Haig Road Food Centre Imprompto Lunch Session

Haig Road Food Centre will be closing in Aug for renovations, so we had to go down at least one last time to visit all the famous stalls there. The main event was Yong Li's Kway Chap which is Cactuskit's all time favourite which he will sorely miss when they close. Everyone agreed that the Da Chang is very well prepared and clean.

It was great to meet all our new kakis from the Facebook Group! With all the positive response, we shall be looking at organizing more informal sessions like this. If you want to be informed of the makan session, make sure you are registered on the facebook group! Click here to register.

In the meantime, if you missed our session, you can still go down yourself to check out the stalls!

Yong Li Kway Chap
Fandi Mona Mee Rebus
Warung Sudi Mapir Satay
Putu Piring

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Yong Li: Treat your hawker nice Day!

With Cactuskit, Wahcow and smart


Well, we Singaporeans are an honest bunch. We know our faults and we openly admit them. Impatient, rude, unforgiving and downright Kiasu. We sigh in frustration when we experience graciousness in other societies and lament that we can't be the same. Hey, all is not lost. Deep inside each and everyone of us, there is that spark that just needs to be ignited. We all have it in us and it is just a matter of expressing it so that we can make a difference.

Why do I say that? Because there is still a lot of niceness and goodness out there! And it is as close as the hawker that you buy your food from everyday.

Take this little old lady selling kway chap for instance. You could go up to her, order your $3 kway chap, pay your money and sit down and eat. Or, you could do what our friend Cactuskit did and start showing real interest in the lady, chatting with her frequently and even going to the extent of inviting her to one of his church functions. It's no wonder she treats him like a son and cooks a special chilli stingray dish for him when she found out we were coming for breakfast on a particular day!

That is why I feel that if you want to see more graciousness in our society, it starts right where you are. And one of the first people you can start with is our humble hawkers who work so hard everyday to feed us but often don't get any credit and very little thanks for what they do. A big smile and a simple word of praise for their food usually gets things going and I assure you that you will go away feeling much better about life too! In fact, if I were a Director in the Ministry of Community Development, I would even declare an official "Hawkers Appreciation" Day to try to spread some goodwill around. Happy hawkers make yummier food and yummier food make us all happier.



This little stall in Haig Road Food Centre does not have any newspaper clipping or awards of any sort, but they have been cleaning out pig innards for more than 30 years. Ever since Cactuskit mentioned them in the forum, it has been winning approval from our forummers including our venerable uncle Smart who declared that the lady makes the best "Da Chang" (Large Intestines) and pig skin in Singapore.

I think the thing about their "Da Chang" is the fact that they managed to get it so clean that you don't have any "smelly" taste in it. Now, here is the secret which I immediately spotted, thanks to my years of studying histology and anatomy in Med School. (Yeah right). Notice from the picture that they stripped off the layer of mucosa (innermost layer which is in contact with the fecal matter), thus exposing the inner layer of circular muscle? That is the secret. The old lady laboriously turns the large intestine inside out and painstakingly strips off the mucosal layer. This extra step results in a clean tasting "Da Chang" which even someone (like me) who doesn't usually eat "Da Chang" can appreciate. Smart gives it a 4.75/5 and says that the texture and taste is almost perfect.



So here's the nice little old hawker Aunty who has been stripping off pig innards for 30 years. Be nice to her and to your favourite hawker Aunty and Uncle today!

Conclusion

If you like "Da Chang" and pig skin then according to our kway chap experts, you should give this stall a try real soon!

Yong Li Cooked Food
Haig Road Food Centre
Open 7am to 2pm daily
Closed on Monday




What to do next?

Read about other Kway Chap stalls by clicking here
Like to find more Mom and Pop stalls? Click here
Find out what else is there to eat at Haig Road FC. Click here
Don't miss the Putu Piring that is just round the corner! Click here


Remember to vote today! Click here

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Fandi Mona Mee Rebus: Mee Rebus with Mutton!

