Albert St Hokkien Prawn Mee - Lavender FC

Another highly recommended stall from the forum. My favourite so far is the Beach Road Prawn Mee along East Coast Road, so I was really keen to see if this can tingle my tastebuds. Whaa, so many big prawns, and there is a black and white picture of a man selling noodles on a push cart with 1963 written on it. I wasn't even an idea then! It so happens that the man in the picture is the father of the lady selling noodles at the store. 2nd Generation prawn mee, looking good so far.

So I asked the boss of the stall if they have any special secret ingredients in the soup. Some prawn mee nowadays add stuff like dried scallops, crabs and other goodies. But no, they stick to a traditional receipe and use only prawns. (Or else they would have to call it scallop, crab, prawn mee right?)

The verdict: The soup was quite shiok and much better then your "no name, run of the mill, HDB coffeeshop" prawn mee, BUT I still feel that the Beach Road one has more kick. The prawns are really fresh and the portions of pork ribs are quite generous. This bowl costs $5 which is cheaper then Beach Road. For $5 you get 2 medium sized prawns split into half. If you want the "Mother of All Prawns" like the one in the first picture, you'll have to fork out a green note from your wallet. (5 bucks)

Quite satisfying prawn noodle soup. Not the King of the King Prawn Noodle, but certainly worth trying when you are there.

4/5

Albert Street Hokkien Big Prawn Mee
Lavender Food Square
380, Jalan Besar #01-10
62951340
10am-3am
Closed alt Thursdays

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Song Huat Prawn Cracker - Lavender FC

What is so special about this Ngo Hiang? That's what I asked the man at the stall. "Nothing" He said. "What's the most special item here?" I asked. "Pei Dan" (Century Egg), he answered. How can century egg be special? You just buy it cut it up and serve it. So why did the makankakis at the forum recommend this store?



Well, the short answer is, they didn't!! I made a mistake! It was the Ngo Hiang Stall at the Jackson Food Centre that was famous. Only found out when I got back. Anyway, I asked him, "You make any of the Ngo Hiang?", "No, we buy it from supplier" he said. Haiyah, as you read the rest of my visit to Lavender FC, you will realise that most of the hawkers nowadays are more like traders. Very few actually make their own stuff anymore!



So what can I rave about? Well, the sweet sauce is quite nice. It is very different from the other sweet sauces I have tasted. Made from eggs, crystal sugar, and BRIGHT PINK colouring, this one has a strong pandan flavour, giving it a nice flowery fragrance. Actually the Ngo Hiam wasn't bad. Freshly deep fried, it was actually quite standard. Combined with this BRIGHT PINK sauce it was actually quite commendable!





Conclusion

Good Ngo Hiang, as good as most other Ngo Hiang in other FC (all from the same supplier what), but I do like the sweet sauce here which they make themselves. The chilli sauce is hot hot, so it should appeal to those with leather tongues.

3.5/5

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Bugis Street Beef Kuay Teow - Lavender FC

Why do they always put a picture of a happy cow on the signboard. This is a BEEF kway teow stall and the cow should be the least happy of all.

Anyway this is a second generation stall. The stallowner's father started this Beef Kway Teow in Bugis Street and they moved over here about 8 years ago. The stallowners are very friendly and modest and I am sure you won't get any of that "Dao" attitude if you have special requests.



The soup here is robust with slight tinge of herbs. Drink it hot and its a sure cure for a hazy day. The meat is not overcooked and tender. I especially like the cooked beef which had a nice beefy taste to it. The tendons could be a little softer and more gooey.

4/5 Good Beef Kway Teow, as good as the famous one at Purvis Street everyone talks about.

Closed alternate Wednesdays

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Miow Sin Popiah and Carrot Cake - Lavender FC

This Poh Piah was highly recommended by the kakis at the forum, so I had to try it. Whoa, so much crispy thingies!! Very excited. But as the lady began to make the Poh Piah, I noticed that the Poh Piah skin has got the words "Made in Kaki Bukit" printed on it! Well, not really, but the Poh Piah skin was the factory made type and looked really synthetic! My heart dropped to the floor and bounced back up again. How can this be? Such a popular Poh Piah using skin made by a machine? This is bad, very bad.



Well, the Poh Piahs weren't too bad, but they weren't exceptional either. $1.20 3.75/5 Really, someone should just resurrect the whole Poh Piah industry and do what the Pau industry did. Let's bring back the handmade Poh Piah skin! Don't let the factories at Kaki Bukit take over this priceless heritage! Please read my other post "Poh Piah, can we do better?" by clicking THIS.




This same store also sells fried carrot cake. So I asked the man, "Ah Chik, why your carrot cake so good? You make your own carrot cake isit?", to which he answered "No lah, buy from supplier one!" I am not having a good day! So I pressed him. "Why your carrot cake so famous?", to which he replied "Don't know leh". No good, no good at all.



But the carrot cake WAS really good. Really crispy and lots of Chai Poh. The chilli is shiok for those who like spicy stuff. I found out later after much interogation that they actually put some secret ingredients to the carrot cake before they add the eggs. Best white carrot cake I had in a while and well worth trying. 4/5

This stall has been around for over twenty years and started at Long House. Along the way, the convenience of the synthetic Poh Piah Skin and the factory produced carrot cake must have lured them to the dark side. I really hope that they at least continue to make their own chilli, turnips and crispy thingy or the next generation won't know what a real Poh Piah tastes like!

Miow Sin Popiah and Carrot Cake
#01-04, Lavender Food Square
380 Jalan Besar
62928764
Closed on alternate Wednesdays.
Opened till 12mn

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Kok Kee Wanton Mee - Lavender FC

OK, this is one contentious Wonton Mee. Some forummers loved it, some did not think much of it. When I got there, there was this long queue of about 8 people at 2.30pm in the afternoon. What the heck, even if the makanguru eslim told me that it was not that great, I just had to try it for myself. My first impression, looking at the char siew, was not it was not impressive at all. Nothing like the Rowell Road Wonton Mee that everybody raves about with black sauce and all. Even the Char Siew was the "Boil in a Pot with with Red Dye" type.



See the guy with the backpack? He's from Taiwan. He told me that he came all the way from Taiwan to eat this Wonton Mee. Phwa, I am getting more curious. I asked the lady if they make their own noodles to which she replied "No, we buy from supplier". After a few questions, I am beginning to feel like George from the Seinfeld episode about the Food Nazi. These people take no nonsense, they are busy. I better behave or else I might have to disguise myself as a woman to buy a plate. Luckily the Der Fuhrur (Boss) was not around and I managed to get my Wanton Mee after 10mins.

I have to admit, that I quite like the noodles. It's not the char siew or the wonton, which are pretty lousy, but the sauce which was the winner. Mixed with the noodles, the sauce really combines well with the noodles.



This boiling cauldron of secret elixir has some sort of Gong Tau (addictive substance) which keeps its customers coming back again and again (Even from as far as Taiwan). Of course, the ladies did not know what was inside this addictive concoction. It's not even thick, its like a thin soup but it tastes great with the noodles. A welcomed departure from the wonton mee that uses tomato ketchup.

3.75/5 Some will like it, some will not. I like the taste of it, but at $3 for a small plate, I don't like the price and I certainly don't like it enough to queue behind 8 persons.

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