Chinese & Japanese Gardens

I’ve just replaced the 2008 Chinese & Japanese Gardens feature VRs with 2 that I shot in January. Both were created using the “floating camera” effect.

http://www.singaporevr.com/vrs/chinese_gardens/

I’ve just replaced the 2008 Chinese & Japanese Gardens feature VRs with 2 that I shot in January.

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ASK THE BOLDER WOMAN

Here is a question sent in by Amanda from Singapore. She seemed rather desperate in her email and it's not really a sex question but I just thought I'd offer my two cents worth. She is 24 and is about to get married to her boyfriend of five years.

Q: I am caught between telling and not telling him that I had a child when I was just 17 years old.The baby was adopted by a childless couple. My parents advised me not to tell him about it but I am not sure about it. What do you think?

MS: Well, honesty is really the best policy. At least more often than not. In this case, not telling, I feel, is a pure recipe for future contempt and betrayal. Even if he accepts it, he will always be wondering why you didn't tell him from the beginning.

I mean having a child is not something you can ultimately hide forever. It's bound to come out in the open and better he hear it from you than from someone else. You ought to come clean now and if he loves you for what you are now, whatever transpire in the past should not matter. If he doesn't accept it and wants to break up, hurt as you will be, it's better now that when you have a family which will inevitably bear the brunt of your discovered indiscretions.

My advice is to tell him. You parents probably mean well but they are not the ones who have to live with him for the long haul. You are. It's your life and your husband to be.

Missus Singapore out!

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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MIRACLE JUICE

Well, I've always enjoyed the feel of fresh man juice on my face for as long as I can remember. I cannot be certain, but I've always believed that my rather unusual habit has been behind my young and fresh face. Just the other day I was mistaken for a 27-year old. But it wasn't the first time I was mistaken for a younger woman and hopefully, it will not be the last.

The question brewing in many woman's mind, at least from those that have confided in me is will sperm actually help the face? Will it keep it supple and fight acne? Just some of the questions several women have asked me.

The thing is, I have no scientific backing for it and granted there may be many factors that work towards keeping or maintaining good facial health and youthfulness, personally, I believe that it works. I have heard of women who use it as a weekly (some even daily) facial regime. But what really opened my eyes was when a friend of mine suddenly met up with me over lunch.

I knew Wendy since my school days. She was one of the smarter ones who concentrated in school. We were more like familiar faces until many years later when we met at a wedding of a mutual friend. This was sometime in 2003, years before I started Missus Singapore.

We were seated at the same table and it was not long before I realised she was the same Wendy I knew back in school. I remember that she had quite bad acne then but it had gotten so bad that I almost didn't recognise her. But she was still the affable, bubbly and hot bod that I remembered her to be.

So at the time, she was asking how I kept my face so fresh and healthy. I shared with her my usual regime and joked that I had it spunked up all the time. Seeing that she was quite bashful on the subject, I didn't go any deeper.

However, when I established Missus Singapore, she began to follow me and realised that I was really a 'facial connoisseur' of sorts. She admitted following me since and began to try it out with her then-boyfriend. In 2008, she got married and continued the practice with her husband.

Fastforward to January 2012, we finally put our schedules together and met for coffee. I was flabbergasted! It was Wendy like I've never seen her before, not a spot on her face (seriously!). It was silky and even had me a little envious. We spoke for a bit before I had to delve into the reason behind her much-improved face. And then she revealed, it was because of ME.

Apparently, she had started trying out what I suggested in one of my posts on facials. She had to first overcome her repulsion to it - took some doing she mentioned - but once she got over it, she actually started enjoying it. Now she does it three times a week unlike the initial days when she tried for every day.

I was amazed and realised that she was my first real caseproof that sperm helps keep the face healthy. I mean there is still no scientific evidence on it but at least I know for certain that it could help someone else other than myself. Yes, I have other friends who do it too but they always had good skin to begin with. This was a case of bad to good!

I just thought I'd share this with you because I believe it works and now there is further proof that it indeed can do wonders.

