Excellent traditional HAINANESE FOOD in Singapore! (steamboat, chicken rice, satay, pork chop)

[@deliciousfilms]

Actually, there is more connection between Yet Con n Thien Kee than u think. A few years back, Yet Con retired their cooks becos the owners wanted a new menu repertoire. I used to love their Fried bitter gourd with beef so I was devastated when it went away with the changing of Yetcon's cooks. Then one day I happened to go to Thien Kee n ordered the same dish n was shocked to discover the identical taste. My wife n I then talked to the lady boss n she then revealed that they had hired Yet Con's old cooks n they are now helming Thien Kee. So now I get to enjoy my fried bitter gourd with beef at Thien Kee. Unfortunately, the change of Thien Kee's cooks to that of Yet Con's also meant that Thien Kee's chilli n chicken rice now taste different from Thien Kee's style. Yet Con's chilli is tangier n less robust than Thien Kee's original chicken rice chilli so i am a bit sad that Thien Kee's chilli is gone forever. Thien Kee's very flavourful chicken rice had been sliding in standard fir years and now taken over by Yet Con, the rice now tastes like any ordinary chicken rice. The style of the chicken has changed as well. Bowing to the more popular modern methods of cookg chicken rice, the chickens are now subjected to an ice bath which helps stop the cookg process n gets u that gelatinous fat in between the skin n meat. Yes, the meat is now more tender but to me personally, Thien Kee used to be one of the last spots where the chicken was cooked traditional hainanese style without the ice bath, so the chickens used to tastes more robust n warmer. The flavour of the meat was robust n u cud taste so much more oily chicken flavours.

[@GregoryLeow]

Very useful info. Thanks for this. Will pin your comment!

[@donnyyen6484]

Enjoyed every bit of this food review. Awsome one Greg.. Sure to head down soon and give it a try

[@meaner8308]

I've been coming here since I was a kid for steam boat. It was either Yet Con or Golden Mile. Never knew about the history of how the restaurant came about. Great video, as always!

[@HumdrumSingaporeanREACTS]

Really glad to be part of the 35.2k subscribers to this channel!!! Do Your Best

[@HumdrumSingaporeanREACTS]

Ps. GREAT JOB

[@BigLaw67]

My go to chicken rice whenever I am at golden mile. I feel so guilty eating this but the satisfaction lasts the whole day! I agree with this recommendation totally

[@kurlexchoi]

In my tradition, we also used raw egg for dipping sauce for steamboat or hotpot. Since he had 3 eggs, I would have save one for the dipping sauce and poached the other 2 rather poured the beater eggs into an egg drop soup. I also agreed with him to have some quail eggs too, but can't be sure if high cholesterol is really good for your health. Thumbs up for chicken rice, satay, & pork chop.

[@minminli6248]

Thanks for covering this restaurant! This is my family's favourite place for steamboat and chicken haha ❤️

[@reymondtan8425]

You are not using the red fermented bean curd correctly. What you should do is to crush the red bean curd and mix it into the chilli sauce and get a good balance between the chilli sauce and the red bean curd flavours. As for the eggs, if you do order beef, you should mixed the eggs into the beef together with a dollop of the red bean curd and let it marinade for a few minutes before blanching the beef. That is the traditional Hainanese way of eating steamboat. I am Hainanese, now in my seventies and had been eating Thien Kee since it was a pushcart stall in one of the lanes along Middle Road opposite the original double-storey Swee Kee chicken rice shop.

[@GregoryLeow]

Oh! Lol, I asked some tables and that’s what they told me how to do. Maybe they did it wrongly! Thanks for the info! I’ll pin your comment to give it some context. Thanks, Raymond!

[@KevinPhua]

I’m Hainanese and my family has been dining there for decades. I also concur that the fermented bean curd belongs with the chilli and not in the soup.

