Food Discovery : Steamed Food at Restoran Steam Fish & Steamboat and Meeting Chef Sam

When it comes to steamed food, it's not just a 'health thing'. It can be as delicious as you want it to be depending on the ingredients and sauce put together.  

We ordered our lunch at this restaurant on a Groupon deal we had purchased online. A couple of glowing press clippings were plastered on the wall near the entrance where we sat. The same man, who was featured on the newspaper cutting, was in the kitchen whipping up what we had ordered.

Meet Chef Sam, the affable cook who specialises in steamed food. You name it, he'll steam it! Be reasonable, of course. Fish is more his specialty. That's obvious from the name of the restaurant itself.

Check out the photos below to see what we tried out - steamed fish, steamed egg and steamed baby cos lettuce.

From top-left : Chef Sam and Sharon, the restaurant and
fragrant Steamed Fish with a ton of ginger on top

Steamed Egg with soy sauce, garnished with spring onions

Steamed Baby Cos Lettuce (Yau Mak)

It was not difficult to approach the Chef himself. I realised this when I saw him chatting up other customers with down-to-earth ease. I decided to meet him in person to let him know how much I enjoyed the meal.  I think we don't do this enough, do we. It was an inspiring lunch and I was motivated to replicate the dishes at home.

Chef Sam in his booming chirpy voice, "Do come again! "

If you appreciate steamed food as much as I do, then this is the place to go. Over the days, I attempted to cook some of the dishes I had eaten. Look out for my next post to see how I did.

An important cooking tip about steaming fish (this appeared in the Chinese newspaper cutting, China Press, that had featured Chef Sam) :

"Two methods were used to do away with the 'fishy' smell :-
1. By using ginger and spring onion in the steaming process. 
2. By steaming the fish twice - Throw the water from the first steam away. Then, add the sauces and steam again."

~ This tip was translated for my benefit by Mdm. Sue Pooh.