My first visit to Singapore left me longing for more. I was part of the jury for Miele Guide, which judged the best restaurants and chefs in South and Southeast Asia. I had a great time there because I dined at some of the finest restaurants in the island-nation and had some of the most delectable dishes cooked by the best of chefs.
I remember in particular the Hokkaido scallops with truffle vinaigrette, fresh pickled king salmon with baby vegetables and horseradish cream and the seared tuna with mango salad and coriander oil. And I can’t forget the meal at Iggy’s — run by the great Ignatius Chan – of smoked veal cheeks, truffle mashed Ile de Batz potatoes and braised shallots.
It left me asking for more because while I had some absolutely delicious food, I missed the street food of Singapore. And that is why, when the Singapore Tourism Board invited me to the Annual Singapore Food Festival, I agreed. The festival, which started on July 12, carries on till July 28. It includes Streat – the festival’s signature event of various kinds of food sold by hawkers outdoors. There is something for everybody, from braised duck to burgers and from chicken-rice and kueh pie tee (pastry tart with a filling) to chilli-crab ramen.
I was particularly looking forward to visiting Hawker Chan, in Chinatown. Ever since I read about the one-pot dish that he had become famous for, I had been hoping to have a meal there. The dish, called soya chicken and rice, costs a little more than Rs 100, and is simply mouth-watering. Chef Chan takes a chicken, marinates it with soya sauce, and then roasts it. The rice is cooked in chicken fat. He chops the chicken on the side of the place, and puts a healthy dollop of the fragrant rice at the centre, with some of the roast gravy on top. A boiled egg is added to the dish, along with some sliced cucumber.
His story is fascinating, too. Chan was 15 when he came to Singapore from Malaysia and has been cooking for 35 years. He learnt this soya chicken dish from a Hong Kong chef. The dish has earned Hawker Chan a Michelin star.
The chef is so popular that there is always a huge queue outside his restaurant. It is a largish eatery, with tables and benches on one side. On the table are all kinds of sauces. You place an order, and pick up your food when it is ready. He has a huge menu now, consisting of all kinds of good stuff: roast pork noodles, roast pork rice, pork rib and rice, soya chicken with noodles, flat rice noodles with gravy, tofu cooked Thai style and veggies cooked in oyster sauce.
I enjoyed my rice and chicken dish immensely. The chicken was soft and had been nicely flavoured. The rice had the aroma of the chicken fat that it had been cooked in, and the gravy had the basic flavour of soya sauce. Put together, it was sublime. It is also one of the cheapest dishes you can have in Singapore. Not surprisingly, the eatery’s cheerful and brightly coloured awning says: Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodles. Underneath, it announces: The Cheapest Eatery Being Awarded One Michelin Star.
I was also struck by the wall art next to the eatery. It showed an elderly Chinese man, possibly a calligraphist, seated on a wooden chair, with beautiful red banners on the wall.
Hawker Chan is a symbol of the spirit of the bustling streets of Singapore. It tells you that life can be simple, yet memorable.
