Hock Lam Beef Kway Teow: Let's Raise the Bar on Beef Kway Teow!
Minipot Shabu Shabu sets starting from $15 (All proceeds donated to Operation Smile)
I recently complained to a TV producer that she should not continue to make TV shows that glamourise $2 hawker meals. I mean, do we really want to encourage more hawkers to compete just price rather than to focus on quality?
With food prices going up, our hawkers are all suffering from lower profit margins but at the same time still under pressure to provide meals at cheap cheap prices. Our friend Liverpool of
Good Morning Nanyang Cafe is still forced to sell his cup of Kopi for $1.10 just because he is selling "Kopi" (Ya Kun already increased to $1.50 btw) while the same people won't even blink an eye to pay $5 for a cup of cappuccino at a cafe.
What we need is to change our mentality and reward hawkers who are willing to give us quality stuff rather than cheap cheap stuff. Either we do that or we risk all the good hawkers not being able to pass down their skills to the next generation. In the end we will all lose out.
I have made it my personal mission to support hawkers who are opened to new ideas and to providing better quality hawker food for us all. The fact is that even if they increase their prices, it is still cheaper than eating at a restaurant, but you derive more shiokness out of it.
So I am very happy to announce that Tina from Hock Lam Beef Kway Teow and taken on my suggestion of introducing a Shabu Shabu style Beef Kway Teow which I hope will do for Beef Kway Teow what Big Prawns had done for Prawn Noodles.
The premise is very simple. We like Beef Kway Teow, we like good beef and we also like our beef not too well cooked. So the solution to this is to provide nice Sukiyaki Grade Beef with a Mini Hotpot of stewed beef tendon, balls, tripe and you can cook your sliced beef yourself! 
How often have you eaten Beef Kway Teow and wished the beef could be better?
Needless to say, the longer you cook the soup, the more "Tok Kong" (addictive) it is going to get and the slices of beef that you cook yourself just melts in your mouth and is even more shiok with Hock Lam's famous chilli sauce! 4.5/5
I prefer the soup version to the original dry version here. But you should try Tina's new "Gorn Lor" Hor Fun which is fragrant and the kway teow just leaps into your mouth. 4/5
Hock Lam will be introducing their Minipot Beef set on their 97th anniversary which is on 1 Oct (Hari Raya). And to commemorate their anniversary, they will be donating all the proceeds of the day to Operation Smile which is a worldwide movement to fix cleft palates in kids. So that is an added incentive to go down and try this very special way of enjoying one of Singapore's truly heritage foods. And, if it is well received, they might even put it on their menu!
Conclusion
I have tried very hard to convince Tina that there will be a market for better quality beef, but she is worried that consumers might not want to pay for it. How do you all feel about it? Would you like to see Wagyu beef or Karubi on the menu? Or do you want to just stick to the traditional $4 Bowl of Beef Kway Teow?
Please Note:
This special dish is only available on 1 Oct 2008 to commemorate their anniversary. However, if the feedback is good, they might decide to put it on the menu.The ieat kakis will be going there for lunch at around 1.30pm, do come and join us and at the same time support Operation Smile!
They will be opening from 10am to 3pm on that day itself.
Hock Lam Street Beef Kway Teow
22 China St, #01-01
Far East Square
62209290
90180508 (Tina Tan)
What to do next:
Read what others have to say about Hock Lam Beef Kway Teow! Very heated indeed!
See which other kakis are coming in our Forum.
104 comments:
what's that I spy in the bowl with the chopsticks?
That would be the dry kway teow.
wagyu FTW !
Nobody is stopping anyone whether liverpool or manchester united from opening a higher class of 'kopoitiam' and sell kopi at $5. Only question is will people buy or not.
Whether you wanna sell a burger at $2 or added value burger at $5 is entirely a business decision. Your judgement. Nothing else. The market is there. Can you penetrate it or not? If you cannot then you say it's because you want to be a hawker? You made the decision to be a hawker and sell value meal then now it's the TV company fault eh? Funny perception you have there.
Competition is the name. Which group of audience you want to target, that is the question. The same people who pay a few dollar for coffee are not the same people who would enjoy a 60 sen coffee at a hawker. Their needs are different and hence the composition of the product they purchased is different too. In my personal opinion, there is a market from 10 sen coffee to even $10 coffee. If you upgrade all the hawkers to sell coffee the same price as starbucks, someone would still come into the market and sell coffee at the price below starbucks, and it's because there is a market for it. It's about competition for targetting audience.
Hey, u 3 commentators above, I don't mean to sound rude but reading ur comments made me fume.
ieat is entitled to his opinion and it's not a matter of whether he's rich or not. I believe that good things (food) are worth paying for. Everybody have their own limits as to how much they'd be willing to part with for the good stuff and u can choose whether or not u want to buy something, so why slam ieat??? This is his blog and if u're not happy reading it then by all means don't. He has plenty of supporters, because he has been bringing us beautiful pictures and honest reviews. I personally have tried quite a few of the places he recommended.
Also, those who have met him and the ieat team (who're all fantastic people, which is why even though I am not in Singapore, I will still read his blog regularly and log into the forum to chat with the rest) will know that they have no problems eating $2 hawker food and have also reviewed many good deals for us.
Ping
hey you frigging ping. reading your commments make me fume. all commenters are entitle to their opinion too. you just swing an axe into your own foot. practice what you preach.
Perhaps I wasn't too clear about my comments on Liverpool's cafe.
What I meant to say was that Liverpool is still having to sell his kopi at $1.10 while Ya Kun is already selling at $1.50. And the pressure is on him to sell at $1.10 when we are willing to pay $5 to drink cuppucino.
I am not against $2 food. But I feel that they should not keep promoting $2 dishes and pressure hawkers to go that direction. They should also highlight the quality proposition as well rather then putting the pressure on hawkers to go cheap.
I have spoken to many hawkers and I know they are hurting because of increase food cost and many would like to be able to increase their prices but are unable to because of the persistent public perception of the value of hawker food.
A reminder for all our readers to show respect for each other and keep from personal attacks as these types of comments may be deleted.
No this is not a free for all forum, it is censored and rated PG.
