$4 for 6 Miserable Fish Balls Justified! Huat Ah!

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Esplanade stallholder's reply: Not just any old fishballs but premium, handmade yellowtails...
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Mr Rowland Koh's Forum Online letter on Tuesday, 'Pricey hawker fare - eight mini fishballs for $6'. I thank Mr Koh for his feedback.
The fishballs we sell are premium handmade yellowtail fishballs from wet-market suppliers.
The more expensive handmade yellowtail fishballs cannot be bought from supermarkets, which usually sell the cheaper machine-made ones.
In any well-known local supermarket, fishballs can cost from $0.038 per fishball to $0.16 for machine-made yellowtail fishballs.
Prices and quality of handmade fishballs vary among suppliers. We have chosen one of the best suppliers of handmade fishballs, someone who has taught different teams of people from Hong Kong and Taiwan how to make good quality handmade fishballs.
Unlike most fishball soup that is liberally sprinkled with artificial flavour enhancers, the flavour of our soup comes from the fishballs.
Our fishball soup dish is sold at $4 for six fishballs and $6 for 10. Customers have the option to exchange some fishballs for more vegetables and mushrooms. Just as some individuals may not be able to distinguish the grade of a durian based on its smell, it may not be so easy for some individuals to tell the grade of the fishballs from others.
We invite Mr Koh to sample different brands and quality of fishballs at our stall free of charge.
Augustine Lee
Stall M (Happy Pot), MGB, The Esplanade

 

[oli9]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Esplanade stallholder's reply: Not just any old fishballs but premium, handmade yellowtails...
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Mr Rowland Koh's Forum Online letter on Tuesday, 'Pricey hawker fare - eight mini fishballs for $6'. I thank Mr Koh for his feedback.
The fishballs we sell are premium handmade yellowtail fishballs from wet-market suppliers.
The more expensive handmade yellowtail fishballs cannot be bought from supermarkets, which usually sell the cheaper machine-made ones.
In any well-known local supermarket, fishballs can cost from $0.038 per fishball to $0.16 for machine-made yellowtail fishballs.
Prices and quality of handmade fishballs vary among suppliers. We have chosen one of the best suppliers of handmade fishballs, someone who has taught different teams of people from Hong Kong and Taiwan how to make good quality handmade fishballs.
Unlike most fishball soup that is liberally sprinkled with artificial flavour enhancers, the flavour of our soup comes from the fishballs.
Our fishball soup dish is sold at $4 for six fishballs and $6 for 10. Customers have the option to exchange some fishballs for more vegetables and mushrooms. Just as some individuals may not be able to distinguish the grade of a durian based on its smell, it may not be so easy for some individuals to tell the grade of the fishballs from others.
We invite Mr Koh to sample different brands and quality of fishballs at our stall free of charge.
Augustine Lee
Stall M (Happy Pot), MGB, The Esplanade

Augustine should inform the general public that he's selling premium yellowtail fishballs instead of letting his customers wondering if he's using catfish balls.
And to that idiot who complained about pricey fishballs, obviously he cant tell the difference between premium fishballs from machone produced inferior quality fishballs.

 

[cooleo]

>>In any well-known local supermarket, fishballs can cost from $0.038 per fishball to $0.16 for machine-made yellowtail fishballs.
Prices and quality of handmade fishballs vary among suppliers.<<

Machine made yellowtail fishballs - at most 3 CENTS each.
YAO SIU foodcourt yellowtail handmade fishballs - 66 CENTS each.

Based on calculations, YAO SIU food stall making 2200% markup per fishball for handmaking + rental + staff.

 

[Ripley]

Esplanade stallholder's reply: Not just any old fishballs but premium, handmade yellowtails...
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Hahahahaha premium sia!

 

[Alamaking]

We invite Mr Koh to sample different brands and quality of fishballs at our stall free of charge.
Augustine Lee
Stall M (Happy Pot), MGB, The Esplanade

Can invite me? i want to try "Premium" fishball

 

[KKC007]

>>In any well-known local supermarket, fishballs can cost from $0.038 per fishball to $0.16 for machine-made yellowtail fishballs.
Prices and quality of handmade fishballs vary among suppliers.<<

Machine made yellowtail fishballs - at most 3 CENTS each.
YAO SIU foodcourt yellowtail handmade fishballs - 66 CENTS each.

Based on calculations, YAO SIU food stall making 2200% markup per fishball for handmaking + rental + staff.

3.8 cents for normal fishball and 16 cents for machine-made yellowtail fishball. Read properly lah. He is selling hand-made yellowtail fishball, so theoretically should cost more.

I remember a show where Ramsay said to take the cost of ingredients and multiply it by 4. That is your selling price. Of course, that is in the UK and a semi-fine dining restaurant.

I've been making my rounds at Bak Kut Teh stalls around Singapore the last few days (Ah Hua, Ng Ah Sio, Founders etc) before heading back for good. They all cost $6 to $8 per bowl of Bak Kut! Prices in Singapore are getting ridiculous!

 

[pia]

is yellowtail fish the "sai tor" fish? thot it's normal? What is the so-called non-premium fish used then? Anyone can educate?

