Le Cheng – Authentic Hainanese Flavour [MEDIA INVITE]

Le Cheng Hainanese Chicken Rice is a concept by Ah Seng, a Hainanese and the boss / founder of Gu Zao Ren, renowned for its homely Hainanese and Taiwanese cuisine. Le Cheng is named after a town in Hainan where Ah Seng grew up. The opening of Le Cheng signifies a celebration of 25-years family tradition and the years of Ah Seng’s dedication to mastering Hainanese dishes.

Le Cheng Hainanese Chicken

Gu Zao Ren

One of the most renowned Hainanese dishes, also known as the Singapore National dish is Chicken Rice. Le Cheng Kampong Chicken [$21.80 half / $41.80 whole]. Le Cheng uses Kampong Chicken as it delivers more flavours. We had half portion because we wanted to try the breast and thigh meat.

Le Cheng Kampong Chicken - Half

The thigh meat is juicy and succulent. The meat is packed with flavour and the chicken skin is also bouncy. While Kampong chicken breast meat is usually dry and though, Le Cheng cooked their chicken spot on. It is juicy and bursting with flavour.

Le Cheng Kampong Chicken - Half

For the chicken rice [$1], it is aromatic and infused with chicken broth. Each grain of rice is plump and not mushy. LD also approve their thick and rich chilli sauce plus the zesty ginger.

Chicken Rice with Chicken Breast

White Pepper Claypot Chicken Soup [$28 / $48], another Le Cheng Signature dish. Crafted with a secret blend of spices that includes ginger, black fungus, wolfberries and chicken oil. The broth is robust, creamy and followed by a mild pepper kick. Yes, LD and I find the pepper is mild, it can be better if it increases by 30%. The chicken has a pleasant chewiness, yet very tasty.

White Pepper Claypot Chicken Soup

To enjoy the flavour of the White Pepper Claypot Chicken Soup, you can order some Add Ons [$4 each]. We decided on White Tofu, Chinese Cabbage and Enoki Mushrooms. Other options available are Vermicelli, Bee Hoon, Thick Bee Hoon, Lettuce, Spinach, Seaweed and Yam.

White Tofu, Chinese Cabbage and Enoki Mushrooms

Accompanying our chicken rice meal are some popular dishes in Gu Zao Ren. Yes, Le Cheng is located beside Gu Zao Ren and they share the same kitchen. Therefore, you can still order dishes from Gu Zao Ren.

Le Cheng Menu 1

Le Cheng Menu 2

Gu Zao Ren Menu

Fried Fermented Pork [$14 / $16]. A dish that I always order when I go to Gu Zao Ren. Perfectly marinated, the exterior is crispy and the meat is so juicy, that just melts in your mouth.

Fried Fermented Pork

Fried Sotong with Ginger & Onions [$14 / $16]. A nicely executed zi char dish. The sotong is tender and bouncy, coated and infused with the sauce from the ginger and onion.

Fried Sotong with Ginger & Onions 

Green Dragon Vegetables with Mushroom [$12 /$14]. Fresh, tasty and we can taste the natural flavour of the green dragon vegetables. Fried Bean Sprout with Salted Fish [$10 / $12]. LD & I love the crunchy texture of the bean spouts and we can taste the salted fish in the background. However, we wish there is more salted fish bits.

Green Dragon Vegetables with Mushroom 

Fried Bean Sprout with Salted Fish

The décor of Le Cheng is kept to the minimum. The place is clean, bright and air-conditioned. The focus here is solely on the food.

Part of the Dining Area

Overall, LD and I like the Le Cheng chicken rice. It is well-executed, tasty and very comforting. The White Pepper Claypot Chicken Soup is good communal and comforting hotpot dish that bring people together. While the other zi char dishes are good, the Fried Fermented Pork stands out among the rest. A must-order dish here. Do visit Le Cheng for their Kampong Chicken Rice and their homely dishes. Cheers!!

Jumbo Iced Lemon Tea - Super SHIOK!!

Thank you very much Protegie Consultancy and Le Cheng team for the invitation.