Guys, cool down lah. Term Les used was a figure of speech describing the decreasing quality of hawker food in Singapore. He didn't mean it negatively. His point is that with increasing prices of ingredients, without price increases for the hawker food, the quality has got to give way. When that becomes the norm, then poor hawker food becomes more prevalent, which is very sad for the foodies.
Lastly, lets agree to have differences in opinion but not call each other rude names.
moohahaha....relax guys...i know some of us are agitated when we feel that our pockets are going hurt.
ieat is merely trying to increase the quality of hawker food in his own way. If you know how much effort and time he has gone about talking to hawkers to improve, you can see he is being misinterpreted by some of the comments above.
The $2 meals are still going to be there and now we have more choices of "restaurant food" at cheaper prices.
i think ieat's point is that we have been paying more for everyday food but the quality keeps dropping.
By the way, some doggie foods cost $7 bucks and above at certain pet shops..mooahahahah
Oh, someone please list down the $2 food stalls. I wanna go ! I know bedok $0.15/pc YTF and Lu Tien Cze Char very cheap! more please !
I totally support ieat's decision and way of saying...hawkers are hurting their pockets, only some of you dont know!...
So glad that Tina has decided to introduce the shabu shabu beef while still maintaining her economic beef serving...those can afford and want to pamper themselves, enjoy the shabu shabu..those who want to have a quick, affordable and good food go for her $5.50 bowl...no one is stopping anyone from ordering what they want to eat..so chill out guys!
$2? $20? $200? what the big deal? just eat at the level you are comfortable with!!!
For sure, I am going to bring my gf down to try Tina's new shabu shabu...that goes without saying! way to go, les!
Please note that it is only available on 1 Oct at this stage to see if the feedback is good enough for them to introduce it on the menu. At the same time you should also let Tina know how much you think is a reasonable price to pay for the set. The prices on 1 Oct are set to raise money for charity.
ya as ieatsupporter has said, Hock Lam's beef noodles is minimally $5.50 a bowl. ieat, you might want to remove your comment on $4 a bowl of beef noodles to avoid confusion? Just a suggestion :)
agree we should all relax. likewise ieat is surely not demeaning $2 meals. $2 a plate or bowl will only be more sustainable for dishes like carrot cake which uses more simple ingredients.
it's all abt strategy lor. some hawkers charges cheap and they make it up in volume business. some charges higher for better quality and sell lower volumes.
Les, a lot other factors go into play for food quality you pay for, not just what they show on TV. Something is definitely wrong with your argument. If anything it ain't charity so it's all down to what the competition can throw up. It is also not about promoting or not promoting. Some customers can only afford hawker meals, even if you promote restaurant meals to him all day long, he still cannot afford or even if he can afford but think it is not worth it.
And anyway why are you also promoting hawker food if that's what you want to see from TV? You can start the ball rolling and stop promoting hawker food and go higher class of food outlet. I am sure that will be a SURE way to let people know more about food 'outside' of hawker.
I hope my comment makes sense to you.
Hmmm. Leslie, what is your opinion of someone who promotes hawker food telling others not to promote hawker food?
Also, I think every entity has their agenda.
For TV shows, their ratings are very important so they have to hit or target the major group. Who doesn't want to set up a show showing and recommending higher class of food on TV if it can attract good viewership? Chances are restaurant food are for the minority so it cannot.
Same for you, your blog readers are the majority, not some expats who only fork out money for restaurants hence you hit the hawker. If you only ever hit the restaurants, you would never achieve the same popularity simply because lesser people can relate to it.
There're a few reasons that go into why something revolutionalised. It's not the media.
Sorry it should be
lesser profit cum higher customers rate
VS
higher profit cum lower customers rate.
i will go for the cheaper traditional beef Kway Teow. Using more expensive ingredients does not substantially add more flavour to the good old traditional taste. It's the soup, kway teow, decent beef slice and importantly how you cook it that gives you a bowl of heart-warming beef kway teow.
Ben, very sorry that you would feel that way. It is certainly not my intention to come across that way. You could have written to me through my email earlier and I could have revised it so that it would not be offensive to anyone.
In the past the professions have been held in high regard by the older generations of mothers and mother in law to be. My point in that statement is that nowadays, it is better to be a banker or IT professional or a string of other jobs which pay much better and not have to work long hours at nights and on weekends. And the mothers and mother in laws also recognize it nowadays.
I do value your comments but I hope you can write to me earlier to let me know so that it can be changed before it is read by so many people. It is hard sometimes to gauge how people might read into things.
Les, it is impossible to please everyone. But u definately have my thumbs up for all the effort being put in for ieat blog. Keep up the good work!
Paying a high price for food doesn't necessarily guarantee that you will get quality food.
Call me old school but I still like my beef kway teow the traditional way. Leave the fanciful ways of serving to the restaurants.
whoa...getting hot in here...
whether the price of food will increase or not will depend on alot of other factors.
There are also many ways to impress....jobs, honest living, a good deed etc.
lets put the focus back on the event. :)
its Hock Lam 97 years Charity Anniversary!
As long it's delicious I am sure Singaporean wouldn't mind paying for it. But $15 for a bowl of beef noodle is indeed a bit too much to be served in Hawker. Normally for more than $10 and above, it be better a foreign food like pizza or pasta in coffeeshop or cafe or be served in restaurant. I don't think you will also see a $15 mee pok. Not even if you throw in abalone or scallops. Not that it's not value for money but just that most people don't eat abalone or scallops that way. So same for most people, they don't eat wagyu beef that way. It's normally eaten with a bit of atmosphere in a nice nice restaurant. Just like you also won't eat sharksfin soup in a meepok stall right? : )
Perhaps the wrong choice of words like " If we continue this way, the state of hawker food in our country will rapidly go to the dogs" have been used here but as it is a figure of speech, readers might misconstrue the true meaning of it and feel offended.
At Amoy Street, there is a stall on the 1st level selling Wonton Mee that has a large $2 banner from the popular Channel U programme hosted by Ben which promotes $2 hawker meals.
Once, i casually asked the lady boos why she had to increase the price by $0.50 shortly after the programme featured the stall and her reply, which was in Mandarin translates to "If i continue to sell at $2, i have to give less ingredients. And if i give less ingredients, even the dogs won't eat it :)"
roslie : From $2 to $3 is 50 percent increased.
