Takeaway satays are not an item that is usually seen at a food kiosk in a bustling shopping mall.
But walk through the food stalls at the basement of VivoCity – and one will catch your eye. Called SuperPower Satay, this takeaway satay kiosk – the first of its kind in Singapore – sits near the Giant @ Vivo supermarket, selling beef, chicken and mutton satays.
Superpower Satay is the first of its kind in Singapore.
BUSTLING AND CROWDED
When I had visited the two-month-old stall with my friends last evening, it was bustling and crowded. Curious people were constantly streaming towards the stall, with one of the customers even ordering as many as 21 cups of satay. Five sticks of satay are served in a plastic cup, with the sauce added into it too.
The little satay stall at VivoCity’s basement.
Last night, the stall owner & founder, Shafudin Kassim (Sha) having to frequently monitor his workers and the orders and checking that everything was running properly, was very busy. Explained Sha, “We had opened in VivoCity in July this year and sales have been picking up well, especially on weekends.”
Mr Sha, owner & founder of Superpower Satay.
THREE TYPES OF SATAYS
Sha sells three types of satays – chicken, beef and lamb, and two types of satay sauces – a standard creamy peanut sauce and a creamy Thai peanut sauce. The latter comprises of coriander, cumin and fennel spices as well as lime leaves, and ground up to extract the unique and interesting flavours from the ingredients.
Prices of the satays, start at $4.50 for a cup of five satay sticks, with ketupat.
Prices start at $4.50 for a cup of 5 sticks.
SATAY SAUCE IS THE BEST PART
My friends and I tried the chicken and beef satays. The chicken one was my favourite. But the best part of the satay is definitely the sauce. The peanut sauce is rich and creamy, with a deliciously mild spicy zing to it. As such, it’s very satisfying and I thought that it really brings out the flavour of the chicken satay very well.
The satay sauce is the best part.
Other customers also love the sauce, according to Sha. He said, “I can tell you that many people love the sauce. The satay is also something different to normal. People have told us that they have never tasted satay that’s as good as ours.”
JUST ENOUGH FOR A SATISFYING MEAL
One cup of five sticks is just right for a satisfying meal on the go – it quashes your hunger pangs, but at the same time it does not leave you feeling stuffed.
As the sauce is his speciality, Sha also volunteered that he has other types of unique and innovative sauces coming out in the near future. These include a cashew nut sauce. And that sounds scrumptious, as cashew nuts have always been amongst my favourite foods.
Yes, I am enjoying myself!
MAKING SATAY AFFORDABLE TO THE MASSES
Why did Sha decide to set up a takeaway satay stall in a shopping mall, in the first place?
Said the satay seller, “I had wanted to make satay more affordable and fast for the masses. At hawker centres and food courts, you have to wait a long time for satay. But with our cooking methods, our satay can be served fast. With this concept, you can buy and eat satay anywhere.” And when we were there, our satays were completely cooked and plated in two minutes flat.
An assistant is busy at work preparing satays.
According to Sha, his satays can be likened to a form of street food. He said, “I consider my satays to be similar to the concept of grab & go street food like the hot dogs in New York City. I like this type of concept as it is a quick and a convenient meal for busy people.”
This SuperPower Satay stall is certainly an upgrade from Sha’s previous stall, where he had used to hawk his satays, also in plastic cups too, at the Al-Mawaddah Mosque – near Buangkok MRT Station.
The Satay in a Cup provides a quick and convenient meal for busy people
In fact, many of Sha’s customers from the mosque have returned to check out his new stall at VivoCity. He said, “Many old mosque customers have come here and they find our new concept better – because it’s more convenient and also located in a mall.”
SLOWLY INTRODUCING OTHER TYPES OF FOOD
Besides the satay though, Sha is also slowly introducing other scrumptious items to the menu. One of these, which will be launched on Saturday (tomorrow), is Mee Bakso Asli, a traditional Indonesian meatball soup noodle dish made with beef balls, noodles, fried onions and vegetables.
Mee Bakso Asli, a traditional Indonesian meatball soup noodle dish.
And to bring out the flavours in the noodle dish even more, a combination of tomato and chilli sauce as well as black sauce, are added to the soup. For those who like their bakso really spicy, Indonesian-style chilli powder can also be added.
Said Rosdi bin Mesri, Outlet Manager at SuperPower Satay VivoCity, “This is a very traditional Indonesian dish and we decided to bring it here because a lot of Indonesian tourists come to VivoCity from Batam – due to the close proximity of the Harbourfront Cruise Terminal. What’s unique about our bakso is that it’s prepared with the authentic Indonesian flavours.”
Tomato, chilli and black soya sauce (bottles in background) are typically added to the bakso when it is served.
Indeed, Sha sources for authentic ingredients from Indonesia for his bakso dish, and he certainly does not take any shortcuts. So this means that the version that you get at his stall, will be exactly the same as the one in Indonesia itself.
A SNEAK PEEK OF THE MEE BAKSO
My friends and I were given a sneak preview of the bakso before it goes on sale to the public tomorrow – and it was definitely delicious. In fact, I admit that I was rather surprised by the pleasantness of the taste. The soup was really rich in flavour and it completely arrested my senses.
My two friends and I got to try the noodles.
The noodles were also smoother than any other type that I have tried – and the presence of the beef balls helped to round off the textures of the dish nicely.
OTHER TAKEAWAY ITEMS
A young customer patiently waits for his order.
Some other takeaway items that Sha is thinking of bringing to SuperPower Satay, may also include typical American street food such as burgers with fries, roti john, beef tribe or rendang on a stick and even satay wraps.
Satay on a wrap… instead of on a stick? Now that sounds intriguing. I can’t wait for it.
Click here for more on Superpower Satay, in a write-up I did on Sha’s earlier stall.
Look out for SuperPower Satay at:
Vivo City B2-K17
1 Harbourfront Walk
Singapore
Open 10am-10pm daily.
Hi Priscilla, your post reached Europe and I found it very interesting. How were the satays prepared in the mall? Hope to hear from you. Thanks.
Oohhh, I am sorry. I just saw your last picture at the bottom which clearly shows a grill. 🙂
Hungry pangs, just by reading it!
Great write up, Pris!! ??
Thanks!! It made me hungry too, writing it and looking at all the satay pictures haha!