Heng Ji Chicken Rice: I waited three years to eat this Chicken Rice!

Well here is another stall that I waited three years to eat.

When I started the blog, Smith Street Food Centre had shifted to its temporary premises at Outram and Heng Ji decided to take a break rather than shift there. So the blog post for this very famous Chicken Rice was put on hold for a while. It is quite amazing that even with the number of chicken rice stalls at Smith Street Food Centre, this particular stall still stands out for many a foodie. I guess it might have something to do with their long history at the food centre and of course the standard of their chicken rice.



The lady boss who was chopping the chicken tells me that their chicken is special. Just how is it special, she did not say. But she just said to try it first and see if I also felt it was special. And indeed it was. Their chicken is not exceptionally large, perhaps around 1.6 kg only, but I felt the meat had a very nice savoury flavour about it which is missing in many a food court chicken rice. So the chicken gets a 4.5/5 from me.

However, the rice that day was a bit of a dissappointment. It certainly looked great, with that light tea colour and slightly broken grains but the flavour was only so so. Holydrummer commented that they used a lot of fried shallots which might explain the brown colour of the rice. It wasn't all that bad, it just wasn't up to expectations. 4/5



Their chilli is a bit of surprise and it is quite unique in that it is exceptionally sweet. Very unlike any chicken rice chilli I know and I am sure some people might not even consider it chicken rice chilli. This one will depend on your preference for sweet stuff. I personally like my food a little sweet, but not really when it comes to chicken rice. 3.5/5

Conclusion

I am sure there must be many fans of this chicken rice out there. I think it is good, but there are a lot of stalls nearer to me where I can get better ones. The chicken is perhaps the only thing that stands out for me.

Heng Ji Chicken Rice
Chinatown Smith St FC
#02-131
Open from 3pm till 9pm

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Teochew Street Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle: A Most Elaborate Mee Pok Tah

Mee Pok Tar with the Works $4

I have alluded many times to the fact that us Teochews are really very fussy about the freshness. It is part and parcel of the cultural trait of being Teochew that everything must be "Chnee Chnee" (Fresh).

If you want to see an extreme example of this in action, you must come to this Mee Pok Stall in Smith Street Food Centre. But you have to be prepared to queue for at least 20 minutes even in the middle of the afternoon in order to partake of this particular Hawker's dish, nay, I would say, his passion.



His bowl of Mee Pok Tar with the works is just $4, but it is packed with many quality ingredients many of which he prepares on the spot. When I say "On the spot", I really mean literally "on the spot". The uncle will turn aside while waiting for the noodles to cook to make some dumplings (Giao), then turn back to toss his noodles a few times before turning to his chopping board to slice a few pieces of meat. I also notice that he would pinch the noodles every time he cooks a batch in order to see if they are cooked perfectly. All these things really slow down the process of producing one bowl of noodle which definitely contributes the the length of the queue.



There is no doubt that his ingredients are fresh and for $4 you really do get quite a few goodies. There is one medium sized peeled prawn which tastes like it is a sea prawn rather than the farmed ones, several slivers of crispy sole fish, one dumpling, one pork ball, slices of lean meat and minced meat, braised mushrooms and unique to this stall, a piece of braised pork skin. All the ingredients are excellent but I can't give them top marks because I felt the noodles and sauce lacked a bit of flavour. 4.25/5

Conclusion

This is probably the best value, most elaborate and freshly made Bak Chor Mee that I have ever come across. It really is frustrating that there never seems to be a lull period where the queue is less than 15 mins! But then again, I guess everybody knows a good deal when they see one.

Teochew Street Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle
Chinatown Smith Street Food Centre
#02-023
Closed Mon - Tues
12.30pm to 9pm

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China La Mian Steamed Buns: Cheap and Good Xiao Long Bao

With Holydrummer, Holybro and ieatjr

Xiao Long Bao $5 for 10

Slowly but surely, our hawker scene is changing to reflect the cultural transformation of our society.

Our Chinese culture is made up primarily of Southern Chinese people predominantly from Canton and Fujian province. Our forefathers came to our shores to seek a new life and some of them ended up opening hawker stalls selling food that they are familiar with. Now we are seeing new waves of migrants from other parts of China who are settling down and calling Singapore home. Some, like the friendly couple who run this stall, came first to work at the restaurants and later became permanent residents. They work hard, save up enough money and start a business of their own selling food that they are most familiar with. Who knows? In a couple of years, they might own a whole chain of restaurants selling Shanghainese food.

Seeing Xiao Long Bao being served at a hawker stall is a welcomed sight indeed. This is one of my favourite snacks but so far I can only eat it at a restaurant. This is not the first time I have come across hawker stalls selling Xiao Long Bao, but it is the first time that I have come across a stall which sells a descent one.



