Satay | Ziggy

Satay is pieces of meat skewered together by a 6-7inch wooden stick and grilled over charcoal. Marinated with local spices, it is not chilly spicy but fragrant and savoury. Always served with a bowl of complimentary peanut sauce, raw cut cucumbers and onions. Ketupat or rice wrapped in coconut palm leaves is optional purchase. Suits the taste buds of most cultures across the world, it has to be one of the more unforgettable food from this region, my favourite food since an age I can’t remember!

Chye Seng Satay

Kwong Satay

St George Satay

Yong Seng Satay

Ah Pui Satay

Pang's Satay

Mei Mei Satay

Satay

Jul 2020

Fabulous satay and best peanut sauce in town, triple top stall as the ketupat is great as well.

Satay is pieces of meat skewered together by a 6-7inch wooden stick and grilled over charcoal. Marinated with local spices, it is not chilly spicy but fragrant and tasty. Always served with a bowl of complimentary peanut sauce, raw cut cucumbers and onions. Ketupat or rice wrapped in coconut palm leaves is optional purchase. Suits the taste buds of most cultures across the world, it has to be one of the more unforgettable food from this region, my favourite food since an age I can’t remember!

This is a one man operation. Operated by an uncle, who cooks his own peanut sauce. The stall is shared with a Vietnamese Food operator and his grill is hidden behind the stall. We stumbled upon this fabulicious satay after playing football at the St. Wilfred Sports Complex, we used to order just his pork satay as we thought very highly of it; the uncle would always hint that his chicken and mutton was quite good too. Indeed they are!

Uncle is always coy about his satay’s origin, says they’re made by his family. Well marinated, they are delicious. The marinade combines very well with each type of meat; as they come in small pieces, they are well marinated all over, giving the entire piece of meat delicious flavour.

The pork satay will have at least 1-2 pieces of fat in it, adding extra taste and juiciness! Aromatic and slightly sweet, the blend is just right, the moment you bite into it, you’ll know that it’s the best satay in town. Many friends and family I bring here agree too.

Not only is the marinade good, the uncle grills his satay to perfection. The satay has to be slightly burnt, and he would painstakingly use a pair of scissors to cut off over burnt parts, giving the meat a slightly crunchy layer on the outside. He had considered hiring someone to help with the grilling, but he did not find anyone satisfactory; complained that it’s not easy and it needs to be very careful and patient with the process.

The peanut sauce is served with a teaspoon of pineapple puree. I always have mine without the puree, as I find it dilutes the sauce, adding unwanted liquidity and sweetness to it. His satay sauce is so brilliant I don’t want anything extra. It is thick, chunks of peanut available for some crunch, well cooked, full of peanut taste and just enough spiciness, it is done just right. Blended to perfection! I’d challenge friends I bring here to tell me if the satay or the peanut sauce is better, I have yet to get a proper answer!

The ketupat is more ordinary but wash it down with some satay sauce, it’s brilliant…. One thing about his ketupats, they're also made by hand, not factory made.

Interestingly, even his cucumber and onion seems fresher and tastier than most other satay stall’s, 🤣😎, not sure if it’s psychological, and most likely it is because I’d douse them with his wonderful peanut sauce, tasty to the extreme! Needless to say, I finish off every drop of peanut sauce every visit, here's the evidence... 👇

The wait for this can be quite long on weekends as many would order hundreds for parties. To get better service, try to tell the uncle the satay sauce is very good, you can catch a glimpse of pride in his smile and you can always ask for more sauce, which I always do! 🤣😎 He’d happily serve you more and sometimes he’d tell me again that he makes this himself. I’ve heard it so many times I need to use my toes to count…

You can place orders in advance @ 97924610, but only for take-away.

I have often thought about it, if I was offered a last meal, St George Satay would be top on my list of just 2-3 short list! It is this fantastic to me. Best in the world, solar system and the galaxy!

The satay sauce is not watery, wonderfully thick

From left: mutton, chcicken and pork

St George Satay

6 St George’s Road

5pm til sold out. Which could be from 8pm. Closed on Mondays

Satay

Apr 2021

Chunky meat that is well marinated, and brilliantly grilled, it is no wonder that Yong Seng has a good following. Each stick of satay has good sized and chunky meat, it is grilled well so that it has a bit of a crunchy feel, almost like you’re eating fried chicken! Ok, I exaggerate… but it does have an extra crunch.

Served with a spoonful of pineapple puree, the satay sauce was a bit on the diluted side, but it had chunky peanut bits, and was delicious enough. Only cucumber pieces are given, no onions.

Yong Seng

The satay here actually felt a bit “homemade”, there was a bit of a raw edge about it. The pieces were chunkier than the usual satay so each skewer was more filling. I had my usual 15 sticks of satay for lunch and I had no appetite for dinner….

