Yong Lai Fa Ji: Sliced Fish Head Soup!
With iwatch_ueat and smart
Fish Soup $3
Smart tells me that he visits this particular fish soup at least twice a month although he would not say it is the best in Singapore. It has the combination of being "one of the best" and being "close to home". So as a result, he was willing to sacrifice a bit of ooomph for convenience.
Macpherson estate is one of the oldest parts of Singapore, so the food here is still pretty cheap. The food centre is still very much in its original condition, so I suspect that the "Gow'ment" will probably be renovating it soon. Being such an old place, there were lots of stalls that looked like they served really good stuff that was still not too "sanitized". You know what I mean right? Somehow food that is too clean does not taste as robust as food that may have an element of risk in it. Now, I am not advocating that we should all throw caution to the wind. Just merely stating an observation. Lots of people would agree that the food in JB is much tastier than Singapore and that the best Hawker foods are often found in rustic places rather then spotless spots.
The soup here is indeed very good. The fish is fresh and they are quite generous with the amount of fish. I especially liked the Ti Poh (Fried Sole Fish) which was very "Pang" (Savoury). They make everything themselves here including the Ti Poh and the Ikan Bilis (Fried Anchovies) and the soup is made from boiling fish bones and chicken for at least 8 hours. They also add bittergourd in the soup. Tasty and at the same time good for your cholesterol levels! 4.25/5
Fish Head Noodles $4
I am not one for Fish Head, but smart is. This Fish Head noodle soup is his fortnightly "must eat" dish. The interesting thing about it is that they use the dried egg noodles to cook the dish. These noodles have a unique texture and tastes quite savoury. They are also very generous with the chunks of Batang Fish Head and the soup is sweeter than the normal sliced fish soup. Smart rates it a 4.5/5.
Conclusion
Very good sliced fish soup and real value for money. My only complain is that they only give one or two pieces of the excellent Ti Poh!
Yong Lai Fa Ji Cooked Food
Macpherson Food Centre
79A Circuit Road
5am to 9pm
Closed Sun and Pub Hol
28 comments:
You may want to try this fish soup, stall name Boon Keng Fish Soup .... at Blk 416 Bedok North (where Jin Long Seafood aka cze char stall is). They also sell bak kut teh, seafood soup & ngoh hiang... sometimes the waiting can be quite long and yes, they have an unique way of identifing their customers' order...
I agree with your comment "food that is too clean does not taste as robust as food that may have an element of risk in it"
I was at the nice-looking foodcourt in Suntec Convention hall yesterday. The stalls all looked promising, boasting glossy food pictures.
When I ordered ginger tea from the 'authentic' looking drink counter, I was served a piping hot cup of ginger tea made from a sachet of instant 2-in-1 ginger tea! Really disappointed.
The fish soup that I had was also a let-down. The fish slices were very fishy and soup was so bland. Sigh.
Then again, what do you expect? It's a food court afterall!
Amoy Street PIAO JI and Maxwell Road JIN HWA would be a top contender for fish soup.
Yes I put my head on the chopping board. The portion of fish head or fish slice is VERY generous. The tik poh , ikan bilis, ginger added to the MSG free soup.You can choose the 3 types of vegetables too.
My fav fish stall soup is Pao Ji at Amoy St FC but then it is $7 to $10 and the Q is very long even at 2pm.Here at Yong Lai Fa Ji I get it at $3 or if I add the 'Bao' it is $4.
The Bedok North one is also good. But then their fish is fresh and not so generous.
Personally prefer Han Kee than Piao Ji at Amoy as the former's portion are more generous and the soup sweeter.
However, if you like prawns in your fish soup, then Piao Ji does a fantastic seafood soup as the ingredients are really fresh.
Damien - where is Han Kee? I am on a quest for quality fish soup currently.
wahahaha.. u had came to my place liao! =)
since u r there, u should go to block 79 to try "Qiang Ji" cheng t'ng.. it's somewhere near e traffic light n just opp. my block! ;)
i've been eating it since young!
Hi Slasher,
Han Kee is located on the 2nd level of Amoy Street FC just opposite SGKueh.
ieat reviewed it too - http://ieatishootipost.blogspot.com/2006/11/han-kee-fish-porridge-amoy-street-food.html
Hope this helps!
