Neat XO Brandy Fish Head Beehoon

The Story
Why did the XO brandy invade the fish beehoon soup?

Multiple choice answers..

1/ In 1980, a late shift taxi driver once got so drunk on brandy while having fish head beehoon one slow night. Suspecting the noodles needed more soy sauce, he promptly emptied what’s left in his bottle of brandy onto his supper thinking it was soy sauce and everyone around loved it (cos they were drunk too!)

2/ 1n 1982, some karaoke customers ordered fish head beehoon for dinner. Thinking it would sober them up and awaken them from their drunken stupor and halt the flow of alcohol (and profits for her), the mamasan ingeniously mixed three packs of XO brandy into the soup, and the rest is history.

3/ In 1979, the legendary Justice Bao Gong appeared in the dream of a struggling fish head beehon cook and told him not to work so hard. He advised that a bit of alcohol is good for him. So the cook immediately had some they next day…in his fish beehoon soup!

So, if the power of your left-brain logic made you confidently choose the first answer…then you’re WRONG.

In fact, if you chose any of the above…WRONG again.

According to the makan bible, Mr Teo Yong Koon, was once a struggling fish head beehoon cook coming to grips perfecting the dish at his sifu’s (master’s) kitchen, Ah Hon of the Hong Kong Chun Kee Fish Head Beehoon Restaurant. But instead of Justice Bao, his suppliers appeared regularly and showered him with hampers filled with goodies and XO brandy. So on some nights after work, this teetotaler with a heart experimented with “sweetening” his fish beehoon soup with brandy, for supper with his colleagues. He never suggested selling it as cost made it prohibitive. But his next boss at Holland Village XO Fish Head Beehoon restaurant supported and championed it. Now, it’s a Singapore makan icon.

In fact, the legend of the dark complexioned Justice Bao appeared on Mr Teo’s face…in the form of a dark blemished patch. Hence his nickname, hence the stall’s name. He has since lasered it off.

The makan…

His signature Fish Head Beehoon (from $5 without the brandy) is not much of a looker. But when you realise the milky broth contains no dairy products and is made fully from fish stock, bones and a lot of wok skill, the dish is in a class of its own. Every bowl of soup is individually made. The basic stock is stir fried with the fish head till the fat and oils turn milky . When he adds the Toman (snakehead) fish and a rougher thick beehoon, wahhh…oh yes, if you want the XO brandy in(from $7), you gotta tell them ahead, so when it arrives, its double wahh! Tip…the fish head broth is richer than the fish slice broth as they fry the head for full flavour.

Next, his Sum Lo Hor Fun (Triple Flavour Kway Teow). It is totally deceiving that something so bland looking can be so flavourful. The exact opposite of Paris Hilton straddling a Carl’s Junior burger. He exalts the kway teow with three invisible flavour agents…Chinese Hua Tiao wine, sesame oil, salt and garlic and texturises it with crunchy towgay (bean sprouts) and succulent slices of clean cut toman fish. At $5 minimum, it is real value.

Wanna know what happens when this chef plays with butter, milk powder and fresh milk? He comes up with Butter Milk Ball Prawns. It takes him 30 minutes of careful stir frying a wok of butter and milk powder as he gingerly drips fresh milk in to create this little crunchy butter milk balls which are fried with prawns and curry leaves. The buttery, rich, sweet-savoury and spicy balance is so agreeable with the fried crustacean. It’ll just take you 10 minutes and $15 to enjoy it.

Still, all this leaves him with a whole load of XO brandy sitting pretty in the hampers. So he came up with Drunken Crabs. Double drunken to be exact. Take two medium crabs and wine them with Chinese Hua Tiao liquor. Then spice up their fun with pepper, soy and sesame oil. Finally, knock them out with XO brandy and steam them with ginger and spring onions. Served at $35 and love all the sweetness both the liquor lends to the fresh steamed crab.

The Verdict.

Three words describe Bao Gong’s makan…simple, clean and confident. While he is no former master chef from some top restaurant which serve dishes that come with an attitude, his simple and firm ways with his ingredients and

the wok makes his food comfortably scrumptious. His little kitchen is not stocked up with all Earth has to offer but he makes full use of what little he has and is comfortable with…basic stock, Chinese wine and brandy, garlic, soy sauces, sesame oil, onions, salt, chilli sambal, pepper, sugar etc….

Bao Gong XO Fish Head Beehoon