Stinky shirt day after Uncle Sam's Claypot

I don't remember how I ended up at Uncle Sam's claypot for lunch that day as I'm not a big fan of claypot, I blame it on the rain from that day. The restaurant felt more like a canteen than a restaurant. The waitresses milling about barking orders and giving checks even before you had a sip of your drink. I didn't worry so much on those things but I did worry on how rice was sizzling agaisnt the hot claypot and sauces that were giving such strong smell that would no doubt stick to my clothes all day long. The food came in a little while sizzling hot with smoke coming out of the dish. It looked appetizing enough.

Pipping hot Thai chicken claypot

I ordered their specialty which was the Spicy Thai Chicken Claypot or something the like. Come to think of it I should have ordered the original chicken claypot since now I had to battle not only the hotness from the Thai chilli but also the temperature. Due to time constrain I wasn't able to let it cool down for long as I had to get back to work. If I was eating at leisurely pace I might have a different experience. I couldn't help but comparing this claypot with the Korean version of claypot: Dol Sot Bibimbap. The claypot rice which used the long grained rice wasn't as crispy as the korean rice which are usually fluffier hence when it is scorched agaisnt the hot claypot it browns lightly and tasted crispy while the long grained rice was prone to getting burnt. To see the positive side, the claypot rice saved me from being hungry and the price was reasonable though my clothes stink for the whole day.

The Uncle Sam's Claypots
#01-01A, 63 Robinson Road,
Afro-Asia Building
Singapore
+65 6221 3098

Cheap good meal @Fu Lin Tou Fu

The small shop with the long queue

Not too far away from my office, there is this crabby looking little place that sells dry yong tau foo with cramped seats inside and on the dodgy little alley on the side of the shop. Unlike the usual yong tau foo in Singapore, this shop fried most of the items (other than veggies of course) and uses this beef and mushroom sauce. They serve it with either rice or white noodles with the beef mushroom sauce as it's base. It's very unique so it is of little wonder why even though the place is crabby and seats are on a dodgy alley, the shop always have an insanely long queue. Just make sure you get there early, or after the rush hour crowd else you have to wait for a long time.

A set of 6 items with rice and extra sauce

A close up of the dish: veggies, chicken wrapped in seaweed, eggplant fish cakes,...

I always have a hard time choosing between noodle or rice, because as much as I love the noodles its so slippery and I hate making a mess and staining my shirt. These days, I opted for the rice. My favorite is of course the eggplant fish cake, so yummy! Actually I don't think there's anything there that is not tasty, but do try the mushroom, eggplant and the yue tiao like fish cakes. I have to admit that after a long abstinent of this yong tau foo, I went yesterday and today for lunch, same order. It's that good. Trust me.

6 items + rice/noodle SGD 4.50
7 items + rice/noodle SGD 5.00
8 items + rice/noodle SGD 5.50

additional items 60 cents/each.

Fu Lin Tou Fu Yuen
19 Amoy St
Singapore 069854
+65 6423 1911

Fish Head Curry, the Chinese way

My brother always says that the best tasting food is never served on a nice looking, polished restaurants. He has this philosophy that the dirtier and shabbier the place is, the more out of reach it is, the better it tastes. Not sure if that is all true, but there is some truth in that if a place is shabby but years in and year out people still come, then it says something about the quality of food and taste of that restaurant. That is the case with the fish head curry from Our Makan Shop.

Fish Head Curry, Indian dish cooked by Chinese with a Chinese twist

I'm not actually big on eating fish head, maybe it's because I kinda feel guilty that the fish is staring at me while I poke, flesh out and nibble its body. Though the neck and cheek of the fish are almost always have the most tender meat than the rest of the body. I must say that for this dish, the curry is my favorite. Sweet, sour and savory. Mucho addictive! The best part for me is to dip the crispy papadum to the curry. Hm.... Last time I was there, I had to order a second round of papadum.

Squid in Squid Ink and Curry

Yes, it's rather dark in color isn't it? Fret not, it tasted wonderful. The squid was tender, chewy but not rubbery. Tasted great with some rice. The curry taste was very interesting as I never thought of putting squid ink together with curry...

Eggplant Curry

As an eggplant afficionado, this dish rank high in my favorite list. The eggplant are tender without being too mushy and the curry seeped deep inside the skin of the eggplant.

Stir fried long beans

My plate of rice, papadum, stir fried long beans, squid and eggplant

Since all the dishes are quite rich in flavor, be it spicy or curry, the rice moderates the flavor of each dish. And the papadum,... it's good on its own, and it's great dipped into the curry sauce. Either way with the papadum, you win.

Our Makan Shop
Blk 34 Whampoa West #01-27

Near Boon Keng MRT

Singapore 330034

+65 6297 9729