By KF Seetoh, makansutra
I was recently tasked to lead a few foodie journalists from New York on a Singapore food crawl there.
A catch-22 situation for me because, if you've been there and noticed, there aren't any true-blue Singapore restaurants in NYC. At best, you get a collection of some fine and not so fine Malaysian eateries with stuff like their Pasembur and Assam Laksa, and at the same time offering Singapore-style Chilli Crabs and Laksa. We checked out, in a space of six hours, three eateries. Two have Malaysian chefs and one is led by an American celebrity chef that touts South East Asian flavours in his chain of restaurants.Laut Restaurant
15E 17th Street, New York
(Btwn 5th Ave and Broadway)
Tel: 212 206 8989
15E 17th Street, New York
(Btwn 5th Ave and Broadway)
Tel: 212 206 8989
Lunch (Mon - Fri): 11.30am - 3.30pm
Dinner (Mon - Thu): 5pm - 10.30pm
Dinner (Fri): 5pm - 11pm
Saturday: 1pm - 11pm
Sunday: 1pm - 10pm
Dinner (Mon - Thu): 5pm - 10.30pm
Dinner (Fri): 5pm - 11pm
Saturday: 1pm - 11pm
Sunday: 1pm - 10pm
Michelin gave this spot a one star rating (finally, they noticed such food). Located at the buzzy Union Square area, this place packs them in each lunch and dinner. The place is unapologetically simple and sits about 50 people (mass crowds and fancy interiors are not their game, obviously). The menu is fairly extensive and looks like a collection of hawker centre, nasi padang and coffeeshop items on the menu.
Food:
Chicken Rice - perhaps they gave in to potential fears of salmonella and the famous American disdain for boiled chicken, which is why theirs came fried chicken style. The rice had the prerequisite chicken stock flavour intensity but was a tad mild and the chilli missed my mark (like a regular plain chilli sauce doused with white vinegar).
I was pleasantly surprised that Laut offered sambal petai, done with eggplants, in a comforting sambal (makansutra …
Sambal Petai - I was pleasantly surprised they offered this. Not many in Singapore nor even many of my associates in Malaysia are fans of this stink bean wok tossed in sambal. Theirs had a nice savoury, spicy and sweet sambal and it was wok fried well with the crunchy young-ish petai beans (which was not as pungent). I was amused that they offered a soft shelled crab tossed in a Thai-chili sauce with a mild rempah. It was easy to eat and tasted kinda Southeast Asian, but it' s definitely not Chilli Crabs (as stated on menu) as we know it to be here. Their Laksa is really a curry noodle, and it was fairly well rendered (albeit a tad bottom-of-the-pot salty). We originally asked for Singapore Katong Laksa for our journalist friends.
Their Roti Canai (or Prata) was tops - they tossed it fresh and it came folded "tissue"style and was crispy yet substantial to the bite. The chicken curry was thick and lemak.
Signature New York style ethnic café design touches lend an edge at Fatty Crab restaurant (makansutra pho …
Fatty Crab
2170 Broadway (between 76th and 77th) New York,
NY 10024
Tel: 212 496 CRAB (2722)
2170 Broadway (between 76th and 77th) New York,
NY 10024
Tel: 212 496 CRAB (2722)
Mon - Wed: Noon - 11pm
Thurs - Sat: Noon - midnight
Sunday: Noon - 10pm
Thurs - Sat: Noon - midnight
Sunday: Noon - 10pm
Zak Pelacio had a stint in a KL kitchen some years back and frequented the Fatty Crab restaurant in Petaling Jaya. He was so inspired he started his line of Malaysia Fatty Crab restaurants in America upon his return.
Food:
Crispy wanton mee soup -- something I’ve never tried in Singapore or Malaysia -- at Fatty Crab (makansutra …
Wanton Mee - I did not ever have this before in Malaysia or Singapore (nor China for that matter) but his version came with crispy sang-mee noodles over a broth that was flavored with soy sauce. The wantons felt like they were stuffed with pork-burger patties. Very creative.
Their Roti Prata was like a fried pancake. It was thick, flat, crunchy and felt deep fried. Any thicker it could pass off as a Mrs Fields prata cookie. The mutton curry dip was very rich and gamey.
When the Chili Crabs came, I remembered it as like the first time I had it with respectable The New Yorker correspondent Calvin Trillin some years back. It came in a big soup bowl with quartered crabs and three pieces of bread sticking out over the sauce. I don't remember having it with a sauce that sour and thin but what intrigued me was the ungutted fried and halved dungeoness crab staring at me. It was like looking into some universal dark hole with shadowy constellations peering out. I could vouch for their fish which came perfectly grilled and fried. It was juicy inside and doused with the two spoons of chilli and thick soy sauce with lime over. It reminded me of an Indonesian Chinese style fried fish with soy sauce and chilli. They call it Ikan Bakar. But they more than made up for it. At the bar, their range of cocktails that go with the makan was outstanding -- something we should have more of here.
Nyonya
199 Grand St, New York
NY 10013 40.7191256 -73.9967605 (Btwn Mott & Mulberry St.)
Tel: 212 334 3669
NY 10013 40.7191256 -73.9967605 (Btwn Mott & Mulberry St.)
Tel: 212 334 3669
Sun - Thurs: 11am - 11.30pm
Fri - Sat: 11am - 1am
Fri - Sat: 11am - 1am
This is one of the oldest names in Malaysian Singapore chow in NYC. They have recently moved to a bigger premise in Chinatown with a matching menu to boot. I had just returned from filming in Penang and was pleasantly surprised they offered Pasembur -- a Malaysian-style Indian Rojak with a sweet spicy dip thickened by bread. The fritters -- tofu, prawn crackers, boiled eggs, dough and vegetable crisps -- were pleasant but forgettable. What became uncomfortable was how it all became mushy after ten minutes on the table. That's how it's usually served but having the sauce as a separate dip would be nice.
One of the more robust and honest chicken rice dishes in New York is at Nyonya. They over-boiled the fowl a tad, …
I think they served the most decent plate of Chicken Rice there. The rice was not too soft and was intensely flavoured and they use poached chunky pieces of chicken -- skin and fat intact. The chilli was faultlessly piquant, fragrant and spicy.
Nyonya’s Cha Koay Teow had the look and taste but lacked that wood fire, street food wok-hei sensation …
I also have to give them credit for their Cha Koay Teow (my last platter before that was at Penang's roadside top master at Siam Road). They use the thinner kway teow and all the fragrance of a good soy sauce was intact. The only bugbear was that it lacked that wok hei smokiness. But, being 22 hours from Penang, it was a good fix for my cha kway teow deficiency.
Photojournalist K F Seetoh is the founder of Makansutra, a company devoted to touting all the empirical wonders of Asian food culture. He writes a food guide, hosts his own Makansutra TV shows, manages food villages, creates online and mobile content, consults and operates award-winning food safaris. Yeah, in short, he eats, talks, documents and regales about food, and sells coffee, sometimes while his mouth is full. CNN dubs him the 'Guru of the Grub' and The New York Times says he's 'the food guide maven'.