Foodie Fridays - BBQ and Zi Char at Far Mart

For Foodie Friday this week, I thought that I will share some recommendations on some unhealthy food instead. Whenever I can, I try to meet up with my parents for dinner. One of our favourite activities is to head to nice "Zi Char" (Chinese restaurant) and just catch up and bond over a meal. :)

Far Mart is not one's usual "go-to" venue  as it is pretty out of the way. I usually head over when I wish to buy fresh seafood (there is a seafood wholesaler at Far Mart) or when Dumpling was younger, we headed there to see animals as there used to be more pet shops in the area. 

Imagine my surprise to see 'full attendance' on a weekend evening some months ago! 

A closer look and I realised that the main crowd puller was because of a BBQ stall which is located right next to the car park. There is a fairly popular zi char stall (Cheng's Seafood Village)  inside the 'building' but it is partially hidden. 

After being there for a few times, I thought I would share with you some of our favorite dishes! We ordered more than these but these are the ones we would usually order with our usual visits. 

:: Sambal Potato Leaves

I have always preferred potato leaves over kangkong just because I prefer the texture of the potato leaves more. With this dish, I like the "salty shrimpy" taste of the sambal. More than that, I like that they added fried ikan billis on it which gives it an interesting contrast - with the leaves soft and this, crunchy. With bad zi char stall, I experienced how these vegetables were not be washed properly and I ended up with some 'sand' in the dish but thankfully, none of this here. :)   

:: Emerald Beancurd
OK, I am quite sure that's the name but if in doubt, ask them for their signature handmade toufu. These are always a favourite of ours. The adults like the blend of seafood and toufu in it while the younger kids like that it is crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. This comes with a sweet sauce dip too.

:: Cockles!!!!
Wow, where do I start with my love declaration for this dish? While I know that it is not everyone's cuppa tea, it is one of my absolute favorite shellfish.

These are poached to the degree that I love. When it is too cooked, the shells open up and what you are left with is a dried up shriveled piece of meat. When it is cooked to the right level, you will need to pry the shells opened. What you are left with is the meaty so juicy and plump that you cannot wait but to dip this in the chili provided.

To go with the cockles, the chili should have a blend of garlic, lime and chili at the minimum. The citrus taste of the lime helps lessen the coppery smell / taste while the chili adds flavour to it. If this is your first time eating this, be warned that it is a tad... well... bloody?

:: BBQ chicken wings
By the time this arrived, I was happily tucking into the above 3 dishes. So all I could do was to use my iPhone to take this photo. :p It was not the best BBQ chicken wings that I have eaten but this really was not too bad. The skin was crispy and sweet but the inside was moist was quite flavorful.

Some of the other items which we ordered were the sambal sotong and sambal stingray (both of which I was too slow in taking the camera out and they were 'attacked' before I could say "wait"!) You may also wish to order some satay too. Be warned though that the waiting time can be about 30 minutes or so.

Farmart Centre

67 Sungei Tengah Rd , Singapore (699008)
Tel : 65 6767 0070 Fax: 65 6767 4756
Email: enquiry@farmart.com.sg

Directions to getting there!