Claypot and Cooked Food Kitchen

Nestled in the bustling Smith Street Chinatown market lies an open secret known to those in the know - the "Claypot and Cooked Food Kitchen". This culinary gem is piloted by Uncle Hong, a virtuoso of traditional Cantonese-style zichar dishes, famously served in piping hot claypots.

The whispers on the street are true: Uncle Hong is a culinary lone ranger, a one-man show behind the fiery woks. This means there is a cap on the number of orders each day – once he hits his limit, no more feasts for the day. So if you are aiming to snag a lunch spot, you have to be there early, as early as 9am, to place your order. Thanks to my dear friends who volunteered that, I had the luxury of just waltzing in at lunchtime – talk about foodie friendship goals!

We just cannot stop talking about sweet and sour pork, can we? Ah, the eternal and meaningless debate: Hong Kong style with hawthorn or Singaporean style with ketchup? But here, it transcends boundaries - bite-sized pork chunks are fried to a crisp, then bathed gently in a perfectly balanced sweet and sour sauce. The dish here defies the notion of 'the best style', proving that taste is as subjective as art, with memories and backgrounds as the palate.

But the stars of the show do not stop shining there. The fried rice with salted fish, char siew, and prawns is a smoky sensation. Each grain of rice stands alone, imbued with the breath of the wok.

We did not stop there – the table was graced with the likes of braised fish head, sea cucumber in its claypot throne, the earthy richness of pork liver claypot, the umami bomb that is prawn paste chicken, and the fiery kick of sambal kang kong. Each dish was a story, a chapter of flavour in the book of Uncle Hong's culinary mastery.

It was indeed a communion with friends through taste, and a narrative of culture and love, one claypot at a time.