Memberships card sounds really good. Something like Ieat Alliance and then restaurants or stalls can take part. Then if customers flash their card, they get discount. It'd be good if something like that can take place. Win win situation for all. I support if there will be one. : )
Hi Ben,
The chicken rice company offered $2 chicken rice to the readers of this blog.
Big D's offering a free dessert too, again for the readers.
Well, if you haven't benefited from this site, perhaps you have not been consistently reading the posts?
And thus said, who are you to make such judgements then.
Before more people lose the plot here, this is a personal, not a corporate blog - which means that the author can write whatever he wants (albeit responsibly). Yes, and that includes topics on religion too.
whoa whoa whoa we have very emotional expressions here but in good faith I think it is good cause any review or writing that attracts attention whichever perception the person is holding, that artcile certainly has evoked something in them to say something. If you dont care, u dont comment, if you are not interested to read like the way Susie wants a boycott and talks religion instead, then in the first place you wouldnt care to comment. If the article merely evokes a "yah nice" "yah yummy" then the article is just in the reader's favour and everyone is happy. Good job LES.
Well the readers have also done a good job of reviewing but let's do it in good faith and not hurt anyone. No one wants to get hurt or be hurt. Be pleasant even if you disagree, this is not that Speaker's corner.....
I apologise if I offended some people with my comments, I just didn't like how the first few comments came across as so negative. And I consider people I met on this forum my friends, so I was a bit defensive. Maybe I did swing an axe on my foot, but at least I didn't call anyone names. Anyhow, my apologies
I'd go for the $4 dish anytime. The whole thing about hawkers is the price. For $15, I can eat at a better place with a better ambience. Food consumption is also about the ambience, dude.
I have 2 parts to this comment:
1) I think basically what ieat's trying to say is that, he hopes people don't get carried away with the value-for-money concept to the point where they forgo the quality of it. Simple as that, no fuss, no muss.
2) Another thing I cannot stand is when people don't practise what they preach(heh =P). You make ieat out to be an objectionable person, having a hidden agenda for everything, comments about his religion, etc.. Let me just say that when you make personal comments instead of constructive criticism, you're not much better off as well. If you don't like his blog posts, either say something objective that'll improve the quality of it, don't come back or just don't say anything.
By the way, if he really did try to preach his religion across, I wouldn't be here as well.
In my opinion, hawkers provide a cheap and good alternative to restaurants and your medium range chain outlets like thai express etc.
Having some outlets offer a niche market of high grade variant of local hawker food such as Waygu Beef noodles etc is fine but I think that should not be the expected. Afterall many people here depend on hawker for their cheap meals. With the economy on a downturn and rising costs, many are feeling the pinch and honestly for every person that dines out regularly and raves about that "cheap" 38 dollar waygu beef steak at Astons, there are many others that are finding a 4 dollar plate of rice expensive. Hence I guess the outburst as many people really feeling the pinch of inflation.
I for one would rather hawkers stick to what they do best and offer good cheap food instead of putting in all sorts of gimmicks. Example the "abalone" noodles at Sim Lim Food Court.... yeah the abalone is one tiny piece of abalone the size of my pinkie... I rather you do without the abalone and give me a proper good bowl of noodles.
Also may I add that cheap food does not mean bad. As one hawker said, I might sell cheap but I sell in volume, I still earn. There are many hawkers that charge 50 cents for takeaway, give miserable amounts of ingredients, tell you that sting ray is different price (in a mixed rice stall), I mean come on you buy take away containers for what 10 dollars for 50 pieces and you charge me 50 cents for one. And stingray are trash fish in the market and you dare to jack up the price and sell me as though it is su mei... sometimes these hawkers really push their luck.
To the one or same Anonymous, almost write annoynimous.
Eat and write what u feel, nobody here points u with a gun to eat the $15.00 if u are not interested to eat or donate. Dont understand the fuss just because of one monkey everyone is a monkey as in the named incident.
Again niceties here is the call of the day especially in this forum. We are all nice forummers but if those u still want to use this as that Speaker's Corner...try another forum. But like I say, for all of you to comment, I really enjoyed that you have interest in this place so let's enjoy this site together than pissing some readers cos if u are not happy, as a forummer we are in this together, dont run away with the anomymous name and throw some fuse here and there.There will be no bulb. If u consider yourself a forummer here together, Be NICE PLEASE.
Nice people will be like eg PING who did not cause any problem but a slight comment and yet she apologise profusely.
Anonymous, who the hell are you to judge us? Have you ever organized a charity event by yourself?
How the hell would you like it if you organized a charity event for people and others actually doubted your intention of helping others?
And please do not INSULT us by linking us to the Ren Ci incident...since when did this blog have any ties whatsoever with that charity organization?
never really did read this blog carefully did you?
All about donating money? Nobody is forcing anyone to donate here. We donate out of our goodwill to needy people...and it's only once or twice a year only where we organize one event and do our best for charity.
and who in the world is even ASKING you to buy the beef noodles in the first place? You want to eat, go ahead..don want then suah..its your decision. Who here is forcing you? Stop making a fool of yourself here...
If you have the guts to spurt out such remarks, why hide behind the veil of anonymity? Why not have the courage to put on even a pen name so people can actually refer to you? You are not the 1st and neither are you the last to hide behind a screen and blast out all your irresponsible remarks...
At least the people here who commented all have the courage to put on an identity and are brave enough to talk about the issue at hand, and not just hide behind and pour insults all over...
Ben: I think there is some misintepretation. When I said you pay more money, the TYPE of food you get is different...and thus of course, naturally of higher quality. Quality in the sense that, you pay $3 you get normal beef soup...You pay $15 you get wagyu. Of course, i would find it quite shocking if I had to pay $15 for a normal bowl of beef soup...
You pay good money, of course the things you get are different...but whether you like it or not is another different matter altogether.
But heck, I would pay $5 for a bowl of just normal beef soup if it is really good and recommended by others...in this sense I am talking about a different type of quality...quality in the sense that it is just an ordinairy beef soup in terms of the ingredients used...but then it tastes good perhaps due to the recipe or the skill of the hawker selling it.
