Hawker Food

Chicken Noodles/ Rice (~$5/pax)
⭐️ 4.5/5 ⭐️
🍴This stall is run by an ex-Raffles Hotel chef and lives up to the hype and long line! The chicken ($20/ whole) was succulent and tender, the noodles ($1.50) were ultra silky, and the shrimp wantons (50c each) were moreish balls generously stuffed with a trove of ingredients.

There’s nothing we would nitpick on, except the exceptionally long line - we waited for 1 hr and 10 mins and the queue grew even longer after us 😮. It’s not so mind blowing that we would highly recommend queueing, but hey if you’re got nothing to do one lazy late morning/afternoon, the food is worth it.

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Duck Rice ($19 for half duck)
⭐️ 3.5/5 ⭐️
This stall had the longest queue on a weekend afternoon, so we joined because well, we too love a good plate of duck rice 😁 Sadly, this was thoroughly average and actually quite forgettable. The duck, whilst expertly sliced and nicely played, was pretty tough and did not absorb the braising sauce. The sauce itself was a little thin and lacked any notable complexity. Had also hoped that they would serve yam rice but it was just plain white rice. Overall, it’s an alright plate, but we don’t quite understand the perpetuallly long queue.
📍Ah Xiao teochew duck rice, B1-43, Golden Mile Food Center, 505 Beach Rd, Singapore 199583

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Xiao long bao ($5/7pc)
⭐️ 4/5 ⭐️
🍴Affordable and enjoyable Xiao long bao served piping hot in a bamboo basket. For hawker standards, the handmade dumpling skin was pretty impressive - thin enough but still stayed intact when lifted up. If we have to nitpick, the peaks of the baos were a tad thick (but this is in comparison to our fav restaurants). The encased meat was juicy and tender with a good lean-fatty meat ratio, and nestled in a light but tasty enough broth. Overall, while not as flavourful or refined as restaurants, definitely see ourselves returning for more given this price point!
📍@flourful_delight, 知味面点, 01-85, Golden Mile Food Center, 505 Beach Rd, Singapore 199583

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Hai Huang Mee sua ($5) ⭐️ 4.5/5 ⭐️
XO seafood beehoon soup ($8.90) ⭐️4/5 (more like 4.2) ⭐️
Salted egg beehoon ($8.90) ⭐️ 4/5 ⭐️

🍴 Late to jump on the bandwagon but we finally tried this @foodkingnoc-recommended stall. Overall? Flavourful soupy noodles dishes brimming with fresh seafood that we see ourselves returning to.

Our favourite of the trio we tried was surprisingly the less popular and most affordable hai huang mee sua. The noodles were thicker than our usual mee sua, soft, and soaked up the seafood broth well. It was laced with clams, prawns, and squid. The definition of slurplicious!

We also really enjoyed the XO seafood soup, with a distinct swig of xo stirred in. We drank the whole bowl! The noodles here were uniquely springy - like konnyaku noodles in texture but maggie noodles in appearance. A few in the family could not get used to it, but the rest of us liked it! Served with fresh chunks of squid, fish, clams, and prawns.

The salted egg beehoon had the same springy konnyaku noodles. The salted egg really shined through and complemented the briny base well, although it was heavier and could feel jelat over time.

📍Try Fresh XO seafood noodles, 100 Jln Sultan, Singapore

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Lala Pao Fan ($4.50)
Fresh Prawn w Sliced Fish Pao Fan ($6)
⭐️ 3.5/5⭐️
🍴Maybe it was the high expectations given the positive reviews and long (>30min) wait for the food but the two bowls we tried were largely mediocre and forgettable. Both broths were light, slightly briny, tinged with natural sweetness, but distinctly lacking real depth of flavour. It didn’t help that we were concurrently enjoying their neighboring XO seafood noodle store’s richer and more generous offerings 😅 (review in previous post).

There was also a pretty paltry amount of fried egg floss and crispy puff rice; the bowl felt more like normal white rice in soup. The housemade cincalok sauce served on the side was ok on its own but didn’t seem to pair well with the soups.

Overall, we guess it’s decent if you’re specifically craving for pao fan? But we mostly left scratching our heads at why people love it 🤔

📍@famouspaofan, 01-06/07, Sultan's Kitchen, 100 Jln Sultan, Singapore

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Palatable but nothing great about this curry rice that warrants the queue/ hype 🤭. White rice is doused with a mix of signature ayam curry, lor bak sauce, and chap chye gravy. Not sure if it was the day but it felt watered down, one-dimensional, and leaned towards the sweeter side.

Century egg pork porridge ($3)
⭐️ 4/5 ⭐️
🍴Simple, comforting bowl, especially for the recent heavy and cold downpours. Not the most impressive in flavours with its straightforward mix of century egg, lean pork/chicken, youtiao, shallots, and spring onion. But still highly enjoyable given the silky and smooth consistency of the congee.

