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The Crab beehoon claypot came with another pot of noodles. Gravy was heavenly! Crab cost $85, just nice for 4 pax and with 1-1 deals, the bill came up to just $110. Friendly service and ample parking space.

The best part about squatting in the CBD (thanks COVID-19) is that I get to re-visit some of my old haunts (yessss Mr Teh Tarik) from my youthful days and more.

I used to frequent the Golden Shoe Hawker Centre which was a lot closer to my ex-firm's offices but my temporary camping site is located near Amoy Street and the Golden Shoe temporary food centre.

Ocean Curry Fish Head is one of the coffeeshops which I always pass by and give a miss because well no sensible litigator will risk getting his white shirt stained by lunchtime curry. It was my first time trying their curry fish head and tbh I think it's kinda overrated. The fish head was on the small side and the curry sauce on the bland side.

If you craving curry fish head in the CBD area, it's a decent option but I wouldn't recommend making a trip down specially for it.

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This was really good. The gravy had wok hei and was well seasoned. The sliced fishes were really fresh and soft too. They were generous with their portion of spring onions. Will come back again.

Like the charcoal fish head steamboat that preceded this baked garlic crab dish, the crab was a simple dish with few ingredients. It was all a cunning plan though, as the natural sweetness of the fresh crabs was allowed to hog the limelight.

The subtle garlic aromas greatly aided in accentuating the flavour of the succulent crab flesh, and it was certainly a delicious break from the tradition of having crabs laden down with a sapid sauce of some kind. This garlic baked crab might just be Healthier Choice certified, but don’t quote me on that.⠀
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Thanks @veronicaphua for inviting me, and @newubin for the hospitality!

Using traditional recipes and cooking methods, Lai Bao bring guests back to the nostalgic pre modernized Singapore with their traditional style dishes.
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One of my fav is their Seafood Lala Ying Yang Hor Fun ($7.00) Hor fun served with lala gravy, and a seafood medley like lala clams, fish slice and prawns. Additional of deep fried hor fun adds a characteristic crunch to the dish.
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Other signature includes:
▪️Old School Sweet & Sour Pork ($10.00)
▪️Lai Bao Wok Fried Fine Bean : ($9.00)
▪️Ginger Spring Chicken : Half, ($6.00)
▪️Sixties Fish Head Charcoal Steamboat (Grouper) : $25.00
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Location: @laibaosg Lor 1 Toa Payoh, #01-1040, Blk 168, Singapore 310168.
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#laibaosg #burpple #burpplesg #horfun #sghawker #sghawkerfood ##hawkerfood

Tender beef slices drenched in well seasoned gravy. Beef slices went really well with the sauce and rice. Their rice is fluffy and you could taste every grain unlike some zi char that has mushy rice.

I love the curry fish head and lemon chicken - definitely tasty. Hongkong fried noodle also not bad. And the oat prawn was good. Overall in terms of portion and price wise are both okay.

This place used to be one of my favourite tze char place when they were still at sin min industrial. Was so happy that they recently moved near me and so i went down to try with few friends. Personally, I felt that standard has dropped. Steak served cold and not as fantastic. The fried rice however, is still addictive. The lala hokkien me has deteriorated much. Overall quite disappointing.

Hor fun cooked in lala gravy, served with seafood like prawns, fish and lala clams and topped with crispy deep fried hor fun for crunchiness.

Beside the hor fun, Lai Bao also offers Lai Bao chilli crab or 13 spices black pepper crab for $30/ 1 crab, $50/2 crabs.
It’s really affordable zichar.
💰$5/$7/$10.
📍Lai Bao fish head steamboat.
Block 168 #01-1040.
Lorong Toa Payoh 1.

Not too sure why I expected fried porridge to be thin and crispy, but this was waaay off from what I had anticipated! The porridge is creamy and really, there doesn't seem to be that much of a difference between that and normal porridge (aside from the heavy-handed soy sauce cooked into it). The ingredients were also rather sparse. Quite a shame as I feel there is much potential in "fried porridge".

Have been wanting to try Xin Yuan Ji but always get deterred by its queues 😂 Opted for no milk for my bowl and though it was already tasty, I liked it even more with milk for that extra sweetness and creaminess. Fish slices were firm and fresh, was a comforting bowl.

This restaurant has got to be one of the best kept zichar secrets in the north! This dish consisted of cod fish, lightly battered and silky soft homemade tofu cubes immersed in a thick sauce and served bubbling in a claypot. Super yummy cos there was a mild charred/wok hei taste to the sauce that helped the sweetness of the cod fish stand out even more.

Don’t let the location of this place daunt you!!! It’s truly worthy zichar and my family really likes the friendly service they provide here. Pro tip: This was part of their CNY festive menu but they do have a similar dish on their regular menu except without the Chinese leek!