Holybro : Who talk about renci incident? I have reread the entire thread i only see you linking it.
Jencook : This is not a forum.
The anonymous who said "Kra Pui" and "The Monk incident not over yet"
The monk was of a leadership role in Ren Ci Hospital" Min Yi Fa Shi
And he was accused of a similar issue like T.T Durai of NKF.
By the way, the $15 does not contribute very much to Operations Smile but the operations at SMILE has done a long mile to help children with the SMILE.
However for those who can SMILE and yet DO NOT SMILE but yet decide to SMITE, consider how lucky you are, how blessed you are but yet how selfish you can be till the day u really cannot SMILE, u wish some help comes in a way.
Jason,
Sorry, lost track of focus and call this the forum but crux of the matter is do not let some overgrown bushes spoil the field that can provide good harvest for everyone. Nobody gains in such instance, there will be no grain for everyone.
I support comments and as said article without comment is not an interesting article but not hurling comments for the sake of it, what for? suka suka with no responsibility in one's action? Cannot right?
You can certainly call me a member in the Ieat brigade. Being an active contributor to this site marks the first time I invest time in any site. And in doing so, I've made many great friends who are like-minded foodies. They are also very very pleasant folks who demonstrate kindness and restraint in actions and words.
It is clear to many that those who commented negatively in the earlier threads did so in a vehement manner that was uncalled for. Personal attacks were made, nasty names called, even spitting. Did his words really evoke such passionate hate in them, or was it an opportunity for them to sow anger and hurt? Leslie's posts may not echo all our views but did it warrant those extreme reactions? Did he write such terrible things that justify the flames thrown at him? Come on, he's flesh and blood like all of us. Don't just whack him carelessly. Let your words be civil even if you disagree.
So much have been written, and frankly, even I've lost track of who said what.
Having known Leslie better over the months, if there is only one thing I have to defend him, its his integrity. I place this virtue right on top of the pile in what I look for in a friend. I can assure you that Leslie is a man of integrity.
I hope we can now focus on doing some good work in this charity makan. Everyone can contribute according to their ability. And those who cannot afford, your heartfelt blessings is just as precious. : )
Anonymous
Dont side track again on religion, we are talking Beef Noodle here; anyone can go nonstop cos everyone is made different. We accept comments.
U have problem with religion; wait till God touch one and one will see how one will melt. No need to say so much one.
Hmmm alright I will keep my word, out of 1.. 2.. about 800 posts, he's posted ONE about his religion! Inviting us IF we're interested!
"We welcome anybody who is genuinely wanting to participate in a group to explore issues of life, spirituality, friendship, personal development etc etc......"
"So if this is something that you feel that you would like to do, why don't you come join in? It would be a real pleasure to meet up with you."
Let's put it this way. If touts irritate you, are you going to get pissed off if one approaches you nicely and goes away when you say you don't want anything(not possible in real life but of course it's the concept of the thing)?
Thanks to everyone for their comments. It seems like I really hit a raw nerve here in this post. I apologize to anyone who have been offended by it.
I think that what I got out of this whole thing is that there are a segment of people who feel very strongly that Hawker food should be kept affordable for everyone. This I agree. Rest assured it is not the intention of this blog to promote more expensive hawker food.
I think that the phrase "gone to the dogs" was a little too strong. To me it was just a simple way of saying that we are going to see quality or quantity of hawker food suffer. The most visual of this phenomenon is the shrinking size of our Roti Prata. Anyway I will edit the offending phrase to make it sound less severe.
I hope that all these comments will not detract readers from the Charity Event that Hock Lam is organizing to raise money for Operation Smile. I think what they are doing is a good thing and deserves our support.
Samantha
That was a nice understanding.
Uncle Anonymous
U getting cuter, now call yourself uncle !
Alright, I was wrong about the ONE part. Thanks for ignoring other parts of the comment. Are you just trying to create conflict? We're just trying to make you understand but you're only taking out all the things you can negate.
holybro : How did you know which monk he was talking about? Maybe he was talking about the monk he met last night at temple.
Did you seriously just type that?
I don't know if I am too late to jump on but being a part time hawker for the last couple of months, I see many hawkers treat their jobs as as a social outlet and their regulars as friends. And when they do have to raise prices they do so with a heavy heart not knowing how it will affect some of their older and regular customers who might not actually be still employed.
So sometimes hawkers need a little assurance that they don't constantly have to scheme up ways to cut the milk with water or augment the cream with solidified vegetable fat.
Jason
U definitely not uncle but trying to be cute?
let's call it a day or nite.
lets just forget about this issue......
sorry i disagree with you... look at the CBD area, nothing is ever less than $4-$5 anymore.
I feel if food prices keep going up than people would suffer, whoever says that good food and sky high prices must come hand in hand.
Honestly the recently hike in price is more of profiteering than anything else.
eg Rice went up twice the price, that doesnt mean you would make half as much profit... Because of the multiplier effect, one packet of rice would serve many people thus it doesnt mean you make half the profit
I agree with JH on that point. Prices are increasing but then alot of hawkers too are taking the chance to make a quick buck. Afterall there is no regulation to say they cannot and govt always echo the same line, consumer has the choice to not eat what stalls they don't like. However with every stall following each other suit, not much choice for consumers. And honestly nothing regulation can do if the hawkers just choose to be dishonest about it.
In recent months, I have seen food prices go up but quantity of food go down. So it might not even be 50 percent increase but 100 percent increase.
high prices, low quantity and low quality..... sigh
I used to wonder how increase in raw food translate to that much of an increase per plate. Then I realized that rents going up by 20% might wipe out 1/5 of the hawkers salary as a large portion of a hawkers expenditure goes to rent.
Inflation also is an excuse for the landlord to put up rent. Although food probably forms a smaller percentage of the landlord's total expense compared to the hawker's.
to the anonymous who told me to kick my own ass
Look at the words you write and ask yourself if I did actually say them. Did I say Leslie NEVER PREACHED about his faith before in this blog?
In my own words:
"none of us have been converted into his religion. This blog is not mainly religious. Even though there are very occasional posts about Leslie's faith and the bible verse generator below the blog, can you say he is trying to psycho all of us to convert to his religion?