Missus Singapore out! 

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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NO VASE?

Here is another by James, an avid reader of Missus Singapore. It's another blonde joke. I personally think blonde jokes are what urban legends are made of since I know several who are intelligent and doing extremely well in their careers. Anyway, always good to have more ammo to tease them on out nights out.

Two friends, a blonde and a redhead, are walking down the street and pass a flower shop where the redhead saw her boyfriend buying flowers.

Redhead sighed and said, "Oh, crap, my boyfriend is buying me flowers again."

The blonde looked quizzically at her and said, "You don't like getting flowers from your boyfriend?"

The redhead said, "I love getting flowers, but he always has expectations after giving me flowers, and I just don't feel like spending the next three days on my back with my legs in the air."

The blonde says, "Don't you have a vase?"

Missus Singapore out!

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Here's an eye opener. Perhaps a little exaggerated but nonetheless, the message is quite clear. But seriously, if you don't seem to get that Barbie is a doll, even at a young age, I think image problems are no the only things you should worry about.

Missus Singapore out!

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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SECRETS TO WET DREAMS

Since August last year, I've been experimenting on myself and several of my friends on the possibility of carving out wet dreams. In all, there were eight of us and on my advice, we all kept what we refer to as a dream journal.

Of course, we couldn't always record our dreams accurately since more often than not they were fuzzy recollections at most. But we still could tell if they were hot or not. I just thought I'd share this with you since I found it interesting.

So here is a list of five things that actually worked in getting us into a wet dreamland. It didn't work all the time but it did produce some telling results. In order of least effective to most effective, as follows:

5. Reminisce about a past erotic experience.
4. Play out your sexual fantasy before you close your eyes.
3. Watching a steamy video.
2. Read some erotica.
1. Get semi-aroused either with a partner or solo but without having an orgasm!

Needless to say that the last one was the hardest to do but when all of us managed to hold back, we found that our dreams were most intense and sexual. And moreover, all except one of us was able to recall vivid details. Try it out sometime.

Missus Singapore out!

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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BIG PAPAYAS

I attended this cocktail party over the weekend. Well, actually, I was tagging along with my SO who was the one who was invited. It was at a local town club near Scotts Road and was meant to commemorate one country's embassy's 30th year in Singapore.

So anyway, there was this beautiful African woman. She looked so serious initially but when I got to know her, she was hilarious. It was so refreshing. Besides that, she also had humongous papayas hanging from her chest. She knew it and flaunted it all over. I've never heard so many tit and papaya jokes in one night and they all came from her.

I suppose instead of people always stealing looks at them, she decided to make them the central focus. But once that was out of the way, she could focus on good conversation without anyone stealing looks at her busom. I thought that was such a good strategy - get everyone to look at it to their heart's content and then get on to the business of networking.

I just wish more people (especially women) will not be too offended when men oogle at their tits or body. After all, don't tell me us woman don't want that. Sure we want to be taken seriously too but at the same time, we dress to make a mark wherever we go. I guess we can be a confusing lot!

Missus Singapore out!

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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Merlion – Floating Camera View

I’ve just updated this year’s Merlion feature with a floating camera view

http://www.singaporevr.com/vrs/merlion/

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SIGNS FOR HOOKERS

Interesting signs indicating that the world's oldest profession is still thriving today! Thank you Marcela.

Missus Singapore out!

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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Lau Goh Carrot Cake: The History of Carrot Cake (Chai Tau Kueh) revisited

Carrot Cake prices start at $4

Ask any baby boomer about White Carrot Cake they will tell you about the Legendary Lau Goh Carrot Cake at People's Park.  In its heydays in the 70's, Lau Goh was unrivalled.  When others were selling carrot cake for less than a dollar a plate, he was already selling it at $1 plus and despite that inflated price, people were still queuing for his Carrot Cake!

