Always a pleasure to meet someone whoโs passionate about his cooking - the owner of ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฏ๐ผ๐ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ, Louis Tay, is a self-taught ๐ต๐ป๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ chef who likes to dabble in the kitchen, experimenting and tweaking with his recipes to produce a panoply of ๐ต๐ป๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ dishes that cut across culinary boundaries. Louis Tayโs philosophy is simple: as long as it tastes good, it shall be served.
Yesterday evening, a whole bunch of local foodies converged upon ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฏ๐ผ๐ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ for a cavalcade of tasty ๐ต๐ป๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ dishes, all cooked by the boss-man, Louis, himself.
What we had:
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๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ข๐๐ - stir-fried, semi-braised noodles which had absorbed its pork-prawn broth for a umami flavour punch, yet retaining a subtle wok-hei aroma.
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๐ฝ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ก ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ก๐ค๐จ๐จ - one of the best renditions of this dish Iโd had: the mini-batons of crisp, batter-fried brinjal retained their crunchiness as they were dry-tossed with the flavouring agents, with crisp chicken floss thrown in.
3)๐พ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฅ-๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ค๐ค๐ ๐ง๐ค๐ก๐ก - this is a really old-school, massive seafood-filled roll. One could taste the bouncy-fresh prawn bits embedded in the squid forcemeat paste, the crunchiness of the water-chestnuts, all wrapped up in bean-curd skin and deep-fried to a golden-crisp on the outside, yet moist and flavorsome inside.
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๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐๐จ - a unique fusion-Nyonya rendition of fresh prawns cooked with pineapple in a rich-spicy gravy.
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๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐๐ช๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ก๐ช๐๐ - another classic Malaccan-Nyonya dish, although pork belly instead of pork ribs used here, cooked in a jet-black โbuah keluakโ (pangium edule) paste. Full-flavoured and perfect to go with rice.
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๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ - another rich, juicy meat roll: this one was a combination of pork, shrimps, water-chestnut and taro, scented with Chinese 5-spice and flounder fish powder.
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๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ - this is a faithful rendering of the classic Nonya braised cabbage dish.
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๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ - another Nyonya staple here. Chef Louis uses Gula Melaka (palm sugar) to give his version a deep, smokey sweet flavour.
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๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ - lightly stir-fried royal chives & beansprouts.
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๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ - Chef Louisโ own take on the Malay ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ง ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ. Besides fennel and coriander, Chef Louis also used tomato puree and tamarind (asam paste) to give the dry beef curry a more complex flavour profile.
Very satisfying meal - just too many things to try in one sitting! Iโll need to come back.
Address
Rainbow Rice House
43 North Canal Road, Singapore 059299
Tel: +65 6534 3229
Opening hours: 7am to 9.30pm Mon-Sat. Closed on Sundays.
