Food Picks: Elevated hawker fare by former restaurant and hotel chefs

Tantalisingly tender duck confit at Eddy’s

The pan-fried meats served at Western fusion hawker stall Eddy’s are so perfectly cooked that you can easily slice them using the provided disposable cutlery.

Stall owner and chef Eddy Wan, 42, prepares most of his dishes from scratch. His wife Serene Tan, 47, assists him at the stall.

Opened in the thick of the pandemic in October 2020, the stall at Hong Lim Market & Food Centre moved from its original 02-52 location to the current 02-13 unit in March 2022.

Chef Wan, who entered the food and beverage industry at age 20 and became a private chef at 25, is passionate about cooking and exacting in his standards, demanding much of himself right down to the plating.

He quit his job as head chef of a soba chain in August 2020 to strike out on his own as a hawker and live by his motto of “my kitchen, my rules”.

Even though the stall serves only the lunch crowd, he starts work at 5am and ends his work day at 9pm as the food preparation is time-consuming and laborious.

His signature dish, Duck Confit With Mashed Potato ($11), is certainly the star.

Instead of duck fat, which is traditionally used in the French dish, chef Wan uses olive oil for a healthier version.

Fresh duck legs are seasoned overnight in salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf and olive oil. Five spice powder gives the dish an Asian twist. The duck legs are cooked sous vide for up to 16 hours.

Chef Wan pan-fries the duck legs to order and, as a finishing touch, uses a blowtorch to create a beautifully browned and crispy skin that encases the spice-infused and tender meat.

The duck leg is served with corn on the cob, housemade coleslaw and a generous scoop of herbed mashed potato. The savoury brown sauce is made in-house from stock that chef Wan prepares using his own bouquet garni – a bundle of herbs which include thyme and bay leaves.

He sprinkles shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) over his dishes for a tiny touch of heat, aroma and a spot of colour.

Another popular dish is the Chicken Chop With Laksa Spaghetti ($9). Chef Wan butterflies and scores the chicken chop for ease of dining. The meat is then marinated in a blend of Cajun seasoning, with heat from paprika, garlic and onion, and the earthy flavour of dried oregano.

The pan-fried chicken chop is laid atop a plate of laksa spaghetti. Chef Wan grinds dried chilli with galangal, lemongrass and other spices for his rempah (spice paste), to which he adds a generous amount of dried prawns and laksa leaves.

The spaghetti is cooked to order and finished with a smidgen of cooking cream for a smooth texture. No coconut milk is used, so the noodles can keep better for takeaway orders.

The spaghetti is cooked al dente and can be a tad chewy for those used to softer noodles.

Another dish worth trying is the Mala Shrimp Spaghetti ($10), which comes with fried peanuts, five prawns, brown beech mushrooms, broccoli and two cherry tomatoes.

The housemade mala sauce is not overly greasy. It packs heat and spice, perfumed with cumin and fennel, with just enough Sichuan peppercorns for a slight tingling numbness of the lips.

Also offering much value is the Grilled Salmon Rice Bowl ($11), which includes a sous vide egg, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and housemade hae bee hiam on a bed of Taiwanese short-grained rice.

The salmon is expertly cooked with a crispy skin and a flaky interior. Teriyaki sauce is drizzled over the rice, but the real hit of flavour comes from the crumbly, sharp and spicy hae bee hiam.

Where: Eddy’s, 02-13 Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, 531A Upper Cross Street
MRT: Chinatown
Open: Weekdays, 10.30am to 2pm; closed on weekends
Tel: 9235-7211

Springy housemade noodles at Yanan Ban Mian Noodle

This Telok Blangah stall – run by a pair of former hotel chefs – is popular for its ban mian, but the real gem is its off-menu Red Grouper Braised Brown Beehoon ($9.50) infused with smoky wok aromas.

Residents in the area may gripe that prices at Yanan Ban Mian Noodle are not cheap. But considering the quality and quantity of ingredients used, you get exceptional value for your money.

Stall owner John Yeo, 45, a former executive sous chef at The Westin Singapore who quit in 2021 to start his hawker stall, buys red grouper from the wet market daily.

Each order comes with seven thick slices of the fish that are briefly blanched in oil then braised with beehoon. The fish is meaty, but be careful as there are bones in some slices.

A shot of hua tiao wine in the braising sauce elevates the dish without overwhelming the natural sweet flavour of the fish.

The brown beehoon soaks in the flavours from the stock of pork bones, dried flatfish and large ikan bilis.

As the dish requires more time to cook, it is available only during off-peak hours, from 7 to 11am and 5.30 to 7pm.

Noodles at the stall are handmade by chef Yeo’s partner, Ms Na Yanan, using Prima flour.

The 47-year-old from Shenyang was a dumpling and noodle chef at the same hotel as chef Yeo.

She also prepares the Chive And Pork Dumplings ($5 for eight pieces) and the Celery And Onion Pork Dumplings ($5 for eight pieces), using fresh pork for the filling. You can order a combination of the two types of dumplings ($5 for eight pieces).

The duo also prepare their own condiments, such as fried shallots and fried ikan bilis.

The garlic chilli, made in-house, contains three types of ginger, as well as garlic and chilli, with lime juice and white vinegar for tang.

The Seafood Combo Noodle Superior Soup with you mian (handmade noodle, $5.80) is a flavourful meal.

The springy you mian is of such good quality that it does not turn mushy even if you are a slow eater.

Each bowl comes with shredded napa cabbage, three housemade pork balls and two fresh prawns, and is garnished with fried shallots and fried ikan bilis.

Each order includes two crispy golden pieces of battered fried Pacific dory and one fried dumpling.

Both the fish and batter are well-seasoned with garlic, ginger and salt.

Equally delightful is the Seafood Combo Premium Soya Sauce Toss Noodle with ban mian (handmade flat noodle, $5.80).

The dry noodles, tossed in dark soya sauce, get a boost from chef Yeo’s housemade hae bee hiam, which is more like a sambal on steroids – thanks to the heavy use of Sakura dried shrimp combined with a small amount of dried prawns.

Each bowl comes with one tablespoon of the flavour bomb. An additional 50 cents gives you two tablespoons, a fair charge given the high cost and labour put in – the Sakura shrimp are washed, strained and picked through to remove sand or grit. But that extra heaping of hae bee hiam may result in an overly salty bowl of noodles.

The dry noodles come with two pieces of that same crispy battered fish, one dumpling and a side bowl of soup.

Where: Yanan Ban Mian Noodle, 01-29 Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre, 79 Telok Blangah Drive
MRT: Telok Blangah
Open: Weekdays, 7am to 7pm; weekends and public holidays, 7am to 3pm