Lau Goh started selling Carrot Cake from a pushcart along Merchant Road in the 60's and was responsible for re-introducing White Carrot Cake to our local food scene.  The steamed rice cake is a common food in China and as far as we know, adding radish into the rice cake was something that has been traditionally practiced both by the Cantonese and the Teochews. During the 50's however, the most popular form was the Black version made from steamed rice cakes without radishes.  This was known as Char Kueh (Fried Rice Cakes) rather than Chai Tau Kueh (Carrot Cake).  During the post war years, Char Kueh was simply rice cakes fried without eggs or chye poh and Sweet Soy Sauce was the cheap and convenient means of adding flavour.

It is believed that Lau Goh was one of the earliest pioneers of White Carrot Cake.  He started making his rice cakes with shredded radishes and fried it without adding Sweet Soy Sauce. There was no Chye Poh (preserved radish) either and people would bring their own duck eggs for Lau Goh to fry with the Carrot Cake.  In those days, the Carrot Cake was cut with a string into long rectangular fingers, quite unlike the Carrot Cake you see nowadays.  In the 70's, Lau Goh was chased off the streets and relocated to a permanent stall at People's Park Centre. This was where Lau Goh's popularity hit its peak.

It is interesting to note that in China, this dish is not called Chai Tau Kueh ( 菜头粿).  In a TV series called "Food Hometown", Mediacorp artiste Chew Chor Meng, traced the roots of Carrot Cake back to its birthplace in Chaoshan and reports that they do have a similar dish of fried rice cake there.  But in Chaoshan, this popular snack is known as Fried Gaoguo (炒糕粿) rather than Fried Carrot Cake ( 菜头粿).  The steamed rice cakes are made from rice starch made from milling puffed rice.  They are then cut into 4 by 1 by half inch blocks, marinated in fish sauce and dark sweet sauce before frying.  During the frying process, eggs, fresh oysters and prawns are added.  Chinese BBQ sauce (沙茶酱) is also used to give it a spicy kick and a bit of sugar is sprinkled over the dish just before serving.  In Chaoshan, Chye Poh is never added to the carrot cake.

A young Peter Goh making Carrot Cake

So it seems like Chai Tau Kueh is unique to Singapore and the style of Chai Tau Kueh with the eggs and Chye Poh evolved locally over the years to the familiar dish that we see today.  Our facebook fans commented that in Malaysia there is also a dish of fried rice cakes.  However it is called Char Kway Koek (炒粿角) over there and is fried with Sweet Sauce with no chye poh which sounds very similar our Char Kueh of the 50's.

Unfortunately, Lau Goh is not longer around so I can only imagine what his dish tasted like. However, his legacy lives on in is his third son, Peter Goh, who continues to fry Carrot Cake over at Zion Road.  He is probably more well known as the hearing impaired hawker at Zion Road food centre where you have to order your food by pointing at the menu.   His version of carrot cake is quite unlike the legendary Lau Goh version.  One reason is that he has stopped making his own carrot cake and so his carrot cake is now powered by Chye Poh and fish sauce instead of radish.

However, it is still a carrot cake which I quite enjoy eating.  I like how the Carrot Cake is soft and mushy and wonder-Fully flavoured.  One of the  things that Peter does is to mash the carrot cake into smaller pieces by hand instead of using a wire mesh to cut it into cubes.   This results in pieces of carrot cake which have an irregular surface to which the egg, chye poh and fish sauce sticks to easily so that each morsel is covered with yummy umami. It isn't legendary, but it's still pretty addictive! 4.5/5


Peter Goh

Conclusion

Fried Rice Cakes is something that our Teochew forefathers brought over from China, but it isn't called Chai Tau Kueh back in its home of origin.  There are of course many variants of fried rice cakes in the region, but the  style of frying it with eggs and Chye Poh is unique to Singapore which had evolved from the black version in the 60's.  Peter Goh's current carrot cake might only be a faint replica of what it was in its heyday but its still a plate of carrot cake well worth some of your calories.

