EATING OUTPOSH NOSH
Farm fresh and secret recipes
BY TAN DAWN WEI
Jan 27, 2002
VILLAGE WOK RESTAURANT
What: A new branch of the
popular no-frills restaurant
at Geylang (No 10, Lorong 3)
that serves authentic cuisine
from the Cantonese village of Xinhui.
Where: 301 Upper
Thomson Road, #01-112
Thomson Plaza. Tel:
459-9989 (opening hours:
11am to 9.30pm daily).
Look: The same no-frills,
unintimidating, functional
setting with plastic sheets on
table tops and plastic cutlery
sets. But it's clean,
comfortable and perfect for a
Sunday family dinner out.
Hits: Those familiar with
Village Wok's signature
dishes would be heartened to
know that they don't have to
travel to Geylang to try more
of the same goodness.
The Kongs, who run the
two restaurants, have
decided to keep the menu
small, sticking to its
specialty dishes, since diners
are always ordering the
usual.
One such example is the
famous steamed live pa-ting
(market price, but half a kilo
usually costs about $23),
which is reared on the
family's own fish farm up in
Kota Tinggi.
The flesh is nice and
smooth, but the best part is
the lovely sliver of fat
underneath.
The cold crabs (market
price) too, are not to be
missed. Yellow roe aplenty,
plus fresh, tasty meat
accompanied by a special
Zhejiang sauce, it's no
wonder the dish is always
sold out. So be sure to call
and reserve those coveted
crustaceans.
Indeed, the Kongs pride
themselves on their no-MSG,
no-artificial-flavour recipes
handed down from two
generations ago. In fact, so
secret are the recipes for the
sauces, they are all prepared
in a central kitchen
elsewhere.
Other dishes worth every
penny include the village
oyster noodles ($12 and $19),
which comes with plump
oysters and a thick, hearty
gravy that's to die for; and
the four seasons chicken
wings ($7, $10) topped with a
savoury sweet garlicy sauce.
For Chinese New Year, try
their yusheng ($23), or raw
fish salad, which uses a
fruit-based sauce instead of
the usual plum sauce over
salmon or parang. The result
is a refreshing mix without
the sticky, cloying effect.
In short: More of the same
humble, homecooked fare
that tastes so good and
priced so affordably, it's truly
a blessing for Upper
Thomson residents.