If Leslie had wanted to use this blog to convert people to his religion, I assure you, I would have left a long time ago.
Who's the one making assumptions here I wonder?
sigh...
I said that it is NOT Leslie's aim here to preach his religion, and there ARE occasional posts on his faith. But if he tried to convert us, I would not have been here already
Can you actually read what I say carefully first before even insulting me
and er Jason, I am pretty sure when that anonymous is talking about "the monk incident", and he mentioned "charity"...I believe we all know he is referring to Min Yi Fa Shi who worked together with Ren Ci Hospital for a few charity shows. Then there was some issue of embezzlement over the money in the organization.
Hmm..I do agree with the people in terms of the statistics: 50% increase in price of ingredients does not warrant a $1, $2 increase in the pricing of their food. Due to multiplier effect, etc etc.
But let us thank those hawkers who still try to keep their prices low in these bad times...who try to eke out an honest living.
fantastic photos! thanks for sharing!
Anonymous
Thanks for closing the matter.
Ronnie
Holybro is not the PRman here but he speaks from his heart and he knows what's right and what's wrong at least.
It was clear where the reference/insuanation comes from just that no names are mentioned but everyone knows so no point discussing here about it. Let's not stir the monk from his peace whoever that monk is.
If Les want to promote religion is that anyone's problem. The choice is his but why is everyone so against religion when God is good. It's good for anyone who believes but to those who dont believe,
it's your choice.
It's good talk when we discuss how hawker's profits are affected by certain factors etc and this should be where comments are needed and not discuss on useless pursues on topic off relevance.
Let's stay focus here. We all enjoyed food and we all want to talk food that's why we are here.
Whether you come to support the children or you come for a bowl of delicios noodles, please join us for:
Hock Lam Beef’s 97th Anniversary Event!
The makers of Hock Lam Beef extend an open invitation to everyone to join in our 97th Anniversary Celebrations on October 1st!
Date: 1st October 2008, Wednesday (Children's Day/Hari Raya Puasa holiday)
Time: 10 am to 3 pm
Location: 22 China Street, Far East Square
Every bowl of piping hot beef noodles made with 13 herbs and spices sold will be money donated to Operation Smile Singapore for medical missions to treat children with birth deformities in Cambodia - every single cent!
Help us spread the word, to raise money for the children and try delicious beef noodles! See you on Oct 1 - with a SMILE of course!
How to get there via Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=22+china+street+singapore&sll=1.327496,103.810586&sspn=0.007894,0.01369&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=17&iwloc=addr
Aside from this 1st October event, our regular Operating hours are:
Far East Square (main branch)
22 China Street, Far East Sq, S 049564
Monday – Friday: 9.30am – 8.00pm
Sat, Sun & PH: 10.30am – 5.00pm
Upper Serangoon Branch
949 Upper Serangoon Road, S 534713
Monday: Closed
Tues – Friday: 5.00pm – 11.00pm
Sat, Sun & PH: 10.00am – 11.00pm
Thank You for your support!
On behalf of Hock Lam Beef
An additional link to http://www.operationsmile.org/ here, for anyone who wishes to learn more about the cause!
Please be clear that this is a personal blog not some sort of organization. We don't have a PR dept or any organizational structure. But we do have lots of friends and makan kakis. I am glad that I have the support of all our friends and readers who really do encourage me and keep me going.
If you read this blog and derive some value out of it, then I hope that you will also consider yourself a friend of the blog and continue to support it.
In turn, I support all our friends and readers, hawkers, restaurant owners. Yes, I do try to help the hawkers and encourage them to continue to provide good food for us all. They need some incentive to innovate and come up with new things and a channel to let everyone know about it. Unlike restaraunts who have marketing budgets, they don't, so this blog is a small means of honoring their passion and their commitment to better food. Yes, even if they feel that they want to sell $2 chicken rice, I will support them as long as they can do it profitably and achieve a certain level of quality.
There is one thing that I will make no apologies for and that is that I will support and help those who consider themselves my friends. So far I have let the personal insults to me be left undeleted. But please refrain from insulting our friends who comment here. I would like to make it clear that I will delete comments that denigrate other readers.
If our discussion is on cheap hawker food vs value added hawker food, then let us stay on the subject. If you make a good case for $2 food than I will support that and try to blog more $2 food. If you are genuine in pushing your point of view, do it with a sense of decorum and you will be heard. Better still come join our makan sessions and share your viewpoint and at the same time make some friends. There is already too much strife in the world and I do not wish to contribute to it with this blog.
I need to clarify one more thing. The price tag of $15 for the set is inflated in order to raise money for the Charity Event. The price of the set is yet to be determined and will depend on the feedback from the people who come to taste test the concept.
Ronie: I do not proclaim myself to be PR man of ieat.
ok so he did not say that the monk was from the Ren Ci charity incident. ...fair enough
Then I ask you, who is he referring to?
What monk from what charity?
and what does it have to do with us in anyway?
Oh and one more point..
I am not sure if anyone has been converted...
But I am sure that no one here, Leslie or any of the other kakis has TRIED TO CONVERT another person in their time here..
wow half a day and the comments shoots like that.
will give my final 2 cents. As a regular of the ieaters I stand to say my comments and thoughts have always been very neutral. everyone is entitled to their opinion and really there's no need for name calling still :)
the outburst is probably stem from the fact that people equates hawker as good yummy food that should be very affordable or cheap.
I personally rather pay a few more $$ for higher end food in a more comfy air con setting - yes I'm spoilt! So personally I have not been a huge fan of say having wagyu at food centre (I rather buy them and cook it at home myself. Cheaper and still as tasty keke)
I visit food centres with one mind only. Good and value for money food else I rather just eat at a food court and get my dose of aircon.
There are hawkers who charges "premium" like 50 cents or $1 more than the norm cuz the kinda rightfully earned it cuz they are really much better than say their neighbouring stalls. It's up to the consumer whether you want to pay extra to eat premium quality. I love food too much so bobian will still pay for the better ones. Of cuz when a hawker who serves really great food and charges average prices is a bonus for me :)
also, this IS a personal blog so ieat can say whatever he wants. He does not have any social responsibilities like what some of the commenters said.
and lastly what's wrong if ieat preached abt his religion once or even ALL THE time in HIS own blog? As christians we have to believe in the commandment of god. Love him and love your neighbour and we should bring others to him to make discipleship.