Lau Goh Teochew Chye Thow Kway
Zion Riverside Food Centre
Stall 26, Singapore 247780
12pm to 2.30pm
6pm to 11pm
Tue closed
96745483 (SMS only)



References:
1.  Black and White Carrot Cake,  Lian He Zhao Bao, 8 Jan 2006
2.  Food Hometown, Teochew Fried Carrot Cake Episode, Wawa Pictures, Popular Book Company ,2010

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Teck Kee Pau: A 62 year old Heritage Hawker Icon

It might be debatable as to whether Teck Kee is the oldest Pau stall in Singapore, but I would say that they are probably the most well known brand.  Who here doesn't recognize the iconic logo that is printed on the piece of paper at the bottom of each pau?  I must have peeled it off countless times as I was growing up!


The figure in the logo is the 2nd generation Mr Tan

Talking about peeling off that piece of paper, have you noticed that the tastiest paus happen to be the ones where the pau skin sticks onto the piece of paper so that when you peel it off and you are left with a bottomless pau which is a mess to eat?  Well when you think about it, it makes sense, because those are the ones where the skin is thin and soft.  They also tend to be ugly as the skin is often translucent in those areas where the meat sauce has been absorbed by the skin.  But I am sure you will agree that they are are bestest juiciest paus!


3rd Gen Mr William Whey striking the pose of his father on the logo

However, the problem is that most people don't want to buy paus that look ugly, so as a result a lot of pau shops tend to make their skin a little thicker.  That is exactly the case for Teck Kee Pau.  To be sure, most of the Paus are still very much handmade in their Serangoon Road Stall, but 3rd Generation owner, William Whey tells me that they have had to make their paus more resilient as people often reject the ugly ones.

Even their Char Siew Pau had to be altered in some ways over the years.  They are still roasting their own Char Siew in charcoal ovens but nowadays they have to remove the black charred bits before dicing it for the filling.  They had too many complaints from ladies in the past about "Chao Tar" bits!

William himself admits that their Paus used to be much better in the past.   The Paus nowadays have less fat than the ones in the past because of the more health conscious public.  But there are other factors which are beyond their control.  The quality of pork in Singapore isn't quite as good as it was in the days when Singapore still had own own pig farms and there is still a ban on Malaysian pork, so most of the pork now comes from Brazil.  Even the flour isn't as fresh as it was in the past!


The original roadside stall along Koek Road

Teck Kee's legacy stretches all the way back to 1948 when William's grandfather, Mr Whey Hui Tuck decided to quit his job as a chef at the Emperor restaurant to start his own business. At the time, you could only eat dim sum at the restaurants during the day, so he decided to set up a little roadside stall along Koek road (off Orchard Road) to sell Char Siew Pau and Bak Pau in the evenings!  It can be argued that he was the one who started the whole Pau Stall genre! 

You probably know that our local pau is quite different from the Hong Kong style pau.  Actually our style of Pau is quite unique to Malaysia and Singapore.  However, the origins of Pau is not very clear at the moment.  According to William, there are some Pau stalls which may be older than Teck Kee so he cannot be sure if it was his grandfather who started making Pau this way instead of the Hong Kong style pau with the puffed up top.

I used to love Teck Kee Pau when I was a kid.  During the Pau Dark Ages in the 80's and 90's when commercial paus were introduced to the coffeeshops, Teck Kee stood out as one of the few stalls which continued to make their own paus by hand.  Thankfully, we moved out of the Dark Ages and people started making Paus again.  So there are many more stalls nowadays selling artisanal pau.

Although Teck Kee is still very much a family owned business and still making their paus by hand,  its unfortunate that they have to make Paus which appeal to the masses in terms of presentation.  As a result, with the Tua Pau, the skin is slightly thick and the Pau is healthier (fat and skin removed). It's still something that you can fall back on when you have a Pau craving, but only a shadow of what it once was. The Char Siew Pau is slightly better, the Char Siew has got that smokey flavour but as I mentioned earlier, all the nice charred bits have been removed, so its lost that rustic edge.  4/5

Conclusion

Teck Kee Pau is very much a part of our Food Heritage.  The Paus are still good, although by striking a balance between taste, health and presentation, I feel that they have lost that artisanal touch.  It would be great to see them introduce a heritage range of Pau which are made specially for foodies to enjoy instead.

