Gen Shu Mei Shi Shi Jia @ Toa Payoh

Fans of traditional Cantonese style dishes will definitely be familiar with Gen Shu Mei Shi Shi Jia (根叔美食世家). Having retired as the head chef of Mouth Restaurant, Gen Shu was bored stiff at home. That was why he opened a hawker stall to sell his brand of Hong Kong cuisine.

For many years, he has been serving great quality Cantonese dishes and each day, the dishes may vary. For weekedays, Uncle Kun usually serves steamed rice dishes with all sorts of combinations. Weekends, you are more likely to end up with dim sum and Hong Kong style of congee. The only constant factor is the long queue!

We met Geng Shu to discuss more about the Ultimate Hawker Fest on a busy Saturday. But he was so jovial and full of energy. I have eaten there countless of times, but this is the first time I sat with him to understand his food and his life with my limited Cantonese.

My favourite at Gen Shu is definitely the yam cake. It wins hands down. Making it can be tedious, but it’s worth the effort. The yam paste is made freshly daily at 4am, so the result is a smooth and melt in your mouth yam cake. You won’t find the commercial variety of cake packed with this much yam.

They offer 4 different types of congee, ranging from cuttlefish, abalone, century egg and the sliced fish congee. The piping hot congee is filling and comforting. Each congee as a creamy smooth texture and had a very flavorsome stock. We love the sliced fish congee as it is so well seasoned, pairing it with the congee is a perfect match!

For dim sum, we had parsley dumplings and siew mai which was huge in size but nothing spectacular. We also had the chee cheong fun with his homemade sauce in minced pork. It looks like chicken bolognese on the first sight but of course, it tastes nothing similar. The pork is flavourful but slightly too salty for my liking.

So you tried local version of lor mai gai before? How about trying Geng Shu’s version of lor mai gai? Steamed in a rectangular shape, the steamed glutinous rice is very flavoursome and has a al dente texture. Take a spoonful of it, you get the delicious fillings of well seasoned chicken and Chinese sausages, the rice is cooked till perfection. Such a humble stall, but produces extraordinary flavours!

Gen Shu Mei Shi Shi Jia 根叔美食世家
Toa Payoh Lorong 4
Block 74 Food Centre #01-03

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Gen Shu will be serving Elongated Glutinous Rice with Abalone for Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014. The ultimate Lo Mai Gai elegantly prepared with glutinous rice cooked to perfection and combined with finest quality Hong Kong lup cheong and decadent abalone. This is a fund raising event for the beneficiaries under the care of Touch Community Services. Let’s do a part for charity. See you there!

Singapore Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014
Venue: SUNTEC Convention Hall 401-402
Date: 22 Nov 2014 (Saturday)
Time: 11am to 5pm

PURCHASE YOUR FOOD COUPON HERE
www.ultimatehawkerfest.sg

P/S Thank you GoGoVan for sponsoring their service. It is an app that connects van drivers and users, wants to make last-mile deliveries easier for users in Asia. For more information, visit http://gogovan.sg/