The inevitable had finally arrived – my contribution to our worst-rated foods series. For this edition, I tried Singapore’s worst-rated satay from a non-chain outlet, which we narrowed down to Satay Power 6 at Lau Pa Sat.
The stall located in Lau Pa Sat’s famed Satay Street holds a 3.3 star Google rating (51 reviews) and has another branch in Ayer Rajah. It’s usually overshadowed by its neighbouring rival Best Satay 7 & 8, which holds a higher rating of 3.9 from a whopping 1,005 reviews.
It was hard to find a worst-rated stall with over 100 reviews this time around. While there are some generally positive reviews for this stall, many were about the “horrible service and horrible food.” Complaints include the satay being too burnt or sweet, overly fatty meat, too few onions and cucumbers, and that the chicken satay was undercooked and cold.
“Oh, come on,” I thought, “How bad can this trip possibly get?”
I spoke too soon – my companion and I were caught in a heavy downpour on our way to Lau Pa Sat. That meant we couldn’t take proper photos of the Street until the sky stopped throwing its tantrum.
Ordering had to be done indoors via the hawkers who stood at the entrance with their menus, and customers were required to brave the rain for to collect their food at the open-air stalls.
What I tried at Satay Power 6
Satay Power 6 sells Mutton, Beef, Chicken and even Duck Satay for a fairly reasonable S$0.80 per stick, and we bought the 20 sticks for S$16 with a Ketupat (S$1). There were also Prawns for S$2 each, but we gave those a pass.
There were only some thin slivers of onions and cucumbers on the side, which looked rather pathetic in comparison to many other places. Luckily, the skewers didn’t look too bad and were served hot off the barbeque grill.
We started our taste test with Beef Satay. My brother’s first reaction was disbelief upon noticing how blackened our meat was – the beef could barely be distinguished from the mutton based on appearance alone.
It was difficult to tell that it was beef based on taste as well – the sweetness overpowered the meat’s flavour. Texture-wise, I got a more gummy and fatty stick, while my companion got a leaner one.
Satay Power 6’s Chicken Satay wasn’t too bad – it was nicely tender and not overly fatty! Each piece slid off the skewer quite easily but the meat was fully cooked, contrary to some of the comments I had read. There wasn’t as much of a char to it, so it wasn’t as smoky as the former.
Moving on to the Mutton, we found it quite charred and oily. Each skewer was dripping with grease, which had formed a puddle on the plate where the mutton satay lay. It was stronger tasting than the beef. As someone who usually opts for beef over mutton, I was surprised to find that I preferred its flavour, though the grease threw me off slightly.
I had been curious about the Duck since it’s not a common choice of satay meat but was sadly left a little underwhelmed.
It had a gamier taste than the chicken, but the most in-your-face element was the sweetness – far more prominent than of the beef and chicken. The texture was a minor put-off for me due to the toughness, as each bite was dry and resulted in rough shreds that took some effort to chew on.
The overall satay seasoning was visibly made with spices like cumin and turmeric, but I couldn’t taste them over the sweetness. Still, I was glad to find the charred bits not bitter and they provided a nice enough smokiness.
One of the reviews mentioned Satay Power 6 using instant ketupat instead of the traditional one made with coconut leaves. Lo and behold, a squarish plastic packet of cold rice greeted us on the plate. My concern lay in 2 areas, the first being plastic wastage and the second potential plastic poisoning, though the packaging may not be significantly harmful unless overheated.
The compressed rice was sticky and soft, mashy even, given the moisture it contained. Since it hadn’t been cooked in coconut leaves, there wasn’t any additional fragrance. It just tasted like normal sweet rice, which was a relief especially after a reviewer mentioned experiencing an unpleasant taste.
I didn’t have much to say about the peanut sauce; it was just normal, though slightly viscous and a thin film had formed fairly quickly over its surface. I have to give some credit to how exceptionally spicy it was alongside the strong nuttiness.
Final Thoughts
Was the satay as bad as the reviews claimed? I don’t think so. I like some char on my food, so this was still alright for me. However, I agree with the comments that say the satay was too sweet. While the sweetness wasn’t overwhelming, you know it’s pretty saccharine when the meats almost can’t be differentiated based on flavour alone.
It’s also interesting to consider Satay Power 6’s location in a tourist-frequented area as well as the stiff competition from the other stalls on Satay Street. Perhaps this may have contributed to the overall impressions it made?
Expected Damage: S$8 – S$10.50 per pax
Order Delivery: foodpanda Deliveroo
Price: $
Our Rating: 2.5 / 5
Satay Power 6
Boon Tat Street, Satay Street @ Lau Pa Sat, Stall 6, Singapore 048582
Satay Power 6
Boon Tat Street, Satay Street @ Lau Pa Sat, Stall 6, Singapore 048582
