'Delicious Heirlooms'

Now that the second book titled 'Delicious Heirlooms 2' has been published, I read both books together. Written by Ow Kim Kit, the books tell a story behind our food offered by the restaurants and hawker stalls. It must be an occupational hazard, but the author's footnotes in these two books are top notch. Hehehe. 

'Delicious Heirlooms' (2019) explores the stories behind 10 of Singapore's oldest family-run restaurants. The author chose restaurants that are at least 50 years old. These restaurants are, Fatty Weng, Guan Hoe Soon, Huat Kee, Islamic Restaurant, Ka-Soh, Ming Chung, Muthu's Curry, Sabar Menanti, Samy's Curry and Spring Court.  

There's one recipe attached to the end of every story in 'Delicious Heirloom', which is nice. However, this isn't a recipe book. It's all about the humans, of which I welcome. What would I do with recipes? Stories, I can read and understand about the foods and the owners' drive to continue doing what they do in this mad competitive small town. 

Over the years, I have eaten at all of these restaurants, but I'm fond of none. Hurhurhur. The foods of their chosen cuisines and genre don't appeal to my tastebuds. Okay, maybe Samy's, a little. But that's more of the man and the friends' big love for the chicken liver masala, and not really about the fish head curry. LOL. The recipe provided here is masala prawns.

Automation was not an option. "You will lose the heritage," Maheyndran explained. "I know our government is pushing for automation, but we are afraid it will cost us the original taste of the food. At the end of the day, it is the human touch that makes the difference for food. It's the same with the cook; if they are happy, the food will turn out good, but if they are sad, the food will not be good.

"If some day we are forced to automate, we may have to downsize. Fewer employees may mean we have to serve the food buffet-style. No choice." Maheyndran signed. "Our focus will still be on the food. Indian cuisine has to be personalised. Why we lay the banana leaf, where we put the rice, the vegetables, the papadams, all that is very important."

Maheyndran said that when his father was the cook, the standard was at 100 per cent. It fell to 80 per cent under him, and he worries that it may be further diluted down the generations: Jyothi admitted she cannot cook, but her brother is training to master most of the restaurant specialties. 

Despite their best efforts, Maheyndran believes the method of cooking has also changed the taste of the food. Veerasamy used charcoal in the 1960s and 1970s, which imparted a flavour that today's gas stoves are incapable of. 

 

The current owners of Muthu's Curry, brothers Kasi and Srini, and their wives. 

Did you know that none of the past and present owners of Muthu's Curry (established in 1969) are named Muthu? The restaurant's name is derived from "Muttha erukku", which means 'richness of the pearl' in Tamil. After the founder and father Mr Ayyakkannu's death in 1996, Brothers Kasi and Sirini jointly run Muthu's Curry, aided by their wives, respectively Veshali and Malarvizhi. Business was difficult in the 90s before it picked up again in 2004. The recipe provided in this story is their Mysore mutton. 

The rain had lightened to a drizzle as the first customers for the day streamed in. Kasi and Srini wished their father could see all that they have achieved, which extends to automating their operations and starting a central kitchen in Tuas in 2016. Their mother is happy and very proud of them. 

"We really want to have more outlets in Singapore, but manpower constraints and high rental are huge stumbling blocks," Srini said. 

"Yah, these are the two main factors stopping us from expanding here," Kasi agreed. "We have worked on a franchising model."

I attended the book launch of 'Delicious Heirlooms 2: Our Hawkers, Our Heritage Heroes' (August 2022). The books are pretty well written with photographs of the foods and the humans. I enjoyed reading them. The second book takes a peek at multi-generational hawker businesses. 

This second book holds no recipes because the author said, "I have also decided not to feature any recipes this time as this would be pointless. None of us will be able to recreate the culinary magic that these hawkers have been making for decades, so visiting their stalls frequently to savour their food will be the best form of support. So for those who are still wondering if this is a cook book, it is NOT! It is a heritage publication!!!!!"

These featured hawker stalls are, 115 Desserts (Xiong Ji), Che Rose Nasi Padang, Haji M. Abdul Rajak Soup Kambing, Inspirasi (Mee Reebus), Ming Fa Fishball Noodles, Rolina Curry Puffs, Tan's Tu Tu Coconut Cake, The Old Stall Hokkien Street Famous Hokkien Prawn Mee, U Hakka Niang Dou Fu (Lao Huang), Yu Kee Duck Rice (Yew Kee Duck Rice).

I'm not familiar with the Chinese stalls (because those aren't my kind of food), but I've eaten at all the Malay stalls! I love mee rebus, but it's very hard to find a good one nowadays. I really like Inspirasi's iteration, and still do, so I spend a lot of time going there to eat it. Their begedil is GOOD. Founded by Haji Amat, Inspirasi is still family-run mainly by siblings Rashid and Sa'onah. They've stuck to their capacity to fulfill daily orders right now, and not really wanting to go online to cater to a larger market. They're in their sixties and the next generation owners are still in school. I was stunned to know that there're 24 of them, and I guess there's time to decide who to hand over the reins to. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see Che Rose in there. Che Rose nasi padang FTW! Hahaha. Founded by Madam Hajjah Rosmah in 1968, Che Rose Nasi Padang stall has weathered the decades. At 89 years old, Madam Rosmah still supervises the running of the stall and preparation of the dishes daily. She hasn't decided to retire and doesn't see the need to just yet!

Che Rose's Padang beef rendang and chicken rendang are known for their awesomeness. I love love love their begedil. Her children and grandchildren will eventually carry on Madam Rosmah's legacy and take over the running of the stall. They've learnt how to cook. While they would continue to follow the matriarch's practices and cooking rules, they will also explore expansion opportunities both in Singapore and overseas. 

Another dish (some may argue that it is more of a condiment) which has been immensely popular is Che Rose's sambal belado. According to Sukri, it is special because of the formula of its sambal paste.

"There is a certain flavor, texture and consistency that must be achieved in order to meet my mother's high standards." he said.

The spicy sambal dish is often used to complement other mains such as fried mackerel and sambal tearing (eggplant).