Crispy Beer Battered Fish

The best way to cook deep-fried battered fish is to add beer to your batter.  

The bubbles in the beer add body and lightness to the batter, giving the fried fish a layer of delicious crispy coating that envelops all the moisture in it.  

I served the fish with some chips and home-made tartar sauce and it was a big hit with my family.  Even my husband, who dislikes fried food, gave a thumbs-up for it.      

Cereal Prawn

Cereal Prawn, an all-time-favourite among young and old, is served at almost all Zhi-Char Stalls and restaurants in Singapore.

There are many cereal pre-packed mix available at the supermarket.  But you could make this dish easily just by using instant nestum cereal.  

You can also substitute prawns with fish or chicken. 

Singapore Chilli Crab

Ranked no. 35 on World's 50 Most Delicious Food complied by CNN GO (as at July 2011), this dish needs no further introduction.

Eating crabs at a restaurant with a group of 4 could easily set you back around S$100.  At a fraction of the cost, you could replicate this delicious dish easily in your own kitchen.    

Hong Kong Style Poached Fish Head

The older Cantonese living in Singapore would be very familiar with the famous Loy Sum Juang Cantonese Restaurant (黎三元酒家).  It first started  business in the 70s at Outram Park and subsequently shifted to Tiong Bahru Plaza in the 80s.  Just found out recently that it is now located at Murray Terrace.

The mention of Loy Sum Juang will always remind me of its Hong Kong Style Fish Head.  Although I have not visited the restaurant for a long time, the taste of the succulent fish head still lingers in my mind. 

I'm not sure if the Hong Kong Style Fish Head is made famous here by Loy Sum Jung Restaurant, but you will see almost all zhi-char stalls at the Outram Park area hawker centre selling this dish now.
 .
Some people may say Song Fish Head gives a muddy taste, but the texture of the flesh of this fish is so soft and succulent that no other fish can replace it.  Song Fish Head is also very cheap at the wet market.  Price range from $6 - $10 for a fish head that weighs around 1.2 - 1.8kg.  It is definitely much more economical to prepare this at home.

Restaurant-Style Steam Fish Soy Sauce

This is my children's favourite recipe for Chinese Steam Fish. They could gobble down bowls of white rice just with the pipping hot aromatic sauce from the steam fish.


This sauce goes well with steamed Seabass, Groupa and Soon Hock.  The texture of these fish is super delicate and smooth, but of course they are pricy too.  So, the perfect way to cook these expensive fish is to steam it without any seasoning to retain its original 'sweetness'.  Just place a few pieces of sliced old ginger and some spring onion (white section) on top of the fish, drizzle 2 tbsp of chinese white wine and steam the fish for 8 - 10 minutes.  Remember to discard the liquid in the steaming tray - this will give the fish a bitter and fishy taste.  


Timing is also of essence in preparing this dish.  Prepare the sauce and ginger-onion oil while steaming the fish to ensure everything is pipping hot when serve.  Nothing taste better than a sizzle hot steamed fish straight from the kitchen.

Restaurant style Steamed Soon Hock with Soy Sauce