Makansutra: Support hawkers with takeout this month
Savour affordable and comforting hawker fare during circuit breaker period
I wonder how many of us will actually cook all month and eat at home during this circuit breaker period, which has been extended till June 1.
No doubt many of us will rely on food delivery companies, which carry only the eateries that signed up with them.
However, you can still eat well with takeout.
Once you are done staring at the ceiling at home or want to take a break from slaving over the stove, head to the hawkers for affordable and comforting fare - not just the savvy online ones, but also the humble, under-the-radar stalls - while wearing your mask and practising safe distancing of course.
Here is my small list of hawker stalls and eateries where you can conveniently pick up your food.
Sin Huat Eating House,
659/661 Lorong 35 Geylang
Ah, the gems in this coffee shop.
Sean Kee Duck Rice (morning till 5pm daily) offers hearty brown-sauced rice with soft Shandong peanuts, braised tofu and soft silky slices of braised duck.
Meanwhile, Kin Turtle Soup (9am to 4pm daily, closed on Sundays), which serves farmed terrapins, will give you that much-needed boost on a dull and lethargic day.
It is hardly herbal and has a shot of brandy in the mix.
And then there is chef Danny Lee, who owns the kopitiam. He runs Sin Huat Seafood and once dazzled the late US celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain with his crab bee hoon.
He also operates Sin Huat Fish Head Curry (10am to 3pm daily), an economy rice stall where the items are very exclusive and naturally pricier.
His signatures are the whole steamed kicap sambal squid, otah, fried and curry chicken, with humble sides like cabbage and eggs.
Kazan Japanese Cuisine,
#02-01, Chinatown Complex Food Centre, noon to 8pm (till 6pm on Sunday), closed on Saturdays
There are 24 types of Japanese-inspired bento sets that will steal at least five minutes of your circuit breaker time if you study the picture menu.
The Katsuo Boshi Chicken Set comes with soft gummy pearl grains studded with black sesame seeds. The fried chicken is tossed in a light, tangy and immensely umami sauce and comes with soup and a salad.
Li Ji Cooked Food, #02-139,
Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 11.30am to 2pm, closed on Saturdays
The stall has few items and looks uninspiring, yet there is a queue for it because they make those few items very well. The signature topping is the hum ha yoke (steamed salty prawn pork).
This is good enough over rice, but do not miss out on the steamed egg studded with century eggs, eggplant yong tau foo in black bean sauce and simple braised black mushrooms.
Makansutra Gluttons Bay,
8 Raffles Avenue, 5pm to 9.30pm daily (this month only)
The hawkers there are seeing a 90 per cent drop in business, like many others in the town area, but they have chosen to remain open and offer takeout sets.
Some are combination family sets from a few stalls such as Do Rae Mee and Huat Huat BBQ Chicken Wing & Carrot Cake, like a chai po (pickled radish) char kway teow and smokey barbecue chicken wings with juicy Korean oyster omelette.
Free delivery is provided. Call 8615-8420 to order.
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