For those who like Heng Hwa dishes, this can be a new addition to the places you can go for dishes originating from the Putien region in China. My aunt who is Heng Hwa discovered this place by chance and found the quite good and authentic.
Our cousin who took a liking for the food here calls it the 'up the hill' place. It's located on a slope high up near Phoenix LRT on Choa Chu Kang Road. People living this area seems to call it the 'hill' too, though it's not really that high. (found out after I posted a few photos of this place on Instagram and people responded saying the 'hill') It's on a row of shop houses and it's the last shop and there's a 'tent' at the end of the road with tables that people prefer to sit rather than inside the shop.
This place is known for their codfish steamboat, but we were not having steamboat but ordered different dishes instead. Here's what we had.
This was the salt-baked chicken wings. It's soy sauce that has been wrapped in paper and baked in a mountain of salt. I personally don't find it that special. It's tasty though. It seems it's one of the specialty dishes and limited packs are available daily.
The cold meats. Drunken Pork Trotters thinly sliced. Some people might like it, but I found it too cold, too fatty. Aunt likes it, I guess I am not a Heng Hwa to enjoy this. LOL!
Clams in Soup. This innocent looking dish has been spiked with cili, probably cili padi! It's very addictive though! Not overcooked, the clams are still soft and tender and you keep picking one after another to enjoy the natural sweetness of it.
Try the soup and you get hit by this spicy 'bite' in your tongue, but you will somehow keep wanting to continue drinking it.
The Heng Hwa Lor Mee. A dish that I won't get tired having it. A mix of seafood and other ingredients in a semi-starchy broth.
Instead of the usual Heng Hwa Bee Hoon, aunt ordered the Pork Leg Bee Hoon instead.
Some of you grew up eating stew pork leg noodles, and have eaten Heng Hwa Bee Hoon, this dish is like a mix of both, only wetter. It's delicious.
(Their Heng Hwa Bee Hoon's good too, we 'tapow' a pack home for eat!)
This was an unusual vegetable dish. It's fat plump beans that has been deep fried and coated with cereal. Instead of the usual cereal prawns or crayfish, this is vegetable style.
It sure was addictive, the many pairs of chopsticks were all picking bean by bean from the plate!
The salted vegetable duck soup. It was a huge duck drumstick in a big claypot. I can't remember the taste to describe it. Go try it and let me know. ;-)
A yummy dish of sambal kangkong. Definitely not a Heng Hwa dish, but it's on part of the menu that has local dishes. So we ordered it because someone who had eaten it before said it tasted good!
An alternative place to go for some Heng Hwa food that's worth going back. There are many other dishes to try. For Heng Hwas who miss dishes like Mee Sua Hu, Fried Mee Sua, Fried Yam, good old simple Fried Fish, they have it here.
Oh, the boss is a quirky funny man. He speaks nonsense at times. If you speak the Heng Hwa dialect he will talk to you in it and confuse everyone else who don't speak it. When you go early and it's not so busy yet, he will prepare some of the more homely dishes, I can't remember what aunt wanted to order, I don't understand the dialect!
Putien Codfish Specialty House
2 Phoenix Road
Singapore 668156
Hours: 11am to 11pm
Tel: 8163 4477 / 6875 0577
1 comment:
Yea. My wife and I went yesterday night and thought we had no cash to pay. When we asked the boss if we can pay by NETS, he simply replied, "No worries, you can eat and pay anytime after. It is our fault for not having a NETS machine." But well, we managed to dig out some cash! Very good and pleasant place to eat. Lest some rowdy uncles sometimes.
Post a Comment