Singapore Hawker Masters Return at Town Restaurant, The Fullerton Hotel

Hawker food is a precious component of Singapore’s identity and heritage. The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao started Singapore Hawkers Masters Awards to recognize the best of our hawkers annually with the hope of preserving this heritage. In partnership with The Straits Times for the second year, Town Restaurant’s much-awaited Singapore Hawker Masters Dinner Buffet returns this year from 4 to 13 April 2014.

11 Hawker Masters, honoured between 2010 and 2013 in the annual Singapore Hawker Masters Awards organized by The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao will be creating their lip-smacking dishes a la minute at the dinner buffet. These winners are selected each year through three phases – consisting of a public nomination, voting by the readers of The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao, followed by a taste test by a distinguished panel of judges including food critics from the newspapers.

The 11 featured Hawker Masters at the dinner buffet are:
1. Casuarina Curry Restaurant’s Roti Prata (Casuarina Road)
2. Haron Satay (East Coast Lagoon Food Village)
3. Hoover Rojak (Whampoa Drive Food Centre)
4. Nusa & Tara’s Lontong (ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre)
5. Rojak & Mee Siam’s Indian Rojak (Geylang Serai Market & Food Centre)
6. Roxy Laksa (East Coast Lagoon Food Village)
7. Song Zhou Carrot Cake (Bedok Interchange Food Centre)
8. Tiong Bahru Tau Suan (Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre)
9. Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo (Chinatown Complex Food Centre)
10. Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh (Havelock Road)
11. Ye Lai Xiang Hot & Cold Cheng Tng (Bedok Food Centre)

I have tried all the 11 hawker dishes and my favourite 3 is Hoover Rojak, Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo, and Nusa & Tara’s Lontong. I was pretty disappointed with Song Zhou carrot cake though, as it was dry and looked unimpressive. The meat for Haron Satay was a tad too dry as well. Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh was milder than the original stall. However, Hoover Rojak was fantastic. You Tiao and Tau Pok is grilled on the spot, and the sauce has a a well balanced sweet, savoury, tangy and spicy. We had 2 bowls of Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo because the crispy ikan bilis is just too enticing!

In addition, The Fullerton Hotel’s renowned Chicken Rice will also star on the buffet line. Meticulously prepared by its esteemed culinary team using only the freshest Chicken, the secret to achieving maximum juiciness and tenderness of the meat is by poaching the chicken in hot water for 50 minutes before soaking it in ice water for another 20 minutes. When ready, it is served with fragrant rice that is cooked with pandan and lemongrass, a tasty broth with fresh cabbage, bean curd and wolfberries as well as piquant Chilli and Ginger sauces which are also made in house.

The dinner buffet will also encompass a sumptuous international selection of ocean fresh seafood, pastas, pizzas, cheeses and desserts. The Singapore Hawker Masters at The Fullerton Hotel dinner buffet (6.30pm-10.30pm) is available from 4 to 13 April 2014, and is priced at $56 per adult and $28 per child (6 to 12 years old).

Town Restaurant
Address: The Fullerton Hotel, 1 Fullerton Square
Tel: 68778128