Uniquely Singaporean Food

[fukyuman]

Re: Roti Prata

Hainanese curry rice with porkchops, whacked flat, coated with biscuit crackers and deep fried. Scissors cut curry rice is probably uniquely Singapore. Don't forget chilli crabs too. For Nonya foods, Malaysian would claim that as their own. Bo bo cha cha may be a candidate, its definitely from the sixties. Forget about popiah. there are Vietnamese, Filipino and Thai versions. Hokkien xia mian? Only Hokkiens have the humor to call them 'door downstairs', just like Xiamen. For those born in the 80s or earlier, fish head curry is definitely Indian and Chinese restaurants adapted it with milder curry.

 

[streetsmart73]

local hainanese beef kway tiow serve with dark thick sauce top with some grounded kacang, malaysia style totally different.

mee pok also unique here as cannot be find even across the causeway.

satay bee hoon? i never see this across the causeway too.

prawn mee soup shd also originated from spore. that expensive prawn mee operate near Citibank claimed it start prawn mee soup to cater to the nipponese soldiers during WW2.

hi there


1. bro, no offence!
2. the prawn mee soup thing.
3. honest, in penang any stall on its streets can beat sinkie pants down.

 

[streetsmart73]

Lor mee SG version I have never seen sold anywhere else.
The others I'm sure the Malaysians wil lay claim to them.
Definitely the fried hokkien mee with black sauce.

hi there


1. best to my memory.
2. hk "pu chai ko" should equate to "chwee kway" here.
3. back in those good old days, it was the teochews peddling them in hk.
4. now, on yong tau hoo.
5. i can remember that i had that from the "boat people" in hk.
6. also "tang chai chok" congee.

 

[Rogue Trader]

Re: Roti Prata

How about roti prata ? I heard roti prata is not found in India. Must ask prata man.

In India it is known as Roti Paratha. It is like the plain naan bread of the south. I guess because Asians can't pronounce "th" too well, it became "Prata" after time

In Malaysia they call it "Roti Chenal" -- named after the place Tamil immigrants brought it from.

 

[Rogue Trader]

Re: Roti Prata

The breakfast soft boil egg is quite a Singapore(& Malaysia?) thing. Made popular by the hainanese who learnt it from the colonial masters. It not so common in Hong Kong.

The chicken rice is also made popular here in Singapore despite being originated from wen chang, Hainan. My parents used to tell me the story about the first chicken rice seller here who started out selling chicken rice on his bicycle around Purvis/Liang seah street area. Made a fortune from that. Then many years later one of his sons died in an accident while driving his sports car drunk.

Also read from some where Bat kut teh was a singaporean invention. Started by teochews who love to drink their tea.

 

[Rogue Trader]

Re: Roti Prata

2) mee jiang kway?

I have seen mee jiang kway being sold in taipei night market. of course there was some difference.. maybe it originated from fujian?

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Re: Roti Prata

Chilli Crab is 100% sinkie origins.......2 versions claimed by Palm Beach and Dragon Phoenix restaurants.

 

[sleaguepunter]

hi there


1. best to my memory.
2. hk "pu chai ko" should equate to "chwee kway" here.
3. back in those good old days, it was the teochews peddling them in hk.
4. now, on yong tau hoo.
5. i can remember that i had that from the "boat people" in hk.
6. also "tang chai chok" congee.

heong kong lao,

4. yong tau hoo hi hakka chai. it a common dish in canton according to my mum, who a hakka yen, who visited her half brother few years back.

as for the prawn mee where nice i dunno, i only said if originated here. i cannot remember the shop name but it located near Citibank along telok ayer street. before moving there, it was located along boon tat street and there was a sign to reflect when the owner start selling prawn mee soup and why. As for penang nicer, it maybe so.

 

[Fishypie]

Re: Roti Prata

ProbabLy this is most Unique of LocaL fares', the CrystaL dumpLings aka Shui jing Bao :

Have not seen or heard of any other staLLs seLLing it, except for this pair of brothers who took
over in the 70's from their dad at the oLd Tiong Bahru market.They have sinced be reLocated to
ALexandra F/c.Business is brisk, each dumpLing going for 70cts nia..
Just happened to be there earLier, hence the pic.

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Yes....Yong Tau Hoo is from China....sinkies version evolved to using fish paste instead of pork paste......because of malay singaporeans who like the dish believe it or not........funny because malaysian version remains using pork paste.

Prawn noodles also originated from china....its a hokkien dish.

heong kong lao,

4. yong tau hoo hi hakka chai. it a common dish in canton according to my mum, who a hakka yen, who visited her half brother few years back.

as for the prawn mee where nice i dunno, i only said if originated here. i cannot remember the shop name but it located near Citibank along telok ayer street. before moving there, it was located along boon tat street and there was a sign to reflect when the owner start selling prawn mee soup and why. As for penang nicer, it maybe so.

