Popular Chinese Dishes in the Food Paradise of Singapore, Categorized by Regions: Part II

Some popular Chinese dishes in Singapore categorized by region & origin:

Cantonese

1. Lanzhou noodles with meat: Lanzhou noodles are characterised by their springy hand-pulled noodles, tender slices of beef or any other meat of choice, and tongue-tingling chilli oil that adds a perfect kick to every bowl. 🌶 

2. Soy Sauce Chicken: Chicken thighs, garlic, wine, dark soy sauce.

3. Wood Fired Roast Duck

4. Shanghainese Nian Gao

Some might argue that these aren’t noodles. To them, I’d say: Who hurt you? Detractors aside, these rice cakes are made from dense rolls of pounded glutinous rice that are steamed, then sliced on a bias into thin pieces. If you’re familiar with Japanese mochi, you can probably imagine how nian gao works. Served as a sweet dish in other parts of the country, the Shanghainese variation is distinctively savory. In stir-fried chao nian gao, the soft and chewy texture makes the perfect foil to crunchy vegetables. 

Shanghainese Nian Gao 

5. Cheung fun

If you spend your weekends creepin’ on your local dim sum parlor, you know these well. Cheung fun are pillow-soft and jelly-like noodles that are made into sheets and often wrapped around a savory filling of shrimp, meat, or fried dough. Eating the dim sum version is, incidentally, a lot like the feeling of having a perfectly warm towel laid on your face. In Hong Kong, the noodles are served at street stalls in little rolls and topped with hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. Their classic, jiggly texture comes from a mixture of rice flour and tapioca or glutinous rice flour, and the name translates literally to “intestine noodle” because of its aesthetic similarity to pig intestine.

Cheung Fun 

5a. Wanton Mee

Wanton noodles is a Cantonese noodle dish popular in many parts of Asia. Wanton noodles are essentially springy egg noodles drenched in a black savory sauce and topped with char siew (roast pork), leafy vegetables and wanton (Chinese dumpling).

Wanton Mee 

                        

5b. Peking Duck

Peking duck is a dish from Beijing (Peking) that has been prepared since the imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crisp skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook. Ducks bred specially for the dish are slaughtered after 65 days and seasoned before being roasted in a closed or hung oven. The meat is often eaten with spring onion, cucumber and sweet bean sauce with pancakes rolled around the fillings. Sometimes pickled radish is also inside, and other sauces (like hoisin sauce) can be used.

Hainanese:

6.  Hainanese Pork Chop: The pork chop is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Drizzled with the tomato-based gravy and mixed vegetables.🍤

7. Hainanese Mutton Soup: Hainanese mutton soup is a herbal soup made with mutton, herbs and other ingredients. Traditionally, goat meat is used to make this dish. Its flavours are derived from the meat, the more than 10 kinds of herbs as well as fermented beancurd. The soup is served hot with rice.

8. Braised Duck 

9.Yao mein

When these thin egg-and-wheat noodles are fresh, they’re fantastic, with a distinct springiness and heft that make them the perfect foil to wontons. Some old-school wonton noodle shops in Hong Kong make a variation on these noodles, called “jook-sing noodles,” by having a cook knead the dough by hopping on a giant bamboo stalk. It’s hard to explain, but it’s cool to watch. Many Asian grocers offers these noodles fresh or frozen, though you can use the dried noodles in a pinch. Just make sure that whatever you buy actually contains egg -- some manufacturers fudge it a bit and include dye to give the noodles that yolky yellow shade. These can be served in hot soup with wontons or stir-fried in sauce. The par-boiled version of these are what people typically use for chow mein: They can be thrown right into the wok from their package.

Yao Mein 

Hakka:

10. Clams: Lala clams boiled with chopped chilli, dash of Chinese wine and sesame oil.🐚

11. Salt Baked Chicken: Wrapped chicken cooked by putting it inside preheated salt in a wok.

12. Hakka Leicha Thunder Tea Rice: 

Leicha is a classic Hakka dish in which ingredients are ground with mortar and pestle to make a thick green soup which is served with rice and vegetables.

13. Hakka Braised Pork Belly
Hakka Braised Pork Belly is a traditional and classic Hakka dish. It is also a dish often served during Chinese New Year or any festive occasions. This braised pork belly dish is characterized as salty and fragrant. The skill in this dish lies in the ability to cook the meat thoroughly without hardening it, and to naturally bring out the umami taste of the succulent pork belly. The braised sauce of this dish has a perfectly balanced sweet and savoury flavour.

Hokkien:

14. Hokkien Mee: A noodle dish—comprising yellow noodles and thick 'bee hoon' (vermicelli)—has juicy prawns, squid, pork belly strips, egg. 🍜

15. Or Luak / Or Chien - Oyster Omelette : Eggy, decadent Or Luak!  Flour, eggs and fresh oysters make a great tasting combo.

16. Mee Sua, White Radish with Scallops

Teochew:

17. Steamed Pomfret: Teochew steamed Pomfret (silver or Chinese) with salted , salted plums, tofu, shiitake mushrooms and tomato. 🐟

18. Cold Crab: Cooked crab, served chilled with ginger & vinegar usually. 

19. Teochew Steamboat:

Singaporeans clearly love steamboats. But besides spicy mala broths and collagen-based soups, the underrated Teochew steamboat is a must-try for hot pot fans. What is to love about this traditional dish is its charcoal heating system, which infuses the broth with a distinct smoky aroma. 

-- Raja Mitra