平民小吃

PRICE: $6 (Also available in $8/$10)

WAITING TIME: Less than 3 minutes on a weekday at 9.15pm

PRAWNS: 3

WOK HEI: OFF THE CHARTS. Never has there been a hokkien prawn mee with a stronger wok hei. NEVERRR.

CHILI: The wrong kind though. A total mismatch.

NOODLES TYPE: Yellow mee + thin bee hoon
(The amount of noodles in this $6 plate is honestly very little)

FRIED PORK LARD: Yes. But already soggy. Not crispy or crunchy.

Also comes with sotong and a lot of egg.
No pork belly.

They have pedigree, alongside Swee Guan (one of my favourites), as inheritors of a charcoal-fried legacy — and it seems some magic from that legacy remains.
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I was immediately floored by an overload of umami from the stock, and a supremely fragrant profile due to some very tangible garlic notes and the inclusion of pork lard. The sambal was similarly very fragrant and complex, adding a different layer of umami which elevated the flavour profile further. Alas, whilst the flavour-bomb was stimulating, it was a precarious hair away from plummeting into over-saltiness.
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Their pedigree naturally made me expect wok hei, and it's a good amount but not close to their geylang cousin's insanely smokey rendition. The texture is the wet type that feels a bit goopy and some of the noodles were slightly mushy, maybe from over-frying.
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The prawns were sizeable, but didn't feel particularly fresh and crunchy, though honestly I don't care about freshness of prawns in hokkien mee. Overall, it's definitely extremely enjoyable despite some small flaws, and any hokkien mee lover should try this.
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📍 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝘄𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗕𝗮𝗿, 𝟯𝟵𝟲 𝗘 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗱, 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝟰𝟮𝟴𝟵𝟵𝟰
⏱️ (Tues-Sun) 11 45am-9pm, closed on Mondays

Northern Thai style tomyum that I throughly enjoyed with just about the right amount of spiciness, sourness and creamy-ness without a thick layer of oil over it. My favorite ingredient is the fried fish with a super fragrant skin that is perfect after soaking up the soup, but also not forgetting the other fresh ingredients such as sliced fish, prawns and tofu.

Northern Thai is open on Monday to Saturday from 1030am till sold out.

Spot the long queue on Level 2 of Berseh Food Centre to find Mei Xiang. Here, there's only Mixed Sliced Fish Soup ($6 for Small, $8 for Big) — no other choices. You'll get sliced fish, slightly salty fried fish chunks (beware of bones), a robust soup loaded with cabbage, a zesty chili that is totally addictive ($0.30 for extra) and a bowl of white rice. Pro-tip: if you want to dabao, please bring your own container!
Photo by Burppler wenqing tan

Believe it or not, i have never tried oyster cake until yesterday when i chanced upon this stall at Berseh Food Centre. Shaped like an UFO, the cakes were crispy on the outside while moist and tasty on the inside with a decent amount of minced meat, prawns and oysters. Great on its own and even better with the chilli.

We kinda over-ordered (for 3 pax) and ended up having to dabao leftover dishes.

The potato, prawn paste chic and the eggplant tasted good, but the green veggie was too salty for our liking.

This meal costs ~$26, too pricey imo.

Teochew Porridge is always a good idea. Sweet and sour pork is my absolute favorite!

Fried Oyster 蠓前 (S$5)
Default version is spicy.
Served with a tangy dip.
If you don’t want spicy, please remind the aunty.
I’m surprised that I finished the whole plate myself easily.

Lim’s Fried Oyster 蠓前林
Address 🏡 : 166 Jalan Besar, # 01-32 Berseh Food Centre, Singapore 🇸🇬 207 978
Open ⏰ : 7pm - 12am
MRT 🚇 : Jalan Besar (DT22)

From Ah Hua Assam; one of the few stalls that had recently opened its doors at Chinatown Complex Food Centre which place an emphasis on dishes using Assam as a main ingredient — whilst an ingredient that is not a stranger to local tastebuds, it serves as an interesting concept with a strong focus.

Going for this item, one would get themselves rice that is drenched in a generous helping of Assam gravy, a serving of either Chap Chye or Curry Vegetable (we opted for the latter), and Omelette. We also went for an additional Ngoh Hiang at a top-up of $1.50. Going straight for the chicken leg, the chicken leg was reasonably tender and succulent; came pretty tart and a little spicy from the mix of Tamarind juice and sambal — the rice also drenched in a rather similar tasting gravy that was pretty bright, refreshing and gives the taste buds a slight spicy kick that should do fine with those who have moderate tolerance to spiciness. The curry vegetables were cooked till soft; pretty fragrant and carried the spices and coconut-y aroma well without being dilute, while the home-made Ngoh Hiang is well-packed with meat filling and chestnuts for a meaty crunch without crumbling into a mess. No doubt the presentation is a tad messy (not that I would have done any better, nor expected more considering this is off a Hawker stall), but somewhere to check out for those who really love Assam as an ingredient — a stall that is certainly unique and worth checking out for how they are pulling off Assam-based dishes fairly well.

Besides its soya sauce chicken Fatty Ox is also known for its roast meats such as char siew, roast duck and meats. This is a very tasty crispy drumstick to eat your rice with. Super yummy.

Lower quarter of chicken (下庄）
The chicken is succulent and their flavoured soya sauce is still one of the best around.

Must-try definitely includes their signature abalone noodles and salt-baked chicken, especially the latter with lap cheong rice.
But there’re more to check out here. The fried mackerel and braised chicken feet we had were outstanding. Mackerel was fresh, crispy out and still moist inside; and the chicken feet simply disintegrated in the mouth. And their deep fried crispy flounder was addictively good.
They’ve also innovated with new dishes, such as spaghetti for their abalone noodles or their premium abalone Jeju soups which unfortunately was unavailable when we visited.
With a long history and standing strong, Lam’s our local name that deserves our supports.