Seriously wondering if any vegan reads this blog.....
Pls comment if you are one.
Damien, if you have the apportunity go n try them. No regret.Uncle will close the stall for the day if he cant get fresh fish.
Yo makankakis, wanna hear your take on Chiang's @ Lor 21 Geylang~
Will definitely try Uncle.
Slacker, you could also try this fish slice soup at Maxwell called "Yi Jia...." forgot the rest of the name.
It's at the corner facing the URA Centre. Can't miss.
Holy Drummer, Chiangs at opposite Lor 21 is not great anymore. Further very expensive.Stop going there a long time.
Khim: Just tried their cheng tng, sorry to say very bland.She did not boil the mata kuching.Best cheng tng is at Bedok FC or Blk 69 Bedok South Ave 3.
Can organise Tanglin Satay Steam Boat dinner for ieat n gang? Les will like to blog that stall.
Uncle Smart,
Is this the same hawker centre with the popular dessert stall and pau stall?
Used to frequent a FC at Circuit Road (don't know if this is the one) earlier this year as I took a course nearby.
the fish soup at honglim food centre is simply perfect! generous slices of frest fish!
Damien, It is at Blk 79.Dont know of good Dessert or Pau stall there. But there is a famous Tanglin Satay Steam Boat stall starts around 5pm.
Yup, that's the one. During the evenings, you see tables being laid out along the pathway outside the FC where everyone is indulging in steamboat.
Anyone tried the fish soup at Block 124, Alexandra Village? Long queues weekdays, closed on weekends though..
Uncle Smart,
did u try the hot or the cold one? i always prefer my cheng t'ng to be hot, then i drink it after it cool down.. haven't like it cold.. i find tat cold cheng t'ngs are very diluted n bland..
if u tried e cold one, maybe u can give e hot cheng t'ng a try instead! =)
i think e auntie did boil e dried longans.. cos she'll always add some dark brown solution through a sieve..
oh ya!! if u guys r organising e steamboat, let me know!!!! i go take leave n join u all!! hehe..
must let me know 1 week in advance so tat i can apply leave!! =p
Khim, On that hot afternoon. I ordered cold Cheng tng without sugar. To tell whether the cheng tng is good or not, even if you order without sugar a good cheng tng will be a bit sweet in flavour. This mean the stall owner do boil the dried longan.Once you try the cheng tng at Bedok FC you will know.
yes, i've been dying to try e cheng t'ng in bedok fc.. u r referring to ye lai xiang, right? i wanna try tat!!
Yes the most famous in Spore.
hi leslie, perhaps when you blog about fish soup in future, can mention what type of fish they use. Being a pedigree Teochew, somehow I only like Batang fish and those with "san yu" doesn't go down quite well with me! :) Thanks!
From the look of the picture, it sure looks like batang here!
Yes this stall use Batang from Indonesia.
Les, the ti por is from Batam. He told me it is not easy to prepare them. My wife tried many times to make a good ti por but failed.
i went down this evening to try the fish soup, I must say it is truly dissappointing, not something I would go back again. The soup no doubt doesn't have the after taste of MSG, it doesn't have the sweet aroma from a nice fish soup, tasted a bit blend. We did not have any bit of ti poh at all. I think they added too much corn starch in the fish slice and it made the fish too overly smooth..u can't taste the "meat" of the fish, if you know what I am saying! :)
Anyway, would not go back to this stall again. There are many other fish soup out there which are much better. :)
well talk about 'Cheng' Fish soup, i just ate this really yummy n fresh sliced fish soup at Teck Ghee Food Center in amk. You see a long Q n the lady boss take the order while a guy cook.I saw some pple order the 'muay' in teochew I think means the rice is mixed with the fish soup. Red snapper is $5 and Promfret is $7. On the other row near the washroom is another handmade noddle place which is also good for $2.50. In the evening one of the stall will sell Teochew porridge. For one pax with 2 dishes is $5.
Hmmm, anything else at Teck Ghee Food Centre that you can recommend? Maybe we should plan a makan session there.
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