Last Updated on 2017-08-15 , 12:53 pm

I won’t be surprised if you’ve no idea what lok lok is—it’s, essentially, a street food in Malaysia, so unless you’ve been to Malaysia to try out all the street food there, it could be new to you.

However, it’s actually an old dish, but it sure is one that is old but gold.

Think of lok lok as steamboat, but with the meat or vegetable skewered in sticks. In Malaysia, street stalls will have the skewers displayed, and you either dip the skewer into the soup yourself or have the stallholder do it for you. The stallholder will then charge you based on how many sticks you’ve taken.

With such close ties between Singapore and Malaysia, you would have expected many lok lok makan places in Singapore—well, apparently, not. It didn’t take off as well as popular dishes like Ipoh hor fan or Penang laksa, but with this new lok lok makan place, this might change.

One of the few lok lok makan places in Singapore, Zao Lek Lok Lok isn’t your typical restaurant or hawker stall. The eating place is located within the premises of a community centre (yeah, you’ve read it right), with the seating area on an open area.

Just across the eating place isn’t a sea-view or skyscrapers, but a large basketball court whereby the elderly might be practising their tai-chi or Taekwondo kids perfecting their kicks.

And that adds to the authenticity of lok lok—because, well, isn’t lok lok somewhat a traditional food?

Zao Lek Lok Lok provides three ways to cook your food: you can either get the staff to fry or grill the food for you, or you can do it the traditional way by dipping them into the soup yourself and wait for them to be cooked.

There are three main varieties of food: meat like chicken or pork, seafood and vegetables. There’s also coconut rice (nasi lemak) if you prefer some empty calories.

Truth to be told, the variety isn’t exactly impressive: it comprises three fridges, and if you decided to skip your breakfast and lunch just for a meal there, you could literally try one stick of all the foods without your stomach exploding.

However, if you’re new to lok lok, this might be the thing for you; skewers like meatballs and hotdogs, together with the wide array of sauces, are a combination made for meat lovers. The sauces are so well-loved that the table beside us have more trays of sauces than food!

The crab meat sauce might be something new, but it’s the sambal chilli that steals the show. The perfect blend of sweetness and spiciness could just be the thing that encourages me for a second visit!

There are six soup bases to choose from, with some unique ones like laksa or bak kut teh, but they didn’t really play a big part in the taste. Here’s the thing: If you’re looking for a review of the soup base, then you need to have more Malaysian friends—the soup in lok lok isn’t exactly made to be drunk. They usually have a stronger taste so as to season the food instead.

Is it worth a visit? At $24 per pax from Monday to Thursday, and $27 per pax from Friday to Sunday, I’ll say go for it—but just take note that it’s outdoor, smoky and without air-con, so it’s not the best place for a first date. Best for those 老夫老妻 lah.

Address: Paya Lebar Kovan CC, 207 Hougang Street 21, 530207 (if you’re driving, park at the HDB block beside the CC)
Nearest MRT Station: Kovan
Opening Hours: 5:30–11:30PM Daily

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This article was first published on Goodyfeed.com

Read Also

• 5 must-try lok lok in JB that all S’poreans should try at least once
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