• One-dish Meals,  Rice,  Under $2

    Rice-cooker Yam Rice 芋头饭

    We were at Cold Storage, King Albert Park the other day thinking of what to cook for dinner when Jason said, why not yam rice? Okkkkk although I have not cooked it before, I have seen my mom cook it. It shouldn’t be too difficult! I did a mental stock-take of what I had at home to ensure that budget-wise, the dish is “cookable” (I’m not exaggerating, he will sometimes “order” hokkaido pan-seared scallops and cod fish out of the blue!) and recalled that I had some chicken fillet, chinese sausages and mushrooms, and all I had to grab were a medium sized yam and some spring onions.

  • Hawker Food,  Tofu,  Under $2,  Zi-char

    Happy Call “Hotplate” Tofu with Prima Taste

    Hotplate tofu is my must-order dish when I eat at Zi Char stalls. “Zi Char” is a dialect term which literally means “Cook” (zi) and “Fry” (char). Dishes are almost always eaten with rice and often prepared on high heat in a Chinese wok. My favourite hotplate tofu is from a zi char stall at Blk 279 Bukit Batok East Ave 3. The signboard reads “Mei Chin Seafood” (maybe from eons ago) but the packaging and receipt all read “大食家”。The dish is just a little spicy, with onions, shallots, a bit of chilli bean paste, tofu, prawns, minced meat, vegetables and beaten egg served in a hot plate.