Foodie Paradise

Hill Street Tai Wah Pork Noodles
Blk 466 Crawford Land #01-12

Business Hours: 9.30am to 9.00pm 

Ratings: 6.75/10

Many famous food places locally have pictures of celebrities adorning their small shop front.  However, not many of them have Anthony Bourdain specially making his way there to film his Singapore episode of "No Reservation", which airs on the Discovery Travel and Living Channel.  This minced pork noodle stall in the humble coffee shop along Crawford Lane is not only "best in Singapore, Johore and Batam", but good enough for international TV.

After trying Hill Street Tai Wah Pork Noodles, I have a new favourite location to satisfy my cravings for minced pork noodles.  I have reviewed mince pork noodles quite a few times on this blog.  Among the minced pork noodles that I have reviewed so far, Tai Wah wins easily.

The noodles are solid (in both the singlish sense that means “excellent” and the dictionary usage that means that the noodles are compact in substance).  Because of its "compact in substance" nature, the noodles have a nice texture and are chewy. Coupled with plenty of vinegar and a great chilli paste, the noodles are indeed "solid ah".

Moreover, the ingredients used for the noodles, such as the minced pork, meat balls and liver, are all  fresh, a characteristic that many hawkers have neglected for the sake of selling cheaper food.  The freshness of the ingredients has definitely added lots of goodie points to the noodles!  The noodles also come with a great soup, which adds further joy to the meal.

Thus, should you be in the area, do go Crawford Lane and try these great noodles!

Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee
Old Airport Road Food Centre, #01-115J
12pm to about 7pm 

Ratings: 6.75/10 

Unexpectedly, HC suddenly offered to drive us out to Old Airport Road Food Centre for lunch one day.

Despite the imminent stink on our work attire resulting from the myriad of aromatic food scents, smoke from cooking, and sweat due to the hot weather that day, having lunch at Old Airport Road Food Centre, which was one of the famous local hawker centres known for its delicious food, was an irresistible option that none of us can reject.   It was a welcome break from the almost-daily mundane lunch at the food court!

Of course, at Old Airport Road Food Centre, how can I not have Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee, especially since Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee is one of Makansutra Hawker Legends! 

Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee - $3 a plate

Hokkien Mee is yellow noodles and rice flour noodles fried with seafood stock and topped with prawns, pork strips, and squid rings.  There are two versions of Hokkien Mee in Singapore: dry and wet.  Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee will fall into the dry Hokkien Mee category since there isn’t much gravy in the noodles, as you can see from the photo. 

I can never understand why Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee tastes so good.  If you ask me to imagine how a smashing plate of Hokkien Fried Mee will taste like, I’ll probably describe a hot and aromatic plate of Hokkien noodles.  The entire plate of noodles will be very well fried, with each strand of noodles emitting the characteristic wok hei taste (meaning taste of the wok) that is the defining characteristic of a good plate of fried noodles. 

On the contrary, the plate of Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee that I had was not hot.  Besides that, not every strand of noodles was equally fried and there were a few strands of slightly uncooked noodles.  Whatever that I have just described might make you start wondering why I am saying that Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee is delicious in the first place.  Yet, this is the exact reason why I can never understand why Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee tastes so good. 

The first mouthful of noodles may just taste slightly above average from the usual Hokkien mee that you can get elsewhere.  However, Nam Sing Hokkien Mee is one "Mee" that grows on you.  Each mouthful of noodles taste very pleasant and without you realising, the entire plate of noodles is finished.   I attribute the pleasant taste of the noodles to the delicious seafood stock absorbed by the noodles during the cooking process.  Overall, the noodles are very well fried.  As for the few strands of slightly uncooked noodles that "stood out from the crowd", they actually added a crunchy yet soft texture to the plate of silky noodles, making the plate of Hokkien noodles really interesting to eat.

One plate of Hokkien Fried Mee costs about $3.  That’s a really good price to pay for a plate of fingerlicking good Hokkien Fried Mee.

I had a good lunch that day.  Hot weather?  Stinky food scents that had attached itself onto my clothes?  Who cares about them?  It’s the great lunch that matters ultimately. 