No SMOKE without FIRE. The TRUTH hurts. That is life that everyone has to accept.
Leslie: This may be a personal blog but people could form discussion freely and there is even a forum. What is your opinion of someone coming to your blog to talk about political matters or religion matters(but not christianity)? If you find that dangerous, then i tell you now that any blog owners talking about it and encouraging discussion on it(online or offline) is equally dangerous.
If you go to any forum or any blog, religion or political matters are refrained from any discussion(unless it is a typical political or religion forum) because it is a rather subjective topic and could actually destroy peace within a community.
A blog owner must exercise authority and refrain a religion topic from being discussed and yet you're the one to start talking about religion.
Hi blog he says what he want sounds right..u not happy..erh..there's no door per se..but I'm sure you can find your way out..
ieat..keep them comments coming!!
Cheers!!
Hey I for one, love $2 meals! I am constantly on the lookout for a good bargain and value meals.
Also, I am vehemently against hawkers who arbitrarily jack up prices as they see fit, just to earn a quick buck. Admittedly, there are a handful of them. For these opportunists, their customers would know better to patronise them further or not. But they do not form the majority.
Yet on the other end, I also dont mind splurging within my means on higher priced meals if the quantity and quality warrants that price tag. A personal lifestyle choice.
I can understand why some people take offence at this post's content. So Leslie has apologised and made amends. But I think some of our dear guests here have miscontrued this post and taken Leslie's comments way out of context.
To anonymous guests: get a name. Your fleeting 'courage' is derived from the facade of secrecy. Why, no balls to claim responsibility for what you say? Then don't expect to hold Leslie to what he says.
Can't take the religious stuff? Point taken. Feedback noted. The "Good News" is, it will continue. As Leslie sees fit. He is answerable to God. Not you, not me.
Why, Internet is the free world - ain't it always the argument. Leslie has the right to say what he says, just as everyone of us who had a say here. I support freedom of speech and I appreciate our right to comment and agree to disagree.
And I also appreciate the fact that there is the right hand corner button marked 'X' for those who are not interested.
Besides, the majority of this blog's readers should be intelligent enough to discern who is genuinely constructive in their comments, from those who are attempting to taint and tarnish Leslie's name and this blog.
Btw, Hock Lam Beef's soup is quite the bomb and I am looking forward to this interesting way of eating beef kway teow.
Lewis Hamilton for the win!
holy drummer : Freedom of speech comes with responsbility my friend.
OUI Anonymous or again Annoynimous,
why do u refrain Les from talking God if he wishes. Why dont start your own blog and see if anonymouses exists to try to outwit u for the fun of it. What's the discourse then one should take for such people?
I found of interest is your deep interest in this blog otherwise u would not even want to read and comment and insult at times or most of the times except the other anonymous who is quite nice. What do u derive here? Why harp on the religion thing if u are not interested; God must be touching u in some way, melting your heart one day and boy! will u cry your heart out. I pray so and I will continue to pray for you if you continue your onslaught. May God Bless U.
Anonymous,
U said that there is no God in this world is your perception.
It's obviously so cos GOD is about love and if u do not have God in your heart u have no LOVE at all for anyone save yourself, hence your action. We now understand the reason for your DISMEANOUR.
But what's great is normally it's this type of people who for some reasons or circumstance accepts GOd, they are the one who will change 180 and I bet if u are the one U will LOVE all of us for being your friend; I trust not for the moment..but who knows...hehehhe.
wow....what a storm over here...
i only have this point to make:
There has been a recent phenomenon in hawkers serving up gourmet food in the food centers and coffeeshops - ie kurobuta pork, wagyu beef and the like, by both foreigners and ex chefs of higher end dining establishements in singapore.
the point i got from the $15 wagyu beef kway teow, etc etc, is that ieat is trying to promote new ways of eating, as well as making once out of reach gourmet food to be more accessible to the masses. if u walk into St pierre's or Iggy's or something, a wagyu steak could set u back $80 or more.
having a $15 option does not mean replacing $2 - 3 meals. it just gives consumers more choice. if you can afford it, eat the wagyu beef hor fun. if u can't, then you could still choose the cheaper alternatives.
anyway, get real - singapore is a developed nation, with it, comes INFLATION. $2 hawker meals have been around since the 80s, and now nearly 30 yrs later, it is almost miraculous that we could still get $2 meals in singapore, considering the cost of commodities like gas, oil, rice etc has gone up so much in recent years.
what i see also, is this: Singapore is now in transition, where the country has progressed to 1st world standards, hosting world class events like the F1, world summits etc etc, but that
1st world standard of living has yet to transcend all levels of our livlihood including prices of hawker food.
go to a true 1st world city like Geneva and you will find that a can of coke there costs EUR2, a sandwich EUR5.
it is difficult, but everyone living in singapore has to go through the reality that prices will only keep going up. and one day, $2 meals will be a thing of the past.
Thanks Ben
I always find it interesting that clear water doesnt mean that there is no shark within.
That means that if u keep quiet matters will just go away but perhaps ignorance is bliss.
I have no emotions when I talk cos I just like to address problems, the harder it is the harder that person who cause it will fall, that's all.
Cat calling, name hurling whatever u call it does not hurt LES or ieaters team cos we are who we are not anonymous who may not be who he is.
What we can do in future is whenever ANNOYmous writes in, we just dont answer and I think I finally found the best solution and there will be no flames.
It's let the sleeping dog lie.
I cannot believe a person can be so annoying but always believe that Anonymous has some ego problem or encounters that made him so or even for an uncle to behave this manner and I wish to believe as a Christian there is some niceties in him; right Annoynimous?
God will still have a way with him trust me and it shall be so.
just 1 day of not reading & i missed out so much..
jencooks & holybro, STOP replying to all these "Anonymous" n trouble makers. e more any of e regulars reply, e more happier they get, thinking we r hoping mad & being defensive towards tis blog.
anybody who follows e blog long enough will know better...
enough said.
