Singapore Eats

Salted Tofu

Singapore is famous for its street food, vendors that specialize in a single dish, as well as the variety of food informed by its mixed heritage of Chinese, Malay, Indian, etc. Toronto has never had much exposure to these "hawker" food. I recall going to a Singaporean noodle place in Chinatown (sadly defunct) and a tapas-style food bar (now housing County General). Newly opened Hawker Bar on hot Ossington Ave aims to change that, although neither the owners or chefs lived in Singapore.

Walking in Thursday evening, I find this restaurant's decor is typical of current trends: high, small, wooden tables and dark walls. The menu is small, comprising of about 12 items and 2 daily dishes. They haven't received their liquor license so I will have to satisfy my thirst with their ginger tea. This is an acquired taste as its strong, medicinal smell and flavour never goes away. I order two appetizers: Singapore chicken wings ($9), salted silken tofu ($6); a main dish: Beef rendang, braised ox cheek with coconut rice ($12); and a banana fritter dessert ($4).

Singapore chicken wings

Beef rendang

Banana fritter

The little cubes of tofu are fun to eat with the house dipping sauce but aren't noteworthy. The ox cheek are soft and tender, but the curry could pack more heat. The rice is disastrous, overly salty and wet. The wings are delicious and the best dish of the night. The soy-sauce marinade gives them a wonderful brown with the skin perfectly crispy. The banana fritter batter is infused with pandan leaves, giving it a rather odd green colour. The effort is wasted as you cannot taste the pandan; it is more commonly used in steamed dishes to better absorb the flavour. I believe that regular bananas are used. Certainly, the dessert is very mild and forgettable. Typically, banana fritters use thinly sliced lady finger (sugar) bananas, which gives you a sweeter and crisper treat.

Like all restaurants on the Ossington strip, this restaurant is packed. But for my money, the Hawker Bar's kitchen has some growing pains and need to refine their dishes.