8 Lesser-known Singapore food to try

this list is for foreigners who want to explore singapore food beyond the better-known chicken rice and chilli crab. there is so much more local favorites that foreigners might not have chance upon but is so well-loved by singaporeans.

1. cereal/oatmeal prawn
what - fried prawns in cereal and curry leaves
who - suitable for all ages and especially popular among children
how - as it is crispy, most people will remove the head and eat the rest of the prawn shell-on. it is common to have excess cereal left behind, which kids will gladly scoop up and eat. a good cereal prawn should be fried with head and shell intact.
where - can be found in most seafood and tze char restaurants

2. prawn paste chicken
what - fried chicken coated with prawn paste, a fermented shrimp paste
who - suitable for all ages
how - eat it like any fried chicken
where - can be found in most seafood and tze char restaurants

3. fish head steamboat
what - a healthy dish of slice fish and vegetables in a clear broth. although traditional cooked using a fish head, a more popular option with youngsters is sliced fish. a good fish head steamboat should be kept continuously heated using charcoal.
who - for the health-conscious
how - the steamboat would have come with everything ready while servers will come around to top up the broth when it's running low
where - recommended stall: nam hwa chong fish head steamboat, 814/816 north bridge road, singapore 198779/81

4. samsui ginger chicken
what - steamed chicken paired with ginger sauce and wrapped in lettuce
who - suitable for all ages
how - take a piece of lettuce, and place a piece of chicken on top together with the special ginger sauce
where - http://www.souprestaurant.com.sg/

5. claypot beehoon
what - beehoon (thin vermicelli noodles) and seafood cooked in a claypot. there are several varieties like crab claypot beehon, clams claypot beehoon etc.
who - suitable for all ages
how - the portion is usually for sharing, hence everyone takes a portion of the beehoon from the pot
where - recommended stall: http://www.dianxiaoer.com.sg/

6. yu sheng
what - a raw fish salad for good fortune, available during the lunar new year period.
who - suitable for all ages except those adverse to raw fish
how - during the lunar new year period, most chinese restaurants will have this as the first dish. the waitress will pour each item onto a plate while reciting some auspicious words. everyone will then come together and toss the salad to mix it. it is perfectly fine to be a bit messy when tossing, since everyone will be tossing at the same time.
where - can be found in most chinese restaurants during the lunar new year period

7. ah balling (dessert)
what - glutinous rice balls with sweet fillings and in a sugary soup. common fillings include peanut, seasome and red bean.
who - suitable for all ages
how - be careful when biting into the rice balls as the filling might be hot. as it is made of glutinous rice, it fills one up easily so avoid eating too much
where - recommended stall: ah balling peanut soup, bedok north street 4, singapore 460085

8. soya beancurd pudding (dessert)
what - a pudding made of soya bean. while soya beancurd can be found in many chinese-speaking countries, but this singapore invention has been popular these days. the difference between the usual soya beancurd and the pudding version is the consistency of the beancurd.
how - scoop and eat it like a jelly
where - recommended stall: lao ban soya beancurd, 51 old airport road, 390051

Review: No Name Cheng Tng

cheng tng is one of my favorite dessert, and i'm lucky to be living near two of the most famous cheng tngs stalls in singapore. i had the one at bedok food corner (ye lai xiang) a few times already, but this is my first time trying 'no name cheng tng' which is actually within walking distance from my house.

for me, i like my cheng tng to be full of ingredients and not too sweet. no name got it right. at only $1.60 (they increased by 10 cents due to rising food costs) for eat-in and $1.70 for takeaway, they are surely one of the most affordable cheng tngs in singapore. you can see my bowl of cheng tng below, it's filled to the brim. all the ingredients were good, my only small complain is that the white fungus (my least favourite ingredient in a cheng tng) is 'dry' and there's too much of it. taste of the longan soup is similar to ye lai xiang.

although ye lai xiang is widely known to be the best, but 'no name' is a close second, if not on par... not to mention it comes at half the price of ye lai xiang!

Address
No Name Cheng Tng
Block 69, Bedok South Avenue 3

Review: Salty Peanut Gelato Cafe

East Village is a mixed development near Simpang Bedok that has officially opened a month ago. Many of the stalls, especially the ones inside, are still vacant. Besides a Cold Storage, there are several small F&B establishments fronting the mall.

Just recently I got to try out Salty Peanut gelato cafe. Their signature flavour, needless to say, is salty peanut. Despite not being a fan of creamy ice cream, I tried the salty peanut and gula melaka with salt. A single scoop costs $3.80.

Salty peanut tasted like snickers without chocolate and full of finely grounded peanuts. It was fragrant and has just the right amount of sweetness. I am not a fan of peanuts, so to me this was of average liking.

Gula melaka is something I love, but I was kind of reluctant to try out for fear of it being very rich and sickening. To me surprise, it was actually very good, much better than the salty peanut. It has a rich taste of gula melaka but doesn't have the richness of coconut milk which sometimes make me feel sick when eating desserts with gula melaka. The salty taste from the salt added another dimension to it and helped brought out the fragrance of the gula melaka. Like it, yay!

Some other flavours I spotted were Matcha, Tutti Frutti, Mixed Berries and Kiwi Sensation (?). Might be back to try out their fruity flavours next time.

Address
Salty Peanut
430 Upper Changi Road, #01-69