The Dead Cockroach: Chinatown Omelette Chef - Smoked Duck Omelette with Pasta @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

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Uncle Francis Lai and Auntie Doreen are the happy faces behind Omelette Chef at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre.

The husband and wife team used to operate a Cantonese soup stall named Grand Stewed Herbal Soup (豪华滋补炖汤) however, as age catches on, decided to switch to selling something that is easier on their backs while also leaving them more time with family.

As the name implies, their current specialty is omelette which you can have with your choice of topping such as Hawaiian ham, diced chicken, smoked duck, cheese, prawn, mushroom and pork sausage.

More flavors like chicken satay, chicken floss and otah are later added to the menu.

Apart from the omelette, you also have a choice of either Japanese rice or pasta drizzled with mushroom sauce and a side of corn and lettuce.

Reasonably priced at $5 for all the different sets, it seems like a complete meal in itself with protein, carbohydrates and fiber all accounted for!

I opt for the smoked duck omelette as I thought it is the most value for money option among all the others.

Pink and tender, I particularly liked the thin layer of fat that melts in the mouth and the lingering smoky flavor which reminded me of bacon.

There are five different sauces on the counter: chili sauce, ketchup, mayo, Thai pesto and lemon mayo.

I picked the lemon mayo to drizzle over the omelette and I like it for its citrusy zest.

The omelette, containing bits of diced tomato, onion slices and spring onion is cooked to just the right doneness.

You can watch Uncle Francis cooking the omelette in full view behind the glass panel, flipping the egg every so often before folding it in half when it is done.

His dedication to his craft is to be applauded.

In fact, we have Auntie Doreen to thank for, for taking care of everything else such as taking orders, collecting payment, putting the rest of the ingredients together (including the plating) so uncle could pay full concentration on the omelette.

I was undecided between having the rice or pasta as they both looked so good with the mushroom sauce.

I eventually picked the pasta as I found out that these are freshly made noodles.

Lightly savory yet not too heavy on flavors, the mushroom sauce is a breath of fresh air from the usual Carbonara and tomato-based sauce.

My only gripe is that both the pasta and mushroom sauce are cold to the touch. I am not sure if pasta is meant to be served cold but I would appreciate it to be lukewarm at least?

Something that I will not touch with a ten foot pole is frozen vegetables as I dislike the off-putting frozen smell associated with it.

The corn used here however, did not come with the frozen smell.

Although I have my doubts, the natural corn sweetness seems to convince me otherwise.

So, yes. I believe fresh corn is used here otherwise, I would not have like it enough to finish every kernel.

To give credit where credit is due, the colors of the golden corn nestled within the green lettuce adds bonus points for the visual department.

If you think about it, each component of the dish is very simple and common yet when you put them together, it becomes something unique which you cannot find elsewhere.