An Ngon Vietnamese Rice Roll

With the recent surge of freshly-made Chee Cheong Fun stalls that had been sprouting up ever since Chef Wei HK Cheong Fun first opened their stall at the food court named Foodhub at Blk 209 New Upper Changi Road in Bedok, the scene for freshly-made Chee Cheong Fun stalls in hawker centres and food courts had been pretty saturated — there is almost one stall serving up such fare in almost every single neighbourhood. Whilst Hong Kong-style Cheong Fun has started to become quite commonplace all over the island, Ǎn Ngon Vietnamese Rice Roll is a rare breed; having only recently opened its doors at a non-air conditioned coffeeshop named 古早味 The Traditional Taste at Blk 343 Yishun Street 11, the stall serves up Vietnamese-style Chee Cheong Fun — probably the only one on the island that is dedicated to serving up such a style of Chee Cheong Fun here. Occupying a small stall just beside the drinks stall of the coffeeshop, the stall serves up various types of Vietnamese-style Chee Cheong Fun as its focus; interestingly, Ǎn Ngon Vietnamese Rice Roll also does serve Glutinous Rice and Vietnamese Bread as well for those who are looking for other items apart from the rice rolls they serve.

Between the various types of rice rolls available here, the Minced Meat Rice Roll would most probably the most authentic of the lot — they also do have the Traditional Rice Roll (plain), Char Siew Rice Roll and the Smoked Duck Rice Roll as well. All orders do require some time to be served; the rice rolls are freshly-prepared and rolled upon order just like how it would be at a stall serving up freshly-made Hong Kong-style rice rolls. On first sight, the Minced Meat Rice Roll looks somewhat similar to that of the Hong Kong-style rice rolls there we are all familiar with, though also with quite a few differences. For one, the usual soy sauce does seem to be replaced with that of a more diluted fish sauce; therefore the clear aesthetic of the sauce that puddles at the bottom of the plate. Whilst the rice roll is rolled in a way similar to that of the Hong Kong-style Chee Cheong Fun, one would also notice how it comes with other elements on the side which do not typically accompany the Hong Kong-style Chee Cheong Fun; think minced garlic, coriander and raw chili padi — the latter two being a familiar ingredient that is used in Vietnamese cuisine such as that of the Banh Mi. Digging into the rice roll, we thought that the Minced Meat Rice Roll here is an even lighter version of the Hong Kong-style Chee Cheong Fun; the light umami notes of the fish sauce subtly flavours up the rice roll, all that while the rice roll bears that familiar consistency of being thin and slurpy whilst being a little chewy with its QQ texture. Encasing the minced meat fillings within, it comprises of crumbs of minced meat that seems to be mixed up with bits of chopped up black fungus for a good variance of texture and a meaty note; the minced garlic provided a sharp hint of spiciness that replicates that of the raw chili padi included — the coriander resetting the tastebuds with its distinct flavour. The folks of Ǎn Ngon Vietnamese Rice Roll have also included strips of Vietnamese Ham to be served with the dish; the ham being similar to that of chicken ham with a bite and carried just a very light savoury flavour — a good addition to make the dish a little more substantial for those looking for a light lunch option rather than a tea-time snack.

In a time where Hong Kong-style Chee Cheong Fun stalls are abundant, Ǎn Ngon Vietnamese Rice Roll is a spot that offers an interesting take on a dish that we are so familiar with, but yet in a style that makes it feel like a fresh take on an all-time favourite. Whilst we aren’t very sure of this variant will gel well with the local audiences here, one thing is certainly worth commending — Ǎn Ngon Vietnamese Rice Roll’s attempt in bringing yet another form of Vietnamese cuisine for the local palates to enjoy. We do foresee ourselves craving for their rice rolls some time soon since these were pretty up our alley; they are most certainly well-executed, though we would not be the right ones to comment on whether they are exactly authentic since we have yet to travel to Vietnam nor have tried any other Vietnamese-style Rice Rolls due to the lack of establishments serving up the dish around locally. That being said, Ǎn Ngon Vietnamese Rice Roll is definitely one of those hidden gems in the North that is most worthy to make a visit to for those who are curious on how Vietnamese-style Chee Cheong Fun are like.