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Recently, I chanced upon a post that mentioned a new stall opening in Chinatown Complex. It had only just recently opened, and had an incredibly simple menu with just 2 items. It was called Little Claypot Co., and apart from a single Instagram post, there wasn’t much information about the stall. I decided I’d head down and check them out in person.
Little Claypot Co. is located inside the blue area of Chinatown Complex on the 2nd floor. The stall was manned by a single person handling both orders and cooking. The menu has just 2 items: Sesame Oil Chicken (S$5), and Braised Pork with Radish (S$6.50). After placing my order, I struck up a brief conversation with the owner.
I asked why there were only 2 dishes. He replied that it was because he worked alone, he could only offer what he could prepare quickly. (There are plans to add more items later when everything is running smoothly, he shared.)
I also asked why he decided to open up a stall selling claypot-based dishes. He said that he came from a background of fine dining, specialising in Japanese cuisine – and as to why he wanted to sell these particular dishes, he said he wanted to bring in the taste of Malaysia because he “missed it”.
Eventually, my order was ready and I thanked him for taking the time to chat with me.
I ordered the Braised Pork with Radish, and it included a side of short-grain rice plus a dark soy sauce dip with garlic and chilli.
This dish looked a lot like bak kut teh – it had all the same ingredients such as tau pok, tau kee, enoki mushrooms, and meatballs. However, it didn’t taste anything like bak kut teh – the broth was a lot closer to Japanese oden because of the generous amounts of white radish simmered in it. Fascinating.
The pork belly was very tender and fell apart easily with gentle pressure from my chopsticks. I’m not usually a fan of this cut of pork, but I appreciated how it was prepared here.
I quite enjoyed my meal at Little Claypot Co., and look forward to seeing how they evolve.
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