes the
art of frying is the key to a nice plate of carrot cake.
“A good BBQ
chicken wing should be fragrant and well grilled to the
crisp,” says owner Mr Aw Keng Seng, who has been grilling
them since 1980. He bought over the business from his
relatives a few years ago and plans to expand into the
region. He uses up to 18 spices and ingredients just for the
marinade and, so fussy is he, insists that only chicken
wings weighing 75gms to 90gms be used. And it must be
Brazilian wings as they are meatier. Another prime
ingredient is the chilli sauce, which they are good at
making because they started out as chilli sauce producers.
7/ Or Luak (Fried Oyster Omelette)
(Hup Kee Oyster Omelette)
This is a South
China street staple that became an icon here. Sweet potato
flour and stock mixture is fried with eggs till it’s both
crispy yet soft. Then fresh oysters, which are lightly
coated with that same sweet potato flour and stock batter,
are quickly rolled over the hot wok and served as a topping
with a sprinkling of coriander and spring onions. A sinfully
delicious hot snack. It often comes with a tangy chilli
sauce to balance the heaviness of the dish.
Mr Low Thye Chua
was one of the stallholders from the original Orchard Road
carpark night hawkers in the 1970s. He started out hawking
hot classic south China desserts like red bean soup and tau
suan (mung bean in syrup) before switching to recipes when
he was relocated to Orchard Road. He learnt his skills from
his father and an old friend who started some 39 years ago.
He currently operates in a stall at Newton Hawker Centre.
Old regulars recognize him for his distinctive trademark
action - he tilts his head when he fries. In the past,
customers liked Or Luak with more flour, but these days,
they prefer it with more eggs. Though still strong for a 67
year old, Mr Low has now enlisted the support of his son to
continue his family’s culinary legacy and Mr Low junior is
now keeping the faith on this aspect of the Singapore food
culture.
8/
Nasi Lemak
(Sri Saujana Nasi Lemak)
When you boil
rice grains in light coconut milk, flavoured with a tinge of
pandan leaves and stock, you get rice so rich that they call
it a dish in itself -
nasi lemak or ‘rich rice’. And when you add a stinging
chilli sambal or chutney and top it with your favourites
like fried chicken wing, fried fish, eggs, cucumber and/or
fried anchovies and peanuts etc, it becomes a national
culinary staple, eaten around the clock everyday.
Mr Rahman Ismail
runs his popular stall in the heart of the nasi lemak “war
zone” in Changi Village food centre. At last count, there
was no less than six nasi lemak “warring factions” selling
the same stuff side by side there. But their edge is the
chilli sambal which is not too sweet yet very spicy and the
rice, which is not too soft as tradition would have it. They
cook it for you the way they would do so at home and with a
skill, recipe and devotion that this family has inherited
through the generations.
9/BBQ Seafood
(Boon Tat Street BBQ Seafood)
It is so simple.
Take fresh seafood, grill it or hot pan sear it with a
secret recipe chilli sambal chutney or sauce. Now imagine it
with prawns, sotong (calamari rings), stingray, fish or even
shellfish served on a banana leaf platter. Outstanding!
When
Mr Goh Choon Hua started about 20 years ago, there were
very few stalls selling this form of seafood in Singapore.
So they went one up on the chilli crab legend and grilled
fresh seafood by serving them with a superb chilli/ curry
sauce. They obtained their recipe from an old friend and
experimented further, especially with the chilli sambal
sauce. Today BBQ seafood stalls led by the ubiquitous BBQ
stingray hero dish, are found in almost every hawker center.
Boon Tat BBQ Seafood has various
outlets in Singapore.
10/ Fried
Kway Teow/ Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodles
(Hup Kee Fried Kway Teow)
10a/ Fried
Kway Teow
If you must,
it’s “sunset noodles and rice pasta perfectly wok tossed in
a symphony of chopped garlic, stock and black sweet soy
sauce, textured with bean sprouts, chye sim and prawns. It
is served with a fresh topping of shellfish sashimi.” (or
cockles, if you like). Wok and fire control is what makes
this seemingly simple dish so hard to cook.
10b/ Fried
Hokkien Prawn Noodles or Rochor Mee
Legend has it
that the old Chinese Fujian sailors here (who are
traditionally eat noodles as a staple food) moonlighted as
hawkers by frying the excess factory noodles that were not
sold by day’s end along Rochor Road. As it was close to the
seaside markets, fresh seafood was readily available as a
natural ingredient. A Fried Hokkien Noodle craft of sorts
evolved and today a great plate of it has the hallmark
qualities like seared chopped garlic, seafood stock, fresh
prawns and sotong (calamari rings) all fried “into” the
noodles. Fire and wok control is what makes this fried
“marinara pasta” great.
Mr Low Thye Hong
comes from a whole generation of cooks and hawkers. He
remembers learning the craft from his granddad and father,
both originally from China. After serving national service
as a military chef, he went on to help his father sell Fried
Kway Teow and Fried Hokkien Noodles at the original Orchard
Road carpark in the 1970s. They chose to sell those dishes
as it was popular and affordable for the masses. His Fried
Kway Teow is fried with a dash of seafood stock and comes
with prawns and sotong (squid rings). He currently runs a
stall in the Newton Hawker Centre.
Source:
Singapore Tourism Board Press Release 1 Jul 2004
Subsequent
Notes:
Factsheet:
Orchard Road Carpark Hawkers Event
Held
in conjunction with the Singapore Food Festival 2004
The Singapore
Food Festival (SFF) 2004 takes a walk down memory lane with
the staging of the hawker stalls at the Orchard Road Carpark.
From 2 July, more than ten hawkers stalls selling perennial
local favourites, have been operating from 6pm to 6am at the
carpark next to Specialists Shopping Centre, directly
opposite Centrepoint Shopping Centre.
Popularly known
then as "Gluttons Square", the vibrant and nostalgic carpark
hawkers event was officially opened this evening by
A/Prof Koo Tsai Kee, Senior Parliamentary
Secretary, Ministry of National Development & Ministry of
Defence and Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC.
The Orchard Road
Carpark Hawkers Event at a glance-
Glutton
facts
From 2-8 July 2004
Source: Event Manager, Makansutra
-
Estimated
number of visitors: 12,000 per night
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Number of
tables and chairs on site: 130 tables and 1,000 chairs
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Number of
cleaners at the carpark: total of 240 manhours per
night
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Sticks of
Satay sold: 4,000 per night
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Roti
Pratas tossed: 800 per night
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Otahs
served with Nasi Lemak: 400 per night
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Plates of
Char Kway Teow fried: Nearly 700 per night
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Chicken
wings barbequed: 1,400 per night
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Eggs used
to fry up oyster omelettes: 1,300 per night
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Kilos of
noodles and beehoon used for Bak Chor Mee: 30 kg of
noodles, 12 big packets of beehoon
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Kilos of
fish used for fish porridge: 20 kg per night
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Chickens
served with Chicken rice: 50 chickens per night
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Kilos of
pork ribs boiled for Bak Kut Teh: 200 kg per night
Source:
Singapore Tourism Board Press Release 10 Jul 2004
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Gluttons
Square returns to Orchard Road Carpark