Hawker Eats

[MATTAR, SINGAPORE] Lok Lok fans, where are you! I've finally tried @dllm.sg lok lok and it was FANTASTIC. All ingredients were fresh and the difference this stall has compared to others is their sauce and seasoning!

All skewers 🍢 are sold at $1.10 each, be it whether it's mantou or meats or vegetables or seafood. Once fried, they are doused in a sweet savoury sauce and they sprinkled some powdered seasoning that made each skewer have so much umami! My top 3 skewers had to be the beancurd skin, shisamo and broccoli 😍You can also order Maggi noodles to accompany your skewers and that was done beautifully too 😍 noodles were cooked al dente and the scrambled eggs added further richness!

If you are in the east and in the west (for their other outlet), this is one lok lok place you have to go!

[MAXWELL, SINGAPORE] Finally back to Singapore and so glad to be eating great Chinese food again! This time was a surprise find at Maxwell Food Centre 😍

The Pan Fried Dumplings 🥟 ($7 for 10 pcs) from Xi Ying Ke was fabulous 👌when the dumplings were done, I was amazed by the crispy shell the dumplings were coated with! They were thin, crispy yet slightly flavourful which gave it an additional layer of texture. The dumpling skin itself was bouncy, and it was filled with meat and chives. The meat within was juicy and flavourful and it was perfect with some chilli and vinegar.

Definitely recommended when you're here in Maxwell Food Centre! Yes it's touristy but good food exists here too!

Everyone, I may have found one of the best banh mi in Singapore 😍 A little out of the way, Banh Mi Be Bi is located in a humble coffeeshop in Bartley (?) and their Banh Mis are really fantastic.

The classic Grilled Pork Banh Mi ($6) was so affordable, and it came pretty filled with both meat and vegetable ingredients. This banh mi ticked all check boxes, as it was so crispy and fluffy, with meaty juicy pork meatballs. The flavour was just right and wasn't too salty!

If you like your butter, then the Beef Steak Banh Mi ($7.50) would be your go-to. This was really rich and buttery, and honestly it got a bit surfeiting towards the end! The beef was tender and succulent nonetheless.

The Fried Spring Rolls ($5) is yet another classic item, and it was crispy and meaty, just how such spring rolls should be.

Definitely will be back again 😚

Yong Tau Foo fans and Kolo Mee fans, why not have both? Lao Chen Ji from Holland Drive Food Centre serves both at once and I must say, it was simply incredible.

The noodles may seem plain, but it was packed with flavour as it was nicely tossed in their chilli sauce and other seasonings. Loved how the noodles were really springy and had loads of umami! Chilli wasn't too spicy as well! So glad I got the large portion of noodles as it was simply addictive 😍 The YTF pieces were pretty great as well, as quite some meat was stuffed within the pieces. Although the meat within might be more light tasting, the soup was robust and quite naturally flavoured by what I believe are yellow beans. 5 pieces of YTF and a large portion of noodles were priced affordably at $5.40 too.

Definitely coming back for more! The queue during lunch time might scare you but it does move quite fast!

Lao Chen Ji
Holland Drive Market & Food Centre #02-43

Got myself a bowl of dry Ban Mian with meatballs ($5.50) from He Jia Huan for lunch and I was so impressed 😍 I thought their soup noodles were quite good already, but their dry version is even better!

The sauce to mix with the noodles is of a simple blend of soya sauce, flavoured oil and chilli, but it was so addictive due it's savoury umami profile. The chilli had some heat, and some kind of nostalgic taste which was hard to describe. I loved how the noodles were really chewy, as how handmade noodles should be! The portion is quite decent as well, with tender flavourful pork slices and pork balls. For a palette cleanser, the soup can help to cut the oiliness with its deep ikan billis broth.

Definitely a noodle dish I will get when I'm back at Redhill Food Centre again 😍

He Jia Huan #01-69

Not sure if there are people like me who enjoy an old school traditional Kopitiam experience, but if you do, this place has the vibes and food that is like that. From the seemingly rude aunty and uncle shouting to the slamming of plates and bowls in front of you, I actually dig into such vibes 😂

Wait till you try their food. Their Yong Tau Foo ($5) is up to the owner to decide which ingredients to give you, and each of them was bursting with a nostalgic taste. It's not like it's so good that you need to come from the far end to try, but each ingredient is handmade with simple meat filling. To cater for the older crowd, they were not too salty and the soup was very comforting and hearty. Not the most flavourful, but definitely perfect for a rainy day.

