Private Chef in a Coffee Shop? Teochew Big Brother. Singapore ☎ 90670800 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This humble "private chef" meal was among my best so far this year, thanks to Aaron who discovered Teochew Big Brother 潮州大兄 stall, and Uncle Bob who enthusiastically introduced it to me.



Teochew Big Brother, Randy Chan, who hails from Hong Kong recently shut down his shipping company, a business he founded in 1989. Randy's company was hit by the global shipping downturn which sunk shipping Titanics like NOL and Hanjin.



Since he was a child, Randy learnt cooking from his mum. From his mum, he picked up the skills and passion for cooking and entertaining.

During his shipping years, Randy often entertained friends and business associates by hosting them to private dinners at home.


Randy is the proud daddy of leading actress Apple Chan who starred in the latest edition of "From Ah Boys to Men" movie 👍👏 Ehhhh.... Apple went to the same secondary school as me... don't play play... First Toa Payoh Secondary.... but I am three decades her senior lah... 😂



Soon after shutting down his shipping company, Randy set up Teochew Big Brother hawker stall to serve his "private chef" meals at the coffee shop.

A few makan kakis who have tried Randy's "private chef" meals raved about their experience.

It's a unique kind of "private chef" meal as it is in a coffee shop in an old industrial estate in Toa Payoh. (My driving tests took me through these narrow congested streets, a long time ago.) It's a come as you are, as you like place. No dress code, totally casual, relaxed place for banter, eating and beer.



The aftermath of today's lunch speak for itself.



Nine of us, Randy started us off with this mixed platter of Teochew style braised meats. I am familiar with Teochew style braised meats as Johor Bahru is the "Little Swatow" of Malaysia. Teochew style braising stock tend to be less savoury salty than the Hokkien style which is more common in Singapore.



There's Teochew style braised duck 潮州卤烧鸭. Randy cut the duck breast into thin slices with a strip of fatty skin attached. The meat was tender and juicy. The braising stock which Randy splashed on the duck was mildly savoury, herbal, sweet, so we can still taste the duck's natural flavour. I like it.



Braised pig ear 猪耳. Even though I am a baby boomer i.e. old, I am no big fan of braised pork head parts like ears and snort. But, the way Randy braised his pork head, it was really good. Nice savoury herbal flavour and interesting mix of soft, spongy and crunchy textures.



Braised beef shank tendons 金钱展. Tender, moist, beefy braised beef with visceral tendons.



Braised pork trotter 元蹄片 cut into thick, soft, juicy, sweet, savoury herbal flavour slices.



Uncle Bob loves this stewed beef brisket 净牛腩 and tendons. The beef is tender and juicy, its beefiness balanced with savouriness from the stewing stock.



The savoury stewed beef tendon was softer than warm marshmallow and literally melts in the mouth.



Poached chicken 葱油鸡 (half a bird).



Randy smothered the poached chicken with a thick blanket of scallion oil 葱油 which is aromatic chopped ginger and spring onion sizzled in hot chicken oil.



Even the chicken breast, the hardest part of a chicken to do right, was tender, juicy and flavourful with nice natural chicky sweetness. Each bite lets off a lovely chicky aroma from the soft moist fibres.



How much do I like Randy's ginger-spring onion dressing and sauce 葱油?

I can eat a whole bowl of rice just with it 😋



Next up was the star of the lunch -  steamboat. 

Randy made the stock by boiling kilos of chicken feet till they surrendered their collagen to the broth. The collagen loaded stock was mildly sweet savoury herbal and had a subtle sticky feel on the lips.



The most popular way to enjoy Randy's steamboat is with fresh seafood. Friends who have eaten this raved about it.



But, we were feeling a little adventurous today and opted instead for......

..... beef penis 牛鞭汤 (herbal ox pizzle soup in polite language 😂 ). In the old days, pizzles were used as whips hence the term 牛鞭 or "bull whip".

(Actually, it's Uncle Bob's 40th wedding anniversary, so we went along with his suggestion 😉 )

So, how was it?



It's an acquired taste, to put it politely.



It felt a bit like stewed beef tendon but slightly stiffer. The small pieces were very slippery and I had one slipped down my throat by accident. So, there is a slight choking risk. No horsing around, bantering and laughing when eating this. No joke.

The soft tissue has a characteristic subtle sweetness and smell which took some getting used to.

After eating this, I can feel my body heating up from inside. The weather was steamy hot today, and the fans weren't quite able to cool the coffee shop down, but still I felt the pizzle soup had something to do with the heat as it came from inside out.

Uncle Bob highly recommends this. For me? Having tried it, I doubt that I will do this again 😄



Back to more mainstream items - beef liver 牛肝 and streaky beef 肥牛.



Handmade pork balls 手工猪肉圆.



Vegetable basket 什菜篮 of button mushrooms, brown enoki mushrooms, homemade gluten balls and leafy greens.



Sweet beefy streaky beef.



Creamy beef liver.



Hand chopped, smacked and kneaded pork mince. Soft with tender bite, natural sweetness and aroma.



I love the crunchy brown enoki (also known as Korean wild enoki).



We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. I liked everything, even the ox pizzle, I learnt to accept.... . The total bill came to S$230. There were 9 of us, so it's S$26 per person which I feel is value for money.



4-Stars (out of 5). This is one of my most memorable meals this year, thanks to Teochew Big Brother Randy Chan. The ingredients are top notch as Randy personally handpicks them after receiving orders. Randy is a gifted and proud chef who is fastidious about doing things properly, which manifests in the harmony of textures, flavours and aromas.

Teochew Big Brother is an one-man operation. Randy takes orders, buys ingredients, prepares them, cooks the dishes, serves the meals and clean up afterwards. As Randy is a proud chef, we are assured of quality, consistency and his personal touch.

Newly opened, Teochew Big Brother is still under the foodie radar at the moment, so we had Randy's full attention at lunch. As the stall becomes more established, waiting times may take a little longer.



This is the basic menu. If you are coming, call Randy ☎ 90670800 to discuss your customised menu, at least a day ahead as he needs time to plan and buy ingredients.



Restaurant name: Teochew Big Brother 潮州大兄



Address: Block 9, Toa Payoh Industrial Park, #01-1209 Singapore S319061 (opposite block 231, Lor 8)
GPS: 1°20'12.9"N 103°51'36.1"E | 1.336913, 103.860027
Tel: +65 9067 0800
Hours: Lunch 11:00am - 3:00pm | Dinner 6:00pm - 11:00pm ( Monday night off)

Non Halal

Date visited: 16 Oct 2017

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