By 7.30am, I was prepared to do the"point-point" routine but only 13 dishes were ready, with more being whipped up and steamed as the line of about 15 formed.
From midway in the queue, I eyed the plain steamed pork belly and the red wine lees chicken, and was praying the Manila clams - being tossed in the wok - would be ready when my turn came.The softly steamed pork belly came with a dollop of hae bee hiam, and lime.The fresh, moist wine lees chicken, although milder than what I prefer, was right for this hawker dish as it should not overwhelm the other dishes or the rice porridge.
The server even warned us the pig skin was not as soft yet, but I liked it with some bite. Most hawkers would not have bothered.Extremely fresh and simply stir fried in their own flavour, they were elevated with some basil leaves and light seasoning.Another must have dish is the plain steamed little red snapper - it goes so well with the stewed salted vegetables.The whole meal of seven dishes, including stewed cabbage and eggs, set us back by $25.
Sadly, this deal may not last, as there will not be enough people offering this fading hawker craft in the foreseeable future.K.F. Seetoh, the founder of Makansutra, dabbles in street food businesses like Food Markets and has his own TV shows on cable. He publishes food guides and online content. He is also the creator of the World Street Food Congress.