Hawker Hunting

Doughnut Shack is one of those hype food places that sure has its fans and critics. I belong to the latter category. While the price for bombolonis is fairly affordable, it’s nothing but hype. Before going into the details, I gotta say that each and every dough contains enough oil to fill an oil tanker. Some of the fillings are good but you can’t expect me to like anything else if the exterior is just so greasy.

Most of us who shared the doughnuts enjoyed the nutty pistachio cream doughnuts. I personally enjoyed the peanut butter and jelly filling with the generous amount of peanut butter and the sweet, fruity strawberry jam.

The others that I tried were either too sweet or not memorable. I didn’t get to try all the flavours that’s shown here.

A box of 2 is $6. If you want a box of 6, that will be $16.90. And a box of 20 is $56.

I’m not sure if people are still queuing hours for it. I hope not.

Don’t forget to try the soft and tender beef brisket that has been braised with oyster sauce from Hong Kong for at least 2 hours. Add some piquant chilli paste to the mix to accentuate the goodness of this.

I enjoyed the dry version of the noodles that’s served in a mix of oyster sauce, soy sauce and lard oil. Delicious.

If you notice, there’s some chye sim/ choy sum served in every dish.

Chef Kin HK Wanton Noodle is a cash only establishment. [SELF-FUNDED]

With queues that stretch for about an hour long, @chefkinhkwantonnoodle is probably the most happening place in Yishun now. Chef Kin used to be the Head Chef of Crystal Jade and specialises in Hong Kong-style wanton noodles and beef brisket noodles. It’s good for the price you’re paying since most Hong Kong-style wanton noodles cost at least $10 in restaurants.

While we Singaporeans like our wanton noodles dry with chilli, Hong Kongers prefer theirs in soup with red vinegar.

I got the soup version as I prefer having my HK wanton noodle in soup form. For $5, I would say this is amazing value for money considering the quality of ingredients used.

[Verdict: Terryfic 👍🏻] Wantons. Expect plump and juicy wantons that contain fresh and crunchy prawns with a little bit of minced kurobuta pork. It’s the highlight.

[Verdict: InTerrysting 👌🏻] Noodles. The duck egg noodles imported in Hong Kong are no doubt springy but the alkaline taste is more prominent when having the soup version. My advice to you is to consider adding chilli to mask the taste.

[Verdict: InTerrysting 👌🏻] Soup. Boiled for at least 8 hours, the soup stock contains old hen, top grade pork, Jinhua ham and dried flounder fish. While the umami taste is evident, I would prefer if the dried flounder flavour is more profound.

If you notice, there’s some chye sim/ choy sum served in every dish.

Chef Kin HK Wanton Noodle is a cash only establishment. [SELF-FUNDED]

On the top floor of Beauty World Centre is a hawker centre that has quite a number of noteworthy stalls. Besides the famous Top One Handmade Noodle, there’s a stall that sells pretty good soy sauce chicken rice and noodles. Add on their dumplings too.

For $3.80, be treated to a plate of Hong Kong-style noodles with succulent soy sauce chicken slices that’s been marinated in a blend of herbs and spices, rose wine and soy sauce. I love how fragrant and tender the chicken breast. It’s a plus as it’s common for chicken breast can be tough and dry for soy sauce chicken.

The noodles itself weren’t too bad. Although not the most springy, it definitely wasn’t soft and soggy either. It’s doused with soy sauce and chilli sauce.

I added some dumplings ($1.20). They are handmade every day by the stallholder and they’re so plump and flavourful. Stuffed with loads of shrimp, minced pork and black fungus, any prawn lovers will love this.

Cash only.

Would you travel from one end of the country to the other for a good steamed fish? Well, if you’re true blue foodie and love fish enough, I bet you would go all the way to Jurong East to try Zai Shun Curry Fish Head. Despite its name, you’ll see the majority of tables with a plate of steamed fish rather than the stall’s namesake dish.

Before it was awarded Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide, it was once the hidden gem of the West. I’ve been here before it was accorded the status in the red book.

Choose your fish and cooking style that you want when you order. It’s then freshly steamed and served to you. I had the Steamed Song Fish Head in Bean Paste (Market Price) which is ordered by many tables here.

