26 Aug 2007, ST
Only two out of the four seafood eateries that operated at the old Punggol Point until 1995 are still around
ON A busy weekend night, up to 2,000 people could sit around tables strewn in the open air, feasting on crabs and mee goreng.
Nearby, anglers fished on the jetty, enjoying the gentle sea breeze.
This was a typical scene at Punggol Point in the 1970s and 1980s, when four seafood restaurants operated from that corner.
They were resettled in the mid-1990s. Only two remain in business: Ponggol Choon Seng and Ponggol Hock Kee.
Although the laidback, kampung feel of the old Punggol is gone, both restaurants boast original chefs and long-serving waitresses.
But Choon Seng's manager William Lai admits that 'business is tough' as there are many more seafood restaurants now compared to the old days.
To stay competitive, it has opened branches in housing estates in Bukit Timah, Changi and Hougang to capture a different crowd. It also limits its seating capacity at each outlet to about 60 to keep overheads low.
'We will do just one round of business so that our customers can have a relaxed meal without being rushed,' Mr Lai says.
In comparison, Hock Kee, which used to be at the former World Trade Centre, Hougang Mall and later East Coast Park chalet, has just one outlet which can accommodate about 350 people.
It moved to its present premises at Marina Country Club in Punggol in January last year.
'The regulars who used to dine at the old Punggol Point are slowly coming back,' says Hock Kee's manager Ting Cheng Ping. 'I'm optimistic that as more people move to this area, the F&B business will definitely pick up.'
--------------------------
... Ponggol seafood (old Ponggol Hock Kee)
By WONG AH YOKE
I REMEMBER having gone to this restaurant only a few times during the 1980s, when I wanted a break from Choon Seng.
Its advantage was that it was located on the water's edge and you could see the twinkling lights in Johor on the horizon while you dined.
Its premises now at the Marina Country Club are bigger and the crowds are smaller, so it feels a lot less cramped than the old place.
But there is still no air-conditioning, and instead of the sea, you look over the club's swimming pool.
Service has not improved from the old days either.
During my dinner last week, two people had to share a finger bowl, and nobody refilled our tea cups after we had drained them.
Thankfully, the cooking, too, was still the way I remembered it.
The chilli crab ($35 a kg) came in a thick gravy that was rich with egg. But it could do with a wee bit more chilli and ketchup for more kick.
The crab was meaty but a bit tough, a sign perhaps that it was overcooked. But there was plenty of roe embedded under the shell.
The famous mee goreng ($5) was a small serving and the prawns were not very big. But it boasted a fabulous flavour, with plenty of what the Cantonese call wok hei (literally 'wok breath'), a slight smokiness that came from frying in a red-hot wok.
And the crispy baby squid ($9) was simply fabulous. It stayed absolutely crispy right till the end of the meal.
The sticky, dark sauce, which had an interesting tang to its honey sweetness, tasted a bit overpowering on its own, but mixed with the shredded lettuce that lined the bottom of the plate, it was perfect.
The serving was small, but enough for two people.
Going to this restaurant is like taking a trip back in time.
Travelling along Punggol Road, you find the brightly lit three-lane road transform suddenly into a single-lane one once you leave the HDB flats behind. It is the old road that leads to the old seafood restaurants, unchanged and still unlit at stretches.
But it is a trip worth taking if you are looking for some nostalgia. And go quick, because it is not going to stay that way for long.
Food: *** 1/2
Service: ** 1/2
Ambience: ** 1/2
Price:The three dishes plus a mixed vegetable cost $59.95. There is no service charge.
600 Ponggol Seventeenth Avenue
Tel: 6448-8511
Open: 11.30am to 2pm, 5.30 to 10.30pm (Mondays to Fridays); 11.30am to 10.30pm (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays)
----------------------------
...Ponggol Choon Seng Seafood Restaurant (Greenwood)
By WONG AH YOKE
BACK in the 1980s, Choon Seng was where I went for chilli crab and seafood mee goreng.
The non air-conditioned eatery at Punggol offered no frills and was not even at the water's edge, but it had great food.
The only interesting thing to watch was the sight of SBS buses making a three-point turn to get out of the dead-end road.
Today, the restaurant's main branch is located in a classy private estate in the Bukit Timah area. The place is air-conditioned and service is good.
During my visit last week, for example, we got one finger bowl per person and the waitress was quick to bring paper napkins and packs of wet towelettes when the chilli crab ($38 per kg) arrived at the table.
But the cooking was not what it used to be.
The gravy would have been pretty tasty if it had not been so watery. One could taste hints of its piquant spicy flavours only if one concentrated hard.
But I suspect it wasn't that the chef had intended to water down the gravy. The liquid quite likely came from the crab itself, which was not very big or meaty although its 0.9kg weight should have indicated otherwise.
Watery crabs are those that have recently moulted and have not had time to fatten up in their new shell yet.
I had loved those meaty Sri Lankan crabs from the Choon Seng of yore but this seemed a poor cousin.
And there wasn't any roe to be found in the dish either.
The famous mee goreng ($10), too, was not the way I remembered it. The noodles were a bit hard and the taste was a little flat.
The chef was generous with the seafood though, with big prawns and pieces of succulent squid to make up for the poor noodles.
But the biggest disappointment was with the crispy baby squid ($20).
It was a huge plate, enough for four people at least, but the squid was more chewy than crispy. Which quite missed out the appeal of this dish.
Come here for comfort and good service, but there is better food to be found elsewhere.
Food: ** 1/2
Service: *** 1/2
Ambience: ***
Price: The three dishes plus a dish of sweet potato leaves cost $90.65, including taxes.
