At any hawker centre, my advice is to keep an eye on where the older folks queue because chances are, the dishes from those stalls are tastier. That’s how I found this “chap chye png” in the vast, sprawling space of Chinatown Complex Food Centre on Smith Street today.
I had noticed that “Ye Ji Cooked Food” (#02-020) commanded a never-ending but fast-moving line in front of their stall made up exclusively of individuals aged 60 and above. Immediately, I decided to join them.
The spread of dishes at “Ye Ji” was wide and since the hawker in charge of the cooking seemed to do it in small batches, I had a feeling their food would taste hotter and fresher than most. Something older folks tend to be fussy about.
My order of rice with some “yong tau fu” items, onion omelette and stirfried kailan flowers came to only $5. More importantly, everything on the plate was delicious. There’s a comforting homecooked-by-mum taste and yet at the same time, execution was on point. Take for example my vegetables. They were stirfried to optimal crispness and so flavourful.
I suspect this stall sells out very quickly so if you plan on trying the food here, it’s best to drop by earlier like just before noon.