Food & Drink: 7.5/10

Value: 8/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 6.5/10

Budget per Person: $11 - $25

Le Cheng

389 Changi Road

Singapore 419838

T: +65 9022 7789

W: https://lechenghainanesechickenrice.oddle.me/en_SG/

F: https://www.facebook.com/lechenghainanesechickenrice/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lechengsg/

OH:

Mon – Fri: 10.00 – Midnight

Sat & Sun: 09.00 – Midnight

Lau Ah Tee BKT – Old Style Teochew Bak Kut Teh

Prime Rib Bak Kut Teh @ Lau Ah Tee BKT

LD and I chance upon Lau Ah Tee Bak Kut Teh (“Ah Tee”) last year when we were looking for Boon Tong Kee at Whampoa. We noticed the shop is filled with diners eating Bak Kut Teh (‘BKT’) and steamed fish, so we remind ourselves to give it a try.

Lau Ah Tee Bak Kut Teh

During lunchtime, this place is usually packed. However, not too worried, as they occupied a sizeable eating house, the waiting time will be minimum. Apparently, Lau Ah Tee BKT has been operating for more than 30 years and most of their customers are regulars.

The Menu

The menu is simple with two-third of it is filled with a different type of fishes and seafood on offer. Withstanding that, I think you should just take a quick peep at the fridge in the middle to see the catch of the day.

Price List

The Premium Rib ($6 each). Surprisingly, for these premium ribs, you can order just one piece instead of the usual two pieces. The soup is clear, robust, peppery, plus well infused with the essence of the pork and a touch of sweetness from the garlic. The taste that LD and I like.

Prime Rib Bak Kut Teh

The meat from the prime ribs is succulent, juicy with a good bite to it. The first time I tried it, I find the meat a bit hard. On the second visit, we asked for the fatty prime ribs and the meat is just perfect. We also notice that the first batch of the broth that comes with the BKT is usually sweeter. The top-up broth is a bit more peppery.

Prime Rib Bak Kut Teh - The Fatty Version

A must order companion for our BKT is the fried youtiao ($2). The version here has a super crispy texture. Though it is good to bite on its own, the trade-off is that the youtiao does not soak up the broth as well as the softer, pillowy you tiao.

Fried Youtiao

Liver and kidney mixed ($5). It is cooked to perfection. The kidney is plump and juicy, while the liver is pinkish, velvety and melts in your mouth. One of the best BKT liver around.

Pig Liver

Pig Kidney

During our first visit, we notice people around us is ordering the braised Tofu Knots ($5), not in the menu. We decided to give it a try. It is just delicious, the tofu knots are soft, moist and absorbs the solid braising liquid. Usually, some the knots part can be undercooked or hard, however, you will not have that issue here. It is cooked thoroughly.

Braised Tofu Knot 

Tang oh vegetable ($3) is highly recommended for the vegs here or should I say the only soup vegetables on offer. It is crunchy and minty. There is a slight bitterness in the vegetables to balance any fattiness on the meat.

Tang Oh

Big intestines ($5). It is braised over a long period, resulting in a soft and fatty intestine. I feel it is not clean properly, as I can taste a slight foul and smelly flavour at the background.

Big Intestines

On another visit, there were three of us. So, we ordered their steam prawns and steam fish. The chilled prawn ($-Market Price) is sweet, crunchy and fresh.

Prawns - Small

Meanwhile, the steamed Red Snapper ($28 for this piece / Market Price) is done Teochew style. The fillet portion is good for 3 pax and you can see it comes from a big fish. The freshness of the fish just shines, with its flaky and bouncy flesh. Both LD and I were drinking the jus from the fish like a soup broth. Even my MIL that hardly eats steam fish nowadays had a few bites.

Steam Red Snapper

The service here is efficient, friendly, with a warm neighbourhood touch. We realise that most of the diners are regulars and it can span over three generations. The price is very reasonable, compare to those famous BKT with branches.

Overall, I am glad we found this place. The BKT and steamed seafood are just superb. It is an old school delight and I hope it remains open till the next generations. Cheers!!

Note: If you are interested in the Singapore History of Bak Kut Teh and how Mr Sim Choon Lian started Lau Ah Tee BKT, read it at IeatIshootIpost blog or Miss Tham Chiak.

