Last night, we had dinner at Wee's Family Coffee Shop at Bedok Reservoir Road. It's a family oriented restaurant with all the usual zhi char 煮炒 dishes plus several unique offerings, all at reasonable prices.
Humble HDB zhi char shops are ubiquitous in Singapore, yet relatively unheralded in Singapore's food scene. Where there are HDB flats, there are HDB zhi char shops. It is uniquely Singapore, something found only on this sunny island. It's a cultural heritage that was spawned together with the birth of HDB (Housing Development Board) and is still thriving today.
HDB zhi char shops are closely intertwined with the lives of 80% of Singaporeans who live in public housing (HDB flats). HDB zhi char shops are independent businesses which serve restaurant style food at affordable prices to folks who live in the HDB flats right above and around them.
It's the F & B equivalent of budget airlines - now everyone can eat restaurant dishes.
Many HDB dwellers have their daily meals here with simple fried rice or noodles. Singaporean families and friends eat together and bond more often at HDB zhi char restaurants than at hawker centres which are basically fast paced eat-and-run places.
Many Singaporeans celebrate special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries at HDB zhi char shops. On Mother's Day, Father's Day etc, you will find most HDB zhi char places booked solid with multi-generation families. On such occasions, folks indulge in restaurant type dishes like Singapore chili crab etc.
I like Wee's Family's chili crab because the thick heavy sauce was crustacean savoury and mildly spicy. The 1 kilogram Sri Lankan crab was stewed briefly in the sauce to extract its briny crustacean savouriness. Some may feel that this is slightly on the salty side but I like it this way.
The live 1 kilogram weight Sri Lankan crab was meaty.
Wee's Family's asam catfish is unique - something that I have not tasted before this. (This dish is normally made with sea bass. If you like catfish, you need to call ahead to order ☎ 6743 7482.)
It reminds me of Gulai Tempoyak Ikan Patin or catfish with durian from the Malay Peninsular's east coast (it's a story for another post).
Sweeping aside the jackfruit, onion, tomatoes, chili peppers etc revealed a 1 kilo weight black catfish. Truth be told, I expected a bit of earthly taste in the black catfish, so I wasn't overly excited at first.
But, the soft moist meat was delightfully sweet (with no trace of earthiness at all). The complementary sweetness from the jackfruit was prominent with more mild vegetable sweetness and subtle chili spiciness in the background.
Looking at the aftermath, I was not the only one who liked this dish. This was my favourite from last night's dinner.
Steamed Sotong (squid) 蒸苏东.
The fresh squid was steamed with a mild watery sourish sweet sauce and topped with fried garlic bits. Wee's Family uses squid with thick meat which has more spring to the bite and more natural flavour.
Wee's Family's rendition of Salted Fish Pork Claypot 咸鱼花腩锅 uses meat from the pig's "armpit"不见天肉 instead of the usual pork belly.
The "armpit" 不见天肉 is a choice cut coveted for its extra tenderness, juiciness and sweet taste. The savoury sauce with salted fish and subtle heat from dried chili was mild so we can appreciate the delicate natural flavours of the fresh pork. Onions added a layer of sweetness to the dish.
Claypot Pork Liver 砂锅猪腰. The fresh pork liver was briefly cooked in a rather robust savoury salty sauce and served simmering hot in a claypot. Gently chewing the fresh pork liver into a "hoon hoon"粉粉 "powdery mash", we could still taste the liver's natural flavour. I wish the savoury salty sauce was a notch milder so that I can taste the fresh liver more.
Give Singaporeans salted egg whatever, and you will score 😄
But seriously, Wee's Family Salted Egg Crayfish 咸蛋虾婆 was really quite nice. The real salted egg yolk batter was crisp and quite mild savoury tasting. The crayfish meat encased inside the nugget was tender and juicy, and we could still taste its delicate natural sweetness.
The "Tricolor" Noodles was created by owner Milton Wee when he had to quickly improvise a dish for a group of friends, some of whom won't eat chicken, and others won't take pork etc. So, he decided to mash three types of eggs together to make a noodle dish.
Milton's friends love the three egg sauce, so did most of us at tonight's dinner. Ehh..... I am just ok with it 😜 Its a gooey mash of fresh egg, century egg and salted egg yolk with mushrooms to make a mild sauce of layered savouriness with some sweetness from wolf berries. The Hock Chew noodles themselves were excellent because of their al dente texture.
👉 I will be back to enjoy this unique asam catfish at Wee's Family Coffee Shop and also other dishes (which I haven't tried) at this family oriented HDB chi char shop. If I have overseas guests, this is one of the top of my mind places to take them to experience HDB zhi char and Singapore chili crab.
Our total bill for all the food, rice and drinks came to $190. We were a party of 6 pax.
Restaurant name: Wee's Family Coffee Shop 黄家咖啡店
Address: 117 Bedok Reservoir Rd, Singapore 470117
GPS: 1°19'53.5"N 103°54'29.4"E 🌐 1.331533, 103.908174
Tel: 6743 7482
Hours: 11:45am - 11:00pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 29 Oct 2018
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