Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Siang Hee, Zion Rd, Singapore

This was a pretty pleasant find, especially since it's only a short drive away and has been under my nose all this time. I was already feeling pretty pleased when I sat down in the spartan coffeeshop atmosphere with the ubiquitous television serial blaring in the background.

We started off with the Marmite porkribs. Turns out Marmite is similar to Vegemite, a vegetable extract that has a pretty unique salty flavor. These ribs were like a less sweet version of the typical "sweet and sour" but I appreciated that twist in the flavor.

Their specialty beancurd looks extremely familiar having eaten it at some supposedly classy Chinese restaurant and again at a country club. Their version actually tasted the best so far! There was enough flavor in this and the use of smaller beancurd cubes only increased the surface area for a better crisp. I liked the use of shimeji mushrooms in this as well.

Although the liver used in the "liver with special sauce" was fresh and not overcooked, I just didn't fully appreciate the "special" sauce. It had a confused flavor. I'm starting to venture away from "special" sauces for awhile since it seems that they are basically random concoctions of some sort.

The dish I was waiting for the whole evening; crispy pork knuckle. Ok, I've had authentic German pork knuckles in German pubs and restaurants but I've always had an affinity towards the Chinese variant where it's basically deepfried (not roasted). Why? It's not about supporting home brand or anything but the German ones tend to be too salty or the crackling would be too hard. I reckon Asian pork crackling is still the best. This was as crispy, greasy and tasty as it looks. Mildly seasoned with salt, pepper and five-spice powder, this goes great with beer.

D

11 comments:

Mikey said...

that bean curd sure looks delicious!

I have got to find it in perth!

and i dont know about that marmite meat... vegemite > marmite in my books.

D said...

The good thing about the marmite porkribs was the subtlety in the flavor. If either vegemite or marmite was the primary flavor, I think that would have been too overwhelming.

Lord Dianabol said...

This butcher at Bullcreek shopping centre has vegemite sausages...

I have yet to try it. I doubt I ever will.

But when I am in Singapore, Siang Hee is a must-try. It even looks diet friendly!

D said...

lady dianabol: No worries, I hope it'll still be around though, a little birdy has been singing about some en bloc news...

Anonymous said...

hey I've eaten this a couple of weeks back and like it. Cheap and good. My mom thought they weren't cheap but I think that was coz of the fish head curry which was good but only half a head..

D said...

cindy: Aww, half a head? I'm not too big a fan of curry fish head but was thinking of giving their other fish dishes a shot. I saw quite alot of tables ordering some kind of fried fish. Come to think of it, it may be the one featured on their card haha!

Anonymous said...

D, btw, I highly recommend the Hainanese roast pork at New Harbour Cafe at Tanjong Pagar, lots of light crunch. As good, if not better than the Chinese roast pork my helper makes!

D said...

cindy: Thanks for the tip, I've seen them around before but never tried. But crispy crackling is always a good reason to try a new place.

Cheryl said...

A work colleague just introduced me to this wonderful place today. Try the Mongolian Pork for a very tasty treat, I enjoyed it even more than the knuckles. Thanks for the great photos!

Anonymous said...

must try the roasted pork knuckle at sixth ave. centre,bukit timah. i tried it with a german friend..yummy!!!

red fir said...

Oh cool, didn't know you blogged about this place before. Friend swears by the pork knuckle and marmite pork ribs too.