Ah Gu Kaka Wa (国昌川味馆) – Simple yet Tasty Sichuan Dishes in Ang Mo Kio

It took me a long while to decide if I should write this post. Because Ah Gu Kaka Wa (国昌川味馆) is one of our favourite mala restaurants in Singapore. My colleagues and I frequent Ah Gu Kaka Wa for dinner and supper.

Tucked away in a corner of Djitsun Mall in Ang Mo Kio central, this is a gem waiting to be discovered. I know the name of the restaurant seems weird but my guess is, they named it after a frog song. That’s why you are greeted by a frog figurine at the entrance. Or perhaps their signature is frog legs.

We always come here in a group so that we are able to share a few dishes. While waiting, we usually start with a few small dishes such as the saliva chicken and cucumber salad to whet our appetite.

I make my own cucumber salad for parties at times and I didn’t quite like their cucumber salad at first because it wasn’t as crunchy as I thought it would be. But after several visits, I was told that it was actually Sichuan-style smashed cucumbers that’s spiked with garlic and chilli. It serves as a palate cleanser in between heavier dishes.

Another classic dish is the Sichuan mouth-watering chicken. It is essentially boiled chicken paired with chilli oil, and topped with sesame seeds. Spicy, and appetising!

Sometimes, we will order the fragrant Sichuan spicy chicken dice. But we prefer Ah Gu Kaka Wa’s meat skewers. They are heavily spiced and only grilled upon order. I like the lamb one in particular as the cumin marination gets rid of the gaminess and gives it a slight nuttiness. If you are a fan of innards, the restaurant offers innard skewers too!

Having tried many dishes on their menu, I definitely have some fabourites. The frog legs and grilled fish are good for sharing if you have a big group. There was once I ordered the frog legs just for my husband and me. Oh man, we took a long time to finish our dinner because it was just too much for us. You can decide the kind of sauce to go along with the meat, but I would recommend the spicy mala sauce. The frog legs were super tender and juicy, and complemented perfectly by the gravy.

On days when I am too lazy to eat frog legs, grilled fish in mala sauce works for me. The grilled fish sits in a spicy stock, and is blanketed with dried chillies and bright-red chilli oil. There is enough Sichuan pepper which numbs my tongue and mouth. I always enjoy the numbing sensation!

If you prefer a less spicy alternative, go for the pickled mustard green soup with either frog legs or fish. Even though it’s a tad oily, it has a lovely combination of sour and mildly spicy flavours. Portions are quite generous, so do come with more people!

A must-have at our table every time is the mala xiang guo. The mala xiang guo here is fragrant and spicy, without being overwhelmingly numbing. You can choose how spicy you want your mala sauce to be and I usually go for medium level. I liked that the gravy has a nice fragrance, and the characteristic spiciness and numbing sensation of peppercorns.

The ingredients were decent – you can’t really go wrong with some meats and vegetables. The ingredients that I would usually order are pork belly, intestines, pig skin, lotus, kang kong and rice cakes. I know some of us like to have the mala xiang guo from the S11 coffeeshop nearby, but I like Ah Gu Kaka Was’ better.

There are hits and misses at Ah Gu Kaka Wa, but we always enjoy our mala meals in the air-conditioned eatery, with mandarin pop playing in the background. We can eat and sing along! The prices are affordable enough for multiple return visits to ferret out the gems in the extensive menu. The restaurant has also recently deployed two robotic servers.

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.