An American tourist was hosting his family and friends in Singapore Newton Hawker Center, eventually found he need to pay up a sum of SGD$491 in total for the overcharged food. With just a plate of Tiger Prawns in eight, he was being charged SGD$239, which cost $30 for each in average.

The story began when he was with his family and friends looking for delicious foods in Newton Hawker Center. A man from one of the stalls helped them to locate an unoccupied table, later brought them a menu. The American ordered BBQ seafood from a stall named “Tanglin Best BBQ Seafood”.

Seafood prices are being charged in a hundred-gram basis as stated in the price list differently. He ordered 8 Tiger Prawns, 4 crabs with others. In the middle of the meal, the stall-waiter served up a plate of BBQ Stingray and walked away quickly. He got up in fast paces to reject the dish, as he did not order that. After the meal, they were told to pay a sum of $491 in total for the BBQ foods they have taken.

Afraid they were being charged for unordered food, they asked for an itemized bill from the stallholder. A few minutes later, the bill came with details that the 8 Tiger Prawns and 4 crabs cost $239 and $169 respectively. They exclaimed that those prices were as similar as restaurants in a five-star hotel, it was merely too expensive in such a stall within hawker center.

Those forthright comments did not save them from the expensive bill. Instead, 3 other men arrived with the stallholder for their payment. At last, the American paid up with a $500 note, without the $9 change from the stall in reminiscence. With the help of his friend who has stayed in Singapore for 19 years, their unpleasant dining experience in Newton Hawker Center has turned into a complaint with the Singapore Tourism Board.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) is the authority for maintaining hawker centers in Singapore. There should be no touting of customers and hidden pricing errant within. Call NEA at 1800-2255632 for any unreasonable treatment while enjoying your food, especially in Newton Hawker Center, a place where it is recommended as a delicacy heaven for foreigners.

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The spicy Laksa or Curry Laksa, popular in Singapore and Malaysia can be a great alternative to curry! And in fact, this traditional dish found from the early traditional Chinese or Baba-Nyonya of very early times in Singapore and Malaysia has transformed to various kind of Laksa flavors or versions, for example Penang or Assam Laska.

Found almost in all Singapore hawker centers and some restaurants, Laksa has always been a popular dish with styles. It serves with gravies cooked by shrimps, coconut milk and other spicy ingredients with any of your favorite style of noodles/mee, vermicelli etc. for your fullness.

While different chefs or cooks have their various styles of Laksa cooking or secret recipes, normally you will find extra ingredients below as a basis to satiate customers’ tastes and fills:

• Sambal chili paste – Add in optionally for hot and spicy taste.
• Prawns – Usually middle or small prawns.
• Cockles – Ahhh! I love these although some customers might not dare to take it for health and hygiene reasons. But for me, without those no Laksa will taste good.
• Tofu puffs – Something that looks like dried bean curds.
• Fishcake slices – One of the traditional ingredients for Laksa serving.
• Bean sprouts – Usually added.
• Scallion – For more fragrant taste.

Other additional meats and vegetables may be added from different cooking styles and recipes of vendors. I have seen westerners fell in love with it on food recommendation program. It could be for global gourmets.

Some additional versions of Laksa found:

• Johor Laksa
• Ipoh Laksa
• Kuala Kangsar Laksa
• Perlis Laksa
• Kelantanese Laksa
• Laksam

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One of mine and everyone’s favorite chicken recipes in Singapore is Hainanese style boiled Chicken Rice. If you like chicken food or dishes, you will like this local Chinese food, originated from Hainan, an island of southern China in the South China Sea. Since the migration of Chinese from China to Singapore, Hainanese from that island brought their recipes here, and slowly transformed this chicken dish into the style of what Singaporean loves to eat today. As like when you think of Thailand, you think of Tom Yam Soup.

If you think this is just another easy chicken recipe that everyone knows to cook, you are wrong. Because this style of cooking chicken has been greatly commercialized and became one of the top Singapore dishes recommended by various food news, gourmets, or even celebrities.

It should be greatly different from the original, but that is why it is so special and localized. Rest assured you could find many places that serve this dish, which does not require you to pay more than SGD$3-$4 currently. You can find this cooked chicken & rice selling within every town in a popular state locally.

Of course, NOT every places that sells Hainanese Chicken Rice have good recipe or cooking skills that could let you indulge into the reminiscence of their stalls or restaurants whenever the “chicken” urge get arisen. My favorite places for this dish tasted over the past don’t even lie to expensive restaurants, hence, don’t let the price fool you. Just a small Chicken Rice stall within a hawker center or local coffee-shop could let you never stop queuing up and patronize frequently like an addict, if they are really that good.

The food preparation for this boiled Hainanese style Chicken Rice is widely known to use only fresh healthy chicken in local markets or wholesales from local slaughtering houses, and not frozen chickens. With almost every part of the hen(s) used to cooked up its rice, chicken soup, chicken sauce, or gravy etc. In addition, never forget the chilli sauce, which is typically made by fresh red chillies, young gingers with some vinegar, salt, sugar and so on.

All the chicken tastes in a whole start from the rice itself, whether you like spicy chillies or not. There are even smooth smashed gingers and quality sweet soy sauce for your option. To boil the whole chiken, according to one of my friends’ secret recipe, is to boil them slowing on a stove, and transferring the chicken to a container later on, that consist of cold water and ice cubes once they are nicely cooked. The reason to do this is to preserved the freshness and tenderness of the chicken meat itself; it will not grow old as time passes by.

Accompany with the hot rice and soup, now it is ready for your Hainanese style Chicken Rice delights! Some foreigners might misunderstand the slight coldness of the chicken meat, and thought it is not freshly served, yet it has the best tenderness and tastes once you get in touch with it. Don’t wait for the meat to get any warmer, if it does, it might not be as great. The best way to enjoy this cuisine, is to separate the rice with the meat while ordering onto two plates.

Most stalls within the hawker center or coffee-shop will put the meat onto the rice when served if you just tell them “you want a plate of Chicken Rice”, which I often declined. However, the price will be slightly higher, in around 50 cents if it get separated with yummy chicken sauce on-the-plate and perhaps with vegetables of any kind in addition. Wow, another market price…

Another thing to take note of when you buy Chicken Rice at economic places is that the cooked chicken thighs, wings and chicken drumsticks normally are slightly more expensive than the chicken breast or other parts if you order it directly, since it is much more tender. Some of the famous great stalls with economic prices I recommended are located at Whampoa Drive, Jurong East town, Maxwell hawker center and a one at Bishan town in Singapore.

If you dislike Hainanese style boiled chicken, one word for you, just turn to Fried Chicken or Chicken Cutlet that might be found on the same premise.

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