 

[oli9]

is yellowtail fish the "sai tor" fish? thot it's normal? What is the so-called non-premium fish used then? Anyone can educate?

yellowtail is yellowtail. http://www.wwfsassi.co.za/backend/media/911/sixfour_yellowtail.jpg
Saitoh is saitoh (also known as ikan parang. best for fishballs)

Non premium fish - catfish (the m&ds love them & there's only one way to cook them - assam pedas. Cant steam, grilled but Ive eaten deep fried before. taste is not bad)
Beware of those frozen fish fillet sold in NTUC. Theyre quite smart in labelling it in a foreign name. "Suutchi" or "Pangasius Suutchi". Basically the common name for this fish is the farm bred & cultivated PATIN fish & its also basically another type of CATFISH. But this catfish's meat taste much better than the common catfish we sometimes catch in our seas.
The number 1 best tasting catfish is definetely the PAK SOOK KUNG (King patin) & the TAPAH Fish (if you can find it)

Sorry to digress from your question.

 

[sinren67]

Bread is still a bread, fish balls is merely fish balls

 

[Ramseth]

Bread is still a bread, fish balls is merely fish balls

Well said. I feel that the idea of premium fish balls is oxymoron. Fish balls were invented so that poor people who couldn't afford whole fish or fish fillet could have a taste of some fish. Premium fresh fish are served whole or as fillet or can be be served even raw slices (as in Japanese sashimi and sushi and Chinese yusheng), not bashed up and mixed up with flour paste to make fish balls.

As for S$4 for 6 fish balls, however handmade or premium, I think that you can get two whole real fish for that in most hawker centres. Anyway, in this day and age, I don't think think handmade or machine-made makes much difference in taste, when homemade usually means hiring some underpaid aunties or foreign workers without any cullinary sense just carrying out instructions to beat and scoop the fish balls. Machine made is cheaper, taste equally good or better, and certainly more hygenic.

 

[pia]

yellowtail is yellowtail. http://www.wwfsassi.co.za/backend/media/911/sixfour_yellowtail.jpg
Saitoh is saitoh (also known as ikan parang. best for fishballs)

Non premium fish - catfish (the m&ds love them & there's only one way to cook them - assam pedas. Cant steam, grilled but Ive eaten deep fried before. taste is not bad)
Beware of those frozen fish fillet sold in NTUC. Theyre quite smart in labelling it in a foreign name. "Suutchi" or "Pangasius Suutchi". Basically the common name for this fish is the farm bred & cultivated PATIN fish & its also basically another type of CATFISH. But this catfish's meat taste much better than the common catfish we sometimes catch in our seas.
The number 1 best tasting catfish is definetely the PAK SOOK KUNG (King patin) & the TAPAH Fish (if you can find it)

Sorry to digress from your question.

No prob.. I'm just one goondu who doesn't know what's he's eating

How about the big bouncy ones (the good tasty ones) I get in my mee pok ta? What are these made from?

 

[oli9]

No prob.. I'm just one goondu who doesn't know what's he's eating

How about the big bouncy ones (the good tasty ones) I get in my mee pok ta? What are these made from?

Big bouncy ones could be saitoh meat with plenty of self raising corn flour to make it bouncy.
back to your earlier post on prmium, i think even in this age, some clowns would pay premium to eat 666 or King cat Mountain durian. For me, i would also pay premium than to content myself with NTUC type of durian. As for fish, nothing beats the freshly caught from the ocean or those bought alive from the various kelongs in Ubin waters.

 

[KKC007]

Well said. I feel that the idea of premium fish balls is oxymoron. Fish balls were invented so that poor people who couldn't afford whole fish or fish fillet could have a taste of some fish. Premium fresh fish are served whole or as fillet or can be be served even raw slices (as in Japanese sashimi and sushi and Chinese yusheng), not bashed up and mixed up with flour paste to make fish balls.

As for S$4 for 6 fish balls, however handmade or premium, I think that you can get two whole real fish for that in most hawker centres. Anyway, in this day and age, I don't think think handmade or machine-made makes much difference in taste, when homemade usually means hiring some underpaid aunties or foreign workers without any cullinary sense just carrying out instructions to beat and scoop the fish balls. Machine made is cheaper, taste equally good or better, and certainly more hygenic.

And a Boulud Burger is the same as Carl's Jr?

 

[Ramseth]

And a Boulud Burger is the same as Carl's Jr?

I don't think it makes sense to order hamburgers in proper restaurants. Minced meat patties are minced meat patties. However fresh, they're fresh subprime meat. Good cuts of meat are served as prime cutlets or steaks, not ground into minced meat burger patties.

 

[KKC007]

How about grounded Wagyu Beef patties?

 

[cooleo]

Fishball can be classified into PREMIUM!

Wah... then better don't anyhow play play with Roti Prata. Wait they slap a PREMIUM tag on it and u kenna flipped!

 

[Ramseth]

How about grounded Wagyu Beef patties?

I'm just opining generally. If going into specifics like Japanese or Kobe marbled beef, I think that's stretching it too far. In any case, no sane Japanese would grind any cut of Kobe beef into a patty. It still can be served between two pieces of bread, but then it's not a hamburger anymore, it's a steakburger.

 

[Big Brother]

Hawker stall oso got tis kind of class dishes.

Wait until another hawker oso says his dishes are SUPER PREMIUM, ELITE, INFINITE..bla bla bla...

Only fools would be deceived by such tricks.

Times are hard so save your money and eat elsewhere more reasonable. Do not fall for such premium stuff tricks.

 

[Jabba]

At $4..u should get fish tits instead of balls...

 

[babachai]

Augustine should reply that it is actually the BALLS of the fish