Makansutra: Uglylicious, old-fashioned fish head bee hoon
Hawker food brings Singaporeans together, as does this Cantonese-style dish
So the Government is nominating our hawker culture for Unesco's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
If it gets the nod from Unesco, then it is the ultimate rating.
No stars, chopsticks, points or chef hat rankings can ever come close to this accolade.
Because Unesco will recognise it only if it resonates with and is an integral part of people's lives, that it undeniably bonds us and harbours our heritage and culinary history.
Back in April, a group of foodies and commentators, including yours truly, was invited to a focus group discussion by the National Heritage Board on what should be the next Unesco Intangible Heritage award we should celebrate (after the Singapore Botanic Gardens was inducted).
YOUNG HAWKERS
Sports, music, grandma's recipes and even language were brought up, but heritage hawker food culture stole the show.
We have big, small, central, ulu (far-flung), Malay-centric, Chinese, Indian hipster and even "foreigner favourites" hawker centres (like a few in town). They total over 110 and more are being built.
There has also been a push to get young hawkers into the trade.
So as part of celebrating our hawker culture, I look at an old-fashioned dish, made in a manner that is fast disappearing - the comforting Cantonese-style fish head bee hoon from Hua Ji XO Seafood Bee Hoon at Old Airport Road Food Centre.
It looks like a bag of fish bone trash emptied over the noodles.
But to the initiated, this is how it should be.
Fish heads, especially of the snakehead toman variety used here, harbour tons of flavour, texture and gelatinous flesh and cartilage.
And the rubbery and resilient skin is such a delight to bite into.
The folks here fry the heads, chop them up, put them over a ginger-laced roasty and murky fish bone stock with a dash of milk and a scintilla of alcohol, with thick beehoon noodles.
You have to be an expert to manoeuvre the bones in the mouth, and don't bother taking Instagram pictures, because no matter how you look at it, it's uglylicious.
These older hawkers go easy in the salt department but you can add extra soy sauce if you like.
Alternatively, the fish slice hor fun here is a class act.
You can watch the chef sear the flat rice noodles in the wok till the distinct "wok hei" aroma kicks in, then it is slathered with a gooey and eggy seafood sauce along with chunky slices of fish.
Ditto for the mui fan (Cantonese-style seafood risotto), where the same sauce is used over steamed rice topped with prawns, squid and fish slices.
As I write this, the NTUC Foodfare folks have begun to take over management of this hawker centre from the National Environment Agency. I hope it works well and I look forward to even better operations from this new team.
Hua Ji XO Seafood Bee Hoon #01-118, Old Airport Road Food Centre
Opens 12.30pm to 10pm, closed Thursdays
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