The Meeting Place @ Clementi Market & Food Centre - Cheap Does Not Mean Good.

Sometime back an anonymous reader left a comment on my review of Star Yong Kwang BBQ Seafood about the pricey bill and compared it with The Meeting Place at Clementi Market & Food Centre. I finally find the time to go down down to the stall at Clementi Ave 2, to see and try the food for myself.

BBQ Stingray 3/5

As a staple for all BBQ seafood stall, I ordered the BBQ Stingray ($14). Price wise it is about the same as most places. The sambal chilli that is spread on top of the stingray is a bit on the salty side for me but it still acceptable. My disappointment is actually on the fact that the chilli sauce is not cooked together with the stingray but smeared on top of it.

Kang Kong 3.5/5

The first thing I noticed while placing my order is how cheap the Kang Kong is priced at $4 and $6. The Kang Kong ($4) is actually quite well executed with a nice crunchy bite. My only complain is portion size. I could still remember the shock expression from my wife's face when the dish was served to our table.

BBQ Mussel 3.8/5

My favourite among the dishes I tried is the BBQ Mussel ($6). I like the fact that it is steamed and topped with sambal chilli sauce instead of stir frying them in the chili sauce. It allows the appreciation of the natural sweetness and juiciness of the mussels. The stall may need to be careful with the freshness of the mussel as I tasted some that is not so fresh.

Overall, I can understand why the anonymous reader recommended the stall. Unfortunately I don't find that cheap is equate to good. There maybe other factors that may determine the pricing such as rental cost, supplier etc.


The Meeting Place
Clementi Market & Food Centre
Blk 353 Clementi Avenue 2
#01-70
Singapore 120353
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Clementi MRT (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun: 430pm - 1030pm
(Closed on Mon)

Direction:
1) Alight at Clementi MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk along West Commonwealth Ave to Clementi Ave 2. Turn left onto Clementi Ave 2. Walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

1) Alight at Clementi MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Clementi MRT station (Stop ID 17179). Take bus number 52 or 154. Alight 3 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time 10 minutes. [Map]

Star Yong Kwang BBQ Seafood @ Alexandra Village Food Centre

Star Yong Kwang BBQ Seafood is one of the top 20 winners of this year Singapore Favourite Food 2013. The zi char place took up 2 stalls at Alexandra Village Food Centre. The stall is owned by Mr Eng Boon Har but you will not be surprised to see his 18 years old son behind the wok cooking your delicious food. His son has been cooking since 13 years old under the watchful eyes of his father has learnt the trade well. He is probably one of the youngest hawker in Singapore. Looks like there is hope for the next generation in Singapore's hawker heritage. By the way he is quite good looking too.

Prawn Paste Chicken 3.5/5

The Prawn Paste Chicken was deep fried to a nice crisp golden brown colour. However the prawn paste flavour was a bit mild.

Salted Egg Pork Ribs 4.2/5

I guess anything that is done with salted egg already is a winner for me. The Salted Egg Pork Ribs at the Zi Char stall was really good. Further enhanced with the curry leaves, the flavours were top notch for the succulent pork ribs.

Sambal Stingray 4.2/5

This is probably one of the better Sambal Stingray I have tried. The chilli was the star that complemented the BBQ Sambal Stingray. Besides the sambal chilli, a must for me is the chinchalok dipping sauce to go with the stingray. I am glad that the zi char stall serves it too.

Stir Fried Kai Lan 4/5

Timely to have a huge plate of greens to balance off the feast. The Stir Fried Kai Lan was not overcooked, still have a nice crunch to it. The fried shallots gave the vegetable a nice fragrant and crisp when eaten.

Stir Fried La La 3.5/5

When shellfish is not cleaned probably, you end up eating sand with the flesh. I have to say I did not have such encounter with the Zi Char stall's Stir Fried La La. The La La may not be very big but they were really sweet.

Cereal Prawns 4.2/5

The Cereal Prawns was pretty awesome too. Besides the fresh and succulent prawns, the cereal condiments with the hint of curry flavour was heavenly. It gave the dish an additional flavour and texture enjoyment which complemented the prawns.

Star Yong Kwang BBQ Seafood at Alexandra Village Food Centre serves pretty delectable cooked food. The stall can be easily identified as their staff are dressed in a bright orange tee shirt.


Star Yong Kwang BBQ Seafood
Alexandra Village Food Centre
120 Bukit Merah Lane 1
#01-04
Singapore 150120
Nearest MRT: Queenstown (EW Line), Redhill (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 4pm - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Queenstown MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at Queenstown MRT station (Stop ID 11149). Take bus number 195. Alight 3 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Redhill MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop opposite Redhill MRT station (Stop ID 10201). Take bus number 33 or 120. Alight 5 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time 10 minutes. [Map]

Singapore Favourite Food 2013 - Food Trail

In conjunction with the 20th anniversary of Singapore Food Festival, the Singapore Food & Beverage Alliance (SFBA) will be celebrating Singapore's unique food heritage and pays homage to local culinary heroes with the Singapore Favourite Food Village (SFF Village) at Bayfront Avenue (Marina Bay) from 12 to 21 July 2013. The 10 day extravaganza, Singapore Favourite Food 2013 will showcase Singapore's favourite dishes such as chilli crab, carrot cake, rojak, laksa, roti prata and tau huay bringing together a selection of popular hawkers and eateries for this one time celebration. Apart from the 20 favourite vendors voted from the online poll, this unique village will also feature another 20 popular local favourite hawkers and eateries. Visitors will be spoilt for choice with a total of 40 different local favourite dishes to feast on.

