A HONG KONG CHEF TALES COOKING CLASSE
Tan claimed that her father initially turned down her request to teach her how to cook because her parents did n’t want her to work in the restaurant. She had a hard time finding a mentor because all the chefs she knew from her parents “refused to teach ( her ) because they thought a zi char kitchen was n’t a place for a lady to be in.”  ,
When asked if she was upset at her parents for no mentoring her, Tan admitted:” Yes, just a little bit”. But she conceded:” Afterwards I felt like, okay, if you do n’t want to teach me, then I’ll go and learn from someone else” . ,
Conveniently, her friend introduced her to a retired restaurant from Hong Kong, whom she solemnly called Zhang , shifu , (‘teacher’ in Mandarin ). The 75-year-old restaurant has a background in Cantonese dishes and spent 16 years working in a Chinese restaurant in London before moving to Singapore.
She said that Zhang , shifu , “very sure did n’t thinking teaching me on my days off from work and through him, I learned how to do things quickly and make all the food”.  ,
Tan paid him a “very fair” charge of S$ 150 per day for training, and learned how to whip up meals like spicy oil dumplings,  , wok hei , porridge, and how to cook great soup stock from him.  ,
The different chefs who originally turned her down for an internship soon realized that she was serious about learning how to cook, and they began to teach her their meals as well as as she picked up some knowledge from Master Zhang.  , Her grandfather always ended up teaching her how to make. ” He realised he did n’t need to teach me”, Tan laughed.  ,
THE Restaurant
Salted Egg Pork Chop or Chicken Cube ($$ 8.50 ), Mapo Tofu with Minced Meat ($$ 9), Lu Rou Fan ($$ 8), Chinchalok Fish Katsu ($$ 8), Collagen Clam Soup with Wujiapi Wine and Rice ($$ 10), and Gong Bao Ji ($$ 8.50 ) are on New Station Rice Bar’s small menu.
Tan also has regular specials, where she introduces possible novel dishes to get customers ‘ feedback. Chloe Style Curry Rice ( S$ 9.50 ) and Chilli Oil Dumplings ( S$ 8 for six pieces ), both of which are currently on her permanent menu, are among her best-selling specials this month.  ,
SALTED EGG PORK CHOP, S$ 8.50