Hello all, hope all of you are doing fine and it's almost the weekend. Been out of town for a week and time to catch up on food available locally which I didn't get to eat while I am in Taiwan. A little heads up, I will be starting a short series of 5 post to showcase what I ate in Taiwan during my latest business trip. But for now, I tried a new eatery that opened recently in a shopping mall near my house and after reading about them, they are actually founded by my juniors in my university. Way to go, my fellow juniors!
The Place
A Hot Hideout
Address: 604 Sembawang Road #02-24 Sembawang Shopping Centre, Singapore 758459
There are a total of 8 outlets for this eatery islandwide in Singapore which is really commendable. From enthusiast of the food, these individuals came together and started this business and making this dish which originates from Sichuan China to something that suit the palette of Singaporeans. To be honest, when this dish first appeared in Singapore, I was a little apprehensive when I saw how it looked for the original version where there was so much oil used to cook the dish. But overtime, I am also an enthusiast of this dish. The location is highly accessible and even provide shuttle bus to the mall from various pick up points in the north.
Here's how the place looks like:
I have to say, this is such a nice place to dine in. Can tell from the effort that was put into the eatery to elevate the dining experience. Very modern design and definitely very spacious. The sofa and chairs were comfy as well, utensils were easy to find and additional condiments can be found from a nearby counter with ease. So let's move on to the food.
The Food
Since this place is called a hot hideout, then we are definitely here for Stir Fry Mala. So after picking the ingredients we wanted, we took a buzzer and headed back to our seat. After a short duration, our personal bowl of Stir Fry Mala is served.
And here's what it looked like with the beverage we ordered:
Looks really good and sumptuous, now I will deep dive into the Stir Fry Mala we ordered.
Stir Fry Mala
Look at that wholesome bowl of goodness. The picture above has a layer of potato chips covering the dish, let me sweep them to the side and show you the other ingredients.
The uniqueness of the Stir Fry Mala for this place is actually that they do an extra frying of some of the ingredients to bring up the crispiness of them. Items such as potato which comes in the form of potato chips, steamed bun, lotus root and dory fish are all fried to perfection and every bite comes with a nice crisp.
One can also obtain a small bowl and concoct your own dipping sauce using their sesame sauce, cilantro, peanuts, onions and additional chilli oil if you need it to be more spicy.
The above is my favourite, usually it is just otah fishcake with the spice but this one is unique. The moment you bite on it, the cheese oozes out and is a good combination with the otah fishcake itself. You must really get this if you come dine here.
Ingredients here are really fresh and nice, the stir fry is well done with no items being overcooked or charred like some other places due to high heat used. In terms of taste, definitely it is tapered down as compared to traditional ones whom shower the dish with dried chilli and peppercorn. I personally would prefer a stronger taste, but this is good too with their unique way of doing this dish especially the fried ingredients and the less oil used. I think not many people can take the strong taste, so what the owners did was really thoughtful to ensure this dish is designed nicely for Singaporeans.
Overall:
This is a nice place to dine in and the price of the food is acceptable and does not burn a big hole in your pocket. It is a very well curated and designed dish to fit the Singaporean taste buds. If you are looking for authentic Chinese Stir Fry Mala, this might not be what you are looking for. But if you like some mala and have a taste of how the fried ingredient integrates with the usual mala, then this is a place that you do not want to miss out. Glad that there is such an eatery in my neighbourhood to increase the variety of food choices near me.
Closing
Thank you for coming by and reading my post. I really wanna congratulate my juniors on their boldness to start this business and designing something for Singaporeans. Nice place, nice food, what more can I ask for. A really satisfied meal.
See you in the next post!
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