Underrated stall serving beef rendang turmeric rice & prawn turmeric laksa at Bukit Timah

It’s not every single day that you just come throughout dishes like turmeric laksa and turmeric rice being offered at meals institutions, so think about my shock once I stumbled upon Curry On. It’s a hawker stall that’s managed to remain underneath the radar with barely any social media protection, located at Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre.

With a stall title like that, coupled with the truth that the dishes have turmeric in them, you’ll anticipate the proprietor to be Indian, proper? Well, it turned out to be run by a Chinese uncle as an alternative.

Yes, the stall is helmed by 66-year-old Mr Wan, who was a SHATEC (my ex-school) coach from the Eighties to Nineteen Nineties. Shy and soft-spoken at first, he progressively warmed up and I acquired to know extra about this humble gentleman.

He shared with me that he wished to create one thing completely different from the widespread hawker meals being offered elsewhere— kudos to him for being modern!

As a semi-retiree, Mr Wan will shut his stall as soon as the meals sells out for the day. 

“I’ll go home to play with my grandkids,” he shared, with a smile.

As I waited for my order, I learn in regards to the well being advantages of turmeric, lemongrass and galangal (components in his gravy and curry) that had been caught on the entrance of the stall.

What I attempted at Curry On

I wished to attempt the Prawn Fritters (S$9), however it wasn’t out there on that day. So, I acquired the ball rolling with the BBQ Spare Ribs Turmeric Rice (S$8.80).

A plate chock filled with components, it contained 3 items of spare ribs resting atop a mattress of basmati rice with pickled carrot shreds, pineapple cubes, a chunk of do-it-yourself egg otak, Japanese cucumber slices, ikan bilis, peanuts and a dollop of sambal.

I beloved how the plate of meals seemed like a number of dishes once I glanced at it from completely different angles. To me, it seemed like nasi lemak, char siew rice and a Thai dessert all rolled into one (let’s see in case you can resonate with my bizarre creativeness)!

The meaty spare ribs had been barely charred and faintly candy as I bit by means of the flesh. It wasn’t the softest ribs I’ve had however it was flavourful sufficient to maintain me going at it. To reduce straight to the chase, the ribs jogged my memory of char siew with bone.

The handmade items of egg otak possessed the identical pillowy texture as steamed egg, however had been injected with refined earthy hints of turmeric. I shared with my eating companion that its style had me pondering of satay meat for some cause.

The pickled papaya supplied some crunchy bites of zesty goodness, whereas the small cubes of pineapple hit me with alternating candy and bitter explosions. These two condiments labored hand in hand like a well-trained duo, stopping my style buds from getting too jelak.

I moved on to the subsequent dish, the Prawn Turmeric Laksa (S$6). If prawns usually are not your jam, Mr Wan additionally has contemporary oysters and hen choices.

The viscous golden gravy on the highest hid all of the components from sight, and I might nearly hear a collective plea coming from them, beckoning me to place an finish to their suffocation– and so I granted their want by tossing every thing up.

After mixing the Prawn Turmeric Laksa, I found hidden treasures consisting of thick bee hoon, char siew chunks, mini items of shrimp, tau geh, and egg otak items.

First, permit me to rave in regards to the insanely scrumptious gravy. It in all probability had an overloaded infusion of daun kesum (laksa leaves) in it as a result of every mouthful of the thick golden broth enveloped my tongue with fragrant lemony flavours.

I additionally detected refined notes of turmeric which had been like supporting backstage crew, offering an extra layer of style.

The thick bee hoon was the proper vessel to absorb all of the sensations of the strong broth, whereas the intelligent introduction of char siew in laksa was a breath of contemporary air.

I ended my early lunch at Curry On with the Beef Rendang Turmeric Rice (S$8.80). Every aspect of this dish was just like that of the BBQ Spare Ribs Turmeric Rice apart from the meat portion, which had beef cubes and potatoes doused in rendang gravy. 

The beef cubes and potatoes had been braised totally, permitting them to be eaten simply even in case you had no tooth. The meat had additionally absolutely absorbed the extreme tropical aromatics of the coconut, chillies, and spices.

Mr Wan additionally secretly pours his particular turmeric gravy onto the basmati rice, which you’ll solely uncover whenever you combine all the weather up. The ivory-coloured rice will magically rework right into a fascinating yellow shade, bringing alongside light bursts of turmeric and different spices from the broth.

Final ideas

If you’re within the Beauty World neighborhood or have simply completed taking a stroll alongside the Green Corridor path, why not head over to Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre?

The creations of Mr Wan at Curry On will certainly blow you away, albeit the marginally greater meals costs (however it’s completely value it).

Expected harm: S$6 – S$8.80 per pax

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