Fei Lao Changi Lor 108 Seafood

Fatty History

All his life, he cooked over a charcoal stove. Totally unlike how lots of us would struggle with charred chicken wings on a BBQ stove at an East Coast beach party. He perfected the craft of fire control and would churn out his signature plate of fried hor fun that consistently came with that definitive Cantonese ingredient…wok hei (breath of a wok).

His customers did not nickname this chef Fei Lao (fat chap) just because he was portly. It was an endearing nickname he earned for his mastery of street Cantonese makan. Then, back in the 70’s, he was helming a cze cha coffee shop stall at the east. Mention Fei Lao then to any decent taxi driver then, and you’ll be zipped to Changi Lor 108 where you’ll have to wait not just for a table, but the food as well.

He cooked everything himself as he felt his cooks could not keep up with the crowd and the speed. He was a stern man but he would show his assistants his tricks and skills although he was not a good teacher. On our first encounter some three years ago over an interview in our Makansutra TV show, I asked Fei Lao just how much his trusted cooks was able to learn from him.

“Fifty percent”, he shot back after reflecting for all of 5 seconds.

Well, that was all his assistants inherited to carry on with at their new stall in Joo Chiat. Fei Lao or Mr Tham Moi, passed away suddenly in May this year, one day before they opened for business. He was 72. But his legacy lives on.

Today his nephew and in-laws have graduated onto gas fire stoves. “It was not easy to move from charcoal to gas stoves. The heat is instant. Initially, very blur, always burn my food.”, said Fei Lao’s assistant cook and nephew Mr Tan Chin Heng, who had been scuttering around Fei Lao’s kitchen for over twenty years.

Like how he was taught to chow or pre sear hor fun in a wok “ The wok has to be very hot, use very little oil and timing has to be perfect. Then you get the wok hei. You cannot cheat by using soy sauce to get the light chow tar (seared) look.”

So can you imagine their signature platter of Fried Hor Fun noodles($10) with that translucent crystal look and seared edges, basking in thick clear stock sauce and topped with very fresh, and I mean very fresh, crunchy grey prawns, soft chewy squid, fish and lean pork slices, generous chye sim and succulent slivers of sea cucumbers.

When I asked for it to be wrapped in opei leaf, actually a kind of palm bark, it infused a certain fragrance into the noodles. I went weak at the knees. Wolf that down with bits of pickled green chillis and you’ll suspect that the almighty creators are fussy foodies too.

Next, they brought out Fei Lao’s legendary Fried Fish Head with Taukua ($10). It has been on their menu for over forty years. It was superbly tossed in brilliant heat with a taucheo (fermented bean) sauce with a hint of rice wine. It was ambrosia, especially with bowl of fluffy rice.

After these two gruffy delicacies, I began to notice this Joo Chiat Rd eatery, tucked amidst the stretch of nosier pubs and bars. It has smooth parquet floors, seduced by light baby blue walls, juxtaposed with loud orange tables and conveniently located next to a open car park. I suspect the previous tenants operated a Chinese style Joo Chiat health spa.

Then I was served the Diced Ginger Chicken ($10). Mr Tan ever so gingerly tossed the pieces of chicken in hot oil for texture and then swirls them in the second wok of this sweet and sour-ish sauce perfumed with pungent little ginger cube specks. It harmonized very well with the bold and savoury noodles and fish head taukua.

I was asked to try their Sping Onion Pig Liver ($8), something Fei Lao never taught them. It was a “moving on” dish. They did this very earthy comfort Cantonese dish in the same spirit that guided them through all the other dishes in their menu…superbly fresh ingredients and supreme fire control and timing. The liver came brown and slightly pink, perfectly undercooked. It was soft, smooth and powdery and contrasted well with the fragrant crunchy onions.

Today you can’t get the late Fei Lao’s old style and tediously char-grilled roast pork, which Mr Tan says is very difficult to do, and perfectly “pok pok choay” (cracker crispy skin). But fret not, a big slice of that Changi Lor 108 Fei Lao hawker charm remain…just ask them to dapau (take out) the food in opei leaf, head for home as it infuses and have an old fashioned street food meal with friends and family.

Rest peacefully, Fei Lao.

Fei Lao Changi Lor 108 Seafood

Updated as of 9 June 2006:

Fei Lao Changi Lor 108 Seafood has moved out of the premises and has yet to settle into a new location. Know where they moved to?
Do tell us at contact@makansutra.com