Leading up to Singapore Favourite Food 2013, I was invited for a food trail to feast on some of Singapore favourite dishes and learn more about our rich culinary heritage. These are also the hawkers and eateries that is nominated for the online poll.

Ri Ye Xiang Rojak

Rojak

Our first stop is one of the oldest surviving Rojak stalls in Singapore. With 48 years of history since 1965, Mr Edward Koh (stall owner) has been preparing rojak since the age of 20. Rojak which means mixed in Malay is a dish born from our cultural diversity of Singapore incorporating both Chinese and Malay elements in the ingredients.

Ri Ye Xiang Rojak
Kopitiam
Blk 450 Clementi Ave 3
Singapore120450

Opening Hours:
Daily: 3pm - 11pm

Leng Kee BBQ

Fried Oyster Omelette

Second stop brought us to Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre for some Fried Oyster. Fried oyster used to be used by hawkers on rusty tri-cycle with 3 foot cast iron skillet rested above a makeshift wood fired stove which was fashioned out of an old oil drum. The Singapore version of fried oyster omelette uses a batter of oyster juice and sweet potato starch to achieve the crispiness, garnised with cilantro.

Leng Kee BBQ
Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre
51 Upper Bukit Timah Road
Stall 144
Singapore 588215

Opening Hours:
Daily: 3pm - 11pm

Star Yong Kwang BBQ Seafood

BBQ Sambal Stingray

The third stop is at Alexandra Village Food Centre for some Stingray. Chinese fishermen used to discard the fish but it was the Malay who discovered the juicy, fleshy wonders of stingray by cooking it in curry and coconut masala. The Chinese hawkers then adapted the dish by grilling it on banana leaves and heaped with spicy sambal, chilli, and shallots which is popularly enjoyed nowadays.

Star Yong Kwang BBQ Seafood
Alexandra Village Food Centre
120 Bukit Merah Lane 1
Stall #01-04
Singapore 150120

Opening Hours:
Daily: 4pm - 11pm

Jin Jin Hot/Cold Dessert

'Gangster' Durian Mango Ice 

Wrapping up the food trail on a sweet note, our last stop was at ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre. The work Gangster is a playful take of the mandarin term for the dessert, Liu Lian Mang Guo which sounds like the word gangster when shortened to just Liu Mang. The word Gangster is now a registered trademark and this iconic dessert of Mango Ice is laden with a generous scoop of durian puree and condensed milk.

Jin Jin Hot/Cold Dessert
ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre
6 Jalan Bukit Merah
Stall #01-20
Singapore 150008
Website: http://www.jinjindessertclub.com/

Opening Hours:
Daily: 12pm - 12am


Vote Online For Your Favourite Local Vendors to be at SFF Village

Leading up to the Singapore Favourite Food Village, food lovers can vote online at http://sg.openrice.com/sff from now till 2 June 2013 for their favourite local vendor in each of the 20 categories featured this year shortlisted by the SFBA organising committee and advisory panel. Voters stand to win attractive prizes such as:

1st Prize: Singapore Favourite Food 2013 limited edition FlashPay Card worth $1,500
2nd Prize: One year supply of Taiwan Fruit Beear worth $1,200
3rd Prize: Zonin hamper of Italian Prosecco wines worth $500
Weekly Prizes: $100 cash vouchers. A total of 12 will be given out over four weeks.

Take Part in SFF Instagram Photo Contest

Singapore Favourite Food is also holding an Instagram photo contest from now till 30 June 2013. Foodies can simply upload photos of their favourite local dishes. The item must be part of te 20 dishes highlighted in SFF 2013 and hashtag their submissions with #SingaporeFavouriteFood2013. The best photos will win limited edition Singapore Favourite Food 2013 FlashPay Cards worth $12 each.

138 @ Redhill Food Centre

Whenever I visit Redhill Food Centre, I will usually order BBQ stringray from this stall. The stall only has three large numeric letters "138" as its stall name. It sells a variety of BBQ stuff such as stingray, sotong, chicken wings and satay. I like the stingray here because of the spicy samball chilli that was spread on the stingray and the chinchalok with onions dip for the stingray.

BBQ Stingray 4.2/5

Chinchalok and Onion Dip for BBQ Stingray

BBQ Chicken Wing 4/5

138
Redhill Food Centre
Blk 85 Redhill Lane
#01-54
Nearest MRT: Redhill (EW Line)

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