Ho Yeah! Festival · Reconnecting with my Roots with Toisan Cuisine @ Granny's Secret 好嘢节·台山美食

Last evening, together with pals Lynn and Victor we went to Granny's Secret at OG Albert Complex for Toisanese dishes. It was special to me because even though my grandfather came to Singapore from Toisan county in Guangdong, China, I have lost touch with Toisanese cuisine. Toisan is a coastal county located to the west and adjacent to Macau.

Restaurant name: Granny's Secret 阿嫲的私房菜

Address: 60 Albert Street, #02-07, Singapore 189969 (inside OG Albert Complex)

Tel: 6336 7785

Nearest MRT: Rochor station

Hours: 11:00am - 8:00pm (Weds off)

Lynn is the creator, founder and director of Ho Yeah! Festival which is a "ground-up youth initiative to uncover the lesser known foods, customs & stories of Singapore's Cantonese and Hakka". Ho Yeah! is a grassroots passion project run mostly by volunteers.

Owner chef Elaine Koh of Granny's Secret restaurant (lady on my left) supports Ho Yeah! Festival by serving a selection of traditional Toisan dishes from 4 - 18 Dec 2021. The dishes were lovingly curated by Ning Yeung Wui Kuan 宁阳会馆.

Granny Secret offer two set meals suitable for two or four pax.

First up was Steamed Lotus Root Meatball 莲藕丸.

Comforting, homely taste of sweet and savoury in the tender meatballs of pork and shiitake mushroom set on a slice of lotus root.

Pork Ribs with Tangerine Peel 九制陈皮排骨.

Another savoury sweet pork dish. The meat had a slight crispness outside while it was tender and juicy inside. It tasted sweet with quite pronounced flavour and aroma of dried tangerine peel which is one of the signature profiles of Toisan food.

Dried tangerine peel or chenpi is a big part of Toisanese cuisine 👈 click

Steamed Pork Belly with Salted Shrimp Paste 咸虾蒸猪肉.

Familiar old taste of robust salty savoury flavours with tender pork. This version has chili pepper, giving the dish a slight spicy heat and Singaporean touch. 

White Radish Pork Rib Soup 白萝卜排骨汤.

Soup and radish are central in many Toisan family meals.

Then, Lynn suddenly said let's make a short clip for Ho Yeah! Festival 😱  That night, she stitched my five seconds onto a video of how the dishes for Ho Yeah! Festival were prepared.

Ho Yeah! tea (which I was drinking in the clip) is created by Lynn and blended by Pek Sin Choon Tea Merchants.

Cai Guo Rice 菜果饭.

This is fried rice with liver sausage, cured meat, dried scallop, dried shrimp etc., and the signature ingredient is Cai Guo 菜果 or German turnip.

Granny's Secret's rendition uses 佛手瓜 Buddha's Hand gourd instead of 菜果 cai guo. The dish tasted savoury sweet with most of the flavours from the savoury ingredients like liver sausage, cured meat, dried shrimp, etc.

Eel Rice 黄鳝饭.

Savoury sweet fried rice with small strips of soft eel, ginger, spring onion, etc.

"Piglet Cassava" Green Bean Soup 猪仔薯绿豆汤.

猪仔薯 or "piglet cassava" is a tapioca variant. It is sliced and dried, and used to make green bean soup. Everything in the soup is boiled till soft. The piglet cassava adds another soft texture and layer of sweetness to the soup.

Granny's Secret restaurant is located on the second level of OG Department Store. At level 2, the easiest way to find Granny's Secret is to follow the signs to the toilet. The public toilet is beside Granny's Secret - so convenient.

Ho Yeah! Festival 2021 runs from 4 - 18 Dec. These Toisan dishes are available at Granny's Secret throughout the Festival.

Live events on Zoom are conducted on 4, 11 and 18 Dec (Saturdays). Find out more and register for Ho Yeah! Festival events here 👈 click

       

                     

             

             

               

               

             

           

           

           

                         

           

             

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            A post shared by Tony Boey Johor Kaki (@johorkaki)          

       

     

            

Written by Tony Boey on 6 Dec 2021