The new Whampoa Drive Food Centre

Whampoa has quite a few well-known food stalls in the food centres (spanning across two blocks). The food centres were recently renovated, and are now cleaner, brighter and more airy. When I visited the new Whampoa Food Centre, I was pleased to note that several of the famous stalls were still around. Some of the stalls maintained the same storefront, like the Hokkien Mee stall, and so was instantly recognisable. Of course, the queues in front of the popular stalls made them much easier to spot as well.

I didn't have any particular stall in mind, but I not in the mood to queue. I saw that there were quite a number of people ordering from the Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee/Fried Kway Teow stall. Even better, there wasn't a queue because the stallholder would deliver the food to the table. I decided to order a plate of char kway teow (炒粿条).

Char kway teow (炒粿条)

The char kway teow didn't look particularly attractive, because it was just all brown. But I thought it tasted pretty decent. It wasn't really good, but it was a good, satisfying plate of char kway teow. And I know there are many stalls that could have done much worse. The char kway teow is the sweet, local version, and is served with cockles, squid, prawns and beansprouts. The seafood used were fresh and cooked just nice, so they definitely helped make this plate of char kway teow rather enjoyable.

While looking around for dessert, I found a new stall called Sugar O/甜品. The Mango Tango looked interesting, so I decided to give it a shot.

Mango Tango

The Mango Tango was nice, but it really could have been better if it had been served with more mango syrup. As it was, part of the ice were just plain ice shavings, and even after mixing the ice, I thought it was a little bland. The ice cream, though, was good. It was smooth and creamy and had a pleasant mango flavour. The ingredients were also substantial, so it was quite value for money, though maybe a little expensive for "hawker food". I'd definitely like the try some other creations by the friendly lady boss.

Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee/Fried Kway Teow
#01-59

Link: HungryGoWhere

Sugar O/甜品
Blk 90 Whampoa Drive
#01-18
Whampoa Drive Food Centre (map)
Singapore 320090

Teochew Street Bak Chor Mee - Authentic or Bland?

I love bak chor mee (肉脞面), the modern variation with the vinegar, chilli, pork slices and liver. Thankfully, I have access to decent bak chor mee nearby to satisfy my cravings. Shortly after the Smith Street Market and Food Centre (more commonly known as Chinatown Market) reopened after a two-year renovation and upgrading, I read of this very popular bak chor mee stall that commanded a queue at all times of the day.

Indeed, during my initial few visits to the food centre, I saw, to my dismay, the long queue at the stall, Teochew Street Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle (潮州街香菇肉脞面). During one visit, however, I set my heart on trying the noodles, queue or no queue. The problem was not with the number of people, in fact, there were only about ten people in the queue. The problem was the time and effort the stall owner took to cook each and every bowl of noodles, which resulted in an over 30-minute wait. Since I had spent all that time waiting, I went for the $4 bowl.

Bak Chor Mee (肉脞面) - $4

Closer view of the soup

It sure looked delicious and substantial. There was a lot of ingredients: minced pork, dumplings, fish and meat balls, a big prawn and a generous serving of lard. Taste-wise, however, it was, well, disappointing. I always believe that the chilli is important to a good bowl of bak chor mee. But this bowl of noodles tasted bland and muted. Perhaps this is indeed authentic Teochew noodles, because Teochew cuisine is lightly seasoned to bring out the quality and freshness of the ingredients. This, I certainly do not deny. The ingredients were definitely good, and the prawn was fresh.

As authentic as it may be, the bak chor mee from Teochew Street Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle is definitely not my cup of tea. I prefer more "oomph" to my bak chor mee, and this is the complete opposite. Perhaps this would be a healthier alternative, if you can be bothered queuing for it.

Teochew Street Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle (潮州街香菇肉脞面)
Blk 335 Smith Street
#02-023 (Yellow Zone)
Smith Street Market and Food Centre (map)
Singapore 050335

Boon Kee Prawn Dumpling Noodles: Cheap & Good

Between wonton mee (云吞面) and shui gao mee (prawn dumpling noodles/水饺面), I actually prefer the latter. I prefer the meatier and crunchy shui gao to the aneroxic wanton. But good shui gao is hard to come by. Some food hawkers cut costs by putting more vegetables (chestnuts?) or flour, or mincing up the prawn. But once in a while, I come across a good shui gao, with a meaty bite, the right amount of crunch, and that delicious chunk of prawn inside.

Boon Kee serves the local-style noodles with the dark sauce. The shui gao mee looks deceptively plain and ordinary - a plate of noodles in dark red sauce and some vegetables on top, and a bowl of soup with the shui gao and some spring onions sprinkled over.

Shui gao mee (Prawn dumpling noodles/水饺面) - $3.00

I ordered the larger, $3 portion, and it came with a generous portion of noodles, and five shui gaos. The noodles were cooked perfectly, and the sauce went well with the noodles, although I would have prefered more chilli. The shui gaos were a good size, and tasted pretty good, and yes, there was a chunk of prawn in each one. The soup, too, was delicious, and not MSG-delicious.