Food & Drinks: 8.5/10

Value: 8.75/10

Service: 6.5/10

Ambiance: Eating House / Coffee Shop

Budget per Person: $11 - $25

Lau Ah Tee Bak Kut Teh Eating House

Blk 34 Whampoa West

#01-67 Singapore 330034

(Near Boon Keng MRT Station Exit B)

T: +65 9755 5250

F: https://www.facebook.com/lauahteebakkutteh/

OH:

Wed, 07.00 – 15.00

Thu – Tue, 07.00 – 21.00

Sembawang Claypot Rice – Traditional Taste

Claypot Rice (Medium)

A quick search for the best Traditional Claypot Rice in Singapore, Sembawang Traditional Claypot Rice (‘STCR’) will usually come out in the top three. Located in the “hidden” food street of Sembawang, this restaurant has perfected their original recipes from the 1980s and become a household name in traditional claypot chicken rice in Singapore.  

Sembawang Traditional Claypot Rice

Claypot Rice ($8.80 for S, $13.80 for M, $19.80 for L). There was seven of us, so we initially ordered the large version. It took them about 20 minutes to be served. Nice colourful presentation. The chicken looks well marinated, good portion and chunks of salted fish (the pale colour one).

Claypot Rice (Large)

For those uninitiated with STCR, don’t be surprised if the service staff just serve the claypot rice and leave it to the diners to mix it on their own. If you never do before, here is how Chubby Botak Koala did the mixing. 

1. Take a photo first (you can skip this part) 
2. Take out all the toppings, but gently set aside those precious chunks of salted fish.
3. Generously squeeze a few rounds of their premium dark soy sauce. 
4. Evenly spread the chunks of salted fish and start scraping and folding the rice form outer part to inner part. Remember to use the big metal spoon, not the plastic ones. 
5. Once the brown colour of the sauce evenly coated all the rice, tossed back the rest of the toppings and to one more stirring. 
6. Your claypot rice ready to be eaten. (Take a photo again)

While I was stirring the rice, I can smell the smoky aroma. The chicken is juicy and succulent even for the breast meat, while the rice is al-dente, fragrant and infused with the pungent flavours of salted fish. The Chinese sausage introduced a sweet and chewy texture to the rice, while the bitterness from the vegetable balance the sweetness of the dark soy sauce.

Claypot Rice after Mixing

After the first round of serving, you can start scraping the burnt rice. This crispy section secret behind a delicious traditional claypot rice. This also shows the rice is cooked from scratch. The crispy texture and the slightly burn aroma, mixed with sweet soy sauce is just yummy. Of course, if you can spread a bit of the salted fish on it, it will be even better. We ordered another medium size of the claypot rice as the large one was not enough.

The Sauces

While we are waiting for the claypot rice above, we were served the rest of the dishes that we ordered first.

Jin Do You Tiao ($10.80). Fried you tiao filled with sotong paste. It is crispy, tasty and packs with generous fillings of sotong paste. It is tasty enough to eat on its own or dip with mayonnaise.

Jin Do You Tiao

Da Lu Mian ($9.80 for Large). STCR version of KL Hokkien Mee. The noodle is thick, bouncy and crunchy. The dark sauce is sweet and robust, nicely accompanied the “wok hei” filled dish. The pork lard topping is just so addictive.

Da Lu Mian

Sausage Omelette ($8.80). I decide to order this dish as lap cheong filling is not very common. The omelette is fluffy, not salty. The lap cheong fillings is generous, allowing it to be evenly spread in every part of the Omelette.

Sausage Omelette

Sesame Oil Chicken ($12.80). Served pipping hot, the ginger and spring onion cover most of the top part. The chicken is juicy, succulent and absorbs the fragrant and robust sauce very well. The chicken parts consist of breast and thigh, it will be better if they only use the dark cuts of the chicken, no chicken breast.

Sesame Oil Chicken

San Huang Spinach ($12.80) or known as three-egg spinach. The spinach is covered in silky smooth egg, sparked by the flavours of the broth, salted egg and century egg.

