What I love most about Singapore is the availability of authentic Asian flavors from all over. Last Sunday, we meet up with our favorite foodies along with Greg and Viv at this nondescript eatery in Chinatown that serves Teochew cuisine called Ah Hoi.
Ah Hoi has been around for more than three decades and is currently being managed by the second generation of family owners. For 30 years, Ah Hoi’s has been serving its Cold Crabs — boiled, sweet crabs that are chilled then dipped in a clear plum sauce. This dish is light but packed with the natural flavors of fresh crab and is mouthwatering even on its own!
For starters, Greg ordered a plate of Pork Belly served in bite size portions set in cubes of gelatin and stock.
A very interesting blend of textures and crunchiness of the pork meat! I’ve discovered that Teochew cuisine somewhat reminds me of the food I had in this hole-in-the-wall Hunan restaurant in the Rockwell area in Manila. Unlike the typical deep-fried, sesame oil-based Chinese fare that is most common, Teochew cuisine is healthier with its mostly braised, boiled and steamed food and uses more seafood and vegetables.
After hearing so much about it, we finally got a taste of Ah Hoi’s Prawn Paste Balls and the only-one-per-person Money Bags — fried dumplings wrapped in fine dimsum wrappers stuffed with minced vegetables and chicken (I think). Amazingly, the dish was not greasy and the wrappers were firm and crispy.
The dish I enjoyed most that night was the Braised Duck — soft duck meat served with a light, sweet and fragrant soy-based sauce. I enjoyed this together with the Boiled Cabbage With Scallops — a plate of very soggy cabbage in a delicately flavored sauce served with boiled scallops bursting with home-cooked goodness.
Whether in its interiors or food presentation, there is nothing frou-frou about Ah Hoi Everything is straight-up delicious flavors and dishes that are comfortable and hearty.
Through the decades, it’s probably this dedication to good food that has kept its committed patrons happy and coming back for more.
Cherie Altea Bitanga finds herself constantly making food, talking about food and around people who know food. Her daily adventures go beyond her own kitchen in Singapore, spanning from the nondescript holes-in-the-wall to sumptuous dining adventures. She believes in the art of slow food and scours places in hopes of bringing home unique spices, salts and oils. She is also the occasional artist and food writer who learned how to cook early in life by inheriting culinary family traditions from her motherland: the Philippines.
For over a decade, this blogger’s career as an ESL instructor provided a multicultural atmosphere working with diplomats, celebrities, nuns, priests, politicians as well as high school and college students from all over the world. When she grows up, she hopes to cook for a living to celebrate her family’s culinary legacy.