Teck Kee Tanglin Pau
83 Killiney Road
Singapore 239531
9.00 am - 10.30 pm
Closed on Mon
6734-9253


For other locations, please check their website:  www.teckkeepau.com

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Another Page turns over

Soon after blogging about Border’s closure in Singapore, we were hit with news that another popular bookstore, Page One, was exiting the Singapore market. Another crying shame, even more because Page One was a homegrown company that seemed to have found its own niche with its design-oriented collection of books and related products.

I visited Page One on Thursday morning to use up book vouchers before it closed down, and also because there was a 50% storewide discount. What I liked was that it really was 50% - not like other stores that advertise as such to lure you in, only for you to discover that the discounts are only for selected ranges. OK, except maybe for the music CDs which were 30% off. But some books were going for 60% off or more so that averaged things out.

Another thing I’d give credit for is the professionalism of the staff. Even though they knew the bookstore would be closing, they made sure that things were in order. Contrary to what I had half feared, it had not turned into a huge jumble sale, with books piled up in illogical fashion. Staff were working hard to pack related books together and making sure the queue to the cashiers didn’t block common passageways.

I’ve liked Page One’s selection of books, which would arguably be comparable to that of Kinokuniya’s - the last big regional bookstore of note. My favourite category remains business and management, followed by design, and thus I found myself in the former section, staring at rows of empty shelves, wondering if I would find what I was looking for. Not quite, but I found other titles that were good enough to bring insights to my work.

The children’s section, a slightly older colleague informed me later, was sparse (I have not progressed to that stage of my life yet). There were still many comprehensive design books remaining, and I would encourage the more arty types to dive in now.

All I can say is, what’s becoming of our bookstore culture? Two big stores catering to the middle to upper-middle class markets simply could not pay the rent. ‘Economy’ and student-friendly stores like Popular will still survive due to their low price points and bulk demand. But over the years I have seen the presence of local stores catering to middle-class markets, like Times and MPH, whittled away. Happily, niche bookstores seem to be springing up nicely - but again, that caters to a relatively select group and not the mainstream population.

And is paying the rent all that’s important to a shopping centre? Think of the intrinsic value that a good, big bookstore can bring. It draws in customers who may then patronise other shops and dine at your mall. It’s a great meeting point. In the long run, it widens people’s minds and grows intellectual capital.

My message to the uber-capitalists who look more at balance sheets than balanced tenant mixes: You could divide that huge, vacant space into lots of little kiosks which could fetch a higher rental yield per square foot, but you can never take away the magic of a good bookshop - or any other good anchor tenant, for that matter.

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A GOOD SMEAR CAMPAIGN

I was at this health talk for women at a private local hospital the other day. It focused on the more common gynaecological problems women faced these days. It was well organised and the speakers were well-versed and competent, I must add.

Enjoying myself and even going for seconds at the buffet spread of sweets, I was however rudely shocked when we finally settled down for the panel to take some questions. It became clear that I was going to post something about this especially when into the second question, I began to realise the level of knowledge that many women had about their own bodies.

I mean this was mostly an educated crowd mind you and it was disturbing. Knowledge of body anatomy aside, which was horrendous by the way, can you believe that women - even after all the many public education campaigns - still think that a Pap smear is only for women with a history of cervical cancer in their family?

Ironically, when one doctor asked how many women did not know if they have a family history of cancer - only a handful raised their hands. Yet, the majority of them thought that they didn't need to go for a Pap smear because they did not have a history of cancer in their family line. They are second guessing and pre-supposing that it meant their direct family members.

Firstly, a family history is not restricted to parents or siblings. It could include aunts, cousins, grand-aunts, etc.

Secondly, cervical cancer can strike women who don't even have any history of cancer in their family.

