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Makansutra
Old Odeon Beef Kway Teow rediscovered in Serangoon
The legacy lives on
By K F Seetoh
August 11, 2010
I WAS born just before Singapore became independent.
FAMILY BUSINESS: Mr Kian Kin Tong of Toa Payoh Hwa Heng Beef Noodles with his wife Mrs Kian and daughter Wei Ling. PICTURE: MAKANSUTRA
I grew up seeing this country transform from third world to number one in anything we care to be number one in.
There are many reasons I love this land and carry our national flag in my heart.
I tell all my foreign friends and makan commentators to give the best hamburgers and Michelin-star creations here a miss and go for a plate of chicken rice, laksa or satay beehoon.
I inject Singaporeanism into their bloodstream and get them high on it. I think it's the best souvenir they can take home.
Strangely, it was not chicken rice I grew up and celebrated my citizenship with.
It was more like ketchup-laced wanton mee at a corner coffeeshop in Geylang, claypot rice in Chinatown, and roti prata and mee goreng sold by mobile hawkers in the 60s.
Sure, I was floored by and remember vividly the original Swee Kee chicken rice stall on Middle Road - with all those fat chickens, flavourful and oily rice and fresh stinging chilli sauce.
Iconic
But there was something else in the vicinity - the iconic Hainanese Odeon Beef Kway Teow stall opposite the defunct Odeon Theatre.
It was as much a part of my teenage years as bell-bottom pants, platform men's shoes and groovy 70s culture.
That coffee shop was torn down to make way for the Raffles Hotel extension and swankier shops along North Bridge Road.
The Kian family, owners of the Odeon Beef Kway Teow legacy, moved on and the siblings opened shops in the old Scotts Picnic Food Court in the basement of the former Scotts Shopping Centre (now in a food court in Ion Orchard) and another at Toa Payoh Hub.
I enjoy the food court setting but miss the old coffee shop culture and I was all glee when Andrew, a 'makan mata' (food cop), told me that the younger Kian had installed himself at a nondescript little coffee shop in the Serangoon Road area.
Mr Kian Kin Tong is 65 and says things like 'I will cook beef noodles till I cannot any more'.
He was just 11 when he began helping his father at the old stall.
Watch him blanch his thin palm-sized slices of beef and you know it's an art.
He blanches them in the beef stock and factors in the residual heat in the bowl that cooks it perfectly medium and soft when it is served to you.
The stock is gently reduced with spices, herbs and a bit of starch. It comes savoury and sweet with no uncomfortable beef or herbal overtones.
The noodles, two cuts of beef, beef balls, salted vegetables and bean sprouts are doused with sesame oil and a 'very good grade of thick soy sauce', before the thick dark sauce is slathered over with a puff of white pepper on top.
Chilli sauce
The vinegar-laced thick chilli sauce with a smooth dollop of chincalok and a wedge of lime holds the whole deal together.
The soup version has a stock that reeks comfortably of beef, light herbs and greens - very refreshing and without a 'centralised kitchen flavour'.
One extra piece of good news is that the legacy continues into the next generation with his daughter Wei Ling, who said: 'I don't like to study so I help my dad out in this old-fashioned business lor.'
She has been at it for more than 20 years and cooks everything to daddy's satisfaction.
Blend that into your heritage, kids.
Makansutra, founded by KF Seetoh, is a company that celebrates Asian food culture and lifestyle. It publishes food guides in and around the region, produces a food television series, develops interactive mobile content and services, operates food courts and eateries, organises food tours and events, and consults on culinary concepts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FYI
WHAT: Toa Payoh Hwa Heng Beef Noodles
WHERE: Yeap Coffeeshop, 27 Maude Road
WHEN: 10am-3pm, Closed on Mondays
Makansutra
Old Odeon Beef Kway Teow rediscovered in Serangoon
The legacy lives on
By K F Seetoh
August 11, 2010
I WAS born just before Singapore became independent.
FAMILY BUSINESS: Mr Kian Kin Tong of Toa Payoh Hwa Heng Beef Noodles with his wife Mrs Kian and daughter Wei Ling. PICTURE: MAKANSUTRA
I grew up seeing this country transform from third world to number one in anything we care to be number one in.
There are many reasons I love this land and carry our national flag in my heart.
I tell all my foreign friends and makan commentators to give the best hamburgers and Michelin-star creations here a miss and go for a plate of chicken rice, laksa or satay beehoon.
I inject Singaporeanism into their bloodstream and get them high on it. I think it's the best souvenir they can take home.
Strangely, it was not chicken rice I grew up and celebrated my citizenship with.
It was more like ketchup-laced wanton mee at a corner coffeeshop in Geylang, claypot rice in Chinatown, and roti prata and mee goreng sold by mobile hawkers in the 60s.
Sure, I was floored by and remember vividly the original Swee Kee chicken rice stall on Middle Road - with all those fat chickens, flavourful and oily rice and fresh stinging chilli sauce.
Iconic
But there was something else in the vicinity - the iconic Hainanese Odeon Beef Kway Teow stall opposite the defunct Odeon Theatre.
It was as much a part of my teenage years as bell-bottom pants, platform men's shoes and groovy 70s culture.
That coffee shop was torn down to make way for the Raffles Hotel extension and swankier shops along North Bridge Road.
The Kian family, owners of the Odeon Beef Kway Teow legacy, moved on and the siblings opened shops in the old Scotts Picnic Food Court in the basement of the former Scotts Shopping Centre (now in a food court in Ion Orchard) and another at Toa Payoh Hub.
I enjoy the food court setting but miss the old coffee shop culture and I was all glee when Andrew, a 'makan mata' (food cop), told me that the younger Kian had installed himself at a nondescript little coffee shop in the Serangoon Road area.
Mr Kian Kin Tong is 65 and says things like 'I will cook beef noodles till I cannot any more'.
He was just 11 when he began helping his father at the old stall.
Watch him blanch his thin palm-sized slices of beef and you know it's an art.
He blanches them in the beef stock and factors in the residual heat in the bowl that cooks it perfectly medium and soft when it is served to you.
The stock is gently reduced with spices, herbs and a bit of starch. It comes savoury and sweet with no uncomfortable beef or herbal overtones.
The noodles, two cuts of beef, beef balls, salted vegetables and bean sprouts are doused with sesame oil and a 'very good grade of thick soy sauce', before the thick dark sauce is slathered over with a puff of white pepper on top.
Chilli sauce
The vinegar-laced thick chilli sauce with a smooth dollop of chincalok and a wedge of lime holds the whole deal together.
The soup version has a stock that reeks comfortably of beef, light herbs and greens - very refreshing and without a 'centralised kitchen flavour'.
One extra piece of good news is that the legacy continues into the next generation with his daughter Wei Ling, who said: 'I don't like to study so I help my dad out in this old-fashioned business lor.'
She has been at it for more than 20 years and cooks everything to daddy's satisfaction.
Blend that into your heritage, kids.
Makansutra, founded by KF Seetoh, is a company that celebrates Asian food culture and lifestyle. It publishes food guides in and around the region, produces a food television series, develops interactive mobile content and services, operates food courts and eateries, organises food tours and events, and consults on culinary concepts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FYI
WHAT: Toa Payoh Hwa Heng Beef Noodles
WHERE: Yeap Coffeeshop, 27 Maude Road
WHEN: 10am-3pm, Closed on Mondays