The marinade for the satay was decent, with a nice fragrance to it. The mutton satay had a tinge of spice in it, it was tender but I didn’t quite like it so if I were to return, this would be something I'd give a miss.

The pork and chicken satays were quite excellent. A very enjoyable treat. Lunch and dinner in a meal....😆😎

Yong Seng Satay

51 Upper Bukit Timah Road, 02-123 Bukit Timah Food Centre, s588215

1130am – 8pm, closed Tue

Satay

Nov 2020

Nice fresh satay, and peanut sauce that is thick and delightfully fragrant.

Operated by the elderly Lees, this stall is in the “forgotten corner” of the Old Airport hawker centre. A small sign here claims that the satay is hand made, and you can often see Mrs Lee skewering satays in the later part of the evening!

This stall has no fixed closing hour, when it’s quieter, they would just prepare food by skewering satay for the next day, and serve any customers until they are ready to pack. Every item here is made by the Lees, including the ketupat (rice) and satay sauce.

Where did they get their secret recipe? It was from Mr Lee’s father, who met difficulties in their provision shop, decided to venture into selling satay, and brought up 13 children! Mrs. Lee has pride in creating and making the satay, she insists on putting a secret ingredient into the satay sauce as she believes that makes all the difference, despite its cost, I was too polite to ask the ingredient (it's secret, not that she would reveal!)….. and she says that she would decline requests for pork satays without the fat, I wholehearted agree with this! 😄

Chye Sen

If I am honest, I cannot vouch that this stall is the best at the hawker centre, they are all pretty much around the same! There are many satay stalls at this hawker centre with almost 180 stalls, you have to be decent to survive here.

Chye Seng has been here for 13 years, moving over from Kovan when the coffee shop they operated in was sold for the development of real estate and this hawker centre had just finished renovations. I have tried every satay stall here and I would say it is hard to tell much difference. The certainty is that at some stalls, you’ll need to wait 30-60 minutes, at others, you may need to wait, and endure grumpiness! Here at Chye Seng, not much of a wait, and if you’re here in the later parts of the evening, get to hear soothing Buddhist chants, from a neighbouring stall, bringing some calm…. Ommmmmhhhh…..

Generally the meat is a bit on the dry side, but very tasty. There is something in the marinade that gives the meat a nice tasty fragrance, it gives the taste buds a lift and seem to dance inside your mouth.

The satay sauce is delicious, I'd really like to know the secret ingredient! 😄. It has a nice texture and consistency, and a nice fragrance to it. All in all a tasty treat and no extra waiting, without a doubt the best taste to waiting time ratio at this hawker centre, if not Singapore!

Give this stall a try next time you want satay here!

Chye Seng Satay

51 Old Airport Road, #01-146 Old Airport Road Hawker, S390051

Daily 6 – 10pm, closed on Mon

Kwong

Satay

Aug 2020

Got to go for the pork belly satay here.

We can have some of their pork, chicken or mutton satay, they’re good but not fantastic, but they serve a mean pork belly satay! Chunky and longer than usual, they cost $1.20 per stick, but they are well worth it! These pork belly satay is full of bite, being from the belly, the meat is tenderer, juicier and of course “tastier”! The sweet aroma and mixture of the marinade with the juicy and tender meat, coupled with the bigger bite size, just hits your taste buds like, erm, $12 worth of goodness (you get 10 times the worth, by my estimate….. I guess 😆)

I understand that Kwong Satay is a wholesaler and they may not be sold under the same brand name, you might find the same thing elsewhere in another name. I have seen one at Changi Village. For a more comprehensive list of vendors, please visit their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kwongsatay/

Their peanut sauce is a little bit lacking though. It’s on the watery side but the taste is nutty enough to keep you satisfied. The ketupat is also nothing to write home about, if you need a carbo fix, just bear with it la…

The pork belly satay is well worth a try, if they claim to be number two, only one guy in Singapore, in my humble opinion…., can claim to be number ONE….

They also sell BBQ chicken wings and otaks here, edible stuff....

Kwong Satay

27A Coffee Shop, 9 Lorong 27A Geylang

*Changi Village Hawker Centre #01-66

5 – 11pm (4-11pm on Sun and PH). Closed on Wed.

https://www.facebook.com/kwongsatay/

https://www.facebook.com/kwongsataygeylang/

Ah Pui

Satay

14 Sep 2024

THICK!

Pork satays only, most excellent satays too

Took me exactly 5 months before I finally got my paws on a few sticks of this. I have never heard of them before it's rejuvenation. First 4-5 times they had sold out by 8pm, once at 730!

This place sells only pork satays, big and chunky ones at $1 each.

