Yummy $10.80 Fried Sea Bass With Dragon Fruit Sauce For Solo Diners At Jurong Hawker Stall

Steam Master – One Person One Fish is a two-month-old stall tucked in the corner of a breezy coffeeshop in Hong Kah, Jurong West. The stall’s concept is spelled out in its mouthful of a name: fish dishes targeted mostly at the solo diner — smaller portions of whole sea bass, yellowtail and grouper steamed or deep-fried to order and drenched in a variety of sauces. These are complemented with Cantonese-style steamed chicken and pork dishes, double-boiled soups and deep-fried snacks for sharing. 

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Headed by ex-third gen restaurateur of now-defunct Jade Room Restaurant

Steam Master is helmed by business partners Jason Poon (centre), 46, his wife, Jolin Zou, 40, and his Ipoh-born chef pal Kok Hoi Ghing (right), 39. Jason handles operations, having spent much of his early career managing Jade Room Restaurant, a traditional Chinese diner established by his grandfather in 1971 (now permanently closed and replaced by Happy Joy Restaurant at Hotel Royal in Newton). He spent around a decade learning the ins and outs of running a restaurant, before leaving to Bangkok in 2016 to start his own bistro with partners.

Unfortunately, the bistro didn’t work out, and he returned to Singapore with a “low five-figure debt which [he] owed to the bank”. He found another job in F&B operations with a casual “Chinese restaurant chain” specialising in claypot dishes, where he met Hoi Ghing, then working as a head chef at one of the restaurants under his purview.

Worked “14 hours a day” as private-hire driver

The pair became fast friends, and even considered leaving together to start a business. “But I didn’t have the confidence or the capital to take him up on it then,” Jason says, adding that his focus then was on “paying off his debt and feeding his family (he has three kids).”

And so he did, moving on to a sales-related job at a frozen seafood wholesaler in 2019, a job that earned him “pretty decent money” before the pandemic hit. That was when he became a private-hire driver. “I completely disappeared for the next two years. The money was great then – about $9K gross [a month before car rent and petrol]. But you had to push hard. I worked at least 14 hours a day then – just drive, sleep, repeat,” he says.

Hopes to create a “scalable” concept

“After driving for the last three years, I started to think: I cannot drive like this until I’m old, I will conk off (laughs),” says Jason. “So one day I called Hoi Ghing (who had found a new gig as a head chef at a zi char stall in Eunos) to meet up for kopi, and after a chat, we decided to give this biz a shot.”

The Malaysian cook, who has more than “two decades'' of experience in various zi char joints and restaurants (including two years at a No Signboard Seafood outlet as an entry-level cook), tells us of his decision to partner Jason: “I know how to cook and he knows how to run a business. So why not go into business together? I’ve been working for others for too long (laughs).” Naturally, Hoi Ghing handles the cooking at Steamed Master.

But why focus on steamed grub? “Everyone from teenagers to old folks are eating healthy nowadays, so we think that steamed food will always be popular. The ‘one person, one fish’ idea is perfect if you’re eating alone – but if you’re eating with family, you can get other dishes to share too,” declares Jason. Moreover, the concept is “very scalable”. “The marinades, sauces, and steaming time – these are all things that can be standardised and reproduced easily,” he adds.

Promising start

The trio spent around $30K to get Steam Master started, opting for a coffeeshop next to Jurong West 505 Food Centre with “a good amount of residential customers” and a “strong drinking crowd” at night. 

They’re already thinking of expanding with an outlet in the east after Chinese New Year, but “only if operations here are already swee swee (Hokkien for beautiful, here used to denote things going smoothly)”.

Extensive menu

Steam Master has an extensive menu with just under 40 items – mostly steamed grub (a mix of fish, chicken and pork) and double-boiled soups, with around a quarter of the menu dedicated to stir-fried veggies and deep-fried snacks. 

Its signature offering comprises three types of fish – wild-caught yellowtail, grouper and farmed sea bass – steamed a la minute in your style of choice, and also fried with a variety of sauces. Note that unlike other steamed fish stalls such as Nian Nian You Yu in Maxwell Food Centre, Steam Master doesn’t sell its fish as set meals with rice and side dishes.