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Re: Roti Prata

ProbabLy this is most Unique of LocaL fares', the CrystaL dumpLings aka Shui jing Bao :

http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc420/stompics/crystal.jpg[/IMG

Have not seen or heard of any other staLLs seLLing it, except for this pair of brothers who took
over in the 70's from their dad at the oLd Tiong Bahru market.They have sinced be reLocated to
ALexandra F/c.Business is brisk, each dumpLing going for 70cts nia..
Just happened to be there earLier, hence the pic. ;)[/QUOTE]水晶包 is traditional teochew dish.........originate from china.
very hard to find original sinkie dish....sinkies lack creativity

 

[Fishypie]

Re: Roti Prata

as a kid i heard this story from an uncle who owns a hawker stall. last time there was a crystal dumping roadside vendor, those no licence type. 1 day the 'teh gu' came and all the illegal hawkers scram. in this haste this crystal dumping hawker dump all his foodstuff into the longkang. my uncle say after the teh gu went off this hawker went back to the longkang to pick up his crystal dumping and sell machiam normal again
i swear off these dumplings for a long time. never ate them again until i something like 20 years later.

Bet those were the days La bro..if we are discussing about uniquities, guessed shui jing bao shouLd be thereabouts.

 

[Fishypie]

Re: Roti Prata

there is also a tau sa (sweet) version. the white colour is the salty version.

Oh ya, i Love those with yam and tau sa fiLLings as weLL; too bad they are usuaLLy soLd out 1st, somehow ..

 

[sleaguepunter]

Re: Roti Prata

水晶包 is traditional teochew dish.........originate from china.
very hard to find original sinkie dish....sinkies lack creativity

have lah, ie.. mee pok dry or mee kia dry confirm local. mee pok confirm local plus chop.

even malaysia mee kia dry also total different from spore, normally just some dark sauce, want chilli add yourself. but having said that, i prefer malaysia food to singapore. maybe it because spore food industry cut corners while malaysia still those pop & mom operation.

FTrashs are killing singaporeans.

 

[jw5]

2. hk "pu chai ko" should equate to "chwee kway" here.

Can u provide more details about this "pu chai ko" or even a picture?
I thought chwee kweh is unique to SG, have never seen it sold in any other countries.
Quite funny also that it's just made of rice cakes and salty chai por, but people just keep going back for more...................

 

[streetsmart73]

heong kong lao,

4. yong tau hoo hi hakka chai. it a common dish in canton according to my mum, who a hakka yen, who visited her half brother few years back.

as for the prawn mee where nice i dunno, i only said if originated here. i cannot remember the shop name but it located near Citibank along telok ayer street. before moving there, it was located along boon tat street and there was a sign to reflect when the owner start selling prawn mee soup and why. As for penang nicer, it maybe so.

hi there


1. hakka chai!
2. hahahaha.
3. there is hakka yong tong fu too in hk.
4. yes, pretty delicious and nice.
5. the boat people also made them and peddled the dish on their vessel too.

 

[streetsmart73]

Can u provide more details about this "pu chai ko" or even a picture?
I thought chwee kweh is unique to SG, have never seen it sold in any other countries.
Quite funny also that it's just made of rice cakes and salty chai por, but people just keep going back for more...................

hi there


1. aiyoh!
2. bro, "pu chai ko" can be easily available in eateries in hk leh.
3. probably, nowadays lesser!
4. it is easy to eat & delicious.

 

[sfugel]

Our simple rojak is a very typical local 'salad'.

 

[Conqueror]

Makansutra

What about our Chinese rojak?

I copied this from Makansutra :


The Era Of The Chinese Black Rojak

(LIANHE ZAOBAO SUNDAY - Translated by bobafett81) The malay word "Rojak" originated from Bahasa Indonesia "Rujak". And this can mena that the familiar Rojak originated from Indonesia. In malay, Rojak means "Mixed". In actual fact, Rojak is food mixed with sauce and eaten cold as a side dish. And this is how the Chinese enjoy them nowadays.

The Indonesians enjoy Rojak by dipping the food items into the sauce seperately, similar to Ngoh Hiong Guan Qiang of the Chinese.

During the early days at 金华巴杀 (Jin Hua Market), the rojak had both the Chinese and Indonesian way of serving. After the arrival of the Penang Rojak, the Chinese way of eating rojak then become predominant.

In Jawa, Indonesia, Rujak is a common local delicacy, and also a must-have during special festivals. For example during slametan (Birth of the 1st child), Rujak is eaten as a spicy salad or a sweet dish. Indonesian rujak is eaten as either a fruit dish or vegetable dish. Vegetable dish consist of Cucumber, 沙葛 (dunno English name). Fruit dish consist of Pineapple, Mangoes, Grapefruits, Lotus, Star Fruit, Papaya, Green Apple, etc etc

In Singapore, the 1st ever appearance of the Chinese "Fried" Black Rojak appeared at the Malay Kampungs at Bedok Crescent. Before the 2nd World War, Mdm Ye Gui Ying (from Hokkien, Nan An province) sold food after the death of her husband for a living. Mdm Ye came from Penang, and sold hawker food beside the seaside at Bedok.