14, Greenwood Avenue
Tel: 6465-4621
Open: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30 to 10.30pm. Closed for lunch on Mondays
Only two out of the four seafood eateries that operated at the old Punggol Point until 1995 are still around
ON A busy weekend night, up to 2,000 people could sit around tables strewn in the open air, feasting on crabs and mee goreng.
Nearby, anglers fished on the jetty, enjoying the gentle sea breeze.
This was a typical scene at Punggol Point in the 1970s and 1980s, when four seafood restaurants operated from that corner.
They were resettled in the mid-1990s. Only two remain in business: Ponggol Choon Seng and Ponggol Hock Kee.
Although the laidback, kampung feel of the old Punggol is gone, both restaurants boast original chefs and long-serving waitresses.
But Choon Seng's manager William Lai admits that 'business is tough' as there are many more seafood restaurants now compared to the old days.
To stay competitive, it has opened branches in housing estates in Bukit Timah, Changi and Hougang to capture a different crowd. It also limits its seating capacity at each outlet to about 60 to keep overheads low.
'We will do just one round of business so that our customers can have a relaxed meal without being rushed,' Mr Lai says.
In comparison, Hock Kee, which used to be at the former World Trade Centre, Hougang Mall and later East Coast Park chalet, has just one outlet which can accommodate about 350 people.
It moved to its present premises at Marina Country Club in Punggol in January last year.
'The regulars who used to dine at the old Punggol Point are slowly coming back,' says Hock Kee's manager Ting Cheng Ping. 'I'm optimistic that as more people move to this area, the F&B business will definitely pick up.'
--------------------------
... Ponggol seafood (old Ponggol Hock Kee)
By WONG AH YOKE
I REMEMBER having gone to this restaurant only a few times during the 1980s, when I wanted a break from Choon Seng.
Its advantage was that it was located on the water's edge and you could see the twinkling lights in Johor on the horizon while you dined.
Its premises now at the Marina Country Club are bigger and the crowds are smaller, so it feels a lot less cramped than the old place.
But there is still no air-conditioning, and instead of the sea, you look over the club's swimming pool.
Service has not improved from the old days either.
During my dinner last week, two people had to share a finger bowl, and nobody refilled our tea cups after we had drained them.
Thankfully, the cooking, too, was still the way I remembered it.
The chilli crab ($35 a kg) came in a thick gravy that was rich with egg. But it could do with a wee bit more chilli and ketchup for more kick.
The crab was meaty but a bit tough, a sign perhaps that it was overcooked. But there was plenty of roe embedded under the shell.
The famous mee goreng ($5) was a small serving and the prawns were not very big. But it boasted a fabulous flavour, with plenty of what the Cantonese call wok hei (literally 'wok breath'), a slight smokiness that came from frying in a red-hot wok.
And the crispy baby squid ($9) was simply fabulous. It stayed absolutely crispy right till the end of the meal.
The sticky, dark sauce, which had an interesting tang to its honey sweetness, tasted a bit overpowering on its own, but mixed with the shredded lettuce that lined the bottom of the plate, it was perfect.
The serving was small, but enough for two people.
Going to this restaurant is like taking a trip back in time.
Travelling along Punggol Road, you find the brightly lit three-lane road transform suddenly into a single-lane one once you leave the HDB flats behind. It is the old road that leads to the old seafood restaurants, unchanged and still unlit at stretches.
But it is a trip worth taking if you are looking for some nostalgia. And go quick, because it is not going to stay that way for long.
Food: *** 1/2
Service: ** 1/2
Ambience: ** 1/2
Price:The three dishes plus a mixed vegetable cost $59.95. There is no service charge.
600 Ponggol Seventeenth Avenue
Tel: 6448-8511
Open: 11.30am to 2pm, 5.30 to 10.30pm (Mondays to Fridays); 11.30am to 10.30pm (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays)
----------------------------
...Ponggol Choon Seng Seafood Restaurant (Greenwood)
By WONG AH YOKE
BACK in the 1980s, Choon Seng was where I went for chilli crab and seafood mee goreng.
The non air-conditioned eatery at Punggol offered no frills and was not even at the water's edge, but it had great food.
The only interesting thing to watch was the sight of SBS buses making a three-point turn to get out of the dead-end road.
Today, the restaurant's main branch is located in a classy private estate in the Bukit Timah area. The place is air-conditioned and service is good.
During my visit last week, for example, we got one finger bowl per person and the waitress was quick to bring paper napkins and packs of wet towelettes when the chilli crab ($38 per kg) arrived at the table.
But the cooking was not what it used to be.
The gravy would have been pretty tasty if it had not been so watery. One could taste hints of its piquant spicy flavours only if one concentrated hard.
But I suspect it wasn't that the chef had intended to water down the gravy. The liquid quite likely came from the crab itself, which was not very big or meaty although its 0.9kg weight should have indicated otherwise.
Watery crabs are those that have recently moulted and have not had time to fatten up in their new shell yet.
I had loved those meaty Sri Lankan crabs from the Choon Seng of yore but this seemed a poor cousin.
And there wasn't any roe to be found in the dish either.
The famous mee goreng ($10), too, was not the way I remembered it. The noodles were a bit hard and the taste was a little flat.
The chef was generous with the seafood though, with big prawns and pieces of succulent squid to make up for the poor noodles.
But the biggest disappointment was with the crispy baby squid ($20).
It was a huge plate, enough for four people at least, but the squid was more chewy than crispy. Which quite missed out the appeal of this dish.
Come here for comfort and good service, but there is better food to be found elsewhere.
Food: ** 1/2
Service: *** 1/2
Ambience: ***
Price: The three dishes plus a dish of sweet potato leaves cost $90.65, including taxes.
14, Greenwood Avenue
Tel: 6465-4621
Open: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30 to 10.30pm. Closed for lunch on Mondays
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