Ah Hua Assam Review: Assam Chicken Bee Hoon By Mother And Son Duo At Chinatown

My recent visit to Ah Hua Assam tasted close to the flavours I enjoy at home, and it was nice to know that such food can be found at a hawker centre. Both of them are the only two people running the store, and you’ll be able to catch them working hard at any time of the day.

The method, which dates back to the ‘60s, took him four years to master, and the Wong family are extremely proud of their tangy and addictive assam. Assam chilli paste, which forms the core of the dishes here, is a tedious thing to whip up.

When I arrived at the store’s first day time of 11am, Bryan was still painstakingly whipping everything up. The dishes are all prepared before the busy lunch and dinner crowd arrives, and are set up in a way that reminds me of an economical bee hoon store.

We started off with the store’s Signature Assam Chicken Set ($4.50) and a roll of their Homemade Ngoh Hiang ($1.50) . I got the bee hoon and for good measure, asked for a generous scoop of assam curry to be drizzled all over it. There was a good bit of zing from the tamarind, a nice bit of spice that danced on the tongue, and a heavy depth of taste that was incredibly addictive.

The piquant assam was the main player here, and gave loads of flavour to the otherwise bland chicken. The bee hoon seemed to be the most popular carb option on the day I visited, with many shoppers choosing it over white rice.

Vegetable options on the day that I visited were bitter gourd with egg and okra that were fried in the store’s signature assam paste. Loads of egg were fried together with the bitter gourd, which made it quite a filling side dish.

The Assam Fish ($4) also received the same treatment as the chicken, with Batang fish steaks that were cooked together with the assam paste. This popular Peranakan braised pork dish is famous for its fork-tender and flavourful meat, but the one at Ah Hua Assam failed to deliver.

This dish is a difficult dish to master, and requires loads of attention to detail. It was slightly sweet, and had a good bit of spice to it.

Ambience at Ah Hua Assam Ah Hua Assam is located at the sprawling Chinatown Complex . We got our food pretty quickly, and the friendly owners are also quick to accommodate any requests. 8 Chinatown Complex Food Stalls To Visit Including $2 Laksa And Beef Rice Bowls The verdict What makes home-cooked food special is the attention and care spent on it.

While the assam paste went very close to delivering that experience, the rest of the dishes here were still a little far from it. While the store is still relatively young, they have nailed the most important bit of delivering a good-quality assam paste.