Chinatown Complex is a culinary treasure trove, housing numerous famous food stalls. Among these, Ma Li Ya Virgin Chicken 瑪莉亞處女雞 stands out not only for its unique name but also for its specialty in soy sauce chicken.
Ma Li Ya Virgin Chicken at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre needs no further introduction but, unless you have eaten it before, you would never have guessed that what I had here is a plate of chicken rice because frankly, it does not even remotely resemble one.
The chicken drumstick was tender and flavourful, with a sweet flowery flavour from the qq soft skin, which had taken on the dark brown of the soy sauce.
Discovered another nice hawker stall, Weng Kiang Kee Porridge 荣强记粥品 which is located in Chinatown Complex. However, locating it on the second floor can be a bit challenging.
Overall, I love the consistency and smoothness of the grains. Though tasty, it still lacks the wow factor that will give me every reason to be back there on purpose.
Both the porridge and the pork were clean-tasting. The pork was really fresh, tender, and springy, with a light and pleasant pork flavour. There was a bit too little of the pork though, resulting in the bowl feeling a bit empty.
In all, it was a thirst quenching dessert on a hot day. However, I would have preferred to go for cheng tng or ice jelly, if both were also available either on the menu or at other stalls.
The chendol strips possessed good pandan and coconut flavours but was slightly clumpy. The gula melaka was the bomb, rich without being cloying. The red beans were comforting and satisfying. I would have this any day over brown sugar milk tea.
A bowl of chendol that truly embodies the Singaporean hawker spirit!
Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice 联合本记煲饭 , a popular eatery situated in Chinatown Complex, has gained significant recognition and has been included in the prestigious Michelin guide.
The chicken was smooth, tender and well flavoured. Still my favourite claypot rice after all these time, with a forty five minute wait on a Wednesday evening, in a seriously crowded corner of the food centre.
For its taste and quality, Lian He Ben Ji is well worth the price.
Michelin Recommended Stall
Zhong Gou La Mian Xiao Long Bao is one of the many places in the Smith Street Hawker Center/Chinatown Food Court. It has long queues all the time for the products. Xiao Long Bao and Fried Dumplings…
A food blog from a Singapore-based traveler
Having finally tried the Bento Combo Jumbo for the benefit of the 'gram, I shall try their duck meat with white rice served the traditional way next time.
The braised duck meat was moist and tender unlike those that you may get elsewhere, where they are sometimes tough and hard to chew.
Though their braised duck is not the best, the yam rice is amongst the nicest that I tried.
The combination of pork lard, perfectly cooked noodles, and Mr. Tan’s expert frying skills creates a dish worth waiting in line for!
The stallowner really displayed dedicated plate by plate frying. This was the wetter and not so sweet style of char kway teow. The kway teow had been fried well till slightly mushy, with egg nicely distributed and some crunch from the chives. It had quite good wok hei and pork lardy fragrance, although I found the flavour slightly restrained and not punchy or savoury or sweet enough. It tasted a bit like Penang kway teow, with the flatter taste profile.
A plate of char kway teow that is well worth your calories!
It looks like this stall (335 Smith Street #02-84) has been listed in the Michelin guide for a while, but somehow it just never registered on my radar screen until recently.
With Fatty Ox HK Kitchen serving up such high quality dishes, you don’t have to pay restaurant prices for classic Cantonese fare.
I am glad I found Fatty Ox because their soy sauce chicken and other offerings are comparable to, if not better than Liao Fan's (Hawker Chan) without that crazy queue.
Claypot & Cooked Food Kitchen at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre specializes in Cantonese-style tze char. The modest menu included their signature claypot pig's liver, har cheong gai, sweet & sour pork, salted fish minced chicken tofu pot, tofu & roasted meat among others.
Claypot & Cooked Food Kitchen is a nondescript looking food stall with an equally non descriptive name tucked away in a far corner in the "green zone" of Chinatown Complex Food Centre.
Whilst the food here is certainly value for money, it is probably more suited for smaller groups than lone customers.
The satay was cooked just nice, meaning it was at its most tender, but had no char. The satay sauce was very good though, nutty, sweet and slightly tangy from the pineapple purée.
A very competent satay even though they don’t make their own.
The satays here are cooked-to-order, so they are still juicy upon serving. The skewered meats achieved the right amount of char from the grilling. You can tell they have been seasoned and marinated well because they are tender and flavourful.
If you are in Chinatown Complex and Food Center, this is one of the heritage dish that you should not miss.
The rice was just moderately sticky, came apart well and offered slight chewiness. The shallots were a bit burnt though, with a small bit tasting slightly bitter. Serious one man show here, offering a heritage food.
Millennium Glutinous Rice has definitely made itself a favourite on my list and I really hope another ambitious person will learn the ropes from Steven in the future, and continue serving this nostalgic dish in the decades to come.
Yuan Lang Soy Chicken Master is the underdog among all the big names. Hopefully, they can get picked up by the radar soon and receive the recognition they deserve.
If you’re looking for a different take on our local classic, do check out Yuan Lang Soy Sauce Chicken Master and enjoy some playful banter with Wong Kueng while your food is being prepared.
The chicken was smooth and the skin nicely flavoured and scented, although the flesh was slightly tough. The noodles were really qq and springy, had no alkaline taste and had a light savoury soy sauce flavour, from the one squirt of the soy sauce. A delicate and clean tasting plate.
Maybe they aren't worth the time in the queue considering that there's an overwhelming plethora of other options in Chinatown.
Their sui gao looked orange-y.
The portion of the noodle is sufficient to keep me full. The tossing sauce which is simply pork lard oil and sambal chili complimented the springy noodle.
Portions were pretty generous.
Monan is like a mix of traditional and modern dishes. The stall is new, but I’m sure they have what it takes to improve their recipes, and make egg sausages popular again.
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This is one stall I’ll recommend to any chicken rice lovers out there.
almost all the customers seated near the stall ordered their steamed fish head.
Seng Kee's signature sauce is very appetising, so I could enjoy lots of boiled rice with it (that's before Singapore declared War on Diabetes 😂 ).
The noodles were expertly and acrobatically tossed high in the air, and were qq and springy. The pork trotters were quite tender, with a balanced savoury flavour. The pungent and cheesy nam yu flavour didn’t quite come through though.
There are so many worthy alternatives to try 😄 ) Read more: http://johorkaki.blogspot.com/2017/10/fragrant-sauce-chicken-chinatown-food.html#ixzz5XC7f53o
The black vinegar is more sweet than sour but there is a bottle of vinegar on the counter for customers to help themselves to for a sharper taste. Chef Sham uses the Chan Kong Thye (aka doggy brand) black sweet rice vinegar which he proudly displays all over his stall.
This collagen soup is comparable to those that you have in Hai Di Lao or Beauty In a Pot but I would choose Chef Sham’s soup over those any day for its affordable price!
I definitely foresee myself returning here for a warm bowl of green bean soup in the future.
Peanuts are being roasted, ingredients are being boiled, all for a good bowl of traditional dessert.
Didn't think there was much of a difference between the Golden Mile stall and this one. Both seemed to be equally good.