Monday, December 22, 2008

LDM Charcoal BBQ Restaurant, Geylang

A cold platter of spicy strips of tofu with skewers grilling away in the background

The name here may sound rather industrial, but it is an abbreviation of its pinyin name, Liu Da Ma Wu Yan Yang Rou Chuan. Located across from Lorong 15 at 260 Geylang Road (6747-4744), this was basically a Chinese skewer shop, but with charcoal grills in the center of the metal tables, thus providing a DIY option with a full complement of spice powders at one's disposal.

It took me a while to figure out at first: I either overcooked them or made them too salty (I sure am thirsty right now), and I kept fumbling with those long flat metal skewers. I eventually got the hang of it and still ate the meat with ease, but next time I think I'll have them cook them for me.

As much as I like Xiao Ping's skewered meat, I want to give this place another go, especially given the sheer selection of items available here, including cold platters like these spicy strips of tofu in the foreground of the photo. There isn't any shortage of skewer shops in the area though - in fact, I originally thought that this was the one mentioned in a comment at this post until I noticed another shop down the road afterwards that was more likely it. A shootout of Geylang's skewer shops is definitely in order soon.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

YES! A shootout is definitely in order. I was about to try this, but thanks for trying this in advance for me. Haha. I think it's the "grubby joint" that mislead you. The place I'm referring to is somewhat like a coffeeshop, it had two shops in one, order from the mainland staff, not the local ones who tout frog porridge. Walk down the road to the next shop, just beside Mongkok Dimsum.

This cold platter dish that you like is pretty uncommon now in Geylang.

There's a new shop in Lorong 13, just beside a pub. They have a good selection of side dishes, which you can mix and match in one plate. The kimchi (surprisingly) is pretty good, and I love the kelp strips.

What is really excellent and is a must try, is their signature dish, jelly-like flat noodles, kuan fen,a mildly spicy dish. Do feel free to add more vinegar or chilli to customize it.

Another place to find the cold tofu strips is Shandong cuisine, it's located at the coffeeshop where it used to be Tanjong Rhu Pau. They have a few cold sides beside a full menu of hot dishes, and even mantou like buns if you like.

They have dishes with "Zi Ran" sauce (either with meat or octopus), it is a fennel seed based chinese sauce.