Three years after opening hawker stall Mr Egg Fried Rice in Bishan (it now boasts three outlets), 50-year-old Eric Yam — who bears a slight resemblance to Hollywood star Simu Liu — has opened his second concept, curiously named Meat Pie Rice.
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While the term meat pie rice may seem fitting for some sort of pastry, it’s actually a spin on traditional Cantonese pork patty rice, a simple but satisfying dish of rice topped with a steamed meat patty.
Eric and his wife Shally Chiew’s version, however, is slightly different. The Ipoh-born towkay, who previously worked as a dim sum chef at Cantonese fine-dining restaurants like Hua Ting Restaurant at Orchard Hotel Singapore and Golden Peony at Conrad Centennial Singapore, tweaked the OG recipe a little. Here, the patties are pan-fried instead of steamed, and marinated with “special seasoning”.
Why did they name it ‘Meat Pie Rice’ then? “Pie is also flat, like our meat patty. We felt it would be easier for customers to remember this name,” Shally explains. So far, she says customers haven’t been confused by their stall’s moniker.
Inspired by pork patty in Hong Kong
Pork patty rice is quite a common dish in Hong Kong, and the couple say they were inspired to make their own rendition after trying it while on vacation. “During one of our trips, we discovered the deliciousness of the dish in a small town in Hong Kong. After returning home, we started developing a version of ‘meat pie’ rice that would suit local tastes,” Shally explains.
Tweaked to ‘suit Singaporean taste buds’
In Hong Kong, minced meat patties are typically steamed, and lightly seasoned with ingredients like soy sauce, salt and sugar. Sometimes, they’re jazzed up with salted fish, squid or egg.
Meat Pie Rice’s version is more sinful. “We fry them to make the meat patties more fragrant,” says the couple.
They currently shuttle between all their food outlets, but are in charge of marinating the meat patties at their central kitchen in Admiralty, which they send over to Meat Pie Rice at Ghim Moh daily.
Eric, who still gets recognised for looking like Simu Liu, says he works at the central kitchen every day. “Some people who see the write-ups about me online will still talk to me about my resemblance to Simu when they see me,” he laughs.
All the rice bowls here are served with a scoop of crispy pork lard, boiled broccoli and a sunny side up egg. Not exactly orthodox Cantonese-style, but pretty hearty.
The Classic Meat Pie Rice starts from $5.80, while their Signature Meat Pie Rice (which comes with additional luncheon meat on top of the pork patty) costs $6.80. Other flavours like Tom Yum Meat Pie Rice ($6.20) and Spicy Meat Pie Rice ($6.20) are also available.
Plan to open more outlets in the future
So far, the couple share that business at sibling brand Mr. Egg Fried Rice has been profitable: “Business was better during Covid, and in recent months business has dropped a little as many people have been travelling. But so far, biz is still okay, which is why we’ve opened a few outlets. It’s profitable,” Shally shares.
The duo spent about $80K on opening their four stalls. Eric says that he “earns a bit more now” compared to when he worked as a restaurant chef. “When I have my own business, I can [better use] my abilities in my areas of strengths as well,” he reasons.
They plan to open more Meat Pie Rice outlets in future: “If we manage to find good locations with decent rental, we’d like to open another two more outlets so that we have three Meat Pie Rice outlets, just like how we have three Mr. Egg Fried Rice outlets”.
Meat Pie Rice is at #01-263, 16 Ghim Moh Rd, S270019. Open daily 10.30am – 8.30pm. More info via Facebook.
Photos: Facebook/Meat Pie Rice, Alvin Teo
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