In the ulu and godforsaken land of Yio Chu Kang, where the legend of roti prata dwells, lies a Chinese culinary misnomer or sorts.

A Szechuan restaurant that has its roots in the Big Apple and manned by a Singaporean chef that once sold roti prata in New York!

Surprise number two… the owners of the Seletar Hill Restaurant aren't ang mohs neither are they ABCs (American Born Chinese). Jamie and her husband Pang Kok Hua are as Singaporean as they come. As a teenager, Jamie helped her father run his chicken rice stall in Tanglin. When the senior passed away, she switched to selling chap chai rice. Therein lies her interesting run-ins with the law…she was operating an eatery with a license that does not allow her to cook inside ( a Singapore special). So in 1985 at the energetic age of 25, she and her then 29 year old husband, at the beckoning of friends who ran a Singapore restaurant in New York, took off for the land of opportunities on a whim with a next to zero vocabulary of English.

And there was no looking back since.

By chance, they both ended up working in different Szechuan restaurants in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Him, apprentice cook and she, waitress. Both hadn't an idea what spicy Szechuan food was all about. But with cunning doggedness and a sheer determination to learn, especially from the secretive Taiwanese chefs, they ventured into the sweet, spicy and sour world of the Szechuan and Hunan kitchen. " We had to regularly yum cha with the chefs. Even so, they weren't very forthcoming with information. Sometimes they bluff us," recalled Jamie on her pioneering years in New York. She eventually used the good ol' technique of observation and deduction. And two years later, they were ready. Since 1990, they had been dishing out their hard-learned Szechuan culinary secrets from New York in a quaint and tacky little restaurant in Jalan Selaseh, off Yio Chu Kang Rd.

Some of their proud dishes include the fancy sounding General Tso's Chicken and the Special Szechuan Smoked Duck($18). While the nicer part of the chicken was its name, the smoked duck was……smokin'! The whole six hour process of making the duck involves marinating, tenderising, steaming and smoking. It includes ingredients like fresh ground pepper, orange peel, tea leaves and hickory wood chips. They deep fry it upon your order and the result is classic…crispy skin, dry and tender meat that is flavoured with six hours of hard work.
Another classic delight was the Claypot Ma Po Tofu with Fresh Scallops($12). This fiery yet soft tofu dish is given a nice twist with the shellfish instead of the usual mince meat. It sits enticingly, especially when on a bed of steamed rice. But if rice is a waste of your well earned hunger, then order the braised pork (kong bak $12) to go with a plateful of mantous. It's kong bak pau at its best. The slivers of fatty pork is nicely stewed in herbs and black soy sauce and when you clamp that with the sweet mantous dripping with the sauce……oooooh!

The Szechuan Prawns (($18) that we had was not unlike what you may get in most cze-cha places except that they marinate and flavour their fat prawns well. Tossed in dried chilli, honey, pepper, rice wine, soy sauce and garlic, this one stands out for its marinate, taste and the succulent texture of the prawns. Another classic dish that gave us a pleasant surprise was the air flown Stir Fried Venison ($12). The big deal was the quality of the meat- flown all the way from Down Under. The tenderness and juiciness of the venison was a winner.

Another winner here is the service, which is quite unlike the hurried and dull efficiency you get in most restaurants downtown. Jamie has a very simple reason for their slow, warm and steady service here…the restaurant isn't usually very crowded and caters largely to the regulars and residents nearby. So she and her staff showers you with natural attention, but on a crowded evening….. patience should be the order of the day.
But then again, this is a simple family restaurant in ulu Jln Selaseh, off Yio Chu Kang. Although the New York connection was brought here, the fast pace and brusqueness was left to rot in the Big Apple.

The Accompanying Reds from winehomedelivery.com

We washed that dinner down with three bottles of wine from winehomedelivery.com. Now that we are sober to talk about it, hic!, we'll share with you what Makanmatas and grapes connoiseurs, Vince and Meng's take on the reds.

1/ La Croix Barton 1997 ($37.90)
Has a pleasant oak-ly flavour and is dry on the palate. But it has a hint of a soft fruity nose that suggests
berries. It enhanced the flavour of the venison and this decision is unanimous.

2/ Bourgogne Pinot Noir "Reserve Pierre Andre" 1998 ($39)
A typical Pinot Noir. A little spicy with a good blackcurrant bouquet. It is balanced, light and smooth.
But overall, it was a little too light for the strong and spicy Szechuan cuisine. It was simply masked by
the chilli and spices.

3/ DOURTHE La Grande Cuvee Graves Red 1999 ($41.40)
One of our favourite for that evening. It has a powerful bouquet with fragrances of liquorice and spices.
It is medium bodied and is long on the palate. It was an excellent accompaniment for the smoked duck.
Its smoothness , spiciness and nice finishing was quite pleasant with most of the food.

Pictures and story by kfseetoh