After perhaps my 3rd bowl of rice, my admiration for the humble grains of rice soon turned into one of deep reverence. Despite lowering itself with its light flavour profile, the tiny grains of pearl still won me over as I sub-consciously filled my bowl repeatedly with ladles more of it. It was thin and small, like Taiwan's 珍珠米 (Pearl rice), allowing it to soak up all the other flavours packed within that pot. It was firm and crunchy providing an addictive bite. It was sufficiently moist, perhaps due to the sesame oil, leaving me fascinated and bewildered on its impossibly good texture. So enchanted was I by the rice that I promptly asked the staff if I could be enlightened on the type of rice used. Thankfully, their chef came out thereafter and told us that it was 老米 (Literally, old rice) and that it was required to ensure that the rice be cooked all the way without being charred as unlike typical steamed rice, it's required to withstand the intense heat within the claypot after it has been steamed. While the chef claimed that I could find such rice in the supermarket, I have yet to verify that myself.

Full review at: https://liveeatbless.wordpress.com/2020/02/28/hawker-review-east-village-traditional-claypot-rice-engs-char-siew-wantan-mee-novena-regency/

More pictures at: https://www.instagram.com/p/B9HUMG1n4ob/?igshid=ndqhs1tn6mgv