Chong Pang Huat Pork Satay

Chicken/ Pork/ Mutton ($0.70 per stick)

Each good satay stall should have their signature. Chong Pang (#01-30) at the Yishun Park Hawker Centre stands out for its thick, aromatic peanut sauce. Suffice to wow us.

The satay stick is meaty, the pork satay done right with 2 fats portion. But given their brisk business, especially during the weekends, the meat ends up burned and slightly drier.

Albeit the small size of their BBQ chicken wings ($1.40), it is really tasty. Try them. 

肥佬, Fei Lou Porridge

(#01-116)

Come dinner time, there are always 2 long queues in the Telok Blangah Crescent Market and Food Centre. One belongs to the char kway teow, and the other at Fei Lou.

Their bountiful items on the yellow board might make you feel lost. Well, you just have to get what the guys in front are ordering!

Boneless Fried Chicken Wings ($1.20 each), Porridge ($1), Fried Bee Hoon ($1)

Steamed Chicken ($6)

Primarily it's the boneless fried chicken wings! (better than IKEA's) and steamed chicken that makes it to everyone's table. They have this classic 'fried shallot oil with spring onions' dip for their steamed chicken which i find most nostalgic!

The scalding hot porridge and savory fried vermicelli are the carbo to indulge. Occasionally, we will have their herbaceous braised chicken feet with peanuts! Get you a photo of it soon.

Braised Chicken Feet with Peanuts

Haron 55 - Satay Babat!

Satay Babat

Probably our most bizarre yet toothsome satay skew - Haron's satay babat (cow's stomach/ tripe)! Trust Ric to order it, when they were sold out on the mutton satay.

We were unsure, of course. But the babat actually tastes awesome for being soft, little chewy and pretty meaty at the same time. It is splendid barbecue skills when the skewered meat actually picked up most of the smoky aroma, without getting charred!

Do you even get this in restaurants? Just come down to the East Coast Lagoon Food Village.

Satay Chicken, Beef, Babat ($0.70 cents per stick), Lontong ($0.50 each)

Changi Village Satay

Beef, Mutton Satay ($0.70 per stick), Lontong ($0.70 x2)

It doesn't go unnoticed that the most popular satay stall among the Chinese patrons, in the Changi Village Food Centre is Jason's, while our Muslim friends went for Changi Village Satay. We first caught sight of them on a Chinese table - fat chunky sticks of grilled meat! And i told Ric, i want those!

And we had. Sweet, juicy sticks of grilled mutton, with very little too tough to chew. This is good. The beef was understandably tougher, but equally aromatic. No regret for my whimsicality.

Oleh Oleh Bandung

Chicken and Mutton Satay ($0.70 per stick), Lontong ($0.50 x 2)

Another satay night at the East Coast Lagoon Food Village; there are so many Malay satay stalls here, we vowed to try them all!

Compared to Haron, stall 55 which we tried earlier, Oleh Oleh, stall 50 is lighter on the taste buds - less coating of spices on the mutton, and lesser salt in the peanut sauce. We welcome the lesser salt part, but were missing the spices. It was good, nonetheless.

Then we chanced upon our best Mee Goreng (on the background of the photo)! More on that here.

Jason's Place Satay

Chicken, Pork Satay ($0.60), Ketupat ($0.60)

Disappointed with their signature pork belly satay previously, we didn't want to risk it tonight. We chose to stay with the standard fare instead. A slow evening at the Changi Village Food Centre, and serving is fast and well done.

There is much lesser overburn, and the satay remains sweet, juicy and subtly charred. It is good. Not forgetting to mention the scarce addition of pineapple purée in their spicy peanut sauce. Maybe, another try on their pork belly next time.

Haron Satay 55

Beef, Mutton Satay ($0.70 cents per stick), Lontong ($0.50)

How cool! When we don't eat on proper table and chairs; felt like a kid all over again. A sense of fun ignites as i sat by the beach and asked Ric to fetch some satay from the nearby East Coast Lagoon Food Village. The weather was amazing tonight.

He explained his buy from Haron - long queue and them being listed on the The Business Times & Knight Frank CEO's Hawker Guide. While i was most impressed with their deliberate use of aluminum foil wrapping to keep the satay warm! And the generous pack of sliced cucumber and onions that come with it.

The sizable satay was well marinated with spices, and deliciously aromatic after the barbecue! Eat it plain if you can, because we do suffer from their heavily salted peanut gravy.

Yusoff Haji Jalal

Mutton and Chicken Satay (30s), 1 Lontong and 3 bowls of Satay sauce ($19)

After some 10 barbecued chicken wings from 216 Choa Chu Kang BBQ, our satay order from Yusoff Haji Jalal arrived.

