The first thing that hits you- Woah, this place really lives up to its name! Everything looks ancient; from the premise to the tables, chairs, and even the cook! Since I was running around in my primary school pinafore and pigtails, nothing has changed one bit. It feels like it’s been stuck in a time warp and honestly, I wouldn’t want to change a thing. This place breathes nostalgia and the packed tables attest to its honest to goodness cooking. Sometimes when the tables are filled and customers keep streaming in, the staff will open up more tables in the garden area beneath the giant shady trees. Now this is what I call alfresco dining!
On each table sits sauce bottles of assorted variety. There is the regular Maggi ketchup and chilli, lingam chilli sauce, black vinegar and its very own brown sauce concoction which is also available for sale to ‘tarpao’. I swear this sauce should be trademarked. Its Worcestershire based sauce is blended with other stuff and packs a punch when added with red chilli and cili padi - the perfect condiment to any dish.
After taking our order, the server brings over plates, cutleries and 2 saucers of killer sambal belacan and plain red chillies mixed with cili padi. Remember to pour the homemade brown sauce and crush the chillies into the sauce to jazz up the flavour. The dishes do take a while to arrive but as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. And arrived it did and it was not just good, but lip smacking great! Our order of fried spring rolls (called ‘chun pia’ in Hokkien) arrived crisp with steaming hot filling of turnips, minced chicken, carrots, crab meat and 5 spice. Now pour some of that brown sauce-chilli concoction and sambal belacan into the filling and pop it into your mouth…. Heaven in a bite!
"It is not just good, but lip smacking great!"
Next is the Mee Sua Tau which is their house specialty. I’ve tried other versions but nothing beats Senior Citizens. Loaded with mee suah noodles, mushrooms, chicken and crabmeat with starch to thicken the broth, I love adding black vinegar and sambal belacan for that extra zing. This is comfort food at its best with the flavor reminiscent of sharks fin soup, so save the sharks – eat mee sua tau!
The Hainanese roast chicken is excellent stuff as it is marinated in the brown sauce and deep fried. Crunchy on the outside, it retains its juiciness and goes well with the brown sauce-chilli dipping. The chicken was scrumptious and we nibbled it to the bone. Their homemade otak otak is pretty yummy but only available depending on supply. Other noteworthy dishes are Hainanese Chicken Chop, Fried Jawa Mee, Fried Tang Hoon, Roti Babi (which is actually pork-free)… in fact everything on the menu is wonderful so come with a big group with big appetites to boot! I heard the Inche Kabin is to die for but requires 1 day’s booking in advance.
Senior Citizen Club is my favourite makan spot on the island, if you don’t mind its laidback hole in a wall exterior. Unfortunately its days are numbered as I am told that the land has been bought over and the old folks will need to vacate soon. With their future up in the air, I dread that this meal might just be my last and reluctantly leave with a sigh of resignation.
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