[@GregoryLeow]

actually according to the second gen owner, he said to put eggs and fu ru inside the soup. he said this in a few videos online: fb.watch/eOapoq1JP4/ fb.watch/eOa-Eej2xY/

[@HumdrumSingaporeanREACTS]

@@GregoryLeow 😸

[@mindtwister1984]

The best steamboat in Singapore without doubt.

[@Qoonutz]

This restaurant has always been my only go to for chicken rice. I cannot imagine, after your video, how much busier it will be!

[@GregoryLeow]

it's my go to for chicken rice too!

[@jeremylim2981]

instant click and like when i saw the video in my recommended page, another knowledgeable and in depth in food, thank you!

[@nkrulez]

never known of this place. thanks for sharing greg!

[@ShengistKahn]

Dear Gregory Leow, I am your biggest fan.

[@danrichards3602]

Love your channel I’m coming to Singapore in 5 weeks. Gonna check out a lot of places thanks to your videos. I’ve one question where is the best nasi lemak ?

[@GregoryLeow]

Try this stall, you might like it kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpK0o3uljJ6pebc

[@luancollisson5582]

It is a shame that our traditional steamboat is replaced by the China style ones. Nothing wrong with the latter but a lost if we turn our back on our own traditional cuisine. I noticed that in the food courts as well during my last trip home in June. Harder to find some of the traditional hawker food. Instead there are lots of stalls selling food from other countries. Just saying.

[@Acc_Hugh]

rare to see SG steamboat nowadays. could still rem when my parents brought me to turf club for steamboat when i was a kid 30 yrs ago. And i hated it so bad! Literally gave me phobia of hotpot, basically just some random ingredients push into salted water, tasteless and unappetizing. pretty glad HDL got into SG scene reviving some interest in me for hotpot, still the phobia is bad, maybe 5 times a year is the max i can accept for HDL. such coincidence, i happen to be hainan.

[@murderouscountryfan8589]

@@Acc_Hugh HDL is shite steamboat. And nothing to do with our heritage and also not from here. Long before HDL, we grew up with chains like COCA from Thailand here.

[@Acc_Hugh]

@@murderouscountryfan8589 yep nothing to do with heritage, as u said hdl aint the best and i've to agree coca is pretty bad too. tried their mushroom broth at their Orchard Point outlet some decade back; flat tasting as SeoulGarden's. however average hdl is, locals still manage to push hdl boss to richest man in SG. give it another 20 yrs, hdl will be asean heritage :) and many delicious memories for kids of today.

[@murderouscountryfan8589]

@@Acc_Hugh How many HDL outlets you think there are in SG compared to his outlets in that shitehole country WHERE THAT FOOD IS FROM. You tried to lie to we LOCALS pushed him to the top spot pt wealth when in SG the number of outlets is not even 5 or 10% of his outlets in China. That food is CHINA swill. So your lies - exposed.

[@miket2737]

I totally disagree with this review but I still put a like to your video and comment so your channel have better visibility. You put much effort in your video productions and I love watching them.

[@GregoryLeow]

haha fair enough. can I ask what you didn't like about thien kee? just curious to hear another pov

[@miket2737]

@@GregoryLeow I’ve been to thien kee several times as my friends liked to gather there. They enjoy the food as like you. However, I’m puzzled over what it was that they liked and so I asked them. They said the place invoked nostalgia and their family (spanning several generations) were there on special occasions etc. When probed for any speciality or particular taste that they liked, they couldn’t pinpoint it except that generally they liked the food there (the chicken, pork chop and steamboat). I am no foodie. But if I were to crave for chicken rice, I’d probably go to BTK. If I wanted steamboat, I’d think of TWT at Upper Serangoon, for example. Individually, the rice, chilli sauce or even the chicken didn’t stand out for the wow factor. One time I was there, I saw a small live snail on the vegetables. On the positive side of things, probably it’s pesticide free 😂, idk. But the vegetable were full of the snail slime. Pointed out to the wait staff and they didn’t bother about it. Nothing great about the service or value for money foodstuff either. So it’s not as much as what I didn’t like, but personally I didn’t find anything to like, if that makes sense. It’s a decent ‘old school’ meal but nothing to rave about.