Service is efficient, but not the friendly type. As I mentioned before, you need to mix the claypot rice on your own. This is kind of a minus point for me as each person do it differently, the taste delivered will be inconsistent. The service staff should be the one mixing it for you. Décor is simple, fuss-free.

Overall, the claypot rice here is worth the trip to Sembawang area, even if you travel from Jurong. The rest of zhi char dishes is good, you will have enjoyed the food here. A gem in Sembawang. Cheers!!

Food: 7.5/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: 6/10

Ambiance: 6.5/10

Budget per Person: $11 - $25

Sembawang Traditional Claypot Rice

4 Jalan Tampang

Singapore 758948

T: +65 6757 7144

F: https://www.facebook.com/sembawangclaypotrice/

IG: @Sbwtraditionalclaypotrice

OH: Daily 11.00 – 22.00

Hong Chang – Delicious and Pocket Friendly

Claypot Frog Leg - Dried Chilli

Hong Chang Eating house is located at the corner of Braddell Road and Upper Serangoon Road. If you passed by this area between 7 PM to 9 PM it is likely you see this area buzzing and crowded. During the weekend, it is normally crowded until midnight.

Hong Chang Frog Porridge & BBQ Fish

Hong Chang focused on Frog Porridge and BBQ Fish. Almost every table have BBQ stingray accompanying the frog leg porridge. It is priced between $10 to $18, depending on size. The default way of cooking is Sambal. It is fragrant with a manageable level of spiciness (Spiciness Rating 6 of 10). Most important, the stingray is not fishy.

BBQ Sambal Stingray

For those who does not take or do not like spicy, there is garlic option. It is surprisingly awesome. As the stingray absent of fishiness, you can truly taste the natural flavour of the stingray. The sweetness of the garlic, together with the chopped onions and spring onion are enough to give flavour to this dish. I think this is the first time I really enjoy the natural flavour of the stingray. Yum Yum.

BBQ Garlic Stingray

Next are the claypot frog legs ($16 for 3 pc, $22 for 4 pc). It comes in 2 versions, the dry chilli version and the Ginger and Spring Onion. The frog legs are plump and juicy cooked in sweet and fragrant dark soya sauce. Comparing to the 2 famous shops in Geylang, I feel that the sauce is missing the OMPH flavour. It can be better if the gravy is thicker and more fragrant. Otherwise, it is already good.   

Claypot Frog Leg - Ginger and Spring Onion

Claypot Frog Leg - Ginger and Spring Onion - The Frog

For the dry chilli version, LD feels that the level of spiciness is manageable. She decided to put some chilli padi inside to give the spiciness level a boost until she is on fire.

Claypot Frog Leg - Dried Chilli

The Porridge ($2 for small, $3 for large), is smooth, silky and aromatic. Goes well when you blend it with the gravy from frog legs.

The Porridge

A must order here is their omelette. Cai Po Omelette ($5) or Prawn Omelette ($8). The smoky aroma from the egg is just so enticing, you can’t stop picking it up and put in in your mouth. The saltiness from the turnip complements the fluffy omelette, however, I prefer the plump and bouncy prawns in my omelette as it just tastes yummier.

Omelette

On a different occasion, we also tried their boil shell / gong-gong ($8/$10/$12/$15). It is fresh and it was easy to take out the flesh from the shell.

Menu P1

The service is friendly and efficient. Chillies, cutleries and sauce are self-service.  Although you can see queue most of the time, you won’t need to wait for long as the turnover is very fast. They have indoor and outdoor seating. Surprisingly, it is easier to find a seat inside.

Menu P2

Overall, Hong Chang is worth a visit if you are a fan of BBQ fish and frog leg porridge. The food here is delicious and it is pocket-friendly. Best of all, LD and I don’t need to travel all the way to Geylang if we got frog porridge cravings.

Food & Drinks: 7.75/10

Value: 8.5/10

Service: 7/10

Ambiance: 6/10

Budget per Person: $11 - $25

Hong Chang Frog Porridge and BBQ Fish

2 Braddell Road

Hong Chang Eating House

Singapore 359895

T: +65 9160 3125

OH:

Tue – Sun: 17.00 – 02.00

Closed on Monday