Bee Kia Restaurant: Beef Hor Fun Challenge
With smart, iwatch_ueat and introducing fashionfoodie
My last post on Beef Hor Fun drew quite a few comments about how the Geylang Lor 9 Beef Hor Fun's standards have dropped. ahbeR and some others wrote in to suggest this Cze Char Stall which was opposite the Thomson Medical Center. Strangely no one actually remembered the name of the stall.I am afraid to say that the Hor Fun on that day was not as great as expected. The Hor Fun lacked a good Wok Hei flavour and the sauce lacked the ooomph. Sorry guys, but in my opinion, Geylang still tasted better despite the drop in standards. On the positive side, the beef here is not over marinated in bicarbonate so you can still chew on the fibres of the beef instead of it having the texture of fish cakes and the portion was generous. Still it is a much better Beef Hor Fun than most other Cze Char Stall but I suspect, like many stalls, standards may have been dropping. 3.75/5
I personally found the prawn paste chicken here pretty good, though my makankakis were ambivalent about it. It might have been a little overfried that day, such that the flesh was a bit dry. What I enjoyed about it is the super crispy batter which was thick enough so that you get a nice tingle on your tongue while eating it. The Prawn Paste flavour was a little too subtle. Its good if it were just fried chicken, but not that great if you called it Prawn Paste Chicken. Still, I enjoyed it. 4/5
Conclusion
We were not overwhelmed, but I am sure there are many supporters out there who would differ.
Bee Kia Restaurant
326 Block 1 Balestier Hill Shopping Centre
Thomson Road
62548490
12pm to 11pm
326 Block 1 Balestier Hill Shopping Centre
Thomson Road
62548490
12pm to 11pm
20 comments:
I've been going to the Geylang stall for more than 10 years and recently decided this Thomson Rd stall is much better. Nostalgia or not.
it may be a case of wrong timing on the day you ate there because the Beef Hor Fun at Bee Kia is generally the best I have tasted on this island.
I have tried the Geylang one many years ago after hearing so much rave reviews but it was sorely disppointing.
What I liked about Bee Kia's beef hor fun is the starchy texture of the black bean sauce as well as the tenderness of the beef. Can't say the same about the beef of the Geylang one which tends to be hard.
I was never into eating beef until my friends brought me to eat at Bee Kia and I have been a loyal fan and beef convert since 1990.
Granted that consistency may sometimes be questionable these days as different cooks may be dishing out the beef hor fun, it has generally not failed me when i am looking for some red meat and comfort food. If you are lucky the next time you show up, the lady is there to dish out the beef hor fun instead of the guys, you may have a different opinion especially if the hor fun is freshly fried and the beef with black bean sauce is also a newly cooked batch.
I agree with your makan kakis that their prawn paste chicken is so-so because personally i think the one at Ka-Soh is more delicious and well-marinated.
kai
This Hor Fun was fried by the fat cantonese lady with the curly hair. She is the chef.
Not really a fan of this hor fun (beef and seafood). Too salty and too much MSG.
Quite pricey zhi char I must say too.
Hard to find good beef hor fun nowadays...
in general, i find that singapore chze char tends to drown their food in starch, salt and msg, and if its not any of the above combination, most of their stuff is deep fried.
you name it: beef hor fun, seafood horfun, har cheong gai, hotplate beef, chilli crabs, how jian, cereal prawns....
the taste is not "clean", ie after eating for awhile, the tongue becomes numb to everything, and everything seems to taste the same.
i think standards of chze char stalls in sg in general have dropped, and i hardly patronise them anymore. you been to one, you been them all....
I agree on the comment regarding the salty/MSG of the dish which is why i limit myself to eating it once every 2 or 3 months.
And yes overall standard of Zhi Char stalls throughout the island has indeed fallen bcos everyone has become a "victim of their own popularity".
kai
At $4 a plate, I'm not sure how that's considered expensive compared to the Geylang stall, and I'd suggest that the salty taste comes from the liberal use of black beans rather than adding MSG.
The other zhi char dishes are pricey i mean :) Not the beef horfun per se.
i still prefer the geylang beef horfun. I did try the thomson medical horfun but it didnt suit my liking even when the standard of geylang beef hor fun dropped.
Geylang beef horfun tastes better if u eat it there coz the container for takeaway really spoils the horfun.