I have followed this post with interest. My personal opinion is that disable anonymous comment system. Secondly, if you can, disable the comment here and link it to your forum in such a way that when you make a post, then a thread will be automatically created in your forum, then people will go there to comment instead. This way they will have to register and you can keep out trolls. Just my 1 cent.
hey X,
u dun really need to have an OpenID for us to see your pen name. just choose e 3rd option "Name/URL" & u can enter ur pen name in there.
since u travel frequently, i'm sure u've eaten a lot from different countries! do share at the forum! ;)
n hope tat u can join us for makan sessions if ur time permits! =)
All these over a bowl of 15 dollar beef kway teow... to the point even God is invited to the fray.... I cannot imagine if this is a religious discussion.... pots and pans will fly...:)
On a serious note, Holy Drummer and friends, yes it is your right to profess your faith, spread the good word etc etc. However do bear in mind that this is Singapore, a multi racial society and many readers of this blog, Im sure are non Christians. They certainly don't appreciate what they perceive as Christian arrogance. If you want to spread the good word, it is by humility and not by angrily declaring it is the Christian's right to spread the good word. Afterall non believers will be more curious and inspired by those that remain calm in the face of attack than those that take up a "sword" and start cutting everything down in the name of their God.
And more importantly... this is a food forum!! It is about food and food and more food! How come we are now seeing insults and accusations and counter accusations flying about religion and etc???
I would say please.... keep religion at home and enjoy the good food.. The world is a mad place enough with religious fanatics crying for blood over the stupidest thing. Let's not start it here!
And as on have said.... simply ignore those Anon that you know are just trolls.... when they find that no one is answering them, they will simply die off.... reply them... attacking them? Simply feeds them...
Okay can we please stop turning this thread into a free for all??? Its already a bloody 100 over posts of missiles flying over head!!!
Ditto here. Keep religion, races, politics and other subjective topics out. Everyone who took a stab in the name of god is as sinful as it can gets.
religion is always a sensitive thing. but everyone who reads this blog often enough will know that the blogger is a christian.
he believes his faith so much that he shares what he believes to be good with his readers. it is a part of him.
i dont see why anyone should get offended by that. the blogger defines the direction and content of his blog. readers make a conscious effort to type out this link and hit this blog. the reading public can discern for themselves and choose to continue reading it or not.
I frankly don't see the issue here. Surely we are critical enough to think about our own purpose in coming here. I agree that Leslie's views on various issues can be offensive to some people (and I don't agree with him on various things) but I am not here to critique his views on Christianity or even social norms. I don't think he is careful about keeping his rhetoric neutral -- the style of his writing is personal -- this necessarily reflects any ideological biases that he has, especially when he begins to ruminate on issues that his culinary experiences might have prompted him to think about.
He's never claimed to be neutral, or to explicitly promote his views as correct (he is not diadectic; his use of the first person highlights his own subjectivity)... at most his use of the first person plural causes issues because "we" are not part of the community which he evidently belongs to (and assumes we belong to through his use of the first person plural), so the reduction of distance between "us" and him allows for aligning us (just as I assume that others reading this would be aligned with me) with his views. Or, that the use of the plural hints at a whole community thinking the way he does, which, to someone who finds those views elitist (etc), could be pretty shocking or disturbing.
I think we can sift through whatever views he has to what's at stake here -- the reason we're all reading this -- the Food. I read this because I want to get to know more food outlets around singapore and how one person rates them, so as to faciliate my own greedy tendencies to eat more food (hopefully, cheaply!). I don't really care if he makes some statement about society I don't agree with; that's not why I'm here. I tend to think this is the attitude we should be taking when we read personal blogs: we have to be clear about why we're there and what to expect.
The point here is, I think the *most* one can find issue with is the popularity of this blog -- this implies that perhaps Leslie should be more critical about what he writes given that some people might be easily influenced by his views: then we're again talking about reader discretion. If you want to take personal offense at his views (he cannot, after all, predict the composition of his readership, so I never feel personally slighted, he's obviously aligning himself with a certain group of people, to which I don't belong :P ), or if they outweigh your pleasure in reading about his opinions on food, then just don't access this blog, as a matter of principle.
Re: the food -- yes, but often once hawker prices go up, they never go down even if food prices go down! And because there isn't a direct correlation between quality and price most times, I am not sure that having higher prices would encourage higher quality; some hawkers are not that honest :P
Religion or god topic is only for people who are ready to accept it. If some people don't believe in god but you keep singing god in your sentence, you're going to come across as insensitive. Believe or not is a personal choice, if people want to believe, they will go to the church, you don't have to tell them about it. Christians always preach so there is no lack of understanding it. So anyway this is a food blog so lets talk food, food and more food! Cheerio!
Yes finally we can get back to the FOOD! Let's get the ball rolling.. anyone tried the beef kway teow recently? Any comments on it?
Storm's over..whew...
So far, I've only tried 3 Beef Kway Teow from the stalls in my area.
More popular ones like the Seremban Beef Kway Teow in the Marine Parade Hawker Centre...His sauce is sticky, a little sweet but really goes very well especialyl with his kway teow! And his beef is sliced thinly, but he gives a generous portion so that you can fill your mouth with all the beefy goodness...
2nd one I tried is at Qiu Ji, Geylang Lorong 9...Their sauce is really really special, savoury, and oh, so tasty! Combine that with the smooth and slurpilicious hor fun and the sliced beef, a very lethal(in a good sense) combination
3rd is @ Ya Kwang..enough said about it!
Very eager to try this one, as I do not eat Beef kway teow often.
hey Samantha,
haven't been eating e beef noodles for sometime.. but i totally luv e soup!!! it's really good! =)
i'm looking forward to tis coming wed.. e set looks very tempting lor!! can't wait to try it!!! r u coming too? hope to see u there! ;)
Wish I could go, but money!! Ah the trials of a 16 year old =P Sigh too bad it looks so good! Also have to pei my dad on Wednesday, he's not working so we're spending the day together as well haha.. Sadly he can't come because he can't eat beef =(
oh i see.. u r 16 yr old too ah? holybro is 16 too! =)
then no choice lar! looking forward to seeing u at 1 of our makan sessions! =) u can see e makan sessions we have in e forum! ;)
Yeap!
