By Kiana Koh

Ah, food, one of the main reasons why people come to Singapore. When we think of Singapore food, the first thing that comes into mind would be our famous dish, chilli crab. But besides that, do you know other local dishes that are served around here?

As I’ve mentioned many times, Clementi is pretty much a dead town. But what makes things interesting is that many people do not know that here in West Coast Market, there is actually some pretty good local food served worth the time, travel and your money! Here’s my top 3 recommendations after having a feast there!

1. Our very first dish, Char Kway Teow. The ingredients of this dish are flat rice noodle and kway teow (also known as Chinese noodle) with whole prawns, egg, bean sprouts and the main ingredient, deshelled blood cockles. It might sound pretty gross or scary but it actually tastes really good! One thing about this Char Kway Teow is that the serving is actually big, and the ingredients used here are super fresh, and you won’t smell or taste anything fishy. That I feel, is the most important criteria in a dish that has seafood, it must not have a fishy smell or taste.

2. The name of this second dish is called Oyster Omelette, or better known as Orh Lua to Singaporeans. The ingredients for this dish is surprisingly simple, potato starch is mixed into the egg batter which gives it a thicker consistency. And while frying the egg batter, the oysters are then added in. As you know, most of the Singaporeans enjoy spicy food, so this dish is paired with their own version of chilli and lime juice, to give it an extra kick. The oysters are really fresh and juicy, and the flavour of it bursts out when you bite into it! The chilli really complements it so well that the taste is so indescribable!

3. Moving on to our third dish, chicken wing lovers put your hands up! Chicken wing lovers, this is a stall you will not want to miss! The chicken wings from here are to die for. Grilling it on a skewer instead of frying it makes the skin outside slightly crispy but keeping its carefully marinated taste, and the meat inside is so fragrant and tender that it will leave you wanting more! Also, chicken wings from here are also cut into two pieces, the drum and wings, just for you to eat more conveniently! How good is that!? Also, they have their own type of chilli sauce that goes well with the chicken, but if you’re someone that can’t stand or take spicy food, the chicken is also good enough on its own! They also do sell Satays, so be sure to check them out as well!

These are just the icings on the cake; there are still more stalls that I have not tried yet, but I do know that West Coast will not disappoint me, so do lookout for part 2 of the Best of West Coast Hawker Centre!