I had Holydrummer and Holybro with me that day who, being half Taiwanese, have eaten some of the best Xiao Long Bao in Taiwan. So I had some really good tastebuds with me that day. They both agree that this is one tasty Xiao Long Bao. The soup in the bao is excellent and not oily. And importantly, the skin is thin enough to be able to see through but still not break when picked up. It is not a perfect Xiao Long Bao as I felt that the skin could be just a little softer, but at $5 for 10 baos, I would be quite happy to just come here to get a quick Xiao Long Bao fix. 4.25/5



I remember my father telling me that Grandpa came to Malaya with just a small bag of clothes. They then arranged for him to be married to Grandma who would remain in China until he could afford to bring her over. At that time, Grandpa's intention was to make enough money in order to start a business in China. This couple shared with me a similar story where both of them are here to work in order to send money back for their kids in China. Well, only time will tell if their son will eventually speak Singlish and serve NS.

Conclusion

This is the cheapest Xiao Long Bao that is worth eating. In fact, we were discussing if the Xiao Long Bao were even better than some of the ones being served at the restaurants. I would say that soup wise, it will rival some of the best around.

China La Mian Steamed Buns
Chinatown Smith Street Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith Street #02-135
Singapore 050335
97435287
10am to 9pm Closed Thursdays

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Yuet Loy: Mom and Pop Cze Char!

With Cactuskit, liverpool, keano, smart, jems and damien

Tofu with Beansprouts

If you are hankering for some really shiok dishes to make you eat more rice, then you can try heading down to the Smith Street Food Centre to check out this little Mom and Pop Cze Char who specializes in Cantonese style cuisine. Actually this stall is quite famous for its Beef Hor Fun and I have been wanting to check them out for the longest time. But when I eventually got there, they ran out of Hor Fun! Sigh! So I had to settle for the Cze Char dishes which turned out to be quite a treat.

Now this couple are pretty old school, so they don't believe in a "low salt" diet so the dishes all come out pretty tasty (salty). The homemade tofu with beansprouts is a simple dish but there is something about the texture and taste of the tofu that made it go very well with rice. 4.5/5


Stir Fry Kai Lan with Sliced Beef

Since I couldn't order the Beef Hor Fun, I settled for the Beef Kai Lan. The beef was tender and the dish was good. But lacking the Hor Fun with Wok Hei, it just didn't have that ooomph I was expecting. Still, it was a commendable dish. 4/5


Salted Fish Chicken

I don't take much salted fish nowadays but by golly, when you actually get to eat it, it is quite shiok. Again this Salted Fish Chicken dish is a great dish to down that extra plate of rice with. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Humble little stall that is churning out really great Cantonese homecooked food! Well worth a visit.

Yuet Loy
Smith Street Food Centre
#02-151
Open for lunch and dinner

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Updated - Chinatown Food Centre

Finally managed to visit the new Chinatown (Kreta Ayer) Food Centre to update the locations of the stalls which I blogged when they were still at the Temporary location. You can see the stalls by clicking here.

The Food Centre seems to be abuzz with so many things to eat! Will be posting some more stalls soon. In the meantime, you can also visit our forum where our foodies have been busy reporting on the good food there! Here's the link.

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Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu Chinatown Complex Temp Mkt Part 4 of 5

If you want to taste a REAL fish ball, you just have to head down to this stall. Just look at the all the craters on the fishball. It looks almost like the face of the moon! Actually, that large crater at the 5 o'clock position almost reminded me of the Death Star in Star Wars.



Neh, I prove to you that they actually make their own fishballs! Good fish balls are made from Hang Zhe Her (Yellow Tail - See that yellow tail?) and Sai Tor Her (Wolf Herring/Parang). The fish shown above is the yellow tail -- see its got a yellow tail.




The fish paste is then used to fill all the Tau Fu and Tau Pok (Tau Fu is the fresh bean curd and Tau Pok is the fried bean curd shown in the picture). Everything still done by hand.




The difference between this stall and others is the addition of ikan bilis which gives that extra savoury taste to the soup. The texture of the fish ball is very light and it is not overly bouncy like those you get from the factories. The other thing is that they serve the Yong Tau Fu with only chilli sauce with no option of the sweet sauce.



Conclusion

Make sure you visit them either very early or very late or you'll have to wait in line for your bowl of Yong Tau Fu. Too bad I am not a very big fan of Yong Tau Fu, fans will definitely give them a higher score. 4/5

Updated 25 June 2008
The stall has moved back to its permanent location

Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu
Chinatown Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith Street
#02-88
S(050335)
I forgot to ask them, but most of the stalls here are opened early in the morning usually cater to the lunch crowd.

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Hai Seng Ah Balling: Makan Legend Chinatown Complex Temp Market Part 5 of 5

You are looking at an culinary artform that is closer to extinction than an impotent Panda. This is the last stall in Singapore that still sells traditional Teochew style Ah Balling that is made by hand when you order. Teochew Ah Balling, like many other Teochew dishes, tend to be more Cheng (Less complicated flavours). So unlike the Hokkien Version that serves the Ah Balling in peanut soup, in the Teochew version, the soup is a simple sugar syrup flavoured with Pandan Leaves.