Chunky meat, bigger and longer than most normal satay, they were succulent, very tender, and nicely flavoured. Each bite was a joy. Thick and majestic in bite and taste, I took my time with each stick to enjoy the process.

Their peanut sauce was quite intimidating, with intense yellow pineapple puree, and more intense red hue on the sauce itself. It was deliciously thick, savoury and not spicy, with a good natural sweet from the pineapple.

I am not a fan of pineapples on satay peanut sauces and always request for them sans pineapple, but the pineapple puree here was thicker than the sauce, so fibrous I had some stuck between my teeth....

The sweet from the pineapple mixed very well with the sauce. I asked for a second helping of it (given without hesitation) sans pineapple and I have to admit, it was much better with. I really cannot believe I’m saying this!

Even the ketupats here were nicer than most. They were fresh, soft and tasty. Quite exceptional.

I had the satays by myself, 10 sticks filled me very well, and I had a few good minutes by myself enjoying and slowly reflecting on how delicious the meal was.

I’m extremely happy for the appearance of Ah Pui Satay. I love satay a lot and had been quite sad that my favourite perfect satay St. George Satay had retired. This one is a good fight, albeit different. Grateful that Ah Pui made a come back.

Ah Pui made a come back after a long illness, but soon after this place opened, he sadly left us. Got to say his partner has kept up his good tradition. Bless them!

Ah Pui Satay

75 Lorong 5 Toa Payoh Food Centre, #01-13, s310075

530pm - 10pm weekdays, 330pm - 10pm on Sat and Sun, closed on Mon

https://www.instagram.com/ahpuisatay/

Mei Mei

Satay, Carrot Cake

Apr 2024

Unique satay sauce from a stall with 50 years of history

Following the footsteps of his grandfather, this stall owner started selling satay here at Haig Road market 45 years ago. His grandfather used to be a push cart satay seller, following a Chinese opera troop, offering his satay nearby wherever they performed.

He still has a group of regulars that comes to him, Haig Road Market is pretty quiet at night, with just a few Muslim stalls open and many milling around enjoying the freedom and having a cup of tea, some even playing their own tune or two, so this is quite a cool place to enjoy a stick or two, especially on weekends.

The flavouring of the satay was scrumptious, reminiscent of my childhood days in KL where I used to go for my favourite pork satay, something less common there.

The flavouring here suited both the pork and chicken satays, delicious. Love the pork satay here, as every stick of pork satay had a nice fresh piece of fat, always a joy to bite into one…

The peanut gravy here was exceptional, provided with a dub of pineapple puree, which I decline whenever I remember. It was unique with a strong chilli flavour, intense in its own way, nothing too exciting but just spicier than ordinary.

Despite one to go for the peanut flavour in satay sauces, I find myself drawn to this new variety and very much like it!

Mei Mei Satay, Carrot Cake

14 Haig Road, #01-28 Haig Road Market & Food Centre, s4300014

6pm – 9pm, closed on Mon

Pangs

Satay

Dec 2023

Fresh and succulent satay, brings happiness to consumers

Curiously, I have not noticed this stall despite coming here often, usually in the day though.

Was walking past en route with my KL Jiak Kaki who visits Singapore for work very frequently, he loves satay so we just glanced at each other and he nodded, we had a “sampler”….

We ordered chicken and pork satay, both the chicken and regular pork (they have premium pork belly too, but was sold out that day) came with quite a good amount of meat on the skewers, especially considering it was $0.70 per stick, which is slightly on the lower side. And both were happy bites, giving me some perk ups while chewing them. Fresh and succulent, and the marinade suitable. They were a joy to consume.

The pork belly satays were much bigger, both thicker and longer by half, priced at $1.20 per stick, but well worth the price. Tender and succulent meat, with 2 pieces of fats each stick, the chunkier satay was delightful. I'd definitely go for the pork belly, besides bigger, it's tastier too. Got to be here early for it though, as they're often sold out around 7-30pm, actually by 745pm, they could be all sold out! Especially on weekends.

The peanut sauce was just about thick enough, had a good savoury sweet to it, and a sting in the tail, in the form of an exciting spicy after taste. The very sweet Ms. Pang (her maiden name) proudly proclaimed that this was made with a secret recipe, passed down from her grandparents! It was indeed brilliant stuff!

All the satays are made fresh each day, and you can taste the freshness. The only down side is that they have limited stocks, usually by 745pm, the pork belly would have sold out, and by 815-30pm, they would be sold out. All in all a very good satay stall, it was a happy meal!

Pang’s Satay

335 Smith St, #02-213 Chinatown Complex, Singapore 050335

5 – 9pm, Closed on Wed and Thu

Fang Yuan