Founder Rou Gu Cha
347 Balestier Road
Opening Hours: 12pm-2pm, 6pm-3am (closed on Tuesday)

Ratings:  5.5/10

About 2 weeks ago, I went hunting for bak kut teh with some of my friends along Balestier Road.  I was hoping to eat at the bak kut teh store that I only vaguely remembered as "the famous one that has air-conditioning".  Somehow, we missed the stall and ended up eating at 333 Bak Kut Teh along Balestier Road.  All five of us came to a unison conclusion - the bak ku teh only tasted average.  The guys were actually still hungry after their meal (or perhaps we were quite disappointed by the place) and we had to adjourn our dinner part two to another place.

(If I were to give 333 Bak Kut Teh a rating, it’ll probably get a 5.0/10)

Undeterred by my previous experience, I went hunting for bak ku teh along Balestier Road again, hoping to find my "famous stall with air-conditioning" this time round.  

This time round, I found the stall.  It was only approximately one block away from 333 Bak Kut Teh. 

The shop opened at 6pm.  I reached the shop around 6.05pm.  The shop was already crowded with diners and plenty of customers were still streaming into the shop.  Just like many of the “notoriously” famous eateries in Singapore, photos of celebrities who had patronised the shop previously adorned the walls of the shop.

In comparison with my "333 Bak Kut Teh" experience, the food at Founder Rou Gu Cha was only slightly better.  Overall, the food tasted average with a few redeeming points that saved it from a 5.0/10 rating.

Liver Soup

Pork Rib (Bak Kut) soup

My main grouse about the Bak Kut Teh is the lack of peppery taste in the soup.  The soup just lacked that aromatic touch to it.  The soup was also a little salty and there was no garlic served together with the soup (hehe…a personal preference).  I prefer the liver soup to the Bak Kut soup.  The liver is savoury.  The bak kut (pork rib) tasted reasonably tender but nothing spectacular.  The only thing that I like most about the soups was that the soups wasn’t oily.

What’s Bak Kut Teh without you tiao (fried dough fritters)?

Preserved Vegetables - another must-have dish when I am savouring my bak kut teh!

You tiao and preserved vegetables are two must-call dishes for me when I eat bak kut teh.  Sadly, they only tasted average at Founder Rou Gu Cha.  (LOL, I’m biased.  If the stall serves great you tiao and preserved vegetables, I am prepared to "close one eye" and give it a higher rating even though the rest of the food just tastes mediocre.  Oh yes, the soup has to be peppery with garlic in them for me to savour.  )

Another redeeming factor of the shop was the lovely pig trotters that it served.   It was just rightly braised.  The pig skin was smooth and the meat was tender.  It was not oily, so you don’t end up getting that disgusted feeling after eating that big pig trotter. 

Twice in a row I have tasted just mediocre bak kut teh.  I need to eat at better bak kut teh stalls in future!

Yu Sheng (鱼生） is a Chinese-style raw fish salad, commonly eaten during the Chinese New Year period.  "Lo Hei", as it is known in Cantonese, or tossing the yusheng, is a CNY custom practice where family and friends will toss the shredded ingredients that made up the yu sheng into the air with the chopstick while making auspicious wishes out loud to mark the start of a prosperous new year.

Yu Sheng is a popular, must-eat dish every Chinese New Year.  However, not many of us actually know that the current-day Yu Sheng is a dish invented in 1964 by a Singaporean chef.

Photo from Makansutra

 

For $20, the Yu Sheng serving was huge!  The raw fish slices were sufficiently marinated to cover any fishy taste and ingredients served were fresh.  The entire dish was very crunchy and delicious.  It’s definitely one of the better Yu Sheng that I had tasted (though I have tasted better ones before) and definitely worth the $20 price tag!

 

Yam Pot with Prawns and Cashew Nuts

 

 Photo from Makansutra

 

I also tried another famous dish pioneered by Mr. Tham - Yam Pot with Prawns and Cashew Nuts. It was my favourite dish that night.  The fried yam was very crispy and seemingly melted in my mouth when I bit them.  Though yam is one of my favourite food, I personally feel that it’s difficult to make a delicious yam cuisine.  If a yam dish is not handled well, it is very easy to get "sick" eating the dish within a few bites.  It’s definitely high culinary standards to make such delicious yam pot!  Besides the lovely outer yam crust, the ingredients in the pot were just as delicious.  The prawns were very smooth and tender.  I just love this dish lots!