It's great to have someone who's my age join in!
Hope to catch you in our next sessions!
Wah 2 days no read only such big commotion.
I have 1 question for you Leslie, did you offended anyone recently?? This looks more like a character assasination attempt more than anything else. Luckily you have a group of close friends fending for you, otherwise your blog could go bankrupt overnight leow! Don't worry about what people say, when criticism starts coming in, it means you're getting the attention :))))))) Any news is good news :))))))
Yes, remember there's no such thing as bad press!
And wait, you know I'm youngnsassy right?
nope!! i didn't know u r youngnsassy! but now i know! haha
Samantha. Can I buy with a simple lunch on 14 Nov. Khim must come along too.
wat's e occasion, uncle smart? izzit ur birthday? =)
u booked me so early, of course i'll note it down! ;)
samantha, must come! first time uncle smart ask me out for lunch lei!! hehe.. all thanks to u! =)
What!! How'd you know 14th November is my birthday?! Or is it just a random date?
And really sorry, but I always spend my birthday with my dad..
oh i see.. uncle smart must have found out ur birthday from e forum!! ;)
anyway, it's lunch only mah, not e whole day, after tat, u can still celebrate wif ur dad? =)
Haha a little search, you actually gave yourself away.You come across as a sensible 16 years old young lady and very filial. I salute your Dad for his teaching you to be such a good daughter.
My invitation for a simple lunch is open dated. You are having your exam soon and I suggest you study hard.
Anytime if you are free Tues & Thurs prefer, just call or email me or Khim. 14.Nov was an excuse to invite you, keke.
ya Sam, u r also having ur O's right? study hard & all e best! ;)
Trust me, I'm really not sensible at times but still learning here. And self-praising aside, also think my dad's the greatest father/guy, no exaggeration. Well, most of the time anyway =P
Nope O levels are over for me, I'm 16 going on 17, my birthday hasn't passed yet. And I'll definitely hit you up on that! One condition: No way are you paying for me yeah =)
Post Event Note:
Wednesday, October 01, 2008 – Hock Lam Beef and the Tan family would like to express their warmest thanks and regards to everyone who made today’s event a resounding success.
We would like to thank our loyal patrons, everyone who joined us today or simply expressed their well wishes and the crew of fantastic volunteers who made this event possible. To Leslie, thank you for joining us yesterday too! Your encouragement gave us the confidence to try this new serving style on this special day. We're definitely taking all your feedback very seriously.
To our sponsors, we express also warmest thanks for being so supportive:
Main Sponsor
• W J Consultant Service (Joyce Ong)
Sponsors
• 5B Pte. Ltd.
• Bizfriend Pte. Ltd.
• Bright Vegetable Enterprise
• E.E Trading Enterprise
• F & N Coca Cola
• Lam Kee Seong Towgay
• Koon Sing Enterprise
• Tan Lee Seng Co.
• Wong’s Rolling wok
• YEO’s (S) Pte. Ltd.
Official Media Sponsor of Operation Smile Singapore
• Class 95FM
Finally, please continue to support this local success and family business and they work towards their 100th anniversary; it is not far away! Please look out for the innovation and quality that has brought us where to where we are today. Hock Lam will continue working towards bringing you more wholesome and premium quality recipes and ingredients!
Join us at the Original and Best Hock Lam Beef!
Our regular Operating hours:
Far East Square (main branch)
22 China Street, Far East Sq, S 049564
Monday – Friday: 9.30am – 8.00pm
Sat, Sun & PH: 10.30am – 5.00pm
Upper Serangoon Branch
949 Upper Serangoon Road, S 534713
Monday: Closed
Tues – Friday: 5.00pm – 11.00pm
Sat, Sun & PH: 10.00am – 11.00pm
On a side note, please continue to support Operation Smile, a worthy cause with a fantastic team that works hard to bring smiles to the faces of the children in third world countries.
-----
Posted on behalf of Hock Lam Beef
Hock Lam Beef would like to take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Leslie Tay. When we met with him earlier this year, his far-sighted ideas and vision for innovation in street fare in Singapore were impressive. Similarly, his passion and dedication to this are obvious. His suggestions and encouragement to implement a gourmet version of our traditional Beef Kway Teow was well received during our 97th anniversary/charity event held recently on October 1st 2008.
As part of his support for our event and the worthy cause of raising money for medical missions to help needy children in third world countries, Dr. Tay volunteered his time and services by inspiring us and assisting us with publicity for the event as well as photography .
Additionally, as a result of his encouragement, we are internally seriously considering and implementation of additional menu items similar to the anniversary charity menu we used on the day of the event.
Once again, we would like to thank Dr. Tay and his blog "IEatIShootIpost" for support and encouragement, as well as dedication to the local foods industry.
Tina's idea for a broader menu is interesting. Time will tell whether the concept works, especially given the ongoing financial recession that is hitting us. Right now, people are spending less; but with the right motivation - discounts, promotional offers etc - things might just even out.
Frankly, Hock Lam has been the same for 97 years, minus the price increase. Tina's dad chose not to franchise, and this act may have contributed to the retained quality of its beef noodles.
Given the chance, i'll definitely try the $15 beef noodle set. After all, i seem to have great difficulty getting full after just one bowl. Blame my high metabolic rate.
Ultimately, will a $15 set given me greater satisfaction than a standard and traditional $4-5 bowl of beef noodles? Some might disagree, but this is an attempt to grow and move away from traditional sense. Having more variety can only appeal to a larger income crowd. Trend analysis has always depicted a minority group as the exception to the rule, so maybe Tina's idea might take off.
Leave that to market forces. As for those armchair critics, drop by Hock Lam and try their $15 set before making your holier-than-thou comments.
The set should be priced at around $8 to $10 for the basic set based on feedback from the people who ate that day.
The concept of the shabu shabu style Beef Kway Teow was a long time in the making. I first broached it to Tina after the first blog post last year but it took almost a year before the opportunity arose to try it out. TCS 8 is currently filming it for a program later this month. Will keep you all advised.
hmm where would we park at?
All I can do now is to read abt this S$15 bowl of noodle, please make it availble once a month
Thanks
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