For prawn paste chicken lovers, please try this dish at upper thomson road, Ban Leong. Damn Nice! My personally best prawn paste chicken in singapore
I have been eating at Bee Kia since I was in primary school, when we lived in the area. Her sweet n sour pork and deep fried fish is one of the best. The other being Fatty Wing Seong of Albert Street at Burlington Square. My late dad and uncles grew up on Fatty's, as did my cousins and i!
erm, simase, my name is ahbeR, not Abner. sounds horrid, hehee
Im a fan of their seafood horfun ($3) but not their beef horfun ($4), cos Im not a fan of black bean paste. If I had to choose, I'd prefer Geylang's Beef horfun, cos their sauce is nicer lor.
I find that their seafood horfun is quite generous with ingredients. Yes its true, often, their horfun is lacking the Wok Hei flavour or the chao da burnt flavour on their horfun noodle. But I guess they compensate it with their tasty horfun sauce? Dunno what they use to make it flavourful (for the seafood horfun).
The fat auntie with curly hair is the main chef although sometimes another person takes over when she has to rest her big flabby arms.
Their Har Cheong Kai aka Prawn Paste Cheeken is pretty popular, along with their Ku Lu Yok aka Sweet and Sour Pork.
Popular with the lunch time crowd and also dinner time crowd. This Cantonese Tze Char owns the coffeeshop I think, cos they own the drinks stall too.
Parking is horrible during the day cos of limited lots. You can park behind block 2 at Balestier Rd, just 1 min walk away. Must put coupons cos got many Tudung Ladies roaming the carparks. hehehee
The standard of the Bee Kia beef horfan has dropped significantly since my days at TTSH way back in 1997. The Wife agrees. We ventured back to Bee Kia in mid-June this year for some nostalgia but were sorely disappointed. The beef horfan was pretty generic and was nothing like the first time I ate there years ago. We have yet to find THE place for BHF sadly.
Here is a favourite of ours for beef hor fun...a small indescript cafe in Coronation Plaza known as Prince. They sell western cuisine as well as local Hainese food.
The Beef Kway Teow is exceptional. The kway teow (hor fun) is fried first, and the wok hei is abundant. The gravy is thick, flavourful, and the beef is very tender.
They also do a great Hainese Pork Chop and Long Beans with Minced Meat.
I have been coming to this place with my family before my son was born (he is in Sec 1 this year). The former owner was a generous chap, and as he was from Penang, had featured some interesting Penang dishes like inchicabin...which since has ceased to be offered. When he retired, he sold the cafe to his former employees.
The place tends to get crowded with students from Hwa Chong and nearby schools...they have a special for students - I think $8 for a set meal with bottomless soft drinks.
anyone tried the beef hor fun at changi village mkt? it's served with yummy bitter gourd as well. my personal fave ...
calamari_rings
i didn't know that bee kia was known for its beef hor fun. i have eaten there many times and found the food quite tasty. at one time, my friends used to go there for the bak kut teh, which they were particularly fond of. the chef is not the only one on the heavy side; nearly all the helpers are of that size.
Never had their beef hor fun.. although i worked there some 20yrs ago.. in an engineering firm there. But i guess.. things must have changed by now eh..?
If you really like Hor Fun, you could try the Hor Fun at ManHill Restaurant along Pasir Panjang Road. Their restaurant is frequently packed with Japanese businessmen. Their must-try dishes are the claypot dishes, horfun,kai lan chao sup, paper-wrapped chicken and sweet and sour pork.
Their hor fun and zhi char dishes are very good.
Especially love their claypot stewed chicken and salted fish fried rice.
Was back at Bee Kia yesterday afternoon to have their beef horfun. Last time had it was maybe 6 months back? I still loved it. I remembered I had it once a year ago and thought standard dropped alot. Glad that it's tasting great again. The beef is still so tender and I never find that the MSG is overdosed. Simply love the sauce :) At $4 a HUGE plate still it's still top for me for beef horfun. Dad loved his beef horfun too and mum's seafood crispy noodles at $3 a HUGE plate too is also such a steal!
Some may feel it's not the best but it's definitely far better than average AT LEAST IMO and the prices are still unchanged~
Went to Bee Kia today to try the beef hor fun.
Had a very very bad experience, because people who ordered AFTER me finished eating their dinner and were paying up, while my measly 1 portion of Beef hor fun was not even served.
Horrible Service!!!!
I had to go and ask AGAIN, before they did my order.
On the beef hor fun, really nothing to shout about. Noticed very little black beans, and there was really no wok hei flavour at all.
Sauce was salty, and hor fun was normal, without any nicely charcoal fried taste.
Beef was alright.
Frankly, I will never return to this place which has such horrible service.
Really not worth it!
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