Except for the upgrading to plastic containers, everything here is still done the traditional way when his father first started selling Ah Balling from a push cart over 45 years ago. Mom even remembered Mr Loh when he was still a teenager helping his father along Ellenbourough St.



His hands are so fast that I had to ask him to slow down in order to take this particular shot. (Believe it or not this is the slow motion shot) Each Ah Balling takes barely 3 seconds to make!

In my previous Ah Balling post, I suggested that the name Ah Balling was derived from the Teochew phrase for the unhatched duck egg. Well, this uncle told me another story. He said that when the Ah Balling is first thrown into the boiling water, it sinks to the bottom. Then, when it is cooked, it floats to the top and looks like an Ah Bor (Mother Duck) floating on the water. Ling is the Teochew word that describes the motion of the Ah Balling bobbing around in the water. Which version to believe? You decide for yourself! But this latter version came from the Emeritus Professor of Ah Balling himself!




Conclusion

Its more about texture then taste. The Ah Balling is super smooth and chewy. However, if you like peanut soup, you might find the clear soup a bit bland for you (Like I did). Mom really loved it, I loved it more for the texture and tradition than the taste. 4.25/5

At any rate, this hawker legend still deserves his title for his dogged persistence in perserving our culinary heritage.

Updated 25 June 2008
The stall has returned to its permanent location

Hai Seng Ah Balling
Stall 02-059
Chinatown Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith Street
Singapore 050335
12pm to 9pm
Thursday 12pm to 6pm
Closed on Monday

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Outram Park Roasted Meat: Chinatown Complex Temp Mkt Part 3 of 5

This is quite a well known stall among the forummers. As with most of the stalls in ChinaTown Complex, they have been in business for quite a long time.




I liked the Char Siew in this stall. The meat is juicy and tender and the sauce is a bit more on the sweet side. Judging from the look and texture of the meat, I'd say they use pork collar which is why it is more springy to the bite. 4/5




The duck was pretty ordinary and just did not have enough of the savoury five spice taste. The flesh was nice and tender though 3.5/5. I felt the Sio Bak was just ordinary. 3/5




Conclusion

Pretty decent Char Siew that is worth a try if you like your Char Siew a little sweeter.

Updated 25 June 2008
The stall has moved back to its permanent location

Outram Park Roasted Meat
Chinatown Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith Street
Stall 13/14
11am-7pm
Closed Wednesday
62244973

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115 Dessert: Chinatown Complex Temp Market Part 2 of 5

This stall is where you can still find Cantonese style desserts like peanut paste, sesame paste, walnut paste and the starchy, gooey type red bean soup with orange peel all prepared the same way they were 40 years ago.



You don't get stuff out of a packet here. Everything is still ground with this mill that has been in existence longer than I have (since 1966). They tell me that you can't buy things like this anymore in Singapore.

I thought the taste of the desserts should have been much better given all their writeups and the antique mill. The sesame/almond paste and the peanut paste tasted a bit watered down that day. I had expected a buttery, rich peanut paste, but it just did not quite cut it for me that day. The red bean soup was still pretty good though and I liked the taste of the orange peel and the thick soup which you can't find in most dessert stalls.



Conclusion

Another stall with a strong tradition of doing things the good old way. Bit dissppointed about the sesame/almond and peanut soup, but seeing the accolades and the mill, I am willing to give them another go the next time to see if it is just a one off thing. 3.5/5

Updated on 25 June 2008

They have moved back to their permanent location

115 Desserts
Chinatown Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith St
Stall #02-206
8.30am to 5.30pm
Closed Tuesdays

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Traditional Shanghai Chee Cheong Fun Chinatown Complex Temporary Market Part 1 of 5

This is the first in a five part series on Chinatown Complex Temporary Market which will only relocate back to its original spot in 2 years time. There was another very famous Niu Cher Sui glutinous rice stall which I did not managed to take pictures because they open at 6am and are sold out before lunch time.

There are 2 chee cheong fun stalls there which are quite famous. I tried the Shanghai Zhu Chang Fen stall and quite liked it. The Chee Cheong Fun comes in 6 different fillings, ranging from Char Siew and Turnip to Mushroom. Actually I found that the fillings make little difference because it is the sweet sauce that your really go for.



The Chee Cheong Fun skin is factory made and does not have the soft consistency of freshly made Chee Cheong Fun. It is still very good. The sweet sauce is made from Hoi Sin sauce, ground sesame and sugar is is slowly stirred in a huge wok so that it caramalises nicely. Phwa, I really love the sauce!



Conclusion

Great for a side dish! Quite different in that you get a thick sweet sauce instead of the usual light soy sauce with Char Siew Cheong Fun. 4/5

Shanghai Zhu Cheong Fun
Chinatown Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith Street
#02-174
6am - 8.30pm
81957396

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