Alex's Eating House: We were there, Alex was not

With Cactuskit and Holybro


Alex Eating House has been on my To-Do list since I started the blog but somehow I never really got round to blogging them until recently. My guess is that if you ask any foodie where is the best Char Siew in Singapore, quite a few of them will mention this place.

Unfortunately, as with a lot of other eateries in Singapore, the owner has now trained a whole troupe of foreign workers to look after the shop while he takes time to smell the roses, so I was unable to get any background story from them. I don't know about you, but somehow when I see a stall being operated by foreigners, my expectations always drop a notch. I just don't feel that someone who didn't grow up eating a particular dish can ever reproduce the dish up to a certain standard. Of course, that might not be the case with Char Siew, since it is all prepared beforehand, but with something like Hokkien Mee, that might be significant. Do you all feel the same way?



Alex Eating House has always been well known for their Char Siew and it is quite good here although by around 2pm, it was a little dry. However, the sauce is very good and definitely one of the better ones around. 4.25/5 The Sio Bak was ok, but again by 2pm, the skin was not as crispy, though the meat was still quite flavourful. 4/5

Conclusion

I am sure there are many fans of this restaurant who come here often, just like Cactuskit when he was working around this area. For me however, the Char Siew was not compelling enough for me to make the trip back there since there are other stalls which are more accessible.

Alex's Eating House
87 Beach Road #01-01
Chye Sing Building
Singapore 189695
63340268

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Penang Food Trail 5: Penang Vs Singapore Part 2

OK, the current score is Singapore 2, Penang 1. We are going to compare three more dishes in this post. The first one is the Char Siew and Sio Bak. When it comes to Char Siew, there is one undisputed champion of Char Siew and Sio Bak in Penang and that is the one at Sky restaurant. I was told by our resident food blogger, CK Lam that they start selling their Char Siew at around 11.30am and it gets sold out by around 2pm.

The thing about Malaysia is that the people aren't as health conscious as Singaporeans, so they don't bat an eye about eating strips of belly pork that has been BBQed to a crisp with lots of charred bits. If you are expecting juicy Char Siew then you will be dissappointed because eating the Char Siew here is like eating Bak Kwa. It's really very tasty but I think I still prefer a Char Siew which is juicy and tender on the inside. But if you are in Penang, this is definitely one of the stalls to visit. 4.25/5



The Sio Bak on the other hand is very similar to Singapore and is very good. As good as my current favourite which is Fatty Cheong's at ABC brickworks. 4.5/5


Sky Restaurant along Chulia Street

Ok, I think this one has got to be a draw, so it's Penang 2, Singapore 3.



You know how they always have the Penang Hawkers fair at York Hotel every year where Hawkers from Penang and flown to Singapore to demonstrate their skills? Well, this particular hawker that operates this Lor Bak stall is one of those who make the pilgrimage every year. In case you don't know, Lor Bak is what the Penangites call our Ngoh Hiang and refers to a variety of deep fried items which are eaten with a chilli and sweet sauce dip.



I don't think that the Penangites have commercialized their Lor Bak manufacturing just yet, so many of the the hawkers here still make their own items. I might be wrong since we only went to eat at the most famous stalls. Once again, all their items which feature their prawns are really good. Their prawns are really tasty and when fried together in a fritter, it just tastes like Keropok! 4.5/5

I think their Lor Bak wins our Ngor Hiang so its Penang 3, Singapore 3.



The last item on our list is the Chicken Rice. This Chicken Rice Stall just happens to be in the same coffeeshop as the Loh Bak stall, so it is one coffeeshop that you might like to visit in Penang. The Chicken Rice here is very well known around Penang.



The Chicken here definitely beats the ones we have in Singapore. I think somehow they have better supply of free range chicken, so the chicken really has that extra chickeny flavour. However the rice here was rather dissappointing. I think Singaporeans are spoilt by having quality Jasmine Rice in most of our dishes. Over in Penang, they still use rice which is very light and lacks a good gummy bite. So overall, their Chicken is better than ours, but our rice is better than theirs. 4.25/5


Penang Lorbak & Hainan Chicken Rice at Kheng Pin Coffee Shop along
Penang /Sri Bahari Road - near to Cititel Hotel

Conclusion

OK, so the final score is Penang 4, Singapore 4.

