Hey Hive!
Now that a lot of people here have already gotten vaccinated, I'm very happy to hear that Singapore is now allowing in-house dining again but obviously you have to be vaccinated. But since there aren't any restrictions this allows us to try out different food places again!
So one type of eateries that Sean and I like to visit here in Singapore is known as hawker centres! If you're unfamiliar, they're typically non-air conditioned buildings that house all kinds of food stalls specialising in one or two signature dishes. They're ubiquitous here in Singapore and Malaysia and are known for delicious and affordable food - the perfect combination!
The other day we wanted to revisit a hawker center we've been to after Sean brought some foreign friends there to eat. It's been a while for me, but Chomp Chomp Food Centre is definitely a go-to spot for many Singaporeans, especially for late night supper!
Chomp Chomp first opened in 1972 and definitely has a long history. It's probably why it's one of the most famous hawker centres here in Singapore despite it being quite inaccessible. It was upgraded in 2004 and I think it's been refurbished since then and is still as popular but perhaps less so now with many newer hawker centres opened since then.
I used to work in the neighbourhood and every time I knocked off work it was too late for dinner so I'd come here to get some food since it was the only place still open.
The hawker centre itself is not that big; there are two aisles of seats and tables with stalls on either side and some down the middle, with paths in between the middle section to walk across. Most of it is sheltered but the rain might come in since there's only a roof and it's mostly open on all sides other than the stalls.
So this was one aisle of seats:
And this was the other aisle of seats:
There were also some extra tables in the back with umbrellas.
This was the middle section with a few more tables but these were not sheltered.
Thankfully it wasn't raining on that day so we didn't have to worry. In fact it was quite warm since we went around early evening when it wouldn't be as crowded, but the sun was still out.
Since it was really warm, our first stop was to get a drink! There were about 2 or 3 drink stalls, but we decided to get sugarcane juice from this stall called Charlie Corner:
I wrote about this last time, but sugarcane juice is a classic drink to quench your thirst with at a hawker centre. It'd really common to hear uncles grinding up the sugarcane like this to make fresh sugarcane juice!
It's super refreshing although I read it's also very high in sugar so its not recommended for diabetics. It does serve up a healthy dose of antioxidants, helps boost immunity and is great for dehydration though, which was what we needed since it was so warm.
And the great thing about this stall was they had huge mugs! It didn't look like a lot, but for only $2, the mug of sugarcane juice we got was impressive; it was even bigger than Seany's head!
It was so refreshing and really hit the spot because it was sweltering outside! There weren't big ceiling fans at this hawker centre like those you'd find in newer establishments, but there were quite a few mounted fans that were pretty strong. Still, not strong enough in Singapore's humid weather so a cold drink is essential.
Anyway, after that our first order was Sambal Stingray from this BBQ seafood stall! Sean had ordered this with his friends when he came by recently and said it was really good and that I should try it.
So we ordered the small portion of sambal stingray ($12) and 2 bowls of rice! If you're unfamiliar, the dish is pretty self-explanatory; it's literally barbecued stingray topped with sambal chili paste made with belacan and various spices, garnished with some onions and a side of lime.
Seany's normally not a big fan of seafood, but sambal stingray is one of his exceptions because he loves the sambal sauce, and stingray is easy to eat since the meat just slides right off the flat slate of bones (if cooked right).
It had been a long long time since I last ate stingray, but I do enjoy it. There are a few different flavours you can order but the standard ones are definitely sambal and black pepper. Since I love spicy stuff sambal is my favourite.
And this stall definitely did it justice - the meat was nice and tender and slid right off the bone, the sauce was just the right mix of spicy and savoury, and the lime added a subtle sour flavour that complemented it well.
Overall it was definitely very delicious and I can see why Sean was hyping it up so much. It was really good and I would go there just to have this again.
Another one of my favourite hawker dishes is carrot cake! You might know carrot cake as a dessert but here in Singapore it is a delcious savoury snack also known as chai tow kueh. A dish of Teochew cuisine, it's basically stir-fried cubes of radish cake and egg looks like this:
It's funny because there's actually no carrot at all in our version of carrot cake! The reason why it is called "carrot cake" is because of a loose English translation from the Hokkien name of "radish pastry", where chai tow can mean carrot or radish, and kueh or kway means cake.
Anyway, this was from a stall here at Chomp Chomp specialising in just carrot cake! Just check out their signboard:
They were the only ones selling carrot cake in this hawker centre and with a simple-looking stall I was expecting it be good but it was kinda average tbh. It wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't have enough chili for my liking. The egg was nice but not charred enough but the radish cake was nice and moist though.
Overall it was alright; a nice snack but the sambal stingray was definitely the one to beat. We did try a few more dishes but I think I'll leave that for next time! Tune in next week for more yummies!
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
