When Original Recipe Prawn Vadai stall at Haig Road Hawker Centre suddenly closed, I wondered about where they are once in a while but pretty much resigned to never having their wonderful vadai ever again. Then, I stumbled upon The Vadai Shop at Golden Mile Food Centre.
Action at the stall front was frenetic.
"Is it really them?" I wondered aloud in the "pinch me" moment. "Yes, they are.... ." KF Seetoh assured me.
There was a long queue. While the buddies got in line, I poked around with my camera. There were dozens of paper boxes bulging with their signature freshly fried prawn vadai waiting to be whisked away.
The queue cleared pretty efficiently and we made off with our dozens fairly quick.
We took our bagfuls of vadai to Heap Seng Leong kopitiam to eat them with decadent kopi gu you. That's what happens when you mix with bad company 😂
Aishey... the prawn vadai was exactly what it was like in the Haig Road days - the vadai was light, spongy with a slight airy bounce to the bite. Just mild savoury sweet spice flavours and aromas. The prawn which I ate with shell, head, tail and all provided the crisp and crunch, and more sweet taste in the prawn way.
(I sin everyday. One of today's sins was to forget to eat my vadai with green chili pepper. That's unforgivable in my books 😓 )
The masala vadai was pretty tasty too.
I was quite blown away by this rather addictive fried chicken skin. It was crackly, quite stiff. Tasted chicky over laid with mild spice flavour. Shiok especially with beer or kopi gu you depending how bad you wanna be 😛
The Original Recipe. The Vadai Shop. The Original Vadai. I don't know lah..., all I know is their prawn vadai tastes great.
Restaurant name: The Original Vadai
Address: 505 Beach Rd, stall #B1-32, Singapore 199583 (Golden Mile Food Centre)
Tel: +65 8588 4181
Hours: 12:00 noon - 7:00pm
Halal
Date visited: 7 Aug 2020
CLOSED. Original Recipe Prawn Vadai @ Haig Best Briyani & Kebabs, Singapore
CLOSED. Arrived a little too early at Haig Road Hawker Centre for a makan session. Meanwhile, tummy needed to be kept entertained before the main event. I recalled that KF Seetoh of Makansutra wrote about Original Recipe Prawn Vadai stall a few days before. I have always loved vadai as a tasty snack with teh tarik, so it once again came to my rescue.
$1 each, each vadai comes with a good size prawn with shell and head intact (bigger than my pinkie). The vadai has a hole in the middle like a doughnut. It is freshly deep fried till crisp and reddish brown outside.
This form of "Singapore vadai" first appeared around Farrer Park in the 1950s. Haig Best Briyani & Kebabs stall owner Stephen Suriyah's mum Madam Jamuna Rani (Auntie Rani) started selling her own version of "Singapore vadai" at pasar malam stalls in the 1990s. It was a big hit at the night markets and has a loyal following. Just this month, Stephen opened his stall at Haig Road hawker centre serving his mum's Original Recipe Prawn Vadai as well as briyani & kebabs. (Source: Makansutra.)
I bought one to try (remembering Warren Buffett's sagely advice "Never test water with both feet.")
The freshly deep fried vadai felt rather greasy even when hot. But, I love the texture - it was gently crisp outside while the inside was spongy, puffy and airy with air pockets (unlike most vadai which are quite dense inside).
The light fluffy spongy dough was savoury with subtle spice flavour, and sweetness from the prawn. The prawn was fried till crisp outside but the stiff shell kept the meat moist and juicy. I ate the crispy prawn whole with head and shell.
The raw green chili pepper provided fleeting sharp spicy heat and juicy crunch to complement the spongy airy vadai.
One was good, so two is better. My tummy was more than happy. The best vadai that I've had so far.
Halal
Date visited: 23 Aug 2019
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