 

Parklane Teochew Minced Pork Noodles
Bras Brasah Complex Foodcourt 

Ratings: 6.5/10 

I think I need to start a new list that list down the various eating-places I need to go try next.  Though I currently don’t have such a list (and I think I do need to start one soon), I won’t be surprise if my list can go on for pages, from eating places that have caught my interests to recommendations from friends, blog comments and local media. 

I blogged about some lacklustre minced pork noodles that I had a few months back and Mia from the Skinny Epicurean left me a comment recommending me to try the minced pork noodles at the Bras Brasah Complex foodcourt.  I made a mental note about it and I finally got myself down to Bras Brasah Complex to try it last week.

 
I glad I did that.  The minced pork noodle was lovely and definitely comparable to another favourite stall of mine located at Sim Lim Square.  The handmade noodles were definitely a plus factor since most noodles these days are mass-produced and just don’t taste good.  The noodles were well cooked and delicious, though personally I prefer the noodles at Sim Lim Square more.  The best part of the noodles is the chilli and the sauces in it, which gives it a delicious and unique flavour.

328 KATONG LAKSA

Three outlets:
216 East Coast Road;
51 East Coast Road;
Soul Food By Makansutra, 30 Biopolis Street, Matrix Block

Ratings: 5.5/10 

Pardon me if my description on 328 Katong Laksa is brief.  I had tasted the laksa a few weeks back but have only gotten down to blogging it today.

A popular Peranakan dish in Singapore, Laksa consists of rice noodles in thick aromatic gravy made from coconut milk, spices, dried shrimps and chilli, topped with cockles, prawns and sliced fish cakes.

I was expecting to slurp the rice noodles with chopsticks and down the piping hot and spicy gravy with spoon.  However, I was surprised to see that my bowl of laksa had only come with a spoon.

The rice noodles has been cut into smaller pieces by scissors, thus only a spoon is required to eat the bowl of laksa.  Instead of the piping hot laksa I was expecting, my laksa is only slightly warm.  The gravy is sweet, a taste which I had never associated laksa with, and was not as aromatic as I had hoped.  My laksa is also not spicy even though I had added quite a few scoops of chilli into it. 

The only redeeming point: There are plenty of cockles in the bowl of laksa that costs only S$3.   

Personally, I feel that 328 Katong Laksa is pretty over-rated.  The laksa just lacks that "x factor" that will make me go all the way to Katong to try it again.  Katong Laksa is famous in Singapore, especially with the hyped-up Laksa war that also involves 328 Katong Laksa.  But sadly, my first taste of Katong Laksa has left me disappointed.

Good Year Local Hainanese Chicken Rice Ball
庆丰年海南鸡饭团专卖店
Blk 111 Lor 1 Toa Payoh #01-366

Ratings: 6.0/10

While I was briefly scanning through my blog archive, I realised that the dish that is most often blogged about in this blog has to be the chicken rice.

It is inevitable that chicken rice will be the most blogged about food in this site.  The popularity of the Hainanese chicken rice is unrivalled in Singapore.  If you are a Singaporean who is currently reading this blog, just start thinking whether you have been caught in at least one of the situations listed below:

1. Have cravings for chicken rice or have to eat chicken rice at least once a week/month
2. Have gone around trying the different highly-recommended/famous chicken rice stall in Singapore
3. Have found yourself in a debate/discussion of which is the best chicken rice stall in Singapore
4. Have mocked about the expensive chicken rice sold at Chatterbox.

It is an almost irrefutable fact that Hainanese chicken rice is Singapore’s national cuisine.  

But wait…Hainanese chicken rice balls? 

For this stall that I’m going to blog about, instead of chicken rice, it is chicken rice balls that are served.  The rice balls are actually rice that is pressed together to form the shape of a ball.  The rice ball is also the most unique feature about this stall that has differentiated it from the plethora of similar chicken rice stalls in town.

The rice balls taste soft and mushy.  Personally, I prefer the usual rice that is being served to these rice balls.  One characteristic of a good chicken rice - plump aromatic rice with lingering taste of the chicken stock and pandan leaves that has been used to cook it.  Sadly, I feel that this important characteristic is missing from these rice balls.  The rice has been pressed too tightly together causing the rice to lose its characteristic fragrance and taste. 

