Rojak | Ziggy

Rojak would best be described as a mixed salad of Indonesian origin.

In Singapore, there are 2 main types, Chinese or Indian rojak. Indian rojak consists of more fritters than fruits in the mix, usually items are laid out to be chosen by customers with a tong. A sweet dip would also be given.

Chinese rojaks are more consistently similar, with cucumbers, radish, pineapple, fried beancurd skin and bean sprout always present, mixed in a sweet tangy sauce made up of prawn paste, belachan, sugar, chilli, lime and slices of ginger bud. Youtiao or a dough fritter is also common. Some would also have squid or dried squid crackers, or century eggs.

Rojak

Dec 2023

There is a reason this rojak is synonymous with Whampoa, it’s brilliant

Mention rojak and people say Whampoa, mention Whampoa and people ask if you’ve tried the rojak. I knew Whampoa had a very nice rojak stall before I knew where it was!

Not a big fan of rojak, this was the first time I really tried the rojak at Hoover, before that, my only impression was that it had century eggs and jellyfish in it!

Hoover

Hoover’s rojak has a good variety of ingredients. The ubiquitous cucumber, turnip, pineapple, bean curd skin cubes and youtiao, add to these there were bean sprouts, ripening mango, water guava and jelly fish.

The water guava pieces were fresh with fruity crisp, as well nice sweetness. Jelly fish gave a good chewy texture. Turnips and pineapples were fresh and soft, surprisingly for the turnips. The youtiaos deserve a special mention, they were soft, not crunchy which I, and most, prefer, but this soft was nice and chewy it went very well in this rojak.

As for the century egg, it is an add-on so we got to ask for it to be added. The owner was also quite friendly, if he was not busy, he would ask his customers to sit first (near stall) and he'd bring the food over.

The combination of various levels of crunch, chewy and sweet amongst all these made for a wonderful plate of rojak.

Then the icing on the cake, or the prawn paste of the rojak, like kissing your loved one, eyes naturally closed when I tried it. Just the right level of sweet, it had a unique fragrance that lifted the prawn paste, with plenty of fresh and crushed peanut pieces, they mix well to provide more beautiful flavour.

The icing on top of this icing was that there were plenty of prawn paste, look at the left over. Well, good things shouldn't be thrown away, so.... Btw, that picture wasn't it, plate was almost empty when it went into the bin.

Went home to tell the boss that I was in love, she smiled and looked at me expecting some witty remark about her, eyes rolled when I told her about Hoover Rojak, not sure if it was because of the humorous dig or what she told me after that that her father always brought her here and they both loved it too...

Hoover Rojak

90 Whampoa Drive, #01-06 Whampoa Makan Place, s320090

10am – 4pm, closed on Mon and Tue

Rojak

Nov 2023

Nice and fresh ingredients, one of the better rojaks

This is a stall that represents the difference between what foreign visitors and locals go for at Maxwell Food Centre, a place where both locals and foreigners flick to for lunch.

Usual days, the Q for this rojak starts 5 minutes before they open at 11am. During school holidays in Singapore, when most people take off days, I was there at noon and I didn’t have to Q at all!

Maxwell

The popiah here was not too bad, fresh turnips, which is the main ingredient. The chilli used was a little on the spicy side so beware… haha. Shrimps were not used for the popiah so if you ask them not to apply the thin layer of prawn paste this can be suitable for vegetarians but please do ask what they put into the turnip mix.

The rojak here was marvelous, nice and sweet prawn paste, just the right mix of sweetness and savoury. The first time I tried it, I was impressed and noted them to be one of the better ones around.

The youtiao and grilled bean curds were fresh and of nice texture. The cucumbers, radish and pineapples all nice and fresh with the pineaaples rather juicy.

I have yet to try the cockles here and always wondered if they really move… its not exactly food for lunch, and would tourists be interested? haha

One of the better stalls at Maxwell no doubt!

Maxwell Rojak · Popiah · Cockles

1 Kadayanallur Street, #01-56 Maxwell Food Centre, s69184

1130am – 830pm, closed on Wed

LHS

Rojak

Nov2023

Juicy ripe and sweet pineapples

A friend of mine just claimed that his newly acquired boss at home (first marriage aged 55!) would only eat this rojak. I happen to be here the next day, got to find out if her taste for food is better than her taste in men…

Rojak here came with the usual grilled youtiao and bean curd, both freshly grilled by the lady behind the stall. Her husband mixed the prawn paste into the ingredients, while the daughter took orders. All was calm but my order took about 10 minutes to be ready, busineess was brisk.

You have the option to add century eggs at $1 per egg, this is not included in the rojak and has to be added. The egg’s quality is such that it is well worth, and recommended to add. Other ingredients in the plate of rojak included the usual cucumbers, turnips and pineapples.

The pineapples here were different from the usual just ripened ones. They use high quality ripened and juicy pineapples. I checked, there was no option to add pineapples, maybe they should. If there was, I might add some next time!

The prawn paste was nice and thick, thicker than my above mentioned friend… i mean intellectually, and body frame wise I guess… Mildly sweet, more like me rather than my friend, and generally delicious. Showered in freshly ground peanut powder, it was indeed brilliant.

My friend’s boss does have better taste in food than in men… but with such quality rojak, she could have married Tom Cruise and I’d still say the same….

Lau Hong Ser Rojak

271 Onan Road, #02-14 Dunman Road Food Centre, s424768

3pm – 12am, closed on Wed and Sun

https://web.facebook.com/p/Lau-Hong-Ser-Rojak-100057362923981/?_rdc=1&_rdr