Hawker Gems

Today, I did something I never thought I'd do: I spent 2 hours queueing for food. And this was all for the sake of checking out why this stall at Chinatown Complex got a Michelin star, signifying that it serves really good food in its category.

Dishes I tried were the Soya Sauce Chicken + Pork Ribs with Rice and Char Siew Noodles. Let me just break them down into individual components.

Soya Sauce Chicken: One of the better Soya Sauce Chickens around, the meat was juicy and had this smooth, slippery texture in your mouth.

Pork Ribs: This came highly recommended but it just tasted like your run-of-the-mill, dry and tough Char Siew. However, I would urge you guys to try this again as the Pork Ribs I had looked really different from what other people have been posting. Mine seems to have been done in a hurry, lacking the much desired caramelised char, moistness and penetration of flavour into the meat.

Rice: Thought this was rather bland but that could be solved with more sauce. I felt that the texture of the rice was a little mushy as well.

Char Siew: I felt that this was the best item from the stall. Nicely caramelised while still retaining the moisture of the meat. It wasn’t too fatty as well. In my opinion, this would be the only thing worth queueing for (but still, 15 minutes max).

Noodles: The texture of the noodles cannot be faulted but I would have preferred my noodles to be a little firmer. The sauce was also a little too strong in terms of sweetness and saltiness for me, like I was taking of spoonful of oyster sauce that had only been diluted by the tiniest of margins.

One of the obstacles to retaining the coveted Michelin star(s) is consistency. If what I experienced today was an issue with that, I hope the stall will be able to quickly adjust and cope with its greatly boosted popularity.

Based on my meal today, I would say that Kim Heng HK Roasted Meat @ Serangoon could give you Char Siew of a similar quality (they have consistency issues sometimes though) and more tasty Pork Ribs. You might end up spending slightly more at Kim Heng, but I’m sure queueing for 15 minutes instead of 2 hours is more than worth the extra dollar or two.

Lad and Dad is a new establishment that can be found in the popular Serangoon Garden Market and Food Centre. Lad and Dad strives to create British inspired food within the confines of their tiny stall in the food centre. It's a refreshing change from the usual western food setups. As of my time of visit which was 2 days ago, Lad and Dad only had 3 items on their menu: Lancashire Hotpot, Mutton Stew and Beef Stew. The Lancashire Hotpot that I tried consisted of a beef stew, salad, mashed potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. The beef stew was piping hot with a very strong taste of Rosemary and came with generous tender juicy chunks of stewed beef. I thought that the mashed potatoes could have done with a little more seasoning but simply pouring a little gravy over it from the beef stew solved that problem. The Salad came with slices of avocado and balsamic dressing. Last but not least, something you rarely see in Singapore is the Yorkshire pudding. For those who are not familiar with the Yorkshire Pudding, do not expect it to taste like the puddings you are used to having for dessert. To me, Yorkshire Pudding is like a light crispy eggy bread roll. Best eaten when hot, crispy on the outside and a soft chewy texture on the inside, it goes perfectly with ice cream of gravy from your Sunday Roast or in this case, beef stew. The Yorkshire Pudding served to me was rather cold which made the inside of the pudding a little on the dry side. However, the texture of it gave me confidence that it would be perfect if it had been served hot. I would also have preferred it to be a little more savoury on it's own. Since Lad and Dad is a newly opened stall, probably about a week old, I hope that the kinks will be ironed out in the near future and more items will be added to the menu. In the meanwhile, I think their beef stew is perfect for a cool evening when you find yourself at Serangoon Garden Market & Food centre. It's nice to see a new generation of Singaporean hawkers ensuring the survival of the hawker trade, albeit serving up really different kinds of dishes. $12 for the Lancashire Hotpot, this is comfort food for both the tummy and the wallet. #hawkerpedia

Kay Lee, the famous roast meat joint that I'm sure most Singaporeans have heard about. This was actually my first time trying their food as past attempts to sample their famous roast were deterred by the long queues. I managed to avoid the crowd by paying a visit to their outlet at paya lebar around 11/12pm. I found their Roast Pork Belly to be average: crispy crackling skin attached to a sinful chunk of pork belly. The Char Siew was certainly well caramelised on the outside and the meat was tender and juicy. I felt that while both meats had rather rather tasty skins, they definitely could have been further enhanced with more flavour. The sweetness from the caramelised outer overshadowed the taste of the meat so all I could really taste was burnt sugar. But that being said, I did enjoy my lunch. I would just have preferred my meat a little more savoury to balance the taste out.

After having fed the Hwa Chong family for more than a decade, the couple running the noodle store in the Hwa Chong Institution (High School) canteen now serves up their signature dishes of Sliced Fish Soup and Pork Rib Noodles at Blk 216 Bedok North Street 1 Hawker and Food Centre.

I remember running down to the canteen with my classmates during every recess break to place an order with Auntie while Uncle busied himself in the kitchen cooking up the countless number of orders. Running at my fastest speed was never enough because somehow, there would always still be a snaking queue in front of the noodle store. The queue would comprise of students from Hwa Chong International School, Hwa Chong Institution (High School), Hwa Chong Institution (College) and teachers from all 3 schools. Given that the Singapore Institute Of Management Campus was just a stone’s throw away, I’d occasionally spot students from there as well.

