Chi Hao Liao: Start of my Ultimate Hor Fun Hunt
With khim, SCSbutter, HappiMummi and amagada
I am starting on my quest to find the ultimate Hor Fun in Singapore! For me, the ultimate Hor Fun must satisfy 2 criteria. First, the Kway Teow has got to be slightly charred and be so tasty that you can eat it on its own, and secondly the gravy must have that "what the heck did they put into the Shang Tang (stock) flavour".
Now the humble Hor Fun is pretty much an uncelebrated staple in the Singaporean diet. Uncelebrated because it never makes it onto the "Recommended" list in your typical Cze Char Menu. It appears to me that the Hor Fun is always on the "In case you don't want to spend more than $3 on your meal" list. As a result, there aren't many "Star" Hor Funs out there. Or so I thought.
When khim wrote in about this $10 Hor Fun which had sea cucumbers, scallops, prawns, mushrooms and other goodies, it seemed too good to pass up. It was like something that I would have suggested to a hawker to do!
The use of the Opeh Leaf and the fact that the Hor Fun was on top of the recommended list was the first indication that this was a going to be a special Hor Fun. Now to the taste test to see if it is just "Ho Toi Bo Hor Jia" (Attractive but lacking substance)
The Hor Fun was nicely charred and had a good Wok Hei flavour! Criteria One checked. The gravy was very tasty and there was a great selection of good stuff like sea cucumbers, pork tripe, scallops, mushrooms and prawns. SCSbutter remarked that the tripe was really tender and it takes skill to be able to cook it that way. I felt it would have been even more impressive if they would use bigger sea prawns or crayfish instead of tiger prawns and if the gravy had a bit more ooomph.
Conclusion
Certainly a good Hor Fun for those who enjoy lots of liao (ingredients). The Hor Fun itself was well fried but somehow I suspect that somewhere out there there still lurks something even better. Let the search begin! 4.25/5
Chi Hao Liao
Blk 94 Toa Payoh Lor 4
5pm-1am Everyday
Recommended by ieater, khim
25 comments:
There is a similar hor fun shop in Joo Chiat, $10 a packet, with big prawns, sea cucumber, liver, mushrooms, etc. It is called Lor 108 Fei Lo...something. Dont have the exact address, but coming down Joo Chiat Rd (from Geylang) it is a stone throw before the Nam san Makeral otah shop. Give it a try and let me know how it compares to this shop.
how about sin hoi san at tiong bahru? It's pretty old school. I am not sure if their standard is still as good as it used to be. but it was pretty tasty the last time i was there.
There is another place in Toa Payoh that serves above average hor fun, its actually across SPH building at Toa Payoh North, its the corner coffee shop when u head into toa payoh north fm Toa Payoh Lor 1. For $5 u get slices of chicken meat with prawns, pork tripe etc. It is also served up on a Opeh leave.
This is my first post since I started reading your blog. This is my pet food topic next to fried carrot cake so I am compelled to give my 2 cents worth. Let me trace back at least 25 years to what hor fun was back then. If you asked any of the older folks what was hor fun then compared to now, they would probably just shake their head and say its not what it used to be. Back then if u tar pao back hor fun to home, even before you stepped into the house, your neighbours would all know that you are having hor fun for dinner/supper. The main difference between then n now is that most hor fun don't stir fry their ingredients anymore. If you ever peep into the kitchen this how they prepare the gravy for the hor fun.
Heat up wok ... add in little oil n garlic .. then add in 1-2 laddle of stock .. wait till boil and add in the ingredients .. add flavouring and thicken the gravy with corn starch. Then pour over the hor fun ... job done
I thot in normal stir fry u add in the stock last before you thicken the gravy, this is the problem with most hor fun now ... the missing "wok hei" in the ingredients.
Secondly, I remember vividly in the good old days the ingredients were also pretty standard. Lean pork slices, pork liver, fish slices, prawn, sotong and vegetables. combined with good stock and wok hei its a very heavenly dish which was really soul food to me back in the old days.
I have yet to find a satisfying hor fun nowadays, and still searching for it. A good hor fun wok hei is done frying and charring the hor fun without using soya sauce or black sauce. Many stalls "cheat' by clouring the hor fun with the sauce and make it unpaletable. Occasionally, I get good hor fun at the upmarket hongkong cantonese restaurant here. I have tried Lor 108 fei lo and TP Lor 1 Hong Sheng, but still not good enough. Hong Sheng 1st generation, the father, did a very very good wok hei hor fun in the 1970s, where I patronise very frequently. I insisted then to wait for him to cook my order and not his assistant, even though I have to wait longer. Sadly, such good cooks are hard to come by these days.
e wok hei here is really very good! i can even eat the hor fun plain just like tat! u guys should try it!
Yup! Agree! Just tried it this evening. The Hor Fun has great wok hei and they never use soy sauce to darken the hor fun( which would have cause the hor fun to turn bitter or sourish). Credit to the chef. Cheapest is $10, abit steep but considering the amount of ingredients, its worth it i guess.
