The constant heat “forces the oil out,” the friendly Yeo explained from behind the counter. He said that when fish tastes oily at other places, it’s usually because the oil isn’t hot enough. The sweet and spicy result starburst radiates from within - a crispy but not crunchy coating of bread crumbs, egg and flour that’s deep-fried at a high temperature. Stefano Giovannini for NY PostĬhanging from day to day, they might include oyster sauce, soy sauce, paprika, oregano and thyme. Smokin’ Joe is one of 18 stalls at the popular Urban Hawker food hall, a Big Apple interpretation of Singapore’s ubiquitous hawker centres. The main element’s a miraculously moist cut of swai, a neutral-flavored fish from Vietnam that’s ideally suited to absorb and project the rotating multitude of Asian and Western spices and seasonings used in the marination. Check out Gordon Ramsay’s new Times Square fish and chips joint for such an object lesson, where the dish costs $1 more than Smokin’ Joe’s $16 masterpiece.Ĭhef/owner Joseph Yeo’s Singaporean surprise doesn’t promise much at first glance - two generic-looking breaded filets on a pile of fries, with a side of coleslaw.īut Yeo’s rendition blew me away, to the point where I had to come back for it three days in a row, just to be sure. The fish and chips at Urban Hawker’s Smokin’ Joe stall are nothing like the common NYC article, typically served up tasting mainly of oil. Marinated and breaded filets of swai, a fish native to Vietnam, are fried at the perfect temperature and served on a mountain of fries with coleslaw. The block-long Big Apple interpretation of the original, rather unexpectedly located at the base of an office building on West 50th and 51st Streets, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, delights visitors with a kaleidoscopic wave of aromas evoking Malaysia, the Philippines and India - a far cry from most American food halls’ standard offerings of lobster rolls, tacos and “artisanal” meatballs. The buzzy new hall is home to seventeen vendors, eleven of them hailing directly from Singapore, which is famous for its diverse street food culture, with stalls typically neatly organized into what are known as hawker centers. The dark-horse breakout hit of Midtown’s Singaporean-themed Urban Hawker food hall, filled with such East Asian specialties as stingray fried rice and murtabak, turns out to be a plate of fish and chips. Scary video shows snake slithering onto dad’s lap at Texas restaurant Chef behind LA hot spot Horses accused of killing cats - and worse - in bombshell divorce drama
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