Fishmongers Open Hawker Stall Serving Affordable Steamed Seafood, Including $6 Grouper, Crayfish

Their stall’s name doesn’t refer to a bad case of the giggles – it’s how Teochews pronounce the Mandarin word xi, which means happiness. Ironically, Jack is Cantonese while Sky is Hokkien – the cutesy name was just a suggestion from Sky’s friend that stuck ’cos of how catchy it sounded.

The pair split up their daily tasks – which include collecting seafood from Jurong Fishery Port in the early morning, then running the fish stall and prepping fish to be sold at Hee Hee Hee Steamed Fish & Fish Soup in the evenings – between them to ensure they get enough rest.

Which begs the question – why become hawkers in the first place? Sky explains: “We figured that since we’re in the fishmonger business, we have direct access to fresh fish at wholesale prices. So we can sell it cheaper too, and earn some money this way [apart from being a fishmonger].” After all, the fish business took a hit amid the pandemic – Jack estimates that sales to restaurants and at their market stall dropped by around 30 percent.

Sky also shares frankly that they were “inspired to sell steamed fish too” after seeing Hanjiang Seafood Square’s popularity. They initially planned to offer both fish soup, and steamed fish as complementary dishes, but struck the former off the menu when they got too busy to handle both.

According to the hawkers, they’ve only been marginally affected by the rising cost of utilities and ingredients that have led others in the biz to raise prices. “Our utility bills went up by about 5 to 10 percent, but for fish, we are able to keep costs down ’cos we can get it at wholesale prices,” Sky says.

The two partners are the ones cooking at Hee Hee Hee Steamed Fish & Fish Soup, despite lacking any previous cooking chops. Instead, they consulted YouTube videos and adjusted their recipes based on customer feedback.

Business is brisk – there was a constant stream of customers queuing up to place orders during our visit on a Wednesday evening, so expect a wait of around 20 minutes. Instead of set meals like Hanjiang Seafood Square, seafood is sold a la carte here. About 13 seafood items are on offer, ranging from $6 to $15 (for a whole sea bass) – not everything is sold daily, as it’s subject to freshness and availability. There’re also steamed veggies (not available daily), but don’t expect any zi char-style omelettes like at Hanjiang Seafood Square.

Seafood steamed Hong Kong-style, with lashings of soy sauce, sesame oil and Shaoxing wine drizzled over after cooking, is the only option for now (they hope to offer more flavours like seafood steamed in mala spices eventually). Rice goes for $0.50 a bowl.

We’re treated to a whole freshly steamed wild-caught grouper (between 300g to 400g for this price) that yields glistening, buttery smooth flesh. Just as fresh-tasting as the seafood served by the stall they were inspired by – as is expected from a pair of fishmongers. The dressing of soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, shallots and minced garlic is fragrant and savoury, though a bit too salty so it slightly overpowers the natural sweetness of the fish. There’s a decent amount of fish on those bones, but probably not enough to satisfy those with larger appetites. The accompanying saucer of chilli padi and soya sauce on the side isn’t quite necessary unless you need some heat.

Farmed golden pomfrets are less prized – and therefore far cheaper – than their sea-caught white and silver kin, though we find the specimen on our plate great value-for-money. This well-steamed portion, which weighs between 400g to 600g for a whole smallish fish, has a good bit of moist, pearly-white flesh. We like that they filleted the bottom half of the fish for easier eating, too.

Hanjiang Seafood Square also serves golden pomfret, but a half portion of a larger fish for $5.50 with rice and soup.

Unlike the fish here, the four steamed crayfish that arrive at our table are disappointingly tiny – there’s scarcely more than about two fingers’ worth of flesh within each crustacean. We figure that their size also makes it harder for the novice hawkers to get the steaming time right as the crayfish were overcooked and chewy. Then again, it cost just $6 for this typically pricey shellfish. Perhaps the prawns ($6 for five pcs) would’ve worked better, but it was sold out during our visit.

The enterprising new hawkers behind Hee Hee Hee Steamed Fish & Fish Soup serve seafood as fresh and well-priced as their neighbouring rival Hanjiang Seafood Square. However, the slightly salty Hong Kong-style marinade used here sometimes overshadows the sweetness of the produce. Skip the skinny crayfish and get the tastier grouper and golden pomfret instead.

Hee Hee Hee Steamed Fish & Fish Soup is at #01-12 Blk 79 Circuit Rd, S370079. Tel: 9168-8017. Open daily except Sat, 5pm – 9pm.

Photos: Alvin Lim

All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg