We admit it, we have a claypot fetish. Nothing beats the sight and sound of a dish sizzling, bubbling, and smelling all kinds of awesome in a crackling hot claypot.  

The best thing about claypot dishes is, of course, the food is kept warm for a longer time. The worst thing? When the food progressively overcooks and becomes dried and tough.

No such problem here at three-month-old stall Grandma’s Taste Ipoh Claypot, where owner-chef Chai Yung Ann, 29, does a good job managing what he coins "claypot hei (breath)".

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Although some stewed items, like his signature Vinegar Pork Trotters, are pre-cooked, others are wok-fried upon order, then served in heated claypots.

Couple met and fell In love in Chongqing Grilled Fish restaurant

Ipoh-born Yung Ann is aided by his JB-born wife Pang Xiao Qian, 26. The Singapore PRs first met in 2017 at a Chongqing Grilled Fish outlet here, where Xiao Ann was a chef and Xiao Qian, a waitress. They got married in 2020 and now have a two-year-old son.

Xiao Ann chalked up five years of experience in the kitchen of Chinese restaurants including the now-defunct Asian Kitchen. Xiao Qian grew up in an extended family of hawkers and her parents sell vegetarian food.

Dipped their hawker toes in NEA’s Incubation Stall Programme

To fulfill his hawkerpreneur dream, Xiao Ann took part in the Incubation Stall Programme (ISP) by NEA, which supports young hawkers. After attending a three-day course, he cooked the NEA team his signature Pork Trotter In Black Vinegar. “They liked it and I cleared their test!” says an elated Xiao Ann.

Successful candidates get a discount on hawker stall rental for 15 months, and NEA also lent them the equipment they needed to get started, which they can buy at half price after the 15-month trial. This helped the young couple cut down their start-up costs to $15,000, instead of an expected $40,000. “We had enough from our savings to cover the $15,000, which gave us the courage to try running our own business,” says the grateful couple who opened their stall in June 2023.

They surveyed several incubation stalls and found Chinatown Complex Food Centre suitable for Grandma’s Taste Ipoh Claypot, a concept they’d decided on early in their hawkerpreneurship journey. “The claypot gives off a nostalgic vibe. I hope my customers can find their hometown taste or childhood taste at Grandma’s Taste Ipoh Claypot,” explains Xiao Ann.

The menu

Their recipes are crowd-sourced from grandparents, parents, friends and an aunt who was a former head chef in a Chinese restaurant in Singapore. On the menu are nine claypot dishes. Prices start from $5.80 for an Eggplant with Salted Fish & Minced Meat; to $7.80 for the signature Pork Trotter With Black Vinegar.

Their selection of side dishes is being tweaked at the moment. Here to stay are Xiao Qian’s cold salad appetisers ($4.80), such as a zesty, crunchy black fungus that we love. You can add $1 for a small portion and a bowl of rice to any claypot dish of your choice. 

Chicken Leg & Pig’s Stomach Soup, $7.80 (8 DAYS PICK!)

An item so new that it’s not even on the signboard, this is great value for money. You get a sizable whole chicken leg with slices of pig’s stomach, in a thick, dark-hued herbal soup that makes you feel like you’re doing something good for your body. In comparison, the usual version is more peppery. We drank up every last drop of this hearty soup.

Eggplant with Salted Fish & Minced Pork, $5.80 (8 DAYS PICK!)

Brinjal fingers are first flash-fried in a wok, then mixed in a piquant sauce with minced meat and perfumed with umami salted fish. The heated claypot stews it a little more, so that the brinjal soaks up the spicy, gooey sauce. We enjoyed this well-executed veggie-heavy dish that makes a good accompaniment to the meat offerings here. Perfect with steaming hot rice.

Pork Trotter With Black Vinegar, $7.80

Traditionally served to new mums during their confinement, this dish is an acquired taste. Xiao Ann’s version has a good mix of meat and gelatinous skin and tendon packed with collagen. Stewed to a good balance of tender meat while retaining some bite, it is served with a whole egg. Their special blend of sauce is tangy and sweet to lift the fatty meat, just the way we like it. It’s pretty good, but they face tough competition from the more established Chef Sham H.K. Vinegar Trotter in the same hawker centre – a whole dollar cheaper at $6.80. Taste-wise, sorry, we still prefer Chef Sham’s.  

Traditional Curry Chicken, $6.80

Xiao Ann strongly recommended his curry but when it arrived bubbling in the claypot, it didn’t look too appetising because the curry had split and looked watery. The taste is not bad; heavier on curry leaves than the usual Chinese-style curry. But we’ll rather save our calories for the other dishes. We didn’t try the Braised Chicken Feet With Mushroom but that looks promising.

Bottom line

It’s refreshing to find twentysomething hawkers serving up comforting old-school fare that tastes like grandma’s, instead of pushing out newfangled fusion dishes. It’s simple but good stuff that we’ll come back for. If you like heavier Malaysian-style flavours, you’ll enjoy their food. We hope Xiao Ann and Xiao Qian find a loyal audience in the competitive Chinatown Complex Food Centre. Look for them in the cavernous hawker centre’s Blue Zone. They have a corner stall next to a bright and breezy row of tables overlooking Chinatown – a plus for claustrophobic folks who don’t fancy being hemmed in by stalls while sweating over a meal.

The details

Grandma’s Taste Ipoh Claypot is at 335 Smith St, #02-210 Chinatown Complex Food Centre (Blue Zone), S050335. Tel: 9113 5551. Open daily 11am -8pm; closed Wed. More info via Instagram and Facebook.

Photos: Dillon Tan.

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