When somebody questions me on my favourite dish, I’d go, “anything salted egg”. Admittedly, I’ve been searching around Singapore for the best salted egg dishes there are. Some of them I’ve tried that are worth noting (cooked in different styles as stated in parentheses):
- Ya Fu Mini Wok (chicken; creamy) at most Food Republic outlets,
- Shi Fu Ge (pork; dry); an islandwide tze char food delivery
- Jia Yuen Eating House (chicken; creamy) by Uncle Johnny Yeo
Naturally, since Uncle Johnny’s salted egg chicken serves up a generous amount of chicken and cream, it’s my favourite. However, today, I found a competitor. Introducing, a humble little stall in the corner of Mr Teh Tarik Eating House in Marsiling.
I arrived here, introduced by my devout Muslim buddy, Yusri, with two other friends from my unit section. The best salted egg dish he’s known, so he says.
The lady who served us couldn’t speak a word of English. She started speaking in Malay. Although yes, some might mistake me for a Malay, but she did the same to my clearly Chinese-looking friends. Anyway, Yusri did all the talking. I had ordered myself a good ol’ Salted Egg Chicken… with fried rice ($7.60)!? Damn, two of my favourite dishes combined.
To be truthful, I was quite skeptical of the introduction at first. Not trying to draw ire to anyone, but I’ve always had the thinking that Halal Chinese food just doesn’t suit my taste buds. How wrong I was. This little plate of goodness changed my view. #CMV
The chicken was coated and deep fried first to give the chicken cubes a crispy crunch. And then it’s drenched with the salted egg cream. Fried rice was served on the side (you can choose between white rice or fried rice). To customise it further, I included the option of a sunny side-up on top of the rice.
The cream bursts with flavour as it lands on my tastebuds. It had a hint of that good salted egg yolk bits; albeit not as much as I had hoped. The right amount of chili padi (bird’s eye chili) and curry leaves paired up well together, with the former giving the dish a little kick without the excessive spiciness. The fried rice had a certain wok hei taste to it, definitely not the kind you’d expect from a traditional tze char, but it tasted decently like normal Chinese fried rice.
My friends ordered the Buttermilk Chicken Rice. In my opinion, it edges out the salted egg chicken a little bit, because of the sweetness of the buttermilk. I will definitely come back to order the buttermilk version as well.
Overall, I feel like it might keep Uncle Johnny’s salted egg chicken at bay for awhile, given the customisation choices and comparable taste. Well, for all my Muslim readers, this place will definitely end your quest to search for a delicious salted egg dish.
Total damage: $5++ per person