The fish here is priced at $10.80, up from $8.80 from when the stall first opened two months ago. “With rising costs [for fish], we didn’t have a choice but to raise prices. We believe that it is still quite a good deal,” reasons Jason. Each fish weighs around 300g to 400g, except for the yellowtail, which is slightly smaller.

“There are customers who come alone for the fish or something else for a simple meal, and those that come as a family to order fish and a few other dishes together," says Jason, adding that he usually sees "more families" at the stall.

Steamed Teochew-Style Grouper, $10.80

A whole smallish grouper steamed Teochew-style with slivers of kiam chye (preserved mustard greens), pickled plum, chilli padi, ginger, tomatoes and tofu. The fish is immaculately clean with glistening, moist flesh, though we reckon there might not be enough meat on these bones to satisfy larger eaters. We also find the delicate tartness from the pickled plum overpowered by too much ginger.

Steamed Yellowtail with Assam Sauce, $10.80 (8 DAYS Pick!)

We prefer the tangy assam paste and lime juice seasoning in this steamed yellowtail. It packs just enough punch to be flavourful without overwhelming the juicy, well-steamed, naturally oily fish. 

Fried Sea Bass with Dragon Fruit Sauce, $10.80 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Steam Master – ironically – also dishes out fish fried a la minute at a reasonable price point. We get our sea bass with a purplish-red dragon fruit sauce, a unique creation by Hoi Ghing. The usually mild-tasting fruit in itself doesn’t add much to the dish aside from giving it a pretty hue and some sweetness — the spicy, sour punch from this concoction comes more from the tomato sauce and chillies in it. In fact, it tastes pretty much like a sweeter version of a typical sweet-and-sour sauce and is quite enjoyable with the flaky sea bass.

Chicken with Cordyceps Flower, $6.90

Jason tells us that they’re using frozen Malaysian chook for their steamed chicken dishes for now as “the prices for fresh chicken have yet to stabilise”. Still, the chunks of chicken breast are steamed just right and pleasantly tender. Quite yummy, with the cordyceps flower (which is actually a form of fungi and not a flower) lending a subtle woody crunch.

Minced Pork with Salted Fish, $5.90

Hoi Ghing fries salted fish chunks on low heat until “its salty fragrance has leached into the oil”. He spoons said oil and salted fish bits onto a mound of minced pork before tossing it into the steamer.

This results in a rather bland, though decently moist pork patty, with occasional hits of intense briny funk whenever you bite into a morsel of salted fish. We’d prefer it if the salted fish were incorporated into the patty instead of being sprinkled on top for a more even flavour. 

Steamed Egg with Century Egg, $4

Nicely steamed, silky egg topped with some wedges of wobbly century egg. Simple, but satisfying.

Pork Belly with Taro, $8

Thick chunks of pork belly blanched and deep-fried before steaming, alternated with squares of yam. Hearty and moreish, thanks to a winning combo of a mellow soy sauce-based braising sauce, fall-apart tender pork and creamy yam.

Fried Oyster Mushroom with Garlic Powder, $4

Succulent deep-fried oyster mushrooms coated with a blend of four flours, then dusted with chilli powder and fried garlic bits. They boast a terrific crunch and addictive fragrance. 

Fried Kangkong with Dried Fish Fillet, $5

The deep-fried kangkong topped with a heap of thinly sliced fish sticks (fish paste wrapped in beancurd skin) is also pleasantly crunchy, and would make for a great drinking companion if it were less greasy. The accompanying rojak sauce, heady with pungent hae ko (fermented shrimp paste), tamarind and peanut, helps cut some of the grease.

Bottom line

Good-value, generally tasty Cantonese zi char dishes served in smaller portions. Our favourites: the perfectly steamed yellowtail doused in punchy assam gravy, and deep-fried sea bass slathered in a tangy, spicy dragon fruit sauce. Note that a single order of fish here might not satisfy big eaters, so we recommend also getting some steamed egg or garlicky fried oyster mushrooms if you’re ravenous. 

The details

Steam Master – One Person One Fish is at Nam Wah Coffeeshop, Blk 503 Jurong West Ave 1, S640503. Tel: 9666-3692. More info via Facebook. Delivery via Grabfood & Foodpanda.

Photos: Alvin Teo

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