The chicken is soft and tender, but it is a bit uncooked, as seen from the reddish tinge on the meat in the photo above.  As for the char siew, I found its texture tough and hence not sufficiently chewy. 

The chicken rice is served together with a tasty bowl of soup cooked with peanuts and chicken feet and three different sauces - garlic, chilli and dark soy sauce.  I especially love the chilli sauce.  Though it seems to be more watery as compared to the usual chicken rice chilli, it tasted good and spicy.

Another complaint of mine about the stall: I was really thirsty after eating it for lunch.  I guess that signifies the amount of MSG that has been used during the cooking.

On the whole, the chicken rice tastes decent and definitely above average.  This is the stall to patronise if you have a craving for chicken rice but want to try something that is slightly different from the usual run-of-the-mill chicken rice, simply because these rice balls have added such an interesting twist to our national dish.

Lee Fun Nam Kee Chicken Rice and Restaurant 
Blk 94, Toa Payoh Lor 4
#01-04

Ratings: 5.0/10

I have always been hesitant in blogging about eating places that have been specially recommended by well-meaning friends, especially those who knows about my food blog.  There are plenty of reasons to it.  Firstly, preferences are subjective. What my friends like may not be what I like.  Another reason is because there have been instances where my friends have recommended me food which I feel doesn’t even meet the criteria of delicious food objectively. 

In face of such circumstances, there are only a few choices for me:

1. Write an absolutely frank comment about what I’ve tasted
2. Write a vague entry about the food that I have tasted and try to focus only on the redeeming qualities of the food, so as to give my friends some "face".
3. Just don’t blog about it.

Often, I find myself choosing option three.  Dining out with friends are often enjoyable social events and I don’t want any overly-frank comments of mine to mare the occasion.  Besides that, I love having my friends to recommend me new places to dine in, because there’re only that many eating places that I’ve tried before or have learnt about the great food they serve through blogs, tv and newspapers.  Many of my friends’ recommendations or suggestions have brought me to try out a new cuisine or enjoyed some really lip-smacking food and I’ll definitely blog about these experiences.  Thus, there’s a part of me hoping that by not blogging down the bad recommendations, my friends will always be gamed enough to continue giving me recommendations and bringing me to new eating places so as to broaden my foodie experience. 

Lee Fun Nam Kee Chicken Rice and Restaurant is an eating place that my mum’s colleague had enthusiastically recommended to us while recounting her recent dining experience there that had left her such a deep impression.  Since Lee Fun Nam Kee is just a stone throw away from my place, my family and I decided to have our lunch there over the weekend.

It turned out that Lee Fun Nam Kee Chicken Rice and Restaurant is a disappointing recommendation.  My main comment is that the food there are just simply too MSG-overload.  

The rice, which is one of the defining criteria in rating a plate of chicken rice, totally fails to make the mark.  A reason why Singapore’s chicken rice has become one of the must-try local cuisines for tourists is because of the soft and fragrant rice that’s served together with the yummy chicken.  The rice served at Lee Fun Nam Kee meets neither of the qualities. 

The chicken meat, though tender, left no other impression in me.  The only redeeming quality in the Char Siew is the amount of fatty meat in it (and unhealthy fats have the ability to make anything taste delicious).  Other than that, the meat that’s served there tastes no difference from the meat that’s served in any other stalls that you can easily get in Singapore. 

As for the Dumpling Soup that my mum’s friend has specially recommended, it just tasted MSG-overload and there was nothing fantastic about it.

Most importantly, the factor that makes me really critical about the place is the price that they charged for the food.  A small plate of char siew costs a minimum of $7.  Half a chicken costs $13.  The soup costs $6. A simple meal for three people ended up costing $27.  Especially in a HDB estate like Toa Payoh where cheap and delicious food is readily available, the food can be considered to cost exorbitant.  

No doubt there are redeeming factors about the place.  The eating place is roomy and clean and nicely decorated for a shop in the HDB estate.  There are plenty of fans to help the diners to combat the hot and humid weather of Singapore.  However, these factors are definitely not enough to entice me to go back and eat there again, despite how near it is to my place.

And no, my mum’s colleague does not know about this blog of mine.