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Duck Confit in a hawker centre?! Exactly. If you have heard of this, there should only be one stall that comes to mind: Eddy’s at Hong Lim Market & Food Centre.
Famed for WOW-factor plates of Western food with an Asian touch, the 4-year-old stall is helmed by Eddy, 47 and his wife Serene (who is “the only one that can work with him”). This isn’t his first business though.
“I treat every dish I serve as my last,” Eddy said with a smile.
Prior to setting up Eddy’s during the COVID-19 era, Eddy used to have a Western stall at China Square’s food court and a Western Fusion bistro; both closed down 9 years ago. With a strive to “bring restaurant-quality food to a hawker centre”, Eddy’s is the sturdy man’s third business to date.
Take it from a reviewer: “The Duck Confit can compete easily with that of top-notch French restaurants!” Hmm.
And FYI, he has loads of experience under his belt. Kick-starting his culinary journey at 19, the Ipoh native first worked as a hotel chef in Singapore and swiftly became a private dining chef on a “golden fleet” luxury yacht at 25. “I travelled to so many countries! France, Italy, Spain, Monaco, Turkey and Portugal,” he reminisced.
In the name of passion and love, Eddy has been sleeping 5 to 6 hours per day as a hawker. “No regrets, I study what consumer wants and I know what people like,” he continued.
I included Eddy’s in my Pasta Places Listicle. Now, I was curious to find out if Eddy’s was truly the people’s choice.
What I tried at Eddy’s
You’ll hear him before you see him.
Sporting a tank top, colourful socks and a booming voice, Eddy noticeably has a heck of a fitness regime. “From morning till afternoon, I burn a lot of cardio from frying the spaghetti!” he exclaimed. Ohh, that explains those biceps.
I found it amusing that the signboard’s cartoon version of himself didn’t do justice to his animated personality HAHA.
Okay moving on, it was a no-brainer to try Eddy’s highly-raved crème de la crème Duck Confit with Mashed Potatoes (S$13).
The plating was insanely beautiful. Where am I? An atas French bistro?
Sprinkled with togarashi powder which lent a pinch of spice, this fork-tender duck was very very succulent. I was able to cut through the meaty flesh in one clean swipe! “I give TLC for the duck…Tender Loving Care,” Eddy joked. Eh, but seriously.
Marinated with bay leaves, thyme, rosemary and his “secret weapon” – 5 spice powder, the fresh duck leg is sous vide for 14 to 16 hours at 78 degrees. You can taste Eddy’s labour of love here. Aside from its tantalising interior, the Duck Confit had a crisp exterior that was charred to perfection.
I almost burnt my cam for this but hey, look at that flame!
You can’t miss the pool of brown savoury sauce below. We particularly enjoyed dipping soft chunks of duck into the sauce, as it added ample moisture without compromising the rich taste of the dish. The Mashed Potatoes? Heaven. This is the exact definition of melt-in-your-mouth lor. Smooth and creamy, these potatoes are to die for.
As a proud lover of the starchy veg, I need a full bowl of this.
Just when we thought this couldn’t get any better, no way. Try Eddy’s hand-sliced coleslaw and grilled pearl white corn on the cob. While the first had a refreshing touch, the latter was bursting with sweet juice. “Quality needs to be consistent. My ingredients are very fresh, that’s why I need to close at 2pm and prepare them at 4am every morning,” he chimed.
How fresh is fresh? I needed more to know.
Western Boy: All under $8, with giant, juicy chicken portions at Toa Payoh stall
So, we got another Grilled Salmon Rice Bowl (S$13). Topped with umami-filled hae been hiam, the teriyaki salmon could be prodded apart easily as well. Additionally, there were no “fishy smells” – immediate plus point to “yes, it’s fresh”. Despite being grilled, the fish did retain a reasonable amount of water. That’s some skill right there.
For S$12, every Rice Bowl includes sous vide egg, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and hae bee hiam. Worth the price? It is worth noting that the portion was indeed generous with premium ingredients, I had to share that bowl of zhen zhu rice with my mum.
Among the aforementioned sides, it’s interesting how the broccoli at Eddy’s featured a long stem that is an uncommon sight among hawker stalls. Adding on to the robust blend of flavours and textures, these stems had a delightful crunch which paired well with the fluffy rice. “I cut the broccoli myself as I like the long shape of florets,” Eddy shared.
Me too. I am a long-stem-broccoli-convert now.
Final Thoughts
“You can’t survive after 2 to 6 months.” According to Eddy, that was what most people told him when he initially started out at Chinatown.
His reply: “Ok let’s see how it goes.” Armed with his love for Asian-Western cuisine, the bold risk-taker has proven them wrong. I don’t know about you, but this was such a touching reminder to stand firm in the face of backlash and adversity.
Going back to Eddy treating every dish as his last, we only have a lifetime to “just try lah“. With that, his secret to conquering age is “positive energy and exercise!”
Time to run back to Hong Lim again.
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