Also highly recommend adding an egg (50c). It’s broken straight into the bowl before the boiling congee is poured over to slow cook the egg with residual heat. This created a soft-boiled oozy consistency that added a light egginess and creaminess to the overall bowl.

📍Porridge Kiosk, 01-86 Beo Crescent Market & Food Centre, 38A Beo Crescent, Singapore 169982

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Special carrot cake ($4)
⭐️ 4/5 ⭐️
🍴We all know and love a good white and black carrot cake. But Yong Xiang goes one step further in their special off-menu carrot cake - mix of fried teochew kuehs! This was not only a unique but also delicious mix and once can choose which kuehs among Peng Kueh, Soon Kueh, Ku Chai Kueh etc. to combine.

Fried together with egg and dark soya sauce, it was nicely sweet and savory, with a good spicy kick from their chilli, and with subtle wok hei aroma. Instead of traditional soft radish cakes, the soft chewy dumpling skin taken to high heat gave it elements of crisp while retaining some chew. Only wish was for more fillings - radish/ shrimp / chives than skin to amp up the flavour. Definitely worth a try when in the area!

📍Yong Xiang Carrot Cake, 01-35, Bendemeer Market & Food Centre, 29 Bendemeer Road, Singapore

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⭐️ 4/5 ⭐️
🍴Really affordable (only $2.50?! And $3 with extra ingredients) and delicious fishball noodle from a relatively unknown store run by an elderly couple. They serve delicious springy noodles, yummy meat and homemade fishballs, and a tasty soup (although we personally prefer their dry > soup version). Their chilli packs a kick without being overpowering which makes it good for a comforting breakfast. It also imbues the dish with an umami/prawn aroma that elevates the rest of the elements 😌. Spice lovers fret not as there’s also the option of adding extra sliced chili.

We tried both their mee pok and mee kia and generally prefer the meepok that’s chewier and more al-dente. We find the quality of mee kia to vary across visits and today’s happened to be on the starchier side.

📍Mei Hua Garden Fishball Noodle,
美花园鱼圆面, 01-17, 4A Jalan Batu Hawker Centre, Singapore

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Nasi Lemak Set A ($3.50)
⭐️ 3.5/5 ⭐️
🍴With so many nasi lemak stores around (and 1 right opposite), decided to go with the one with the seemingly longest line! However, soon realised that it was in part the slow service. While the nasi lemak was decently good, wouldn’t say it’s anything fantastic and not something I’d specifically make my way down and queue 30+ mins for.

We enjoyed the basmati rice that was fluffy and fragrant in coconut-pandan aroma. The basic set comes with a fried egg (liked the more crisp edges but would have preferred an oozy yolk) and crispy yet tender fried chicken. Felt that the chicken could do with a stronger marinade, and the ikan billis with more crispness. While their accompanying sambal enhanced the dish with its savory element, it did lean on the sweeter rather than spicier end and we would have liked for greater punch.

We also got a plate of the opposite Changi Famous Nasi Lemak (01-28) but not pictured as it was gobbled up by the time we got to our turn at Mizzy 😂. It was significantly weaker than Mizzy with its less fragrant and drier rice and drier chicken. Their chilli packed a stronger spicy kick and would suit spice lovers.

📍Mizzy Corner Nasi Lemak, 01-26, Changi Village Hawker Centre, 2 Changi Village Road, Singapore 500002

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One of the better mee rebus around for its delicious, slurp-worthy gravy! It was viscous without being overly rich (unlike others we’ve tried), and swelled with notes of shrimp, flower crab, and mutton. Truly delightful! The indulgent gravy nicely coated the yellow noodles with lime, herbs, sliced green chilli, and beansprouts served on the side for crunch and texture. Do consider adding on their soft taukwa or begedil (+50c) to soak up any leftover gravy!

Chicken Rice ($3)
⭐️ 4.5/5 ⭐️
🍴Shen Ji Fan Chicken Rice at old school Guan Kim Restaurant is a true hidden gem. The place exuded 70s coffeehouse vibes, and everything was a little rundown and haphazard. But it all added to the chicken rice experience, and damn was it a great plate of steamed chicken rice! The half chicken ($11) was extremely succulent and tender, and the skin was delicately silky. Our group of 4 was impressed from the first bite! The rice ($1) was fragrant with strong aromas of ginger and chicken broth. There was soup served on the side that was sufficiently light and tasty. If nitpicking, we did find the chili a little too sweet, but was perfect when mixed with the sharp punchy ginger. We also enjoyed the lightly cooked crunchy beansprouts that was generously portioned given that it was only $2!

Not sure how this place has flown under our radar but we will surely be back very soon!

📍Shen Ji Fan Chicken Rice, Guan Kim Restaurant, 47 Tanglin Halt Road

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