The fish head is steamed with fermented soy bean paste. Deep fried lard bits, chilli and spring onions are added for garnish.

Unlike many places, the steamed fish here is very fresh and done just right. Not overcooked or fishy. And I truly love the umaminess of the fermented soy bean paste and munching on those crispy lard bits. Who said steamed fish was always healthy?

In true Teochew style, have your steamed fish with Teochew porridge. Appreciating this watery bowl of rice grains is something that comes with age.

I can’t wait for the dining in group limit to be raised to 5 in order to have their whole steamed fish.

I’m sure you probably have tried @88hongkongroastmeatspecialist if you’re a roasted meat fan just like me. Located in the Lavender/ Jalan Besar area, they are not to be missed as there’s always a long queue for their Cantonese roasts. You can have your roasted meat with rice or noodles though we just went for the meat as we had a heavy breakfast. We paid $16 in total for this plate of meat that’s roasted in charcoal.

My ideal type of char siew. A caramelised, charred exterior with a tinge of sweetness from the marinade. And be treated to meat that’s so tender. They have lean and fatty cuts of char siew available but fatty cuts are served by default.

I’m a great fan of fatty char siew and the fat to meat ratio is perfect. It’s so delicious that I’m willing to let the fat clog my arteries.

I’m sure you probably have tried @88hongkongroastmeatspecialist if you’re a roasted meat fan just like me. Located in the Lavender/ Jalan Besar area, they are not to be missed as there’s always a long queue for their Cantonese roasts. You can have your roasted meat with rice or noodles though we just went for the meat as we had a heavy breakfast. We paid $16 in total for this plate of meat that’s roasted in charcoal.

Unlike most hawker roasted meat joints, you’ll enjoy thick cut slices of roasted pork belly. When it’s cut thickly, the juiciness and flavour of the roasted meat is retained as it’s the case here. Just recall the times of how pathetically thin some places cut their roasted pork that it’s tasteless and just limp pieces of meat.

Love the crispy crackling that’s so deliciously salty and the thick blob of fat that melts perfectly in your mouth. As for the meat itself, it’s is tender and flavourful. You can taste the fragrant five spice powder in the meat.

I count roasted pork as one of my favourite dishes and this is one place to try if you want a wallet friendly option.

Will return to try their roasted duck and wanton mee.

It’s been quite some time since I posted a review of our beloved national dish, chicken rice. Decided to go off the beaten track and give Lam Bee Restaurant chicken rice in MacPherson a try.

We had both the steamed chicken and roasted chicken (half and half) to share. The meal was about $31 for 3.

CHICKEN 🐓

Chickens here are relatively plump and each bird weighs about 2kg.

Roast chicken was relatively succulent and the meat pretty tender. This was better than the steamed chicken.

Steamed chicken had a beautiful exterior with the velvety looking skin. I felt the meat could’ve been a little more tender as it was on the dry side.

Had an egg cause I like boiled eggs with chicken rice.

RICE 🍚

While the rice was fluffy, it was unfortunately a little bland for my liking. The fragrance from the ginger and garlic were lacking, so was the rich flavour profile of the chicken stock.

CHILLI 🌶

Chilli was slightly spicy and tangy. Nothing to shout about.

SOUP 🍲

Soup lovers will enjoy their selection of Cantonese double boiled soups. We had the watercress and pork bone soup.

If you happen to be in MacPherson, you can give this a try but I won’t make my way out for it again.

One of the stalls that has the longest queue at Maxwell Food Centre is Fu Shun Shao La Mian Jia (01-71). Be enticed by the hanging display of roasted meat from the likes of char siew, roast duck, roasted pork and spare ribs. Have it with rice or noodles.

Char Siew - Thick, meaty cuts of char siew that are irresistible from afar. How can you not notice the glistening, caramelised char siew glaze that gives it that sweet savoury taste. A fairly good balance of fat and meat as I like fatty char siew.

The edges are slightly charred but not blackened that makes it great for those who dislike the burnt flavour. One good thing about this stall is that you can opt for either lean or fatty cuts of char siew.

