Hakka Dinner with BB at Upper Thomson ($27.80)!

Dinner with BB at a Hakka restaurant in Upper Thomson. $27.80 for the spread. 😍😋👍🏼

What was on the table:

• Stuffed tofu in dark sauce (酿豆腐): 2-3 large tofu blocks stuffed with fish-paste-and-pork filling, simmered in a dark soy gravy with kai lan (Chinese broccoli), the classic Hakka yong tau foo
• Sweet and sour pork (咕咾肉): orange-glazed pork chunks with the lightly battered crispy crust, garnish of scallion
• Ngoh hiang / meat rolls (五香): 4-5 deep-fried beancurd-skin wrapped pork rolls with five-spice seasoning, golden brown crust
• Abacus seeds / abacus beads (算盘子): stir-fried yam dumplings shaped like small flat discs with wood-ear mushroom, chopped dried prawns, scallion, the signature Hakka dish

Hakka cuisine (客家菜) is one of the eight regional Chinese cuisines:

• Origin: the Hakka people, who migrated from northern China to southern China over centuries, settling in Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi
• Cooking philosophy: hearty, simple, salty-savoury, focused on preserved ingredients (the migration heritage)
• Defining dishes: stuffed tofu (yong tau foo), abacus seeds, salt-baked chicken, mui choy kou yuk (preserved vegetable with pork belly), Hakka noodles
• Singapore Hakka identity: a significant Chinese-Singaporean dialect group, with major historical Hakka enclaves in Pulau Brani / Bukit Merah / Ang Mo Kio

The 4 dishes here represent the Hakka classics:

1. Stuffed tofu (酿豆腐 yong tau foo):

   • The original Hakka dish that became the Singapore yong tau foo format
   • Pork-and-fish-paste filling stuffed into tofu blocks (or bittermelon, or chilli, or beancurd skin)
   • Simmered in dark soy sauce, not the clear stock of Singapore’s pick-your-own YTF
   • The “homeland sentiment” dish: every Hakka grandmother’s signature

2. Sweet and sour pork (咕咾肉 gu lao rou):

   • Cantonese-Hakka crossover dish
   • Lightly battered pork chunks stir-fried in sweet-sour sauce
   • Pineapple chunks added for the tropical-fruit acid balance
   • The most-loved Chinese restaurant dish across overseas Chinese diaspora

3. Ngoh hiang (五香 wu xiang):

   • Five-spice meat rolls wrapped in beancurd skin
   • Pork mince + water chestnut + onion + five-spice powder filling
   • Steamed first, then deep-fried when ordered
   • Side: sweet sauce, chilli sauce, mayo depending on the restaurant

4. Abacus seeds / abacus beads (算盘子 suan pan zi):

   • The signature Hakka dish that defines authentic Hakka cooking
   • Yam (taro) + tapioca flour dough shaped into small flat discs with a thumb-press dimple in the middle (resembling abacus beads)
   • Stir-fried with dried prawns, wood ear mushroom, scallion, dried chilli
   • The dimple in the middle is the structural detail that holds sauce
   • Texture: chewy with slight bounce, the yam-sticky-rice-flour combo

The Singapore Hakka restaurant landscape:

• Famous outlets: Plum Village (Bukit Timah), Yong Lai Fa Hakka Cuisine, Ah Ger Hakka Cuisine, various heritage Hakka restaurants in heartlands
• Upper Thomson Hakka scene: includes several family-run Hakka restaurants with the 4-dish classic format

The abacus seeds are particularly distinctive to Hakka cuisine:

• Symbolism: the abacus shape represents prosperity and wealth (good for Chinese New Year dishes)
• Texture: chewy + bouncy + slightly slippery, unlike any other Chinese dumpling format
• Eating with chopsticks: each disc grabs sauce in its dimple
• Often family-recipe variations: the wood ear mushroom + dried prawn + scallion is standard, but each family adds their own twist

At $27.80 for the 4-dish spread for two, this is excellent value for sit-down Hakka cuisine. Hakka restaurants typically run $35-$60 per pax for similar spreads.

Overall: 4.5 / 5. 😍😋👍🏼 Solid Hakka dinner with BB. The abacus seeds were the cultural standout. Would re-visit.

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