This means, every women should, no, must, go for regular Pap smears once they turn 21. It's no big deal really but it can prevent something from turning into one.

If you want to talk healthy sex, then this should be part of the routine to ensure that your sexual organs are in tip-top shape.

We wonder why our birth rates are dropping. I mean if women don't even know their bodies well, how can they possibily look after it and later, be primed to give birth? Well, there you go, creating a sterile society void of anything to do with sex or making the subject taboo has left us with a generation of clueless women.

If sex is enjoyed, chances are more women will take the trouble to look after themselves and ensure that they have all the tools to garner maximum enjoyment, performance and at some point, healthy procreation.

Some may think this is off the Missus Singapore schedule, but it actually has everything to do with it. While I do promote living out a good, fulfilling and adventurous sex life, I also preach doing it safely -  ensuring that no physical, mental and emotional harm is caused to anyone in the process.

I just had to post this because honestly, I was shocked with how reckless some women are. So look out tomorrow on my little bit on the Pap Smear.

Missus Singapore out!

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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THE PAP SMEAR

Bear with me but it's just that after my experience at the recent talk I attended, I just felt that I needed to delve a little deeper into this. So here are my two cents worth.

A Pap smear is simply a sample of cells taken from the surface of the cervix. (The cervix is the lower end of the uterus, which extends down into the vagina and vulnerable to cancer.)

The Pap smear is not for diagnosing cancer; it's really a screening test to determine if cells are normal and free of infection that may lead to cervical cancer. Early treatment may not only save a woman’s life, but also her womb.

The Pap smear is a simple procedure in which a speculum is inserted into the vagina to allow the cervix to be clearly seen. Using a wooden scraper or small cervical brush (as my gynae uses), a sample of cells is taken from in and around the cervix area.

This specimen is then smeared onto a glass slide and a liquid fixative sprayed onto the slides to hold the samples in place. These cells are then sent to a cytologist (a specialist in reading cells) who will then screen them for abnormalities such as abnormal cell growth, infection and inflammation.

A Pap smear is also useful in detecting cell changes on the vaginal wall which are signs of vaginal cancer, and picking up yeast and human papillomavirus, which causes genital warts.

Pap smears should be done at least once a year and continue until age 65. The best time to have this test is between 10 and 20 days after the first day of the menstrual period. It is advised that douching, use of tampons or vaginal medication, or sex should be avoided for about two to three days prior to the test.

I hope this helps. Please ladies, take it seriously. It has saved many women, me included, but that is a story for another day, like is a mammogram. For now, just know that I nipped it in time thanks to a regular Pap smear. Guys, your job hear is to remind your loved one to get one. See it as a chance to let her know what it's like to be nagged!

Missus Singapore out!

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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CUM TO THE BEAT

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Hong Ji Claypot Bak Kut Teh: Northenmost Blog Post

Singaporeans love to complain.  The most frequent complain that I get concerning the ieat hawker app is that there isn't enough eateries up North.  OK, the reason there aren't many red pins on the ieat hawker map is that there really isn't that many places up North that someone from the South would bother to drive up to eat.  Seriously.  Ever since I released the App last October I have made a concerted effort to seek out eateries up North.  So far, I have added, Chong Pang Nasi Lemak, You Huak White Bee Hoon and Yishun 928 Laksa which is already in the latest update of the App.  Although they are good, they are not quite as spectacular as a lot of the eateries further South.

See, I am complaining.  Singaporeans love to complain.



Anyway, I drove all the way to Marsiling Lane for this Bak Kut Teh because when I posed the question of what to eat up North on Facebook, this was the stall that got mentioned quite a few times. 

The special thing about this Bak Kut Teh is that it is the herbal type that is served in claypots instead of the peppery type commonly found here.  It was a pretty good meal, but it just didn't have that extra something to get you to drive all the way up North to try it.  And guess what,  at the end of meal, when I asked the stall for their namecard I found out that they have a branch at Bedok, just near my clinic!  So you see, I keep telling you, its hard to find something compelling up North!  Sorry Northerners!

