Fragrant Hong Kong Pork Rib Rice: Great Value HK Cuisine!: Hong Lim Food Centre 7 of 7
With iwatch_ueat, damien, liverpool and smart
When I was in Hong Kong recently, every Char Chan Ting (Tea House) I walked into had dishes around HK$20-30 (S$5-6). Even in Singapore, most of the Tea Houses that have sprouted up across our island have dishes for around the same price (ie for a dish you can eat to fill your tummy for dinner). So imagine my surprise when I found this Stall selling a Hong Kong meal for $2.50!
The thing about Hong Kong food is that when compared to Singapore food, there tends to be less use of chillies and spices. Some Singaporeans may find it bland. I certainly find Hong Kong food tasty yet satisfying without having to suffer the glutton's hangover (Indigestion). Aiya, as one gets older, sometimes we don't go for "Shiok Shiok" anymore as much as "Shiok and comfortable after the meal" and "Shiok and my cholesterol levels still ok".
That's the kind of feeling when I tried the Pork Rib Rice. I think "Fragrant" is the right word to describe it. The Pork Ribs were lightly seasoned, tender and savoury while the rice was surprisingly satisfying. It wasn't that the sauce was shiokadelicious, it was just that the rice was perfectly steamed such that the grains were nicely separated and firm to the bite. There was minimal oil in the rice and every mouthful feels just right. 4.25/5
When I was younger I used to love potatoes chips, pasta, steaks, hamburgers etc, but as I grow older I find that I can't go for too long without my bowl of simple plain steamed rice and this one really hits the spot for me. (It's scary but one day I might even start liking Rosewood furniture -- sure sign of old age!)
The rice is first steamed and the meat is then added on top and place in a steamer. When you order, they first remove the meat from the bowl, then mix the rice with the sauce and put everything onto the plate.
This second dish is the Mince Meat with Mei Chai which was really tasty. It's the kind of thing I love to order with my bowl of piping hot Teochew porridge but it went equally well with the rice. The taste of the Mei Chai was subtle and lends a bit of sweetness to the mince meat. 4/5
Our makanbro damien swears by their "tonic" soup. This soup is boiled for over 4 hours and like the other items here, you feel really comfortable after eating it. Good stuff to complement your rice and for $1.50 I'd say its real value for money. 4/5
Our pair of HK sisters have been in Singapore for almost 30 years. They started this stall over at the Chinatown Complex Food Centre 5 years ago and shifted here when they closed for renovation.
Conclusion
Simple, satisfying and definitely one of the cheapest Hong Kong food you can get in Singapore.
Fragrant Hong Kong Pork Rib Rice
Hong Lim Food Centre
#02-70
9.30am to 7pm daily
9 comments:
Have been working around Hong Lim for almost 2 years, this is my most oft visited stall. I like the pai gu fun, always order additional lup cheong to go with the rice (a saucer of their chili padi) and a bowl of their chicken feet, mushroom, peanut, orange peel soup
Better than most economical rice but not really THAT good (4/5) IMO. Rice is so-so. I was looking forward to the "fragrance" but got none.
Pai gu and the chicken was OK. Reminds me of the "gai sup" that dim sum eateries sell. Vege was run-of-the-mill that you get from chicken rice stall.
Soup - too much MSG.
I think frequent visitors to Hong Lim Food Centre would probably remember that there was this HK guy previously selling Bamboo (container) rice at the 2nd last stall right behind the old hokkien street prawn noodle stall. Zhu Tong Fan.
That is my benchmark I set for "fragrance rice". Rice was nice, smooth and fragrance. Meat was tender and tasty. Soup was clear and delicious with real water crest in it. He moved out a few years back and haven't seen him anywhere else since. Anyone knows?
I do not think the soup has MSG as the sisters boil the stock an entire night. The sweetness might come from the orange peel and dried conch.
For $2.50, the portion's value for money.
i juz tried this steamed rice with chicken and mushroom last wk..i tink the sauce made the rice v fragrant but otherwise the rice was juz plain white rice to me..
the chicken was soft thou and savory..and i like the chicken feet peanut soup..its v rich and tasty!
just tried e pork rib rice today!
i like e pork ribs if only they r more generous wif e black beans! =p
i think e rice is a bit too dry.. ya, i agree wif kp&jean tat it's e sauce tat made e rice fragrant, otherwise it's plain white rice..
overall, i give it a 4/5..
i'll try e mince meat wif mei chai & e soup next! =)
btw, e steam rice is now $3 instead of $2.50
soup remains at $1.50 n tabao is $2
i tried e mince meat wif mei chai & soup last friday..
i like e mince meat wif mei chai.. very nicely done..
however, i find e soup is so-so only..
still prefer my mum's home cooked soup! always e best! ;)
will go try other rice some day!
tried e lup cheong chicken rice today.. e chicken is not bad.. very smooth n tasty.. but only get 2 pathetic piece of lup cheong.. it's looking more like garnish than 1 of e co-ingredients of lup cheong chicken rice.. =(
i dun think i'm gonna try e mushroom chicken rice as i can guess how many pieces of mushroom they give.. haiz..
went there for lunch today. Had the pork rib rice. The rice was very nicely done. Individual grains and not mushy but not hard too. I like the quite firm bite of it. The pork rib was also tender and, though not heavily seasoned, tasted good.
Also had the Chicken feet and mushroom soup. It was tasty and I don't think it had much MSG, if any at all, added.
This is my first time eating this...Ended up eating the pork rib rice and the meat pattie with Mei Cai rice. Was really delicious. The meat are not tough and the rice was not oily....... Would definitely go back and eat this again. Highly recommended!
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