That was unexpected. After walking around the basement of the newly renovated Temasek Tower tonight to see if there were anything interesting to eat, I was nearly ready to give up. But then I spotted a "Chicken Pot" sign in the distance with a chili pepper in the middle (8 Shenton Way #B1-21, 6220-8048). Hmm...what was this? Closer inspection revealed some kind of a spicy chicken restaurant from Shanghai that had allegedly attained all sorts of praise over the past few years. OK - I figured that it was worth a try.
Now, normally the words "spicy hot pot" conjure up images of a bright red Sichuan broth swirling around in a big metal pot. But this was nothing of the sort. What came out instead was a burner-supported claypot containing what appeared to be meat cooked in a dark soy sauce. Uh oh - for a guy that doesn't really get too excited about food stewed in soy sauce, that didn't look too encouraging.
But I didn't mind the taste as much as I thought I would. The soy sauce wasn't as heavy as it looked, and as long as one specified that he wanted the spiciest version possible, then it actually got a bit more interesting. Finding cuts of daikon and cloves of garlic inside the pot were welcome surprises, and the salty/spicy mixture ended up making a great accompaniment to a couple glasses of cold beer. Once the meat was finished, they came by with a clear broth and poured it into the pot to make a soup out of the leftover spices. A quick walk on over to the refrigerator provided the opportunity to pick out some veggies for dunking.
Despite all of this, I won't make any huge effort to come back, in part due to my aversion to soy-sauce-stewed food. But if this place is really as big as it is in China, then I'm glad I tried it. Note: if you don't like gnawing on bones, I'd suggest skipping the namesake chicken version and going straight for the beef, even if the latter was a bit dry and tough.
3 comments:
hello, great blog! i am inspired to go forth & devour!
Hello Hungry Boy,
I too am a Californian (San Jose) who discovered the best kept secret in the world (Singapore) about 5 years ago. Haven't been back home since.
I was planning a blog post on food in Singapore. Not one of my normal topics as you will see if you visit but in an effort to "lighten up". I was doing a Google image search for some of my personal favorites and noticed that several pics were from the same place. Here!
So I read thru your profile and a few of your posts and like this alot. I agree with another commenter who said you should be getting more attention and commments than you are. Perhaps I can help.
Most of my readers are US, Europe but when I post anything with Singapore in the title I get lots of local visits. I hope you don't mind me using a few of your pics and linking to your blog. I may post this as early as today.
In the meantime, if your interested in a couple of recommendations, I find the Yong Tau Foo at Bras Basah Complex the very best place for Laksa. They have a good selection of ingredients and the sauce is perfect. The Biryani at the same coffee shop is also very good. The place is open 24/7 which is nice.
I know several other places, including the best place for mutton soup but will post those. Great to see a fellow California Ang Mo enjoying Sing.
BTW, I live in Tiong Bahru.
hello!
I think you didn't really try the the shrimp or beef pot.
They are splendid. nothing like what i have tasted in Singapore.
Thumbs up!
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