Any food lover worth his or her salt would have, at one time or another, dropped by Chinatown Food Street, to either enjoy alfresco-style communal dining with the family or to satisfy the food cravings and curiosities of friends from, well, out of town. After having undergone the trials and tribulations that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on, this beloved heritage food locale, has returned refreshed and revitalised, with six new dining concepts amongst a stable of 17 reopened dining spots to fire up your taste buds. Here’s what to look out for when it reopens on 1st December.
Six Degrees Of Preparation
If you really love the idea of cooking and sharing dishes with your loved ones, then you will be spoilt for choice with Chinatown Food Street’s six new steamboat and BBQ ala carte buffet concepts. It’s like having a best-of compilation of local and Asian fare, located in one place. Now, it’s just a matter of working your way through all six.
Start with a local flavour. Choose a Laksa soup base to cook your veges and meats in at Chinatown Laksa Steamboat. If you want it less rich, try its peppery pork stomach soup or herbal chicken soup. Prefer something non-soupy? Then Chinese BBQ’s sizzling meats and sides should be right up your alley.
But, if you really want it sizzling hot, then the Sichuan peppercorn and chilli pepper cuisine at Mala Steamboat should be spicy enough. Still can take even more heat? Then burn your way through Hongdae Korean BBQ’s signature marinated meats such as spicy bulgogi chicken and black pepper beef short rib – we recommend adding a bowl of cheese as a dip.
Or, keep cool and choose from the soya milk, sukiyaki or miso soup bases at Nabemono Shabu Shabu (helmed by famed fine-dining chef Daniel Lim) for your Japanese oden, udon, green produce, quality sliced meats and dipping sauces. And, should you or your fellow diners can’t settle, try both steamboat and BBQ fare at S88 Mookata Steamboat with its selection of pork, scallops and prawns, cooked either with lard or in soup.
Buffed-up Buffets
These buffets still don’t sound good enough for your taste? Maybe the prices will entice: Dining costs $19.90 to $23.90 per adult and $12.90 per child aged 3 to 12 years, with a minimum of two diners for each visit.
Our suggestion is to head down pronto: From 1st to 6th December 2020, these new dining concepts will be offering timed promotions. For instance, the first 30 customers at each of these dining spots during dinner times will get to enjoy a $9.90 deal. But, if you happen to be diner no. 31, don’t worry. During this 6-day opening period, each dining concept will serve a free-flow of its exclusive dishes. Amongst the host of all-you-cant-eat delectables are Garlic Fried Rice with Braised Pork Belly (above), Korean Tteokbokki, Kimchi Pancake, Guo Tie (Fried Dumpling), and more.
Plus, dine with three others, and you can actually order from two different dining concepts at the same time, so you get to have more flexibility to indulge in more variety, which means more deliciousness to be had with your favourite people!
More Food, More Promos
If these new buffet offerings are too much for you to wolf down at one sitting, there are still 11 stalls you can head to on the street to fulfil your Chinatown gastro experience.
For drinks, take on Chinatown Food Street Hot/Cold Beverage stall’s Drink Towers – there’s water chestnut, sour plum and Luo Han Guo ones to choose from. Need something more boozy? Then, it’s the Beer Shop’s Beer Towers for you.
Meatheads can chomp on flesh-filled fare from Ministry of Crab, Sultan of Satay, Chong Pang Huat Chicken Wings and Tiong Bahru Meng Kee Roast Duck and Boon Tat BBQ Seafood (it serves serves dishes such as Sambal Lala and Sambal Squid). For everyone else, there’s Katong Keah Kee Fried Oysters, Chinatown Food Street Seafood Hokkien Mee, Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee (above) and the self-explanatory Ngor Hiang stall.
Bonus: Between December 2020 and January 2021, Chinatown Food Street will be holding its “Always 99” themed promotion, where each of these reopened stalls will be offering ala carte items at $0.99, $1.99, $9.90 or similar price points. For a full list of what’s on offer, visit chinatownfoodstreet.sg.
Where to go: Chinatown Food Street, Smith Street, 068938
chinatownfoodstreet.sg; facebook.com/ChinatownFoodStreet; instagram.com/chinatownfoodstreet
Photos: Courtesy of Chinatown Food Street