Roasted Pork - For hawker standards, expect thicker than average slices of tender roasted pork belly. The crackling is super crispy and you can hear the crunch while chewing on it. Meat is fairly juicy but don’t expect it to be as good as Imperial Treasure’s. Pretty good for a weekday lunch if you’re back in office.

Roasted Duck - Beneath its slightly crispy skin lies a thin layer of fat and tender pieces of duck meat. A fairly good roasted duck that serves as a motivation for you to work harder in the afternoon.

Price - Starts from $3 a plate. A three meat combination (三拼饭) sets you aside $7.

The uncle is quite friendly and will make an effort to make some small talk with you. That may be why the queue moves rather slowly. But if you go at an off-peak timing, you wouldn’t need to wait too long.

Haven’t tried the wanton noodles before. Will make a mental note to try them next time.

Some say that 925 Chicken Rice is the best chicken rice in Yishun. Do you agree? Well, read on to find out what I think.

Only steamed chicken is served here. Sorry, roast chicken fans. It’s quite reasonably priced for what you get for $4 (1 person). You get to choose your chicken parts (breast, thigh, drumstick). I chose drumstick as they were still preparing the thigh meat at the time I went. And it’s served with a tiny serving of achar, a side soup (it’s translucent and not clear).

The rice was reasonably fluffy and fragrant where it doesn’t clump together. But not exceptionally flavourful. The chicken itself was tender (it’s drumstick after all) but not as silky and juicy as what I would expect. I like the special sauce as it added a bit of flavour to the dish.

I expected the chilli to wow me over. But it didn’t had the tangy kick or the garlicky punch. And doesn’t have the spiciness factor too.

It didn’t taste the same as when I had it back at its sister outlet at Ang Mo Kio 722. Do the food at the Ang Mo Kio outlets taste better than the OG at Yishun? I feel that the standards have dropped slightly. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good plate of chicken rice. But is it worth the detour? Probably not.

Chilli mee is of the less common hawker dishes you can find. In fact, this was the first time I had it in my entire life. You can check out Chung Cheng Chilli Mee (01-59) at Golden Mile Food Centre to try this dish. If chilli mee isn’t what you fancy, get their prawn mee and laksa.

Golden Mile Food Centre will be closed from December 2020 till March 2021. So head down soon if you wanna try this.

The minimum order for a bowl of noodles is $3. If you want more ingredients and noodles, go for the $4 or $5 one.

What stands out here is the homemade chilli paste that's with sambal belachan and other spices. You can ask for as much chilli as you want.

Despite its name, the sambal isn’t incredibly spicy. But it lean towards the sweet and savoury side. As I prefer my chilli paste to be spicy, I found this to be a bit mild and bland for my taste buds.

We opted for yellow noodles mixed with bee hoon (rice vermicelli), but you can choose other type of noodles such as kway teow and mee pok.

You’ll get some prawns, pork ribs, fish cake, beancurd puffs (tau pok) and beansprouts. I found the ingredients to be decent but nothing Terryfic. Probably I was full (as we had Hokkien mee too), but I didn’t find the soup to be memorable either.

Not really my favourite noodle dish. Given that Golden Mile Food Centre has many other stalls, I’d rather try them first before returning. But do give this a try if you never had their chilli mee before.

Can you believe it’s my first time eating Sarawak Kolo Mee? Where do you go for Kolo Mee in Singapore or Kuching even? Being very curious, I joined the short queue at Sarawak Kolo Mee by Jin’s Noodle at Amoy Street Food Centre (02-110). They have opened a couple of outlets including the Kopitiam at Tampines Mall.

Let me tell you what’s inside their Kolo Mee. For $4/5, be treated to a bowl of thin and springy yellow noodles with minced pork, char siew, boiled wanton, fried wanton and cai sim/ choy sum. It’s finished off with an aromatic mixture of fried onion and lard although for some reason there’s a bit of water that’s collected at the bottom of the bowl. Help yourself to the sambal chilli and green chilli. You can opt for spinach noodles too.

There’s a good amount of meat to give you enough protein for the afternoon. It was great that the fried and boiled wantons that’s filled with a good amount of minced pork. And the char siew was meaty and not of the lean and dry variety.

It’s a pretty good bowl of kolo mee although I don’t have a benchmark to compare it against. I found the portions to be reasonably filling but not food coma inducing.