Growing up, I mostly only wandered around my neighborhood at Bukit Gombak. McDonald's was not that ubiquitous back then, and to my family, it was a luxury item. Being prudent with money, fast food was never on the family menu. What I had instead was "orange bee hoon", or at least that's what I excitedly shouted to mum whenever I wanted something fast and filling. Needless to say, this putu mayam was tasty enough for a kid to keep asking for it endlessly. Mum would buy it back, set the steamed vermicelli-like noodles on a metal plate, then sprinkle it with the snowiest coconut shavings and fairy dust orange sugar that never failed to give me a sugar rush thereafter. Yes, I may not have known McDonald's and Happy Meals till secondary school, but happiness came in other forms. Hawker fare and comfort food was one. Winning my mum's approval and seeing her beautiful smile whenever she tossed up putu mayam for the excited puppy by her side? That kind of happiness and bliss, money cannot buy. My kind of happy meal, literally. #Hawkerpedia
I believe that as heartlanders, we would have at least one favourite neighbourhood cake shop/ bakery that we frequent. The whole allure of it, I think, is its wide selection, convenience, and low prices. NGT Confectionery [喜樂] at Block 504 Hong Kah Point is certainly my favourite. Back when I was in school, my parents will get breads or cakes from this bakery for my breakfast the next day, like hot dog breads and chiffon cakes. I will always remember the times when they got me birthday cakes with those weird, inedible cartoon figures on it (previous birthdays saw Hello Kitty and Doraemon). There are also other wonderful memories associated with this bakery, for example, my mom would wait for me at my school gate with a warm waffle with chocolate spread, just so I could eat as we walked home together, because she was always afraid that I would be hungry. Of course, we still buy their cakes now, and when Chinese New Year comes around, we make it a point to buy their homemade goodies! #hawkerpedia
Loud claps. That was how my dad used to wake my brothers and I up every Sunday morning from our slumber, and the whole family would make our way down to Old Airport Road. My brothers and I would find a table and play the silliest games, while the task of ordering was left to my food-loving dad who always knew where all the best food was. The first thing he would do before going on a mad rush to order all our favourites — Lor Mee, Rojak, Wanton Mee, Curry Rice — was to secure two plates of Hokkien mee, which would always be met with the uncle's casual remark "wait 30 minutes". Nonetheless, it was always worth it. I love everything about this Hokkien mee — it has the right amount of bee hoon, it is just a little drier than others, and the bite of the accompanying bright, cut red chillies. As I greedily gobbled down the noodles, definitely more than my "allocated" portion, all I could think of was — loud claps. #hawkerpedia
I never enjoyed noodles as a kid, and I never particularly liked fishball noodles or Bak Chor Mee (especially the soupy ones), for its flavours just didn't seem to catch on for me when I had my first taste as a child. One evening, back when I was still in secondary school, my mum came back after work and had bought dinner for everyone in the family. I was unpleasantly surprised, because she had bought back a bowl of dry mee pok for me from this stall near her workplace, something I clearly would not have eaten back then. She convinced me to try it, saying that by insisting on not having dry mee pok, I was missing out on something badly. I took my first taste, and truly enjoyed the savoury flavours of the sauce. Although I wasn't particularly fond of the vinegary taste; the pork lard, the QQ noodles, and that sauce clicked so well that it got me hooked! Following my virgin experience of Bak Chor Mee, I now always look forward to mum bringing back a bowl after work for dinner. Even though it was only much later that I learnt to appreciate the vinegar added, this was the very bowl of dry Mee Pok that opened up my taste buds to accept this dish, and many more bowls to come. #hawkerpedia
When I was a kid, my dad had just gotten a new job and had to work OT often. On days that he could get off early, my family would gather at Ming Kee Chicken Rice for dinner. I‘ll always remember how my parents would remove every single bone from the chicken parts before putting them on our plates, while my sister and I would never fail to fight over our favourite part — the skin. This remains my go-to comfort food as it never fails to remind me of family and home. #hawkerpedia
I only vaguely remember visiting this place when I was young. Of course, I wasn't a foodie at that age. In fact, it was my mum who was the foodie — she'd comb through lifestyle magazines and newspaper columns to look for fresh concepts and interesting food to check out. I recall her flipping through a newspaper one day, and she pointed out an entry featuring Mei Heong Yuen's Snow Ice dessert, which she was very keen on trying. One day, we made our way there; most probably during my school holidays. Thinking about it now, she must have taken leave that day just to bring me on this food trail. When we got there, we ordered a Sesame and Almond Snow Ice. Perhaps I failed to enjoy this dessert because I was young boy who preferred ice cream, and this was more like an Ice Kachang, something I didn't quite fancy at that time. Today, walking past Temple Street, I asked my mum if she'd like to try this well-known dessert place (without realising we had been here before), and she said, "why not?". We wanted to order something cold, because the weather had been scorching that day, and we happened to pick the Sesame and Almond Snow Ice again. With just one taste, it sparked my mum's memory of being here on that very day, years ago, when she brought me here for the very first time, having this exact same dessert. The only difference was that this time, instead of my mum bringing me out to eat, I had brought her here. #hawkerpedia
My parents used to storm into my room at 8am on weekends, and rudely drag me to the bathroom — all so we could hit Old Airport Road early for a bowl of Blanco Court Kway Chap. Of course, being Singaporeans, we never stopped at just one dish. The table would be packed full with loads of other bites: fried carrot cake, rojak, bowls of ice kachang and tau huay. The star, however, would always be this kway chap. The aunty only used to speak in dialect, so us kiddies had to learn the kway chap lingo just to enjoy this dish for breakfast. We'd fight over the braised intestines and pig's skin (much to any ang moh's horror), and everything would be gone before you know it! But that was a long time ago, before any cafés existed, before we grew up. Today, the aunty actually speaks English and Mandarin. It doesn't feel the same anymore. #hawkerpedia
I grew up in the Balestier area, and we would go to Whampoa for dinner almost every night. This was where I had my first Hokkien Mee. As a kid, I couldn't really take spicy food, and my mum would constantly try to train me, so that I would be able to accept any cuisine in the world (thanks mum!). My tongue and lips would burn every time I ate this Hokkien mee with that sambal chilli, but it was so worth it. The image of my family digging into this warm plate of Hokkien Mee will always be a memory that I hold close to my heart. #hawkerpedia
A durian sago dessert — how much more local can you get? I've never liked the pungent fruit, but my dad is quite possibly one of the biggest durian fans I know. Every time someone orders this, I'm dragged back to a decade ago, when my dad would cheekily (and annoyingly) eat this dessert on nights he had to tuck us into bed. He would eat it right before telling us our bedtime stories, just so we'd suffer the smell of it later. Without fail, he'd always make sure to blow us a huge kiss when tucking us in. Yes, it stank, and didn't make for the best memories, but I sure do miss the days when all we worried about was what story we'd hear that night. #hawkerpedia
