Souperb

The steamed fish is easily the star dish at hawker stall Souperb at One Punggol Hawker Centre. 

The stall offers a choice of three sauces for the dish: Minced Bean Paste, Cantonese-style Steam and Black Bean Paste. Farmed freshwater seabass cooked in any one of these styles is priced at $18.

I opt for a premium fish – red grouper – cooked with minced bean paste. It is a popular option among the stall’s regulars. Red grouper is priced according to weight, depending on availability. I pay $35 for one weighing about 700g.

Red grouper prices at the stall can range between $28 for a 500g one and as much as $40 for one around 800g.

The beautifully butterflied red grouper is served in a shallow pool of housemade steamed fish sauce – a concoction of light soya sauce and fish sauce – and blanketed in another housemade sauce assembled with Puning bean sauce, Bentong ginger, garlic, shallots and a touch of chilli.

The brilliant addition of sour plum paste and preserved nutmeg to the sauce gives it an appetising tang, while the Bentong ginger imparts a woody fragrance.

The dish is topped with sinfully crispy pork lard croutons. You can request to omit the lard for a healthier version. 

A must-order dish is the Steam Minced Pork With Salted Fish ($8). The lean meat is firm but tender, and with chunky bits of old ginger to balance the pungent savouriness of the mui heong salted fish (cured mackerel).

The Steam Egg With Minced Pork ($4) is also a winner. There is a smattering of minced pork in the steamed egg, which is so gently steamed, its surface is absolutely smooth and the texture is finer than silken tofu. Simply seasoned with the housemade steamed fish sauce, the dish is simplicity at its best.

The Seasonal Vegetables ($3.50) – which is baby kailan on the day I visit – turns out to be addictively crunchy. Simply blanched in water with a little oil, the sweet-tasting vegetables have no trace of bitterness and are not fibrous. The stall sometimes uses baby cai xin when baby kailan is not available. 

I try the Signature Squid ($10), which comprises squid and bean vermicelli in a tangy tasty broth. Freshly squeezed lime juice is used in the dish, but I will skip this in future as there is more bean vermicelli than squid. Also, the squid is a tad overcooked and rubbery. 

While the stall is generous with its serving of white rice (60 cents a bowl), it is a pity that it chooses to use Vietnamese jasmine rice, which has a broken texture.

The stall also offers a selection of soups. I opt for the Winter Melon With Pork Rib, Dried Scallop And Barley ($5) and Pear Pork Rib Soup ($5).

Both soups, which have red dates, snow fungus and dried scallops, taste similar as the same stock is used. But the Pear Pork Rib Soup is sweeter in flavour from the use of snow pear.

The base stock is freshly prepared and boiled for four hours from 8.30am every day. While most stalls use frozen pork for cooking soups, stall owner Helen Lee, 45, and her husband and head chef Yong Hon Foong, 46, insist on using fresh chilled pork

About six pieces of soft bone ribs go into each bowl of soup. Mr Yong blanches the pork ribs and removes the excess fat before using them. The resulting soups are clean-tasting and do not have an oily layer on the surface.

Be prepared to wait between 15 and 45 minutes for your food as most of the dishes are cooked to order. 

Where: 02-29 One Punggol Hawker Centre, 1 Punggol Drive
MRT: Punggol
Open: 12.30 to 8.30pm, Tuesdays to Sundays; closed on Mondays

Guzman y Gomez

For fast food that does not leave you with a greasy feeling of guilt post-meal, try the casual Mexican fare at Guzman y Gomez. The Australian chain of quick-service restaurants, which serves made-to-order Mexican food using fresh and whole produce, is out to reinvent fast food.

It has launched its Clean Food Menu across its 17 outlets here on Aug 13. This means the chain prepares food which does not have any added preservatives, artificial flavours, added colours and unacceptable additives.

For example, its marinades and salsas are sourced directly from Mexico, not just for authentic Mexican flavours, but also because they are less processed and free from added preservatives. 

The thick-cut Regular Fries ($5) are made from potatoes with skins and come tossed in a subtle chipotle seasoning. No artificial flavours or added colours go into the seasoning.

For the regular burrito ($11), there are several choices of fillings. Add $1 for pulled pork. Pork shoulder is seared and cooked until it is fall-apart tender and pulled apart by hand. It is then seasoned with a spicy chipotle marinade.

Though it may seem pricey, the burrito is hefty and bursting with its filling of fluffy white rice, black beans, pico de gallo and Australian Jack cheese.

The white rice is cooked in vegetable stock and lightly seasoned with salt.

The slow-cooked black beans, which retain their shape, are enticingly moist and tender, with a powdery mouthful. They are tasty too, from being cooked with onion, tomato paste, salt, jalapenos and a touch of oil.

The Australian Jack cheese, which is mild in flavour, is made using non-animal rennet and has no added preservatives. 

Prepared daily from fresh tomato, Spanish onion, coriander, lemon juice and salt, the pico de gallo adds zing to the burrito filling. 

If you prefer to skip the tortilla, get the regular Burrito Bowl ($11). I choose Pan Seared Barramundi (add $1) for the filling. The fish is finished with the housemade Salsa del Mar sauce of garlic, black pepper, oregano, paprika and lemon.

The fish has a fine texture and the zesty flavours go well with the long-grained rice. The melted Australian Jack cheese over the fish is mellow and does not make the dish cloying. The pico de gallo adds zest and also a splash of colour to the dish. The burrito bowl comes with crispy corn chips.

For a fun meal, go for the Hard Shell Taco ($5 for one, $8.70 for two and $11.70 for three). Choose tender and juicy grilled chicken for the filling with no additional charge. Plenty of fresh lettuce, pico de gallo and Australian Jack cheese go into the tacos.

The crisp-fried corn tortilla holds up even for takeaway. 

For sides, get the guacamole ($3 for small, $6 for regular). Freshly prepared daily, it is made with Australian avocados, pico de gallo and lemon juice. 

If you have space for dessert, the Churros ($3.95 for two) are worth splurging your calories on. Fried to order and rolled in cinnamon sugar for a touch of sweet spice, they are served hot and crunchy. Choose between two dipping sauces – Dulce de Leche and Chocolate.

I prefer the caramel flavour of the Dulce de Leche dip, which is not too sweet.

Prices stated above are for heartland branches and vary across the outlets. The chain is looking to open outlets in Great World, VivoCity and Westgate in the last quarter of 2024.

Where: 02-14 Nex, 23 Serangoon Central
MRT: Serangoon
Open: 8am to 9.30pm daily
Tel: 9234-1160
Info: For a list of the outlets, go to gyg.com.sg/find-us. Delivery orders can be made at order.gyg.com.sg