Now their ingredients come with a plate of dry noodles that were just simply seasoned with minced meat with some kind of flavoured oil. It has an al dente texture and is much better with their homemade chilli. It was not particularly spicy but flavourful.

I feel like it is an experience to dine here, as it reminds you of the olden days where people probably ate the same bowl to get by their day. Such sentimental feelings were probably intensified by the look and feel of the shophouses nearby!

Putu Piring ($2.50 for 4) from Haig Road Putu Piring - now this is a famous one, and I couldn't leave the food centre without having it! Indeed this was probably the best Putu Piring I've had. The flour and gula melaka used was somehow different, it was much more aromatic than others that I've had before. A sweet treat to end the meal! 😍

Pork and Chicken Satay ($0.80 each) from Mei Mei Satay - the satay meat was pretty sizeable! I loved the marinade used; it was well charred and it made the meat quite tender, even for the pork version. The satay sauce unfortunately isn't peanut-y enough, but it was fine for me as the pineapple juice helped cut the meatiness of satay!

Signature Kolo Mee ($5.50) from Lin Yu Mei - now this is probably the best Kolo Mee I've had. The noodles were perfectly springy, well tossed in shallot and lard oil while not being too oily and the chilli was amazing. It was very fiery, and yet it had a beautiful aroma which made this dish even better. Never mind the minced meat and char siu, just give me their noodles and chilli and I will be a happy man.

You know sometimes you just want to have a good bowl of noodles to get by your day? Hock Lai Seng's fishball noodle just hits the right spot.

Their $6 bowl of fishball noodles came with a variety of ingredients, from fishballs to meatballs and pork liver. Seeing how they cook, I knew they would do well and I added $1 for extra liver. True enough, their liver slices were very fresh and cooked just right. With a bouncy texture, there isn't much gamey flavour too. The rest of the ingredients were pretty standard and the soup tasted quite old school with a light meat broth.

The noodles were fantastic, with a springy texture and they were well drenched in a mixture of ketchup and their homemade chilli sauce. The savouriness of the chilli sauce shines through with deep umami and a slight kick. Very enjoyable.

Come and try if you're in Maxwell!

Pasir Ris residents or even easties, there's another dish in the new Pasir Ris Mall worth trying out. Kawan Bowl in Cantine by Kopitiam serves up Halal egg rice bowls that are similar to the famous ones from Dan Lao, but with a more local twist that is pretty darn good!

The Ayam Panggang Egg Rice ($6.90) boasts a huge slab of grilled chicken, that had a beautiful char and flavour. I can tell that the marinade penetrated the chicken well, as it was flavourful throughout the chicken cutlet. As Malay spices were used, you know it's all about rich deep flavours. The char from the grilling added extra umami as well! The sauce used is of a good mix of sweet and savoury flavours. The egg itself was fluffy and done well 😍 My only nitpick is that I wish the rice was flavoured 😂 but yeah all rice bowls usually use the normal rice.

The Satay Goreng Chicken Egg Rice ($7.90) was using the same chicken but with spicy peanut sauce. If you love peanut sauce, this is up your alley. I just found the sauce too rich and covered up the taste of the chicken marinade.

Definitely recommend the Ayam Panggang as I can wolf down 2 bowls no problem 😍

Straight up, there were hits and misses, but can come back for their pork belly, chicken chop and sweet potato.

We ordered the Beef Brisket platter ($36) and Duck Platter ($32) which came with various types of meats, including their pork belly and chicken chop. Among the meats, their pork belly was our crowd favourite, due to its heavy smoky flavour, slight crust on the outside and their melt-in-the-mouth fats. It was well seasoned as well, but can be really rich 😂 Their chicken chop is also our favourite, as it was smoky, tender and flavourful. Definitely went well with the cream sauce!

However, both the duck leg and beef brisket did not sit well with us, as the duck leg lacked flavour in general and the beef brisket lacked its essential beefy flavour. There was way too much fat to meat ratio too.

As for the sides, the sweet potato won us with its crispy exterior, fluffy inside and it was also well seasoned! The mashed potato and ratatouille were okay but the aglio olio lacked flavour and was under seasoned. Aside from the platters we also ordered another Cream Carbonara but it was rather flat tasting as all we tasted was cream.

All in all, I don't think it warrants a long distance trip as it can be quite hard to get to, but if you are nearby, get their pork belly or chicken chop with sweet potatoes as the side! It was pretty affordable too!