Conclusion

A nice Bak Kut Teh to try if you are around the northern part of Singapore.  I am still searching for something really compelling up North that is worth the calories and fuel.

Hong Ji Claypot Pork Rib Soup
Blk 19, Marsiling Lane
#01-329
Singapore 730019
90901855 Ah Lim
8am to 9pm daily

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Chingay 2012

What makes this year’s parade different from previous parades is the creation of a long waterway for the participants and performers to splash about.

http://www.singaporevr.com/vrs/chingay2012/

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VIDEO OF THE WEEK

When will they ever have a similar-type commercial but with a guy in a tight white bicycle shorts? As if women don't buy cars too! Well, I suppose until they do, here's a video to kick your week off.

Missus Singapore out!

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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THAT SUCKS!

Thanks Jeannie for this! I had a good laugh. But seriously, I wonder if any of you guys have actually tried it? Would be interesting to hear from you.

Missus Singapore out!

Missus Singapore or Miss Us Singapore (at your own peril) - A married woman on the loose

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Zai Shun Curry Fish Head: A Place for Unique Steamed Fish!

"Sultan" Fish $90 per kg

I have been very curious about the Sultan Fish ever since the news reported earlier year that a man was charged $1200 for it at Resort World Sentosa. I say I am only curious because I don't see myself ever forking out $1200 just to eat a fish.  But it does make you curious doesn't it?  Just how good tasting can a fish be to command that kind of price?

The Sultan Fish (Leptobarbus Hoevenii, Ikan Jelawat,  ) is river fish found in South East Asia and the flesh is supposed to be very fine and sweet.  The fish is an omnivore and it is said that its unique sweetness comes from the fact that it eats the fruit that falls into the river.  The fish is indeed expensive and even though the price of the $1200 is inflated, you can still expect to pay upwards of $500 per kg to eat a Sultan fish.

I never thought I would get to eat the Sultan fish in Singapore, much less in a coffee shop!  But I did.....almost.

I have heard about this particular Teochew Muay place in Jurong East that sells really good (and exotic) steamed fish from Toothfairy a while ago.  Then recently, a friend of mine reminded me again of this shop which, according to him, "Sells fish that you cannot find anywhere else in Singapore"!

Unlike lots of places that display their fish in tanks or on top of ice in glass cabinets, Zui Shan's fish are all stored in foam boxes buried in ice.  It was a good sign, as that means that the fish is being kept in the best possible condition after gutting.  Contrary to what a lot of people think, live fish straight from the tank might not be the best way to eat steamed fish.  Just like Aged Beef, freshly caught fish that has been gutted and kept on ice (not in a fridge which is at 4 degrees celcius) for a day or so actually develops more flavour.  


Mouse Grouper and Napolean Wrasse

So just how exotic are the fish at Zai Shun?

I opened the lid of the first box and saw, to my delight, some Mouse Groupers as well as Soo Mei (Napolean Wrasse).  The Mouse Grouper is a favourite amongst Hong Kongers and they can be quite expensive.  They were going for about $38 per fish which I thought was quite a good price.  The Wrasse was going for $70 per kg for the whole fish, but it wasn't a fish I would order due to its endangered status.  The Mouse Grouper on the other hand was farmed, so it was more sustainable.  At any rate it was cheaper and the flesh more delicate than the Wrasse.


Ikan Lampam Jawa, Thai Silver Barb

I then proceeded to open the second box and was greeted with a fish I wasn't familiar with.  The owner told me that this was "Sultan" fish which got me rather excited.  I blurted out the first question that came to mind:  "How much is it?".  The boss told me that its priced at $90 per kg, gutted.  The next question that naturally came to mind was:  "Is this the same fish as the one that sold for $1200 at RWS?".

The boss told me that the one sold at RWS was probably a wild caught Sultan fish of another closely related species.  The "Sultan" fish that was in the box is farm bred and the supplier only supplies to his shop in Singapore.  I was a little hesitant at first as it was quite a large fish, but my friend SCS  Butter was keen to try this "Sultan" fish and assured me that he could finish a whole fish by himself.


