Sour Power

Among the five main tastes or flavours (sour, sweet, bitter, hot/spicy, salty), my favourite is SOUR. The order in which I listed them is also the order in which the Mandarin language uses (酸甜苦辣). Salty is left out presumably because it is the most common flavour. In Singapore, sour is not a main flavour in our cuisine (usually complimentary). I guess it has to do with where our ancestors came from.

A friend of mine used to comment that the tastes of China can be described as "南咸北甜、东酸西辣" or "Salty South, Sweet North, Sour East, Spicy West". This is a generic statement drawn from the dishes such as "sour and spicy soup" (Shanghai - East), "ma la hotpot" (Chongqing - West) and so on. There is some truth in it I supposed. Hence, with most of our ancestors coming from the south, we have a lot more dishes that are salty/savoury. Yet, I believe "sour" has played an important role albeit a rather stealth one in our cuisine.

Sour, which is acidic, has the capability of removing oil. Hence, a lot of dishwashing detergents have lemon or lime. This also aids digestion and hence creates a bigger appetite. Sour also has the ability to excites and wakes up the taste buds and stomach. Naturally, we see sour being deployed in appetizers to stimulate the appetites and get the whole body ready for a good meal coming. Western salads, which are either eaten in the beginning or as a compliment to the main course, also utilizes sour. No matter whether you go for 50% oil - 50% sour or 1-part oil to 2-parts sour formula, the sour taste (lemon, vinaigrette etc) brings out the freshness of the salad. As a compliment to the main course, it will also continuously excite the palate so that the main course is "welcomed" by the stomach all the way to the end.

French cuisine usually deploys sour in the form of a sorbet in between the hors d'oeuvre and entree. This is to cleanse the palate usually from the seafood so that the tongue is ready for the meat entree. Sour is also used widely with seafood to remove the "fishy" taste.

Coming back to Singapore, this explains one of the reasons why I liked the bak chor noodles at Bras Basah Complex. They were generous with the Zhejiang vinegar (they also had a bottle with the other condiments like the chili, garlic and soy sauce for you to add more). The vinegar played an important part in making an otherwise rather heavy (jer-lat) bowl of noodles (due to the lard and pork) into something that you'll enjoy down to the last strand.

It also explains why I liked the Vietnamese Banh Beo compared to our own chwee kueh which can get too salty. This is why the little lime that is given with your fried Hokkien prawn mee, fried beef hor-fun, bbq chicken wings, mee rebus, mee siam etc plays such a vital role (I get rather irritated when the hawkers get stingy and give a miserably half lime).

I believe the lime can be extended to other hawker fare. Eg., chai tau kueh. I love the black chai tau kueh at Bedok interchange hawker centre (松柏) but when I eat a big plate myself, the meal doesn't end on a high note because it gets too heavy. Maybe I should try it with lime next time... :)  I'm very appreciative when Tong Kee Chicken Rice (Blk 3A #01-25, Commonwealth Drive, Tanglin Halt Hawker Centre) gives lime with their roast chicken rice. More should do the same instead of just having it in their chili sauce. Then we can "adjust" to our preferences (say more sour less spicy).

Anyway, the next time you tuck into your favourite hawker fare, look out for the little bit of sour. You may have missed it in the past, but if it is missing, you'll know that your food is not quite as enjoyable.
  

Bak Chor Mee (pork noodles)

Added a new stall to my "like" list of Bak Chor Mee: Parklane Noodle House at Bras Basah Complex food court.

What do I like about it? Very good soup that is a result of cooking with pork bones and pork. Typically, popular stalls will have better soup since the larger quantities call for more meat to be cooked. If you want to start a stall selling Bak Chor Mee, you have to "invest" in your soup. Noodle wise, it's very Teochew style with black vinegar which I like. They also allow you to add more vinegar and/or whole garlic yourself (both I love).

Quite a bit of variety on the menu too. Will definitely return to try. Yumz...

Bak Chor Noodles

Some hungry (I presume... haha) folks have been asking me "why no new posts"... well, rather than excuses, I thought I'll give what the "customer" wants yah? (^_^)


Following the post on the disappointing cod fish, here's the stuff me frens and I ate at Nam's noodle. Famous for their abalone bak chor noodle. I felt that the noodle was a little...well,... little in portion. It is nice and springy and for those who like the vinegar taste in Teochew styled noodles, this does not disappoint. Personally, I like sourish stuff so the sauce in the noodle was quite tasty. The other surprise was a small piece of GREEN APPLE in the soup. It doesn't look like they cooked the soup with the apple. It was put in upon serving. Perhaps it helps to kill the pork taste, perhaps it's just to decorate or both, I don't know. But it's not something I'd be too bothered with. Overall, I felt that the noodles were a bit over-hyped. Some might feel more "dignified" eating abalone with their noodles but really it's no big deal. The other dishes? Just see the pictures above lah...



After the episode at Nam's, my wifey and I had to go back to Tai Hwa noodles (previously in Marina Food Court). This stall has tradition. Got website some more (with Jap description)... www.taihwa.com.sg but it doesn't serve much purpose except giving you the address if you forget lah. The noodle is not as springy, but the pork is generous. Bak-chor (minced pork), sliced pork, pork ball, liver and the all important crispy dried fish (not sure what it's called in English). Business is very good and therefore the soup is very tasty (having cooked the large quantities of meat). This tip can apply to Prawn noodles and Bak-kut-teh as well. When the stall is popular, the soup will be cooked with large quantities of meat or prawns thereby making it very flavourful and tasty. If you don't know whether a stall is good or not, just check out the queues...

Anyway, the conclusion is, I'll rather go without the abalone and go for Tai Hwa's noodle. PLUS, if you go, do order at least $5 version so that you can have the dumplings in your noodles as well. They contain the dried fish as well, making it very sedap... and the skin is smooth... We usually have the noodles dry (with chilli... shiok) and an extra $5 bowl of soup with dumplings... yummy!