News

Within the bustling red zone of stalls in Chinatown Complex Food Centre, a new joint caught ’s eye with its unusual set-up. At the front of the stall, a large black kettle grill brims with golden-brown flatbreads. Bold Chinese characters on the eye-catching signboard inform us that these are for rougamo (which translates to ‘meat burger’), complete with amusingly clunky slogans like “Crispylicious Burger” and “Crispy Crust Tasty Meat”. Originally from the Shaanxi province of China, rougamo (also known as rou jia mo ) consists of chopped meat inside a flatbread made from wheat flour and yeast. This classic xiao chi (snack) is believed to have been around since the Qin dynasty – HuffPost even hailed it as “the world’s first hamburger”. While the dough for the bread may look similar to local prata, in China, the bread is often baked in a clay oven rather than pan-fried. Opened since January this year, Zhong Hua Rougamo offers pork, chicken, beef, fish and vegetable fillings for its signature dish. It also sells other classic Chinese snacks like suan la fen (Sichuan hot and sour noodle soup) and liang pi (spicy cold noodles). Traditional Chinese snacks made using Xi’an chef’s recipes   The stall is run solo by Sarawak-born Singapore PR hawker Michael Lim, 44, who learned to make these dishes from a consultant chef from Xi’an, Shaanxi province, hired by his boss, the owner of Zhong Hua Rougamo. Asked if the bread is prepared with the kettle grill, the warm and chatty hawker laughs: “No lah, it’s just for display. It’s my shifu ’s idea!” 1 8 The man Michael is referring to is the refined and soft-spoken Shen Xi. The 75-year-old Hong Kong native is a veteran F&B entrepreneur who has been working in Singapore for over three decades. One of his ventures is Chef Sham Fish Maw Pig Stomach Chicken – a chain of food court stalls that serves Cantonese-style soups and vinegar pork trotters. Michael worked at the brand’s Food Republic outlet at Ion Orchard prior to Zhong Hua Rougamo. “I noticed that xiao chi from China is trending in Singapore and since we have an available stall unit here, I thought we could try selling rougamo . My former business associate was a chef from Xi’an, so we were able to hire him to teach us authentic recipes,” says the elderly gentleman. The chef has since returned to China and is no longer affiliated with the stall. 2 8 Crispy, flaky flatbread baked on-site Zhong Hua Rougamo gets its dough from a supplier. Before the discs are baked in the oven, the pastry is first griddled until golden-brown to ensure an extra crispy exterior. To assemble the ‘burger’, Michael slices the pastry in half and stuffs it with the meat filling of your choice, followed by shredded lettuce and tomato. “Traditional rougamo typically use green peppers, but we’ve opted to use vegetables that are more popular with the local crowd,” he explains. 3 8 Pork topping is the most popular   The bestseller is the pork, fragrant from an overnight house-made braise with star anise, cloves and other spices that Michael says are “similar to local braised pork”. The slow-cooked meat is chopped finely before it goes into the rougamo . Deep-fried burger patties from a supplier are used for the chicken, beef and fish options. 4 8 Gimme, gimme ‘mo’ Mr Shen says the stall is doing pretty well, selling around 200 rougamos daily. Will he develop this snack brand into a chain, like his soup business? “It’s still too early to tell,” he responds cryptically. During our visit, we observed a diverse range of customers visiting the stall, including a primary school student and a Caucasian tourist. Michael says more than half of their customers are locals, followed by foreign tourists. Mainland Chinese patrons make up “around 15 percent” of their clientele. “I think most of them prefer to eat at the nearby People’s Park Food Centre (known for its wide variety of Mainland Chinese cuisines), whereas we get more locals and tourists here,” he speculates. 5 8 Pork rougamo, $4.80 (8 DAYS Pick!) This is our first time trying rougamo , and we found its slightly tender and chewy texture similar to pita , but with a crispier exterior thanks to the sturdy, cracker-like flakes that shatter with every bite. On its own, the bread is neutral-tasting. The house-made pork filling is robust with spices, while the veggies add a refreshing crunch. While it’s usually eaten as a snack, we find the rougamo pretty substantial and it could work as a light lunch. 6 8 Chicken rougamo, $4.80 The chicken version features a crispy, deep-fried patty with a swipe of mayo, making it more burger-like than the pork. The flavours are also much lighter than the braised pork filling, and we think this would appeal to kids more.  7 8 Sour and spicy hor fun ( suan la fen ), $5.80  Slippery sweet potato noodles smothered in a spicy and sour soup fortified with gravy from the rougamo ’s braised pork. Despite its intimidatingly scarlet hue, the soup is not too fiery and has a good balance of tang and spice. We found the toppings rather sparse (you only get peanuts, cucumber, coriander and celery) and would’ve liked more protein in the bowl. That said, it’s a fragrant, tongue-tingling dish that should satisfy most mala fans. 8 8 The details  Zhong Hua Rougamo is at #02-124 Chinatown Complex Food Centre, 335 Smith St, S050335. Open daily (except for certain Tue) 10am to 8pm, closed for break from 3pm to 4.30pm.  Photos: Aik Chen