The last time I ate a bowl of noodles served up by Auntie and Uncle was back in 2012. Attempts at further patronage were all unsuccessful due to my hectic schedule or them selling out before my arrival. A few months ago, I learnt that Auntie and Uncle had moved out of the school canteen to reopen their business at Bedok North’s Market. My friends and I then planned to pay a visit to them when our schedules allowed it.

Before my visit to the store, I asked myself a few questions that some of you may have been thinking about: "Were the noodles really that nice? Was it because the noodles were just good in comparison to the other stalls in the canteen?”.

Upon our arrival at the hawker centre, my friends and I were greeted by a familiar sight: Auntie and Uncle wearing their trademark “High School Canteen” uniforms and of course… the much dreaded queue. To remember their days in Hwa Chong and for easy identification by old customers, Auntie and Uncle even named their new stall “Hwa Chong Sliced Fish Soup • Pork Ribs Noodle”. Once part of the Hwa Chong family, always part of the Hwa Chong family.

During their days in Hwa Chong, Pork Ribs Noodle and Sliced Fish Soup were only available on Mondays and Wednesdays respectively. Having not had their noodles in so long and delighted that I could order both of their signature dishes on the same day, I placed my order for both the Pork Ribs Noodles and Sliced Fish Soup.

The Pork Ribs Noodle was exactly the same as I remembered it to be: Thick gravy with a hint of clover/ star anise (I have to verify this with auntie) at the end, tender fall-off-the-bone pork ribs, huge pieces of braised mushrooms all coming together to bury the generous heap of bee hoon.

The Sliced Fish Soup was light, tasty and followed with a slight taste of dried flat fish at the end. For those of you who do not like dried pollock, you might still find this acceptable as the taste isn't that strong. The chopped garlic bits mixed into the soup lent it even more flavour. Auntie and Uncle were still as generous as ever with their slices of fresh fish.

I noticed that the fish soup appeared to be the most popular item at the new stall, with most of the customers before and after us requesting for that. Then again, it could also partially be because our party of 5 cleared out the remaining bowls of Pork Ribs Noodles, especially since Auntie appeared to have 加料 for us. Auntie even jokingly chided us for not informing her of our visit beforehand as she was concerned that what we wanted would have sold out before our arrival.

Hwa Chong Sliced Fish Soup • Pork Ribs Noodle was the only one in the row of stalls with a queue despite it being lunch hour. I guess you can form your own judgement about the quality of food served. While this stall may not top your list of "Best Fish Soup" or "Best Pork Ribs Noodle", what Auntie and Uncle serve up is definitely above average and value for money. Prices start from $3 for Pork Ribs Noodle and go up to $6 for the bigger sized portion of Sliced Fish/Seafood Soup.

Open everyday from 8am-230pm and closed on Tuesdays, pay a visit to Hwa Chong Sliced Fish Soup • Pork Ribs Noodle at Blk 216 Bedok North Street 1 Hawker and Food Centre. Taste for yourself the dishes that have fed a few generations of Hwa Chong students. Get there early to avoid disappointment or ask Auntie for her number and call her maybe to reserve your food.

(I know the photo isn't symmetrical but blame it on me being in a rush to wolf down the noodles)

Opt for the dry version when you're at this stall. That's when you can fully get to appreciate the springy texture of the noodles, coated with a dark sauce that makes it slightly sweet and fragrant. If my tastebuds and memory have not let me down, I think Maggi's dark soy sauce is used in the creation of their sauce. Scoop the egg yolk in the soup carefully and let the gooey yolk coat your noodles as well. Also, if you're a chilli lover, their mix of finely chopped and blended chilli padi will add another dimension to your meal. And when you're done with your bowl of noodles, the egg white in the soup should be fully cooked by now and you can slurp it down with satisfaction.

The famous L32 handmade noodles. I went at an odd timing of 4pm and had to wait about 10 minutes for my food. Go during peak hours and the wait will be way longer. To me, what separates this stall from fellow competitors is the texture of their noodles and their chilli. The noodles are definitely more "Q" than average and the chilli was spicier than what you would find at other stalls. However I thought that the chilli could have been a little more salty/fragrant. I would recommend the dry version over the soup version!

One of the things you will notice when you visit the market and hawker centre at Kovan is that most of the stalls selling bar chor mee or fishball noodles have snaking queues. I was lucky enough to be able purchase my bowl of bcm from Fa Ji when there were only 3 people in the queue. The noodles were done just right and it was flavourful to say the least. Despite having asked for more chilli and vinegar, I still found that my bowl of bcm was slightly lacking in those two aspects. My overall conclusion was that while Fa Ji served a decent bowl of bcm, it wouldn't be something I would queue for. Also, the 3 people in front of me placed orders for Laksa instead of bcm, so maybe I'll try that the next time round. A special shoutout to the friendly Auntie who was taking orders, you seldom get service standards like that nowadays.

A snaking queue can almost always be seen at the Heng Kee Prawn Noodle and Laksa stall. It might surprise you that this stall doesn't have newspaper clippings or award certificates plastered all over their front and yet still have so many people lusting after their food. Maybe the people at Toa Payoh want to keep it a secret. But the absence of accolades on display doesn't make the food any less delicious. "Mee Pok Dry, extra chilli, extra noodles", my order whenever I visit. Fresh prawns, lean slices of pork, bean sprouts, perfectly cooked eggy meepok and a spicy chilli sauce. Let's not forget the flavourful bowl of prawn soup that comes with the noodles. A perfect way to start the morning indeed.