Yusoff HJ has been at the Pasir Panjang Food Centre, since they moved out of the old Satay Club (present Esplanade location) in 1995. Despite some fierce recommendations from friends - about fat, juicy satay sticks; i do not find the satay satisfying. As you can see from the picture, many of the sticks were burned. Some mutton pieces could not be chewed. Note that the thick satay dipping sauce was charged at 50 cents per bowl; with free refill.

Hope this old stall does get its act together once more.

BBQ Chicken Wing

BBQ Chicken Wings (1 for $1.20, 5 for $5.50)

Stall #01-02 at the Jalan Berseh Food Centre simply has its name "BBQ Chicken Wing" on bold golden font against a plain white signboard. So it tells you plainly, go for their chicken wings! The BBQ satay that they are also selling, plays second fiddle.

The barbecued chicken wings are finger-licking good - crisp tight skinned and juicy. The meat actually fell off from its bones, while dripping juices as we pulled it apart!

Chicken/ Mutton Satay ($0.50 per stick), Rice Ketupat ($0.60)

In their bid to give their best to customers, the hawker made their satay chunky and loaded their satay sauce with crushed peanuts and pineapple puree. You'll find your every cents worth. But we find the generous meat stick a tad tough, maybe some loosening up with fats will be good?

The pineapple peanut gravy was heavy and viscous, albeit being overly salted. Else, all is great.

Ci Yuan Community Club - the $2.80 Hawker Centre

#01-29 Traditional Pork Rib Prawn Noodle (Dry, or Soup $2.80)

We did came for the $2.80 dishes. Wanted to see the honesty of a $2.80 offering compared with our usual $2.50 and $3 in the neighborhood market. Our observations were of course, limited only to the stalls we tried on this page.

On serving size and generosity of ingredient, the $2.80 is clearly lacking behind $3. But it won by good recipe. Meaning the soup, sauce and seasoning that determine the success of a dish are expertly concocted. Ingredients are fresh but in smaller pieces. The $2.80 bowl doesn't fill you up. Many thus chose to 'up-size' their orders by paying more.
  
Still Ci Yuan Hawker Centre is worthy of repeats and exploration, where young entrepreneur hawkers are seen hard at work. Food choices are aplenty and tasty. The clean, airy and spacious dining hall doesn't leave you smelling like a kitchen. I fell for the place at once.

The food that we had tonight was above average, and totally enjoyable. You just need to order more.

#01-31 Leo Satay Cup Set (5 random sticks of Chicken & Pork + Ketupat + Cucumber & Pineapple Cuts, $2.80)

#01-14 Teochew Satay Bee Hoon ($3.50), Laksa ($2.80)

#01-18 JB Handmade Pau. Chwee Kueh (4 Pcs, $1) Chee Chong Fun ($1.50) Rice Dumpling ($1.80)

美美, Mei Mei Satay at Haig Rd!

Pork, Chicken, Mutton Satay ($0.50 per stick), Ketupat ($0.60)

This is honestly our best taste of satay for a long time. The meat was thickly cut, made for very satisfying chew. It was like a bite into a succulent piece of steak, seasoned with spices. And having pineapple puree for our satay sauce is quite a perk these days.

Business is brisk at Mei Mei Satay in the Haig Road Market & Food Centre. We just managed to get their last piece of rice dumpling, with the mutton satay being sold out. But we'll definitely be returning to do a pack away for the family soon!

This is our dinner tonight, with a good Indian Rojak from the stall just behind. Go find it.

Hougang Five Mile Cooked Food - Cheapest Satay at 40 cents?

Satay - Chicken & Pork ($0.40) Mutton ($0.50), Ketupat ($0.50)

Gone were the days of 30 cents satay; when our old hawker retires. Today we chanced upon a 40 cents satay stall in Chong Boon Market and Food Centre, Ang Mo Kio. Looking for cheap and good satay? You no longer need travel to Clementi - Chai Ho Satay where they are the island cheapest at 38 cents.

In fact, we thought this stall is better.

The friendly middle age couple who mans the stall seldom burn our satay as badly as Chai Ho does, ever so often. Their sticks are also meatier; never missing the piece of crunchy fat in between the lean meat for the pork! Best of things, the waiting queue here is reasonable.

And the chunky peanuts sauce is served hot, without that sinful layer of oil. They would have scored a perfect 10, if pineapple puree is added into the satay sauce!

Pig Out @ Pasir Panjang Food Centre!

Hotplate Stingray ($10)

"What do you say we have our next meet up in a hawker centre?" Everyone is hands and legs up in agreement, for decent pricing and good food is a guarantee in Singapore's hawker centre.

