HK has a lot of variety and character that is missing in Singapore. Singaporean culinary guru Chua Lam takes us to this very simple and casually run stall that makes French baguette. You would notice that it’s prepared with bare hands and will certainly fail NEA inspections. Somehow, such establishments can still survive in a highly competitive society like Hong Kong.

I remember in the early 1990s when there was a flood of HK immigrants in Singapore. There was this guy selling roast meat at a coffeeshop opposite my place. I got acquainted with him but we never got close as he seemed like a very busy man, constantly running around with his huge mobile phone whenever he left his stall to his assistant. Apart from the business at the coffeeshop, he was also into a lot of other things Yet he obviously had time to exercise as he had excellent physique. He was also very knowledgeable on sociopolitical issues unlike the average siew lup seller in Singapore. He was probably the most extrovert Chinese person I’ve met.

Then all of a sudden, he disappeared. I missed him because he brought life and colour to the community. Then one day, someone in the neighbourhood told me that she saw him in Kuala Lumpur. He had shifted his base over there. When asked why, his reply was “我没你们那么乖“.

While there are food business empires in Thailand, street food and even small restaurants in the Land of Smiles are often family businesses. Check out this super creative sizzling phad Thai, gai yang （grilled chicken) and fruit salad. Most phad Thai is cooked like Hokkien mee but this version uses very little liquid. I’m interested in trying it out. Just like phad Thai, there are many variations of gai yang. The one shown here depends a lot on the sauce. Fruit salads in Thailand are often sold with a heavy does of sweet and spicy sauce. This stall doesn’t seem to have that. Finally, “enhanced instant noodles”. Must be a relatively new concept I’ve not come across it in all my years travelling to Thailand.

It may surprise many people, but in spite of his status, Chua Lam actually prefers humble eateries like this to the more classy, upmarket places.