SINGAPORE DAY 2011 SPECIAL FEATURE
Celebrity Hawker: Hong Ji Satay Bee Hoon
Featured Dish: Satay Bee Hoon
By Clement Wan, 15 Mar 2011
It was said that a long time ago, a Peranakan man was so in love with satay sauce that he smothered it over everything he ate. This incidentally included a plate of steamed vermicelli or bee hoon and voila, a popular local dish was born! But before you go ahead and pour your regular satay sauce over a plate of bee hoon, it is good to note that although satay bee hoon sauce may look and taste almost similar to satay sauce, they are indeed different.
“Satay bee hoon sauce has a stronger smell as it contains a lot of lemongrass. And because bee hoon contains a lot of moisture and is quite bland, the sauce needs to have a stronger taste to make up for it,” said Eugene Ng, our satay bee hoon hawker for Singapore Day 2011 in Shanghai.
Eugene and his family
Eugene is the third generation in-charge of a food business that was first established by his grandmother. Back then however, it was another local delicacy that they were whipping up. “We first started with laksa. The recipe was passed down from my grandmother. After awhile we started to realise that there were no stalls selling satay bee hoon in the western part of Singapore, so we decided to try and it turned out pretty good.”
‘Pretty good’ is a modest statement considering how many Singaporeans from all over the island flock to Hong Ji to savour delicious satay bee hoon made fresh every day. “We start at 6am and prepare the bee hoon first. There’s really nothing special in the preparation of the bee hoon but it’s our gravy that is different from others,” said Eugene. “It’s fresh and we only prepare however much we need and do not keep any leftovers.”
As for spearheading the family business, Eugene’s involvement is one that stems from the heart. “I personally am interested in cooking. Since I was a kid, I’m always at the stall helping my mom and my favourite thing to do then was washing plates because I got to play with water!” confessed the young cook. Apart from satay bee hoon, he also runs his dad’s chicken rice stall. We asked if daily preparations between the stalls clash and he calmly replied, “My workers here are well-trained and know what to do because they have been working with my family for more than thirty years.”
Place your order here!
As for Singapore Day, he will be dishing out 1500 servings of satay bee hoon – that’s four to five times more than he is used to preparing back home! Will he be able to handle it? “It’ll be a bit tiring, but no problem!” he replied enthusiastically. It seems that Eugene and his loyal men are all geared up and ready to bring their famous dish to you, so prepare yourself for some satay bee hoon. Come down early to Century Park in Shanghai, join the queue and enjoy. Oh, and don’t forget to register first!
Hong Ji Shi Jia Le Yuan
Blk 448 Clementi Ave. 3 #01-34
Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday 7am – 8pm. Closed on some Mondays.
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