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More restaurants serving crocodile meat
Kezia Toh | The Sunday Times | Sun May 2 2010
Crocodile dishes are getting the thumbs-up from diners.
Singapore, May 2, 2010 - Diners keen on more unusual meat offerings have been chowing down on crocodile dishes since they started popping up on menus here.
Cantonese dining restaurant Summer Palace at The Regent Singapore, for example, launched six crocodile meat dishes in March.
Crocodile meat with spicy sauce sold at The Regent Singapore.
The tail meat is fried with XO sauce, doused in black bean sauce, or brewed in double-boiled soups.
Executive chef Liu Ching Hai, 43, explained: “At first, diners were sceptical about eating an exotic meat, but once they tasted it, they asked for a second serving. They were surprised by how smooth the texture was – almost like a cross between fish and squid.”
Modern Chinese private dining joint Xi Yan is also making culinary inroads with the meat.
As well-heeled Singaporeans become connoisseurs, they are more keen to experiment, said Xi Yan’s managing director Liz Choong, 32.
Xi Yan head chef Jackey Zhang, 31, washes the meat with cooking wine, then braises it with spices such as onions, hot bean paste, ginger and dried chilli, to rid it of the “strong gamey smell”.
Even Western eateries are hopping on the bandwagon.
Last week, Australian bistro The Pump Room introduced its latest offering – a crocodile pie.
Owner and director Bill Graham, 66, said that because the meat is so unusual, the dish is a draw for customers.
The tail meat is braised for six hours with white wine, chicken stock and vegetables, such as carrots, to make it sweeter.
“The advantage of putting it all together in a pie is so that you can cook it together, so all the ingredients infuse one another,” added Mr Graham.
But some eateries have been dishing out the meat for years.
Crocodile meat has been a fixture at Chinese establishment Lei Garden for more than 15 years, while herbal soup specialist Imperial Herbal Restaurant has ladled up crocodile soup brewed with wolfberries and other herbs, for more than 10 years.
Manager at Imperial Herbal Restaurant Mr Mike Tang, 40, said: “Orders are slowly increasing as people learn more about the benefits of crocodile meat.
We get more than 10 orders a day, especially from women because they take the crocodile tail soup, which has plenty of collagen, for a beautiful complexion.”
All this is good news for Mr Robin Lee, 35, manager of Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm.
The farm in Neo Tiew Crescent, the only crocodile breeding farm here, has seen a 50 per cent increase in business since 2007.
The meat has been lauded for its health benefits.
Crocodile meat is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in protein, says nutritionist Teo Kiok Seng of private nutrition consultancy Nutrition Network Services.
But practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine warn that the meat could be too “heaty” to stomach.
Ms Lim Lay Beng, 48, TCM physician at YS Healthcare TCM Clinic, said: “Because some people cook crocodile meat with herbs such as cordyceps, spices and wine, which are heaty, the dish becomes heaty.”
Moderation is key. She recommends a daily serving of 50g to 100g of the meat.
Diners are now eyeing the dishes with interest.
Mr Paul Cypert, 29, a freelance photographer, tried the dish at Summer Palace after watching the fifth season finale of American reality show Top Chef, where contestants were given a last-minute ingredient to work with.
“It was considered that the guy who got the crocodile had the worst to work with, but he made a soup that blew the judges away,” said Mr Cypert.
He added: “It is in vogue these days to use ‘lesser desirable’ meats.
You’re not a chef of note unless you do a dish with an ingredient usually considered hard to work with.
“I loved the dish – it was tender and juicy, not what I thought crocodile meat would taste like. It is a dish I would go back for.
See pictures of crocodile dishes
More restaurants serving crocodile dishes
Kezia Toh | The Sunday Times | Sun May 2 2010
Crocodile dishes are getting the thumbs-up from diners.
Singapore, May 2, 2010 - Diners keen on more unusual meat offerings have been chowing down on crocodile dishes since they started popping up on menus here.
Cantonese dining restaurant Summer Palace at The Regent Singapore, for example, launched six crocodile meat dishes in March.
Crocodile meat with spicy sauce sold at The Regent Singapore.
The tail meat is fried with XO sauce, doused in black bean sauce, or brewed in double-boiled soups.
Executive chef Liu Ching Hai, 43, explained: “At first, diners were sceptical about eating an exotic meat, but once they tasted it, they asked for a second serving. They were surprised by how smooth the texture was – almost like a cross between fish and squid.”
Modern Chinese private dining joint Xi Yan is also making culinary inroads with the meat.
As well-heeled Singaporeans become connoisseurs, they are more keen to experiment, said Xi Yan’s managing director Liz Choong, 32.
Xi Yan head chef Jackey Zhang, 31, washes the meat with cooking wine, then braises it with spices such as onions, hot bean paste, ginger and dried chilli, to rid it of the “strong gamey smell”.
Even Western eateries are hopping on the bandwagon.
Last week, Australian bistro The Pump Room introduced its latest offering – a crocodile pie.
Owner and director Bill Graham, 66, said that because the meat is so unusual, the dish is a draw for customers.
The tail meat is braised for six hours with white wine, chicken stock and vegetables, such as carrots, to make it sweeter.
“The advantage of putting it all together in a pie is so that you can cook it together, so all the ingredients infuse one another,” added Mr Graham.
But some eateries have been dishing out the meat for years.
Crocodile meat has been a fixture at Chinese establishment Lei Garden for more than 15 years, while herbal soup specialist Imperial Herbal Restaurant has ladled up crocodile soup brewed with wolfberries and other herbs, for more than 10 years.
Manager at Imperial Herbal Restaurant Mr Mike Tang, 40, said: “Orders are slowly increasing as people learn more about the benefits of crocodile meat.
We get more than 10 orders a day, especially from women because they take the crocodile tail soup, which has plenty of collagen, for a beautiful complexion.”
All this is good news for Mr Robin Lee, 35, manager of Long Kuan Hung Crocodile Farm.
The farm in Neo Tiew Crescent, the only crocodile breeding farm here, has seen a 50 per cent increase in business since 2007.
The meat has been lauded for its health benefits.
Crocodile meat is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in protein, says nutritionist Teo Kiok Seng of private nutrition consultancy Nutrition Network Services.
But practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine warn that the meat could be too “heaty” to stomach.
Ms Lim Lay Beng, 48, TCM physician at YS Healthcare TCM Clinic, said: “Because some people cook crocodile meat with herbs such as cordyceps, spices and wine, which are heaty, the dish becomes heaty.”
Moderation is key. She recommends a daily serving of 50g to 100g of the meat.
Diners are now eyeing the dishes with interest.
Mr Paul Cypert, 29, a freelance photographer, tried the dish at Summer Palace after watching the fifth season finale of American reality show Top Chef, where contestants were given a last-minute ingredient to work with.
“It was considered that the guy who got the crocodile had the worst to work with, but he made a soup that blew the judges away,” said Mr Cypert.
He added: “It is in vogue these days to use ‘lesser desirable’ meats.
You’re not a chef of note unless you do a dish with an ingredient usually considered hard to work with.
“I loved the dish – it was tender and juicy, not what I thought crocodile meat would taste like. It is a dish I would go back for.
See pictures of crocodile dishes
More restaurants serving crocodile dishes