Penang Rojak had a very sour taste, and had Prawn paste with lime added to many items like Green Mangoes, Balolo and Green Apples to name a few. However, her Daughter-In-Law Mdm Suzie Wee was a Teochew Penerakan living in Joo Chiat. Henceforth, Mdm Ye also added some Penarakan flavours like Ginger Flower into her Rojak to enhance the taste.

This special Nonya Rojak was very popular during the 1950, and many Ministers and VIPs visited Mdm Ye for this famous rojak. However as competition among the hawkers intensified, the rojak dish was dropped and the 2nd generation began selling Cuttle Fish Kang Kong and Nonya Cheng Tng.

Mdm Ye started 夜来香 at Bedok Hawker Centre and her customers began to increase. The army soldiers from Bedok Camp and Kampung residents became her loyal customer. She began selling Roasted Tau Kwa, Roasted Cuttlefish, Cooked Clams and Cuttle Fish Eng Cai to cater to the growing customers. And due to request, she was the 1st to incorporate all these into the Chinese rojak during those days.

In early years, the malay kampungs also had mobile Indonesian hawkers selling "Fried" rojaks around the villages. These hawkers used wooden sticks to ground the peanuts and chilli padi, and add lime juice, gula melaka and baked prawn paste into the mixture. After which they add cucumber, pineaple and 沙葛 to "fry" them. After which he will wrap the rojak in special leaves into a triangular container. However, sales of such rojak was not good as many deemed it too sour.

After the war, many Chinese hawkers began selling Iced-Desserts and Sweets along the kampungs and residential areas. Competition intensified, and some Teochew hawkers began to sell Chinese rojak. Mr Lim Mu Hong, who grew up in Katong was one such hawker. He used to sell ice desserts along Tanjong Katong. During the 1960s, he began to learn from his malay peers to make rojak, and started selling rojak. His ingredients consist of Malay Vegetables, Chinese Tau Kwa, Fried Fritters. But he insisted on using Penang Brown Prawn Paste and Ginger Flowers for flavourings, and created a special Nonya Rojak.

The 2nd generation of 老鸿生 operates till today at Dunman Road Food Centre, and everything has been changed to Chinese ingredients without the use of ginger flower, but the special Nonya taste still continues in their rojak.

Candy Vendor Mr Tan Zhi Qing also changed his mobile stall into a Rojak stall during the 1960s and sold rojak along Teochew Street. He researched on the Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy and Fragrant tastes of the Rojak and developed a special recipe. He added lime to remove the fishy smell in the prawn paste, and also added jelly fish, mangies, eggs, century eggs into his rojak. This enhances the Chinese presence of the Singapore rojak.

During the 1970s, he becmae the 1st ever Rojak Seller to go on TV during the SBC 三开时间 programme, and promoted his rojak as a unique item and said mixing rojak is like playing Tai-Ji. Even the Brunei Sultan visited his stall to enjoy his rojak! The brunei Sultan subsequently invited Mr Tan to Brunei to teach him how to make rojak in his palace. The 2nd generation of Mr Tan changed the stall name to 兄弟 Brothers Rojak and continue to follow what their fathers taught them.

During the 1980s, Mr Lim Yue Ding became the most popular Rojak Seller in Singapore. He was originally a farmer, and started selling rojak in Toa Payoh during the 1980s. He was famous for mixing the rojak paste into a black gooey paste using special mixing skills, and also succeeded in mixing the rojak into Sour, Sweet and Spicy flavours.

In addition, he retained the early ingredients of jellyfish, green mangies, century eggs and added new vegetables into his roja. And the local prawn paste turned "black" from "brown" overnight after the popularity of his rojak in Toa Payoh 豪华罗惹.

During the 1960s to 1980s, the Teochew rojak sellers began to used less sour fruits and changed to Tau Kwa and Fried Fritters, and added ginger Flowers to their rojak. The Penang taste diminished, and the Nonya taste increased, hence creating our very own Singapore Black Rojak.

老鸿生罗惹
#02-14, Dunman Road Food Centre

兄弟罗惹
Blk 449, Clementi Ave 3, #01-211

豪华罗惹
Blk 90, Whampoa Drive, #01-641

 

[Conqueror]

Plate Bread ?

Malaysia known as roti canai....same thing but no crispy version ala jalan kayu.

Origin of the word

Roti means bread in Hindi, Urdu, most other North Indian languages, and Malay. The term "canai" derives either from:

Chennai, a city in India which is formerly known as Madras. Roti canai is presumed to have been introduced by immigrant labour from the Madras region where a similar combination of parotta and dalcha - the accompanying lentil curry - is served.[1]

Channa, a dish made with boiled chickpeas in a spicy gravy from Northern India which this type of bread was traditionally served. However, the roti in Northern India is different from that served in Malaysia. The latter is more similar to the South Indian parotta, and roti canai is often served with dhal or lentils curry rather than chickpeas.

The word 'canai' in Malay means 'to roll out dough'.

Roti canai is circular and flat. There are two ways to make roti canai that is either to twirl it until the dough becomes a very thin sheet and then folded into a circular shape or to spread out the dough as thinly as possible before being folded. Then the folded dough is grilled with oil. The first method is more popular and faster than the second. The term 'roti paratha' in Malay means 'plate bread'.