Check out the layer of healthy fat!

The fish turned out to be an excellent choice.  I don't know if it is just the novelty of having it for the first time, but both SCS Butter and I felt that it was just about one of the tastiest fish we have had. The flesh was very delicate, sweet and had a nice umami flavour at the end.  The flesh just behind the neck of the fish was exceptionally sweet, but it was the belly that was truly outstanding.  There was a thick layer of fat just under the skin which extended to the belly which, when steamed had the texture that was soft as slow braised sea cucumbers.  But, being fish fat, the enjoyment was not tainted by a feeling of guilt.  Instead, I was happily telling myself that I was getting my cardio-protective Omega 3 fats while enjoying what would usually be a guilty pleasure!  We both went home that day with plans for a return trip!  4.6/5

Remember I said that I "almost" had Sultan fish?  Well it turns out that the fish we had wasn't the $1200 Sultan fish (Mad Barb), but a close cousin, the Thai Silver Barb or Ikan Lampam Jawa, (Barbodes gonionotus , ).  I guess paying $90 per kg to eat a fish that would normally be at least $500 per kg was too good to be true after all.  But to be fair to the boss, he did tell me that it wasn't exactly the same fish as the one sold at RWS tried to explain the difference to me before I ordered it, so I didn't go away feeling that I was cheated.  (Please read the postscript)

Here's a video clip of the fish being sold in a Thai market.


Fried Bittergourd with eggs

The other dish that was surprisingly good were the bittergourd fried eggs.  This is one of SCS Butter's "must order" dishes and I can see why.  Instead of being a straight up omelet, it actually braised in a very tasty sauce!  It goes really well with porridge! 4.5/5



Although this shop is supposed to be a Teochew Porridge place, the dishes are not limited to Teochew style dishes.  You would have noticed that our fish was steamed Cantonese style instead of Teochew style.  However, they do serve many of the Teochew porridge staples such as the braised pig trotters which are quite good.  4/5



The other Teochew porridge staples like the Hae Bee Hiam was also very good.  Not great enough for you to travel all the way to Jurong East to eat, but certainly robust enough for me to order it every time I head back there to eat. 4.25/5


Mr Ong

Conclusion

If you love to eat fish, this is the place for really fresh steamed fish at a really good price!  Good enough to travel all the way from the East to the West for.   The Teochew Muay dishes are competent but they will never be able to steal the limelight from the steamed fish.

Postscript

I guess the burning question on everyone's mind is how this Ikan Lampam compares with the real Sultan fish right?  To answer this question, my friend who runs the Pine Valley Restaurant at Laguna National Golf and Country Club specially arranged a Sultan fish for us to try.


Ikan Jelawat (Sultan Fish) 1.2kg

Both the Lampam and Jelawat belong to the Barb family, so the fish look similar especially the head.  The Lampam is more stout like a VW Beetle whereas the Sultan fish is sleek like a Porsche. The flesh of both fish are quite similar.  Like the Lampam, the flesh of the Sultan fish is very fine with a delicate and subtly sweet flavour accompanied by a nice layer of fat under the skin. Both fishes also had lots of fine bones on the back which make it a bit more difficult to eat.  So I guess the owner at Zai Shun was quite justified in calling the Ikan Lampam a type of Sultan fish, at least in terms of their similarity in taste.  I can't really say that the Sultan fish was superior in taste to the Lampam, but I had only tasted them once so I am far from an expert.  But from my limited experience, I would be very happy paying for the Ikan Lampam at Zai Shun given its similarity in taste but significantly lower price.

In case you are really interested to get hold of a Sultan Fish, please give Pine Valley a call at 6248 1755. They would be very happy to arrange it for you.

Zai Shun Curry Fish Head
Blk 253, Jurong East St 24,
#01-205, S600253
65608594
7am to 3pm
Closed Wed

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