This is quite an interesting twist to the good old Mee Rebus. I don't often eat Mee Rebus, but this one certainly caught my attention. What the stall owner did was to add mutton into the sauce.

My most memorable up till this time was when I was still in primary school. I was living in Toa Payoh Lor 8. I used to walk to Lor 7 to buy Mee Rebus from a Mak Cik who used to sell her Mee Rebus from her 1 room, ground level flat. Man it was good. I must admit that I never really had any impetus to eat Mee Rebus, that is until smart mentioned this one which had mutton in it.



I felt the mutton does add an extra savoury dimension to the Mee Rebus. The gravy is pretty tasty and not too sweet. Certainly something worth a try. 4/5

Conclusion

Which self respecting foodie would not give Mutton Mee Rebus at least a try. But I have to admit, I did not have the craving to go back again this week. Then again, I am not a big fan of Mee Rebus. I am sure smart's rating would be higher.

Fandi Mona and Family
Blk 14 Haig Road Food Centre
#01-21
10am to 10pm
Closed on Wed

Recommended by smart

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Warong Sudi Mampir: Satay Legend!

This is one of those satay stalls that don't need to open at night and closes 2 days a week. I think that says it all. At 3pm in the afternoon, almost every table in front of the stall has a plate of satay in front of them and they they BBQ satays non-stop to fulfill the take home orders of hundred sticks or more.

Curious? I certainly was. It is my first time at the stall, and I was keen to give my tastebuds a treat.

I asked the Pak Cik which type of Satay was the "die die must try" one, to which he answered without even a split second of hesitation, "Tripe"

Ooohhh, never tried that either. Sometimes it is good to have had a deprived foodie childhood. I still get to try things for the very first time!



What I like about this satay is the marinade and the good thing about tripe is that it really absorbs the marinade very well, so that you can taste the zesty lemon grass and other spices in the meat. 4.5/5 What I don't like is the fact that they use chicken breast meat for the chicken satay. 3.5/5 It would have been a killer if they used thigh meat and dare I say, some chicken skin. I found the mutton a little on the tough side but still very yummy. 4/5 The satay sauce was also very commendable. Lots of chunky peanuts and very sedap (tasty)!

Conclusion

Really nice marinade and satay sauce. For me it would have been better if they used chicken thigh meat instead of breast, but I feel that the nature of breast meat does allow the flavour of the marinade to come through more than thigh meat.

Warong Sudi Mampir
Blk 14 Haig Road Food Centre
#01-19
64440167
Weekdays 10.30am to 7pm
Weekends 10.30am to 5pm
Closed Wed & Thursdays

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Hajjah Meriam Family Stall: Has Anyone tried this Kentang Ball?

Now this is a novel dish. I have never eaten this before so I don't have a gold standard to compare it to. Maybe our readers can shed a bit of light on where the really good ones are?

Anyway, the dish consists of mashed potato about the size of a cricket ball filled with minced beef inside. The whole thing is deep fried in a batter and then served in a bowl of spicy chicken soup.



Something new for me. The taste of the dish is pretty predictable. Imagine eating mashed potato and minced beef and essentially you have it. Certainly worth a try if you haven't had it before. 4/5



After my recent disappointment with the famous Roti John at Serangoon Way FC, I was understandably apprehensive about Roti John, not wanting to have to grieve all over again so soon after my last tragedy. But thankfully, my faith in the good old Roti John has been restored by the one served here.

The crust was toasted till it was light and crispy and the savoury minced mutton in the omelette was adequately spiced and delicious. They also serve it was a great homemade sweet chilli sauce. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Always delighted to try something new, but I don't really have a craving for the Kentang Ball anytime soon. The Roti John is definitely one of the better ones around.

Hajjah Meriam Family Stall
Blk 14 Haig Road Food Centre
#01-15
2pm to 10pm daily

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