Oh, do try the other "ordinary" food like Shen Mian, Mee Goreng etc. $3 or $4 per serving but has huge "glass" prawns and thick fish slices in it. Definately value for money. Maybe they are trying to compete with another stall that is opposite them, behind the ATM machine. That stall offers quite good quality Zi Char at very low prices too.
glad u liked it too, esmallits! =)
i guess e ingredients given for a $10 portion is really worth e prices!
yup, e hor fun doesn't make use of any soy sauce, tat's y i like it sooo much, like wat u said, no bitter or sourish taste..
oh ya.. forgot to mention tat e $10 portion is quite big, so it's enough for 2 people with normal appetite to share!
Doc, I have been following your blog for a while now. I love it! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I am a big hor fun fan. Living here in the States makes me crave for Singapore food all the time. I can only cling on to the memory of the aroma, charred taste and the smooth ripples of horfun noodles... I am also Teochew and a Tay. Imagine my "mak dua dua" when I view your pics on fishball noodles and fish porridge. For Teochew food in general, have you tried Liang Kee near Havelock Road and Ah Orh's Seafood in Bukit Merah?
I must say this Hor Fun is shiokadolly GOOD.
There's a Hor Fun restaurant in the industrial estate near Batu Caves Malaysia. Anyone heard of it or been there?
hihi!
cant wait to see your search results! i luv hor fun too, esp the charred ones.. perhaps you consider the corner stall @ the waterloo hawker centre? it's not the best, i believe, but that's my relief for now when i have my craving for hor fun.
Confirmed this is a damn good hor fun with the wok hei. At $10 it is not expensive with fresh prawns etc mentioned earlier. Even when I reach home I can feel the wok hei in my mouth.
Have anyone tried the Kuay Chap at the market FC. There was a long Q waiting for them to open at 6pm. I tried the ABC Poh Piah, verdit great.
the one in joo chiat is at 229 joo chiat road ( beside fragrance hotel ) that one is shiok.. fantastic
visit feilaoseafood.blogspot.com for more details
What are the opening times and is there a telephone number to call?
Sorry for the OT but I thought this stall shares too much similarity to the Lorong 108 Fei Lao Seafood.
Lorong 108 Fei Lao Seafood. I was there last thursday at around 1830 if that was any help. Not sure if they do lunch crowd though.
Fei Lao has been around for many years already but they have always been on the move. I recall there was an article about them on the makansutra website a while back.
The unfortunate thing is that the chef de cuisine, "Fei Lao" himself passed away last year. I've tried the hor fun many years back when they were still at Blk 57 New Upper Changi Road and it thought it was pretty tasty then.
The current proprietor's version was pretty good too and it still has the distinct "wok hei" that many craves for. $10 for a plate/packet and $15 for a big plate. Ingredients were generous; fresh prawns cut into "butterflies", sotong slices, ter kwa(pork liver), sea cucumber, etc.
It was good but I am sure there are better ones around. $10 a pack, lots of fresh ingredients, opeh leaves sure gives you heightened expectations but may sometimes leave you somewhat disappointed.
Eh, a perticular restaurant's, or rather, cook's, hor fun - i've eaten from young. Ever since, i just can't find myself being satisfied by other horfuns, no matter the recommendation, anymore. maybe that's my first impression and most lasting impression. but anyhow, i'll just give u this recommendation if u wanna check it out.
Kok Seng Restaurant. 30-32 keong saik road.
The cook use to work for Kuan's Restaurant around that area, if i'm not wrong. Then he came here after Kuan was closed.
@nd visit to Chi Hao Liao. Reconfirmed the Hor Fan still good. Tried their Pork Ribs with Salted Egg, found the taste queer but both my wife & daughter like it. they said different but great taste. Also the chai poh with soya bean curd is shiok. Very refine chai poh and light on the taste.
I have tried most of the hor fun mentioned an yet to find one that is really good. I rather eat my home cooked hor fun where wok hei is better than these stalls as we cooked in small quantity and do not use black sauce for colouring.I get me kway teow hor fun from JB, rice fragrant and good texture.
It was on Mother's Day I tried it. The Kway teow was slightly charred. Good spread of ingredients. However was salty and tasted MSG the moment I tried it. I would prefer those normal ones that comes with less salt and MSG, although less ingredients than this, of course.
Not nice!
4.25 is too high!
i will only give it a 3.
Still it is better that the average stall
Tried this today. No wok hei flavour and no charred bits at all. Ingredients were also too little. It's not that bad, but definitely not worth $10. Disappointed.
Hey Khim, have you eaten at this stall lately? Seems like it is not good anymore!
Anyone knows where is that fei lo seafood stall?
They have shifted from their Joo Chiat outlet. Where did you tried in Anonymous?? Actually Fei Lao hor fun taste good not because there is wok hei but because their gravy are some concocted recipe. I'm just guessing it's some clear chicken stock.
Anyone can post up the new address here?
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