Little Claypot Co. (Chinatown Complex Food Centre)

Had been noticing a rather new stall that had recently opened at Chinatown Complex Food Centre of the late — Little Claypot Co. 小煲仔 is a stall that can be found situated within the blue zone of Chinatown Complex Food Centre; these folks should be considerably easy to locate since they are actually neighbours of Chef Leung's Soup Dumplings 梁师傅灌汤包. Despite being just a recent addition to the food centre, Little Claypot Co. has been featured on social media — the stall is being mentioned as a one-man operated establishment with the chef owner having a background in the fine dining scene here. The stall is rather identifiable with its yellow and white signboard, which also depicts the only two (2) dishes that they are offering as part of the line-up of food items that are sold here.

Between the two dishes that they have to offer, we went for the Braised Pork Belly with Radish over the Sesame Oil Chicken. All claypot dishes do come accompanied with a bowl of rice here — the menu at Little Claypot Co. also describes the Braised Pork Belly with Radish to come with elements such as pork, enoki mushrooms, beancurd puff, radish and meatballs; there is an emphasis on the non-usage of MSG, while they have also described the dish to come with a “Malaysia Taste” that suggests that the dish is one that replicates that of the Malaysian-style Bak Kut Teh offerings that only comes with pork belly and meatballs. First sip of the soup and we did note the light savoury notes that the it comes with. This does certainly make the Braised Pork Belly with Radish a dish that leans closer to that of Malaysian-style Bak Kut Teh rather than a braised pork belly dish; there is even a slight hint of herbal notes that were pretty nuanced — not too intimidating for those that aren’t too accustomed such notes with it running so ever lightly at the back of the tongue. The slices of pork belly came in well-sized chunks; came with a pretty good bite from the lean cuts while the fattier parts come with a bit of chew — all that whilst not requiring too much effort to chew whilst also not carrying any undesirable porky stench as well. The meatballs here come with a bouncy bite, seemingly infused with salted fish that also contributed to the savoury notes of the meatballs for a punchy flavour.

Meanwhile, the beancurd puff and beancurd skin absorbs the soup and provides a burst of flavours as one chews onto them, while the enoki mushrooms gave a soft crunch. The radish has been cooked to an adequately soft consistency; also absorbing the soup in the process and is particularly comforting to be paired with the bowl of rice on the side. Those whom can’t do without spice for their food can pair everything with the mix of garlic, chili and dark sauce that provides both a hint of sweetness and a punchy note of spiciness that tickles the tastebuds even for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness. At $6.50, the portion of the Braised Pork Belly with Radish is pretty generous while the dish itself is most certainly comforting — Malaysian-style Bak Kut Teh is not a dish that we see ourselves ordering often since it’s not necessarily something that gels well with our usual preferences, but the Braised Pork Belly with Radish is sure comforting to have on those days that rain randomly starts pouring; the claypot ensuring the dish stays warm as one digs into what seems to be comfort food for the soul.