Restaurants & Cafés

Nasi biryani served with a side of Cantonese roast pork belly might have purists throwing their arms up in despair – but isn’t that what Singaporean food is all about? Combining cuisines and crossing cultural boundaries to create something delicious. The idea came to Chop Chop Biryani & Meats’ owner Gino Goh by chance. He brought his signature siew yoke to a potluck one day while a friend made biryani. The combination was so good, it sparked a business idea in him. Goh is no stranger to the food scene in Singapore. He’s been a chef for 12 years before moving on to consult for The Refinery, Cafe Nido and Tyrwhitt Little Cafe. He set up Chop Chop in August last year at Amoy Street Food Centre – already a hotbed of young hawkerpreneurs – and sees it as a space to test out locally-inspired fusion dishes. “Growing up in Penang and in a Peranakan family, I’m very familiar with spices,” Goh shares. “All this while, I’ve been cooking more ang moh food, so I wanted to go back to my roots and do something local but with a twist.” Chop Chop does biryani sets with an unconventional choice of protein: siew yoke, soft bone pork masala, grilled sotong, char siew and salted egg chicken. Prices start at $5 for one meat, $6.50 for two and $8 for three and each set comes with a side of cabbage, egg, pineapple salsa, papadum and fluffy basmati rice studded with spices. While the siew yoke is a perennial fave, give some of the other options a go. The soft bone pork masala is a star – stewed fo

Hainanese curry rice is a messy affair. Deep-fried pieces of pork are snipped with a pair of scissors, stewed cabbage is strewn over the plate and thick curry is sloppily ladled over rice. It’s not a glamorous dish and being a hawker is definitely not a glitzy career, so it’s surprising to see a handsome 27-year-old calling the shots at Hong Seng Curry Rice. Three years ago, Alex Lim was fresh out of university and ready to take on the business world. Armed with a shiny new degree in banking and finance, he was looking to invest in his first big project – his family’s humble Hainanese curry rice stall at Redhill Food Centre. “When my sisters and I graduated,” recalls Lim, “my dad wanted to retire. I thought it’d be a huge waste because I grew up eating his curry rice and know that people love it as much as I do. I took it as a challenge to test out the F&B industry and learned the ropes from my dad and uncle for three months. Those months were hell. I got to the stall at 4am every day to fry eggs and we’d only be done with prep for all 23 dishes at 11am. At 2pm we’d do the second round of cooking for the dinner crowd because we open ‘til 11pm.” Those three months paid off. Not only does Hong Seng continue to see long queues, Lim has also expanded the business to include three other outlets at SMU, Chinatown and Yishun. His mother oversees the original outlet at Redhill, where a plate of rice with pork chops, cabbage and curry starts from $2.20, while popular add-ons includ

When you’re ill, chances are you gravitate towards a steaming bowl of Teochew porridge. Yes, the traditional dish can be bland and uninteresting – earning its reputation as food for the sick – but the secret to good Teochew porridge lies in the accompanying dishes. They have to be punchy enough to hold its own despite being dunked in water and rice and Tew Chew Street Tew Chew Porridge has mastered the art of striking this balance. Tan Huat Seng, 64, and Ng Tjip Moi, 57, have been hawking Teochew porridge at Chinatown Complex for more than 20 years. Tan is a second generation hawker who took over the stall from his father after completing his National Service. It was formerly at Teochew Street, hence the name, before it relocated to its current home. The husband and wife duo start prepping at 6am to serve the breakfast crowd at around nine – but come around 11am for a full range of what they have to offer. Signature dishes include steamed pork topped with onions and chincalok ($2), chai po omelette ($1.50) and braised pork trotters ($2.50). A Teochew meal is not be complete without steamed fish and Mr Tan sources for what’s fresh and in season from the market. He recommends the yellow croaker ($17), which is prized for its soft and sweet flesh, and serves it with an addictive chilli and garlic sauce as well as a tau cheo dip. “During my father’s time, we used to serve even more dishes. Crabs and lobsters were so cheap, you could get one the size of your face for about $5!

DON’T BE FOOLED by the stall's name – Tiong Bahru Yi Sheng Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee has been housed in Jalan Bukit Merah’s ABC Food Centre since 1993 and there’s still a relentless queue snaking around the shop ’til the late hours of the night, when loyal customers clear up the final few plates of this carby delight. It’s hard to pass up a comforting serving of Hokkien mee lovingly prepared by owner Toh Seng Wang, who has been dishing out his wildly popular prawn noodles for over 40 years. It’s an absolute treat to witness the 68-year-old – who’s as strong as an ox – raising his ladle high up in the air, showering the noodles with stock and working up a storm with his giant wok. His noodles are doused in a prawn stock that is painstakingly prepared every day, paired with pre-peeled juicy prawns and sotong. When he pops that huge wooden lid open – another sign that this place is legit – it won’t be long until you are greeted with piping hot noodles steeped in a rich crustacean sauce (and history). Yi Sheng’s humble beginnings date back to the 1950s, when Toh’s father would roll out the hearty dish in a pushcart along the streets of Tiong Bahru. The recipe was passed down to his son in the 80s and now Toh says: “I will never leave (this craft), I will fry until I can’t fry any more.” And don’t be afraid to ask for an extra serving of sambal. Trust us – it’s that tasty. Quite the traditionalist, Toh follows his father’s recipe to a tee, only making slight changes over the year