Alas, these guys didn't mean to scrimp. Just look at the food they ordered for the 4 of us - BBQ seafood from 新福记 (Xin Fu Ji), fried Hokkien mee from Seng Huat, fried kway tiao from Heng Huat, BBQ rojak from the Fruit Rojak and BBQ chicken wings from 216 Choa Chu Kang! And possibly some fat, juicy satay from Yusoff Haji Jalal if only it was opened today.

Fresh sugarcane drinks and ice-chilled beer at hand, we had a hearty get-together at the Pasir Panjang Food Centre.

 La La Golden Frangrance ($12)

Hotplate BBQ Sotong ($10)

BBQ Chicken Wings ($1.30 x10)

 Char Kway Teow ($3)

Supper Time @ Newton Circus

Grilled Chicken Wings ($1.30 x3), Oyster Omelet ($5)

Like any average Singaporean, our visit to the Newton Circus Food Centre can be more than 10 years back. Yes. Because the food centre has been known as a tourist trap for its touts and exorbitant prices. But with rising food cost all over the island, a meal here matches your spending in any air-conditioned food court.

There goes our prejudice. And welcoming us into the alfresco dining was an air of expectation and excitement - where we get to see polite touting activities and people-watch interesting group of tourist. Ignore the touting of tourist items like the expensive BBQ Seafood; choose your own seating, walk around and place your order from any preferred food stalls with clearly displayed price list. Enjoy yourself!

And we did have a good time, soaking up the vibrant vibe about the place.

While the inner courtyard offers several repeat of BBQ seafood, chicken wings, fried noodles and oyster omelette stalls with similar pricing, we decide on Hup Kee Fried Oyster, 合记炒蠔煎 (Stall 73) and R&B Express (Stall 72) for their grilled chicken. Fairly good food!

光沙爹, Kwong Satay (Jason's Place)

Pork Belly Satay ($1.20 per stick)

Was anticipating Ric's pleasure when i discovered this satay stall (#01-54) at Changi Village Food Centre, Blk 2; for they serve the special version of pork belly satay!

But the cooking was disappointing - The sticks were burned, with the most priced portion - the fats, not thoroughly cooked for a crisp well-done. Obviously, the fire wasn't ready for a barbecue, or the server was in a hurry with brisk business running up a waiting time of 30 min.

It could have been perfect, from their tasty marinating to the peanut sauce with pineapple puree; but we couldn't finish this serving.

Cheapest Satay, 30 cents!

Satay ($0.30 per stick), Rice ($0.50)

1 photo says it all - the cheapest Satay you can get in Singapore these years. All other hawkers had upped their price to $0.50 per stick albeit meatier serving.

I've blogged them here, in 2009 March. Prices remain unchanged till today ;)

Good old Satay!

I believe this could be the only place in Singapore you can still find Satay stick selling at 30 cents a stick, a pricing almost unheard of in this era of inflation.

At Blk 4A Jalan Batu Hawker Centre Market in Tanjong Rhu area, seat such a modest, no signboard stall at #01-49.

The old friendly couple, being the 1st batch of hawkers from the old rental schemes, benefited from the low Government food stall rental rates and thus managed to operate on such low costs.

Porky ($0.30 per stick)

Sinfully irresistible, Porky comes with Barbecue burned Fat in-between the stick :)

Chicky ($0.30 per stick)

Liken to well-barbecued Chicken Wings, without the bones. Yummy.

I had selfishly, not wish to publicize this Satay stall for fear of increasing dining crowds, but the old honest hawker here certainly deserve much patronage and acknowledgments.

So this post is especially for you, faithful readers :)

Spicy Spaghetti, Sinful Satay

Slept in late, went to the supermarket NTUC (the prices of fruits and veg seems to be lower than Shop&Save) just before noon to get the fresh ingredients i need for my pasta cooking.

My own creation of Portobello Mushroom Pasta after studying many versions of others.

Yummy! Much tastier than all my previous attempts of the common wet tomato pasta sauce. Doing this drier version of pasta dish is my first try and am happy that it tastes good. Mum says it's good, so it must be!

But as i added 4 little red padi chillies into my cooking, this pasta today tastes a little too spicy hot... looks can be deceiving haha ha... Next time it will only be 2 chillies.

Flavoursome and spicy, i love this creation!

As for dinner, my rare treat of porky Satay. Well-marinated meat with warm, thick and spicy peanut sauce. Would you believe you can still get a 30 cents a stick satay in this high inflation year?

A raise in GST from 5% to 7% and the oil prices at a record high of almost US$100 a barrel, simply adds salt to wound. Further to this are the worldwide rocketing prices of wheat, milk and metal driven by shortage and demand.

Prices of foodstuff and all in the local market are really going up crazily now. What a pricey start to year ending 2007.