Simple and kind. Reading that tagline, I found myself immediately wanting to discover more about the brand, Omage Foods.
My chef-to-writer colleague, Aaron and I made our way down to their stall at Bedok 85 Market last week. Our positive first impressions from the tagline were buoyed even further when we met the super-friendly, chill pair of Brandon and Alvin.
The young proprietors’ journey started in May 2022 with just homemade kaya. It received a warm reception from Singaporeans hankering for new, authentic tastes as we trudged ever so slowly out of the pandemic. Today, Brandon and Alvin bring the same philosophy of good, flavoursome eating to the range of dishes at their stall.
What I tried at Omage Foods
Needless to say, first up was the thing that started it all: whipped kaya. They sit pretty in a refrigerator at the front of the stall. I decided to ease myself into it and bought the basic Original Kaya ($8) spread of fresh pandan, coconut and butter.
You can eat it right out of the jar. That’s what I did (only when I got home, as I had to be all ladylike outside) and it’s uncanny how similar the experience is to eating ice-cream. I highly recommend this.
There is Gula Melaka Spread ($10) if you’re a staunch traditionalist and, for the health-conscious, they also have Sugar Free Original Kaya ($12). There was a jar of bright yellow Kalamansi Curd ($12) that caught my eye. It escaped with a side eye from me this time but next time, I’m eating it all up.
Then, it was time for ‘serious’ food.
First up was Mee Tai Mak ($4.50 for small, $5.50 for medium, $6.50 for large). Mee tai mak isn’t the most common of all the Chinese noodle dishes but I’m surprised that I’d never tried it before. Named for the unusual rat’s tail-shaped noodles, they are basically kway teow but in tube form.
Each plate is a wonderful melding pot of flavours and textures. It contains the noodles clipped off Mickey Mouse, fish cake, taugeh, fried egg, mushrooms and spring onion. Then, there is century egg and prawn, chopped up into delectably gnaw-able pieces.
It has a kick, to be sure. The spiciness works so well with the slight moistness to cover your tongue in an inescapable layer of fireworks with each bite. In an effort to give you the most accurate description of the mouthfeel, I would say it’s almost a cross between kway teow and carrot cake.
I have held off long enough but I am bursting to tell you what I found best at this stall. It’s not just my opinion, either— Aaron was a chef previously and even he has had to rethink his entire worldview after we tried the Omage Foods version of Dry Laksa ($5.50 for medium).
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way first. The Dry Laksa is served with 3 halves of prawns, 2 halves of hard boiled egg, fish cake, tau pok, taugeh and laksa leaf.
Now, to our experience with the dish. Aaron is a laksa addict and is a particularly ardent fan of his go-to laksa stall. He hadn’t been able to make his way down there of late but the Omage Foods version blew him away. Aaron says that this is the best dry laksa in Singapore, hands down. In his words, this stall sets a “new benchmark” for this dish in Singapore.
He was formerly a chef so I naturally give weight to his words. However, even someone without a long in-kitchen background like me can tell that this is indeed a very special version. It was the little things. The amount of flavour-dense laksa leaf, so much dried shrimp, just the right level of spiciness, a sublime moistness.
It all came together absolutely perfectly. If you try just one thing at Omage Foods, make it the Dry Laksa.
Now that I have stopped gushing about the laksa, I should mention that they also serve sides like Har Cheong Gai ($3) which are prawn paste chicken wings, and Hai Zhor ($3). Both come as sets of 3.
The Hai Zhor fried prawn balls were sold out for the day, and definitely something I’m eyeing to try when I return for another magical bowl of Dry Laksa or Mee Tai Mak.
Final thoughts
It’s not very often that we change our mind about any of our favourite dishes in Singapore. Omage Foods managed to do just that with their Dry Laksa. Coupled with the amazing eat-out-of-the-jar kaya flavours and delicious Har Cheong Gai, they have earned themselves a stellar reputation.
Definitely make your way down to them and try out their wonderful creations for yourself.
Expected damage: $4.50 – $9.50 per pax
13 must-try stalls at Bedok 85 Fengshan Food Centre for the best supper ever
The post Omage Foods: The best dry laksa I’ve had in Singapore & incredibly tasty mee tai mak hidden in Bedok appeared first on SETHLUI.com.