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Cze Cha creations that can shame Three Star inventions
By K.F.Seetoh |
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We’ve heard many times over, courtesy of the gushing media, how great chefs, usually the star studded ones, innovate. Three Michelin star chef Jean Georges went to Newton hawker centre, had bbq stingray and introduced Newton Skates at his swanky book-three-months-ahead-celebrity- studded Spice Market Restaurant in New York. There’s also the iconic concept of how Tetsuya Wakuda in Sydney placed miso and wasabi mash with his perfectly seared ocean cod – very much adapted by many chefs around the world. Great branding and innovation. But branding and invention is something not very palatable to our unforgiving foodie community here. I know a good French (Belgium born) chef here that once touted a hay smoked duck breast which he used to specialize in at a two-star restaurant he once worked at before coming here. He took pains to secure a good supply of fresh hay from the turf club and painstakingly pan smoked each of that $35 breast. He gave up after a couple of years here, upped and left for Australia because he realized “how can I compete with the roast duck masters at Geylang. They sell the whole bird, marinated and fire roasted for $25, and everyone is enjoying it in the open over cold beer.”. That restaurant has folded for good, a real pity, as his talent would add some sparkle to our makan scene. But there is a breed and culture of eateries that has stood the test of time and the exacting demands of the local palates- our ubiquitous coffeeshop cze cha eateries. These cooks know only too well that inventiveness and good pricing is not the answer to sustainability in business. Uncompromisingly good food is the key. They are the folks that churned out our national fried chicken dish- har cheong kai (prawn paste chicken) and even came up with the taken-for-granted yam pot (which now comes with fanciful toppings like abalone and exotic mushrooms). They begun to introduce salted egg yolk to seafood dishes and even added XO brandy to our humble fish head beehoon. Their creations stick, and folks return simply because they want more. Not very many care or remember these chefs, or are interested in where they got the idea and guts to do so. They do so not because they want to but because they have to. They are hungrier than the customers. The kind of hunger that generates desire and will to succeed. Look how the by now infamous white pepper crabs turned the fortunes in for Mr Choo, the founder of No Signboard Seafood. He just felt that the real sting in pepper comes from the white ones as the black version gave a bitter aftertaste. Sadly, not very many, among our new generation of well educated and traveled, have this hunger and gumption. They rather just eat, which can be early signs of some cancer in our food culture.
Even the educated kids of Mdm Oh Foong Toh, though looking not a day over 50 for her 60 years of age, is not keen to continue her legacy. She began, against her father’s wishes not to help him in his eatery, when she was young - to hold and master the wok. Over the last 30 years, she observed how and what her competitors were up to and adapted.
One of her all time favorite at her coffeeshop cze cha joint is something I have to stand up and applaud her for- fried fresh tempura prawns sauced with a stunning spicy pumpkin cream with a sprinkle of bird eye chillis and curry leaves. (wah, hair stand, just thinking about it). And at a reasonable $12 for a minimum portion, not very many care about her story, they just wanna patronize and devour. And if seafood gives you the heebie-jeebies, she’ll counter with her, and I believe she is one of the rare few who hawks this in a coffeeshop cze cha, German style fried pork knuckles($13), except it comes with a Leonardo da Vinci inventiveness and addictive chilli sauce that is laced with orange juice and cured apricots. So crispy, not so fat and refreshingly spicy. Clap clap clap! Of course she’ll gladly steam a fresh garoupa (soon hock) fish if you want or fried it crisp to the bone and douse it with an evolved Thai chilli sauce that is wonderfully married with hints of sambal and hae bi ($18). Her menu is a deceivingly simple picture poster of her signatures which hides the sophistication and dare behind the dishes. A note – do be patient as these aren’t fast food dishes and jostling with taxi drivers for a seat here (it’s some kind of a coffeebreak and quick meal spot for them) can be a little insignificant hassle.
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