Hawker Food

A decent bowl at an affordable price that satisfied lor mee cravings but wasn’t particularly memorable. The base gravy was thick but quite light in flavour. One can fully customize the bowl to their desired flavour profile by adding their free-flow sides of raw chopped garlic, chili, vinegar, soya sauce, and coriander. Enjoyed the umami notes from the prawn-based sambal chilli. The smallest bowl comprised one crispy wanton (could do with more meat: skin ratio), fried fish (enjoyed this for the tender meat and light batter), fish cake, ngoh hiang, and pork belly.

📍@tiongbahrulormee, 02-80, Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre, 30 Seng Poh Road, Singapore (other outlet at 558 Balestier Road)

Signature ipoh curry ($5.50)
Dry chicken curry ($4.50)
⭐️ 4/5 ⭐️
🍴Enjoyed these hearty and delicious curry noodles on a rainy day. Their curry was a delicious mix of coconut and various spices, fragranced and brightened with curry and mint leaves. Not too spicy or creamy, a moreish rendition that we slurped up.

Signature ipoh curry was a soup version - lighter on the palette with stronger coconut flavour. Came with a generous array of ingredients - crispy roast pork, chasiew, shredded chicken, tau pok, and long beans. In comparison, the dry curry was thicker and richer with tender chicken chunks and thick-cut potato. Would have preferred for softer potato and more crunchy beansprouts. Tough choosing a favourite but the signature inched out in being more complex and palatable (the dry can get rich nearing the end).

📍Jian Zao Ipoh Curry Noodle, Stall 5, Blk 332, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, Singapore

Still so good!! Definitely recommend trying when in the area. If you love cockles, do add more ($1) for fresh and chewy goodness

Famous Old Airport Road hokkien mee Nam Sing has arrived in the West! Now a third generation family business, it’s a satisfying slurp-worthy rendition. It isn’t the richest in seafood flavour and could do with stronger wokhei but brings back a certain nostalgia (given my childhood days of eating this at Old Airport). Do remember to request for their homemade sambal (aside the cut red chilli) for elevated umami flavours.

Run by an ex Crystal Jade chef, the wanton noodles channels classic HK vibes. The 5 plump wantons were filled with QQ fresh prawn mixed with minced pork. If nitpicking, found the skin a tad thick. We enjoyed the chewy and al-dente thin noodles but found them a tad starchy with a mild alkaline taste (read that they use duck instead of chicken egg which might contribute to this). The noodles were tossed in a light sauce that while fragrant, wasn’t the most memorable.

Insta: cafehoppingkids

Offering only one item on their menu with different noodle types, this soup-based bak chor mee hidden in a corner hawker is a hidden gem for warm and hearty soup. Made from the long simmering of pork bone, the cloudy broth had a stronger meat flavour than most with piquant pepper notes.

We especially enjoyed the flavourful handmade meatballs that were firm yet tender; Just wished there was more than 2 of them. The pork wanton was good but forgettable. We liked both the silky smooth kway teow and the QQ mee hoon kueh which had a nice chew.

📍@soonhengporknoodles, 120 Neil Road, Singapore

Always a fan of lei Cha but this disappointed in the diluted and thin sauce. Not sure if it was the addition of milk but there was also an odd creaminess instead of fragrant tea and nutty flavour. Ingredients were generous and tasty but just let down by the broth

Was feeling nostalgic so couldn’t help but get these traditional steamed rice cakes. Freshly made and served warm, they were simplistically enjoyable. The finely pounded rice flour while soft, was a tad dry. We enjoyed the fillings that were naturally fragrant without being sweet. Would recommend the juicier grated coconut over the drier grounded peanut.
📍Aftertaste traditional tutu cake, 01-73, Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur St, Singapore

Insta: cafehoppingkids

Newly opened hawker stall by a young 25-year-old chef who’s previously worked in overseas Michelin restaurants.

The base Pilaf Rice was perfectly al-dente and cooked with a special mix of ingredients and French butter. Not a carbs person but found myself reaching for more mouthfuls of the flavourful rice (especially parts that soaked up the sauces of the meat). Also enjoyed the tender roasted eggplant, and fragrant garlic confit.

𝐂𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐥 ($10.80) - Roasted rump cap steak marinated in fragrant truffle soy. Love the distinct yet not overpowering truffle aroma and creaminess of the onsen egg. While the cuts of meat weren’t the best, they were adequately tender with slight char on the exterior.

𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐥 ($8.90) - Salmon slices torched with garlic aioli. Found the salmon a tad on the mushier side. Enjoyed the generous topping of ebiko and would recommend adding an onsen egg (+$1.20) for extra moistness.

𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐝 ($4) - Simple yet refreshing salad tossed in an enjoyable savory sauce.

Teochew Braised Duck (3.5 ⭐️; $5) was average and could be more tender.

𝐇𝐮𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐮𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐁𝐐 Chicken Wings (4 ⭐️; $1.50 each) - Highly fragrant with a light smokiness from the grill. Especially enjoyed their homemade tangy and sour chilli.

Checked out the traditional charcoal fired Claypot rice that’s been on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list for a few years. The mixed bowl comes with chicken, lap cheong (Chinese sausage), and salted fish. The effortful charcoal cooking was evident in the subtle smoky aroma and crispy rice crust (but be quick to scrap the sides in or you might just end up with mostly burnt rice 😅). Even so, we found the ingredients and rice to hardly have flavour, requiring more dousing of the dark soya sauce and oil, and pairing with their tangy chilli.

A larger ingredient: rice ratio would have been better, and found the current amount of preserved vegetables to be meagre. Did enjoy the highly tender and juicy chicken, and flavourful sausages.

On a weekday lunch, we avoided long queues/wait and was served in <20 minutes. Overall, decently enjoyable but not particularly wow as expected of the #michelinbibgourmand title.

📍New Lucky Claypot Rice, 02-19, Holland Drive Market and we Food Centre, 44 Holland Dr, Singapore

Insta: cafehoppingkids