Unique Hawker Food.
How would you define "Unique" ?
This is a question I had to ask myself when I joined Daniel Ang's #UniqueHawker blogging activity.
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Hi fellow bloggers, let's
start 2013 with a fun blogging activity ... a little challenge, a
little discovery, a little more of spreading Singapore's great food
culture!
We know our Singapore hawker food, chicken rice, char kway tiao, prawn mee. How about the unique, strange, interesting, never-seen-before ones, found in a lone stall in some hawker centre or
coffee shop. The more unique the better!
It's really all for the fun of it, to bond together as SINGAPORE BLOGGERS, and discover more
about our homeland.
Feel free to invite other blogger friends!
(Text & Image: Facebook Event Page)
We know our Singapore hawker food, chicken rice, char kway tiao, prawn mee. How about the unique, strange, interesting, never-seen-before ones, found in a lone stall in some hawker centre or
coffee shop. The more unique the better!
It's really all for the fun of it, to bond together as SINGAPORE BLOGGERS, and discover more
about our homeland.
Feel free to invite other blogger friends!
(Text & Image: Facebook Event Page)
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It sounds so fun and challenging, doesn't it? I would have to find a unique hawker dish, write about it and post my blog entry on my blog on 31st Jan 2013 (Thu). We can also share it on social platforms like Instagram and Twitter when we find that food. Do check out our hashtag #UniqueHawker. As I'm writing this, I can't wait to read about the unique hawker dishes which other bloggers will be sharing.
Unique Hawker Dish. Hmm....I would define it as one using uncommon ingredients, unusual cooking method or special cooking equipment which you would not usually find in a hawker centre. After racking my brains, I can't think of any unique hawker food which I had before. Tasty yes, unique no.
I find it easier if I were to write about unique homecooked food. A friend obviously loves the pig's brain omelette cooked by his mum and grandmother. My BFF was very innovative with his sous-vide pig's heart!
So, how? how?? I better find that unique dish quick as work is very busy and will keep me traveling in Jan. Finding time to go around exploring the hawker centres would be as challenging as finding that unique hawker dish.
Amazing things happens! On my way to work one morning, in my half awake, half sleeping state during the ride on the mrt, a plate of Fried Chee Cheong Fun suddenly flashed across my mind. Hey hey this is gonna be it! There is steamed chee cheong fun, there is fried carrot cake. But chee cheong fun which is cooked like fried carrot cake, have you eaten it before? Hmm considered unique or not? Do you think this is #UniqueHawker?
Chee Cheong Fun is steamed rice noodle roll which we frequently have for breakfast. I like it drenched with sweet black sauce and generous sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds. Also a popular dim sum item, the rice noodle roll is usually served Hong Kong style, commonly stuffed with ingredients like char siew, prawns, mushroom, scallops and even fried dough sticks and bath with savory light soya sauce. I believe most of you would have heard of the House of Rice Roll & Porridge at Killiney Road, which serves a sweet variant. Chilled and stuffed with fillings like durian, mango and strawberry with crushed peanuts, it's more of a dessert.
To have the chee cheong fun fried, I think it's something different. It is not a dish which I've seen elsewhere other than the food stall at SingTel Comcentre. Available at only S$2.20 for Singtel staff and S$2.50 for non-staff, the very reasonable priced rice noodle roll is first cut into small pieces and stir fried with chye poh (preserved radish) and fish sauce till fragrant. Slivers of char siew (roasted pork), shredded carrot and egg are then added and pan fried, omelette-style. Topped with spring onion just before serving, the plate of fried chee cheong fun looks really similar to fried carrot cake. Though it is served on a simple paper plate, a banana leaf is added which lifted the overall visual appeal. I must give the stall owners additional marks for this effort!
How can I not remember this unique fried chee cheong fun which is available so near my office? I went over during lunch that day and find that the stall owners are still serving this dish. This foodstall has been around at SingTel Comcentre for over 10 years, but only started serving this dish for the last 2-3 years. The fried chee cheong fun was popularly received by the office crowd in the area and has stayed as one of the items in this stall ever since. The stall also served other cooked food like fried bee hoon, fried rice, mee siam, claypot noodles and assorted kueys.
Om nom nom.... The taste of the fried chee cheong fun is also very similar to that of the fried carrot cake. But the biggest difference is of course the feel of the textural layers of the rice noodle roll, instead of the soft cubes of carrot cake. It is fried to a crisp golden hue, very fragrant, but a tad oily. The chilli which is served by the side is more sweet than spicy.
I did a Google search and found that a similar fried chee cheong fun dish can be found in a coffeeshop at Joo Chiat place. Theirs is a grander version with prawns and sotongs added. The price is higher at $12, but the portion is sufficient for 3 to 4 pax.
Do you know of any other places which sells fried chee cheong fun too? Have you tried it before? What other unique hawker food do you know of? Please do leave a comment and share them with this PinkyPiggu and all the readers out there! :D
Chinese Fried Noodles/Rice Stall #B1-12
Address: SingTel Comcentre, 31B Exeter Road, Singapore 239733
Opening Hours: 7am to 2pm (Mon-Sat)
*Fried Chee Cheong Fun is only available from 11.30am onwards