Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice

Claypot Rice

Located at stall #01-203 of the temporary Chinatown hawker center out on Outram Road, these guys are allegedly quite famous. What do they specialize in? Claypot rice, which is kinda like a cross between a paella and Pepper Lunch, but in a local way. It's basically rice with a few pieces of chicken, Chinese sausage, and salted fish placed in this claypot and put on a fire. Add some dark/sweet soy sauce and oil to taste, and mix it all up.

Unfortunately, I wasn't a huge fan. I could appreciate the smoky taste of the rice, but other than that, it was a bit tasteless unless I bit into a piece of sausage, which I found too sweet for my liking. There was some chicken in there too, but the hassle of gnawing on the bones and spitting them out was a turn off for me. And while I do like Chinese salted fish with rice, I grew tired of it by the time I reached the bottom of the bowl.

Actually, there was one part of this dish that I admittedly did enjoy a lot: the crispy burnt rice that got stuck on to the sides of the bowl, just like at Pepper Lunch. Be careful though; I actually scraped so hard to get those pieces off that I broke off one of the ceramic handles of the pot while holding it and ended up cutting my finger in the process. Boo hoo.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi ya

totally unrelated, but may I pls use your soup tulang pic?

Rose

bma said...

Thanks for asking. Yes, please go ahead.

Anonymous said...

Many Thanks!
Rose

bma said...

Yeah, in fact I think the Koreans have a dish that scrapes off the burnt crusty rice at the bottom of the bowl and makes it into a soup or something. At least, that's what I remember from a Korean restaurant a very long time ago. Does anyone know what that dish is called? (and are there any places in Singapore that offer it?)

Anonymous said...

You would be looking for "San Chae Dolsot" if I'm not wrong. This should be an off-menu dish which you could enquire at a friendly Korean place.

There is a Thai equivalent, do ask your colleagues next time you are in Bangkok.

Really Good Food said...

Hey Hungryboy,

Sounds like we are leading similar food-adventuring lives (PPS Club Singaporean living the Up in the Air lifestyle). In trying to write my own post on Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice I stumbled upon yours. Love it! Let me know if you're ever up for eating in NYC.

-ReallyGoodFood