August 31, 2019, 06:34 AM
The Original Recipe is a hawker stall situated at Haig Road Hawker Centre.
Run by 30-year-old Stephen Suriyah and his mother Jumana Rani, the stall specialises in Singaporean-style vadai, or Indian prawn fritters.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="761"]
Photo via Makansutra's Facebook post[/caption]
Vadai unique to Singapore
According to hawker food champion KF Seetoh's Aug. 23 write-up on his Makansutra website, The Original Recipe's vadai is different from others in that their dough is made in small batches, along with bigger prawns and green chili which are spicier than the ones found in the average vadai.
The vadai from The Original Recipe has a generous dose of umami thanks to the prawn juices that permeate the dough during the frying, according to Seetoh.
Seetoh noted that it is getting harder to find vadai in menus, let alone unique ones like The Original Recipe's, which the family has been selling for more than 30 years.
The vadai that we know is unique to Singapore, as Seetoh noted that it cannot be found even in neighbouring countries.
Photo via Makansutra's Facebook post
Originally, one could only get Original Recipe's unique vadai at pop-ups such as night markets.
After 30 years of operating in various night markets, the duo settled down into a permanent space at the hawker centre on Aug. 1, 2019.
This was also due to the fact that ardent fans disliked having to track them down at different night markets.
Seetoh had high praise for the duo's vadai, saying that he had to go down three times to confirm that their fritters were indeed one of the most delicious ones he ever had.
The article, which was posted on Makansutra's Facebook page has since garnered over 100 shares.
The Facebook share button within the article on the website also indicated that the article was shared over 2,000 times.
Closed suddenly
However, the stall was found to be shuttered a month after they opened, according to a post on Seetoh's personal Facebook page on Aug. 29.
Seetoh claimed that the mother and son duo "were told to shutter up a day after (the Aug. 23) post and article was released".Stephen confirmed with Mothership that he was told to close the stall less than one month after opening it.
The owners said the closure was not due to hygiene lapses, according to Seetoh who promised to provide an update once he has "the full story".
He also hopes that the authorities can look into this "and not let authentic, created in Singapore vadai fade into the sunset."
Mothership understands that the stall was closed due to co-tenancy issues, and that Stephen is working with the National Environment Agency (NEA) to look for alternatives.
In the meantime, you can follow Stephen's vadai stall on Facebook below. He is currently selling vadai at Jurong East MRT station.
Top image via Kf Seetoh's Facebook post.
Content that keeps Mothership.sg going
??
Do you remember the last time you used a passbook?
?
Adulting 101: We teach you how to pour beer properly. The kind with a lot of foam on top.
??
Catch up on some feel-good stories that'll make you smile.
?
Find out how Jack Ma built Alibaba: The house that Jack (Ma) built.
??
Would you scream for ROJAK ice cream?
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.