[@kayausiu8090]

Hi Gregory, Very impressed by your presentation of the food of this old establishment. I am coming from Chennai India. Please let me know if I can come into restaurant in my electric wheelchair ? Does building have a ramp ? I tried to call but no one picked up the phone.

[@GregoryLeow]

There is a really small lift to the B1 floor of the restaurant but I don’t know if your wheelchair will fit

[@charleslee3081]

Thanks, Greg, for another fantastic review. I definitely have to check it out soon. Did you mention what time you were there?

[@GregoryLeow]

it opens at 11am daily, I just turn up at 11am sharp. quiet and conducive for filming

[@charleslee3081]

@@GregoryLeow yes, I remembered now. You made mentioned arriving half hour early, but the restaurant is still not open.

[@Geforce3]

One of the best chicken rice in Singapore. For the steam boat must add the fermanted soybean

[@jokerholic2422]

Greg, there is no shame to admit you have the hotpot and chicken rice on the same day (with the same shirt)! Its ok to have such big appetite when you are eating delicious foods like these!

[@alankutetee5112]

It was very popular amongst Japanese expatriates in 1978 to 1985. Not sure now still popular

[@wazzuu08]

very nice

[@MrResigned]

Dunno what the dislike button is for. Your videos are great.

[@jsp001]

The dislikes must be from vegans 😅

[@PosPsycho88]

Thks Greg.....by watching I already salivate...yumz.

[@user-ln2th5nq1g]

Egg cholesterol does not affect blood cholesterol

[@universetrekker]

Please give us an idea of how much each dish cost will be helpful 😅

[@shaun_seow]

Speaking of steamboat, what dialect group does the Fish Head Steamboat belong to? At least there are numerous local eateries still selling it.

[@Your.Uncle.AngMoh]

So, not quite DDMT- Die die must try. The chicken rice and satay look delicious.

[@markshen3280]

Very typical of Singapore foods is that they almost everywhere you eat, they provide you a small dish of chilli 🌶 sauce.

[@anthonylim7508]

brother can check with you is this video shoot before the fresh chicken ban from malaysia? very excited to try out after your review

[@GregoryLeow]

this was filmed between 7-18 July this year

[@geleidi]

I didn’t know the fermented beancurd is to go into the soup!

[@minniec.9127]

I would keep it separate and eat it as a condiment or dipping sauce.

[@gnomevoyeur]

Are there Chinese hotpot restaurants in Singapore? How does steamboat compare? I know there are others like Japanese Shabu Shabu . What kinds do you have and which one do you like best?

[@GregoryLeow]

We have all kinds of steamboat/hotpot in singapore, the style featured here is the least common of all. It used to be hugely popular three decades ago

[@julianang8088]

The abalone is imitation abalone, but taste is so good

[@jessiechew4807]

I miss Yet Con original chicken rice. Once the old cooks went back to China or passed away in 1970+. The taste of that special chicken rice gone. It is not the pandar leaves or lemon grass. 😭😭😭🙏

[@lamnyetmin3834]

Eat the chicken rice with their dark sauce very delicious.

[@willieho4386]

About the lack of fat for their steamboat, they used to have a bottle of oil at every table. It seems that has changed

[@GregoryLeow]

Oh interesting! What sort of oil do they use?

[@willieho4386]

@@GregoryLeow I would have loved to be able to tell you. But iirc should just be vegetable oil. I used to add some to the soup and my chilli and ginger mixture. I mean I mix their chilli and ginger sauces together and add a dash of the oil. The first time I went back since covid was last week. Difference to me other than the oil bottle was they didn’t have abalone. Prices have gone up so they may be trying to justify that by adding a couple slice of it.

[@siewhooner3417]

This is the first place I'm going to eat when I return to Singapore. So hungry now.

[@wengkwongwong2689]

I missed their chicken rice for sure…. Thank for reminding me about their chicken rice ….. nice video anyway …!!!👍👍💪💪

[@GregoryLeow]

Correction: the staff spoke Hainanese, not cantonese.

[@PS-383]

Missing thick dark soya sauce for the chicken rice.

[@amonmakesoriginalnoises]

Did you mean the staff speak Hainanese or Cantonese?

[@GregoryLeow]

Hainanese. I made a mistake in that bit!

[@markshen3280]

They give you chicken stock to cook beef ? How strange 🤪I think the chilli 🌶 sauce is for the spring rolls, right?

[@markshen3280]

Greg, everything you eat is ‘bouncy’ 🤣😂😅😆😁

[@BELLAPHONTOO]

Clear soup or 'look look' is the purest of all hotpots, in fact it's the mother of all steamboats. So sad to see it's been gazumped by the Sihuan version.

[@fredwong8763]

Standard dropped over the years. Even the chicken rice

[@khokl9288]

Agree. Went there few months back. Very normal. More for the nostalgia feelings

[@markshen3280]

Hey Greg, eat your vegetables 🥬🥬🥬🥦🥦🥕🥕🥕🥬🥬

[@markshippo]

I am a loyal fan and subscriber of you and tonight, after watching this vlog, I gathered my family tonight to visit it for dinner. However, my family witnessed a recurring deplorable practice at the chicken station. We saw the staff, who was chopping the chickens, STEALING a chunk of breast meat off every chicken breast, to sell as breast meat for other orders. As we were sitting just next to him, we saw that he sliced of the top part of the breast meat with skin, and placed it on the half or whole chicken platter. BUT he REMOVED the bottom half and placed it on the tray to sell it. This happened to every half or whole chicken platter. This amount to CHEATING. I am boycotting this horrible stall forever.

[@GregoryLeow]

Oh dear, hope you complained to the staff! I love the chicken but I never paid close attention to what they put on (or off) the plate

[@Teledible]

To be fair one of my friend’s family once run a chicken rice stall and spilled the insiders secret that almost every other chicken rice stalls out there does it. Why do you think they are always chopping behind cover haha chop thinner and smack it a little to sell more portions. Sometimes they remove bits for presentation purposes especially half or whole chicken orders

[@jessiechew4807]

Chicken rice should go with black sweet soy sauce too. It is with coriander leaves and not parsley .🤣😂😆🙏

[@GregoryLeow]

ah yes, coriander sorry. my wife scolds me for mixing them up all the time LOL

[@wesleytan1717]

Green lights look like horror show

[@ahbai1976]

Satay not cooked over charcoal is never real satay

[@jsp001]

True that

[@billc6762]

I do not eat Mainland Chinese style hot pot

[@joannang4119]

Don’t use too much lah

[@calvinl5726]

Fake studies

[@yamenaidepure]

Overrated

[@markshen3280]

How come you are not wearing your mask 😷? Singapore 🇸🇬 still has high concentration of Covid-19 and you kept your mask 😷 off !

[@robintan4471]

The cashier woman at counter so attitude. Pls la retire n step down. I see no reason why u have to put up sulky face and rdue attitude. May I know why

[@cchan4739]

To me this whole video feels pretentious with over the top expressions. C'mon it's just a steamboat where u literally blanch several different kinds of raw food - beef pork fish fishballs cockles prawns - into a soup stock and dip them into some chili and that's it. I don't see the need to do an eyeroll for every single thing tasted. It's not hard to imagine what it taste like. Not to mention how ridiculously priced it is.......... pls go at your own risk.

[@TEEZS10]

taste is subjective and our personalities are uniquely different. so why is there the need to be so judgmental after all?

[@khokl9288]

Mmm why are you so triggered? Having a bad day?