I really enjoyed the shui gao mee here, and, yes, it's true. You can get cheap and good together.

Boon Kee
Blk 448 Clementi Ave 3
#01-36
Clementi Market & Food Centre (map)
Singapore 120448

Hougang Fried Oyster: The hidden pearl

This stall in Hougang is perhaps one of the hidden gems of Singapore hawkers. In my opinion, this husband and wife pair serve one of the best orh luah (fried oyster omelette; 蚝煎) around. It has everything that makes orh luat so sinful, yet delightful, to eat - crispy bits of starch as well as chewy parts, generous portions of eggs and of course, the most important ingredients, the big, juicy oysters. The only real problem I have with this stall is the consistency.

Orh luah (Fried oyster omelette) - $3

Thankfully, I went on a good day, with the large, juicy oysters and crispy portions of starch. The garlic & chilli mix was a perfect mix of sweet and sour.

The char kway teow here is fried local style, which is a wetter, sweeter version with dark soy sauce.

Char kway teow (Fried kway teow) - $2.50

The char kway teow was not as good as the previous times that I've eaten. It was a little on the bland side, and there wasn't that nice burnt taste (called wok hei). Still, it was a generous portion, and better than the average char kway teow around.

This is still my favourite stall for orh luah. And since I'm there already, I'll order the char kway teow as well, making it a very, very unhealthy meal. But very, very satisfying indeed.

Please note that the stall will be closed from mid-October, and will reopen from 1st November at Blk 435A Hougang Avenue 8 (map).

Hougang Fried Oyster (后港蠔煎)
Blk 9 Hougang Avenue 7 (map)
Singapore 530009

Baked Rice at PastaMania

PastaMania's Ham & Sausage Baked Rice came highly recommended to me, so I decided to try it for lunch one day.

Ham & Sausage Baked Rice - $9.20

The baked rice was served with slices of ham, sausage and button mushrooms, with a layer of cheese on top. I enjoyed the baked rice quite a lot, especially because of the generous amount of cheese that it came with. I think it might've been too cheesy. But since I like cheese, I'm not complaining! At $9.20 a serving ($3.20 to $4.90 more if you order a set meal), I thought it was a little pricey, considering the fast-food nature of Pastamania and the quantity of ham and sausages on the baked rice. Still, I can't deny that it was satisfying and filling.

PastaMania (website)
79 Robinson Road
#01-07 CPF Building (map)
Singapore 068897
Phone: 6223 6964

Other outlets: See website

Links: HungryGoWhere | Yum.sg

Great bowls of fire - Mini-wok Noodles

Among my comfort foods, bak chor mee (肉脞面) and mini-wok noodles (小锅面, sometimes also called 小碗面) rank among the top. Actually I prefer bak chor mee over mini-wok noodles, but because I like it so much, I seldom dare to try ordering it at unfamiliar stalls, for fear of getting disappointed. But mini-wok noodles get an additional chance: good soup and substantive ingredients can still make up for lousy noodles.

Mini-wok noodles are so-called because the ingredients are placed in a wok-shaped bowl filled with soup, and a flame is lit below to heat the soup and to cook the ingredients.

I decided to drop in to try the mini-wok noodles after receiving a flyer advertising this stall at a recently renovated coffee shop near my place.

小锅面 (mini-wok noodles) - $4

The noodles are not cooked the usual style like at bak chor mee stalls. Instead, this is cooked Teochew noodles style, which is sweeter, and does not have the dark/black colour of the dark soy sauce or vinegar. This is hardly surprising since the stall sells Teochew noodles. I quite liked the noodles, and this has convinced me to try the Teochew noodles on my next visit. The mini-wok ingredients were decent, and the soup was rather tasty. I wouldn't rate this as one of the best I've eaten, but it is still pretty good.

麵世家 Noodle stall
Jurong Cafe coffee shop
Blk 829 Tampines St 81
#01-296 (map)
Singapore 520829

Laksa from a mee rebus stall

Lunch today was at Treats Food Court in Parkway Parade. The Mee Rebus stall is famous for their, well, mee rebus. Having had the mee rebus before, I decided to try the laksa.

The stall offers laksa with chicken or cockles, probably because some people do not like cockles. But personally, I feel that laksa is not laksa without cockles, so you can guess which one I went for.

Laksa with cockles - $3.80

The laksa comes in a rather large bowl that is filled to the brim. There is fish cake, tau ge (beansprouts), a hard-boiled egg and of course, cockles. On their own, the ingredients are pretty ordinary. The noodles, too, were initially a little hard (undercooked), though they softened up mid-meal. The laksa leaf garnish hardly looked appetising with that dark green mess. But the laksa was saved by the delicious gravy, which was thick and tasty, though a mite on the salty side.

This was a very filling and delicious bowl of laksa, and well worth every cent.

Goody N Jolly Mee Rebus
Treats Food Court
Basement, Parkway Parade
80 Marine Parade Road (map)
Singapore 449269