If your curiosity got the better of your hunger pangs just enough to notice Ms. Shirley Tay fry her fried carrot cake, you’ll notice a moment of calm and inactivity between the intense frying. She’ll gather and flatten the egg and radish cake concoction in the pancake and just let it sit and sizzle away on the flat pan. She knows exactly what’s happening on the wok and just as the nose, ears and eyes concur, it’s flipped to reveal a delicately crispy fried carrot pancake base. I call that The Master’s Moment. She’ll then just smear a dollop of sambal over and snap you back into your hunger zone.

Ms. Chew Gek Khim, the new foodie Chairman of NEA, declared that she'll "taste anything at least once, otherwise I won't know what it's like.'.

She’s one of the recently crowned one of the YEO’S Makansutra Street Food Masters of 2008, done in conjunction with just concluded Singapore Food Festival.. We started this journey to diligently recognise these local food Masters about four years ago which began as The Hawker Legends and morphed into the Street Food Masters. Today, we’ve recognised and awarded 51 such legends and masters. At the latest award ceremony, done with the support of The Singapore Tourism Board and The National Environment Agency and graced by their new foodie Chairman Ms Chew Gek Khim, who declared she’ll “taste anything at least once, otherwise I won’t know what it’s like.” . 50,000 copies of the brochures featuring this year’s masters are available at STB’s Visitors Centre and at each Master’s outlet. You can also download them at makansutra.com

Below are the Master’s Moment that makes their makan a class apart from their peers.

1/ Ms Shirley Tay, Chey Sua Carrot Cake
Blk 127, Lor 1 Toa Payoh, #02-30
6am-1pm, close on Monday
As mentioned above- each pancake comes in triangular crispy wedges with soft insides.

2/ Mdm Letchmi, Heaven’s Indian Curry
Blk 20, Ghim Moh Rd, #01-15
6am-2pm daily
She won’t use any woks to make her stunning Appoms unless they have been extensively pre-seasoned. Just look at them when you next order it - all black and seasoned to maximise heat distribution. Her batter has an elegant tinge of coconut milk which give it’s a “lemak” bite.

3/ Mr Shaik Allauddin, Allauddin’s Briyani
101, Race Course Rd, #01-190
Tekka Temporary Market
10am-6pm, close on Monday and Hari Raya
It’s in the art of scooping a plate of their stunningly fragrant Briyani - they spoon some soft fluffy Basmati grains that are damp with curry, mixed with dry and fragrant ones with some firmer grains at the top of the pot. The mutton and chicken is relatively spicy and juicy. His son Haji Mohd, now helms the stall.

4/ Mr Li Jin Kun, Xing Hua Seafood Restaurant
207, Syed Alwi Road, 11am-10.30pm
Close every first Wednesday of the month
This is the outlet (of two) where he’s based and it’s the fine balance of brewing his stock with a mix of ingredients like prawns, vongole clams to pork that give his clear and thick soup an edge in his Xing Hua style lor mee. The Chinese noodles with seaweed and peanuts blend well with the dish.

5/ Mr Teo Ho Soon, Hup Kee Ngoh Hiang
Stall 97, Maxwell Food Centre, Maxwell Road
11am-8pm, close on Monday
Theirs is the Hokkien style and unlike the Teochew version, hardly and yam paste is used. He is so confident that they only peddle seven items each day. Each is outstanding, especially their handmade meat and liver rolls- done with chives and fried with a stick of lard of skeletal support inside and the pink pork sausages.

6/ Mr Tang Chew Fue, Tong Ah Coffeeshop
36 Keong Saik Road
6.30am-10pm close alternate Wednesday
His kaya is less sweet, rougher and done with no compromise on the coconut milk, which gives it richness. Spread over his grilled and sliced toast, it’s addictive. His family runs a coffee beans importation business, so he knows what happens when you mix Arabica with Columbian beans.

7/ Mr Tan Boon Hwa and Mr. Tan Boon Heng, Brothers Rojak
Blk 449, Clementi Ave 3, #01-211
See Lam Hern Coffeeshop, 11am-9.30pm, close on Sundays
They, of course, use a specially pre-cooked hae ko (prawn paste) and they don’t toss and stir the salad but gently fold the sauce over each ingredient, careful not to press and smash them - preserving its texture. Their ever smiling demeanour is a winning strategy.

The two brothers of Brothers Rojak, Mr. Tan Boon Hwa &
Mr. Tan Boon Heng, always have a smile on their face.

8/ Mr Koh Koon Meng, Rochor Beancurd House
745, Geylang Road, 24 hours
Closed on Chinese New Year
He is the eldest son of this first family of beancurd in Singapore. His version is very smooth and wobbly and it only collapses in your mouth. He said “the real secret is not just the Canadian beans we use, but the amount of water to balance it.”

9/ Mr Chia Tong Ngee, Ah Liang Fried Hokkien Mee
Blk 84, Marine Parade Central Food Centre, #01-135
11am-9pm, close on Monday
Besides the all important stock, which he does with no-compromise ingredients like prawns, pork bones, squid, flat fish and even vongole clams, he flavours the pot of humble chopped garlic with a unique own made seafood powder. So it each strand of noodle is kiasu with fragrance and well fried.

10/ Mr Chang Lee Wong, Wang Wang Curry Puffs
Blk 51, Old Airport Road Food Centre, 10am-9pm
Close on Monday
He used to make Teochew style yam paste mooncakes which is well layered. He uses that same technique with a different choux pastry and does each puff by hand. The entire curry puff blossoms like a multi layered flower when fried and is stuffed with moist curried potatoes.

11/ Mr Sapari Bin Temon, Selamat Datang Malay Food.
Stall 9, Adam Road Food Centre, 2 Adams Road
9am-9pm, close on Wednesday
They use every conceivable part of the chicken to extract maximum flavour in their outstanding Soto Ayam brew, done with a well balanced mix of spices. Float one of their bagedils (potato fish cutlet) over and it is an unctuous meal.

12/ Mr Liew Choy, Keng Eng Kee Seafood
Blk 124, Bukit Merah Lane 1, 01-136
11am-2pm, 5pm-11pm, close on Chinese New Year
They take the trouble to create stuff that sets their cze cha stall apart from their peers. Their fried mushroom, seafood and ham tofu pouch is magnificent, stuff even high end restaurants cannot create. Dunk it in their spicy mayonnaise and it’s clearly a winner.