You might have guess that I purposely chose these stalls so that I can make it a draw between Penang and Singapore and you are absolutely right. I could have easily "Kelonged" it so that one side wins.

But the point I am making is this. Many people might say that Penang food beats Singapore's hands down, others might say that Penang food is overrated. Both are correct depending on what they managed to try. So the conclusion is this: Penang is a food paradize and so is Singapore. Isn't it wonderful that there is so much great stuff just waiting for you to try?

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Hua Fong Kee Roasted Duck: Only in Toa Payoh!

Some people like Bill Gates want to rule the world. Others like Phua Chu Kang only want to rule Singapore and perhaps JB and Batam. But for Mr Johnny Teo, all he wants is to rule Toa Payoh.

With three stalls strategically placed around Toa Payoh, no Toa Payohrees need to worry about not getting a nice Char Siew and Roast Duck fix. And according to Mr Teo, he really does not want to move out of the boundaries of the Big Swamp. (Toa Payoh means Big Swamp in the Minnan Dialect)

When I blogged about Fong Kee back in 2007, I wasn't overly impressed with the Char Siew but this time round, I was quite pleasantly surprised with their Char Siew at their latest stall in Lor 5. Unlike the last time, the Char Siew this time round was juicy and tender and well caramelized. So I have revised their Char Siew rating to 4.25/5.



Unfortunately, the Sio Bak is still much the same as the last time. The flesh was dry and the skin was gummy. 3.75/5



Just in case you wanted to have laksa with your Roast Duck, (which I initially thought was a little wierd until I remembered that the Thais have their Roast Duck in Red Curry), Fong Kee has also ventured into this market. Their laksa was competent, but nothing really to shout about. Still it is good if you wanted to try the Roast Duck with Laksa combination. 3.5/5



Conclusion

Good place for Char Siew and Roast Duck. I just wonder if they will really just remain within the boundaries of Toa Payoh or if they would eventually spread to Bishan?

Hua Fong Kee Roasted Duck
Blk 51 Toa Payoh Lor 5
#01-62
96658595
Open 8am to 8pm

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Fatty Cheong's Char Siew: To get good Charsiew, you need to know a little pig anatomy!

With Wahcow, Taukwa and Liverpool

"Bu Jian Tian" Charsiew

Our Kakis have been raving about Meng Kee Charsiew which Wahcow brought back from KL and were lamenting why we can't get Charsiew which is as good here. The main characteristic of Meng Kee's Charsiew is that it is really fatty and they managed to roast it till the fats just melts in your mouth, so you really get a great flavourful and tender Charsiew. But Singaporeans tend to be more health conscious, so many of the stalls here sell very lean Charsiew.

According to Wahcow, the lean charsiew from Meng Kee tasted as ordinary as the Charsiew we have here. So, he felt that if we could get someone here to roast a more marbled piece of pork, we might be able to have a delicious Charsiew without having travel all the way to KL.

I immdiately thought of Fatty Cheong and called him to see if he could do for us a no holds barred Charsiew using the best cut of pork that he could get his hands on.


Closeup view of "Bu Jian Tian" cut

Now, Charsiew is not made from one specific part of the pig. It is not like Sio Bak (Roast Pork) where you have to use Belly Pork. So in order to have a really satisfying Char Siew experience, you need to know some basic pig anatomy.

Most Charsiew is made from Pork Shoulder which is the part just behind the neck. In Singapore this part of the meat is commonly known as Wu Hua Rou (five flower/pattern pork). But it is not so straightforward. For some people (especially the Cantonese), Wu Hua Rou actually refers to Belly Pork. Their explanation is that there are five layers of meat and fat in Belly Pork.

After searching through the internet and also talking to the local butchers here, I have come to the conclusion that Wu Hua Rou refers to Pork which has a significant amount of fat and can refer to belly, shoulder or collar. I think it is called five pattern not because there are five layers of meat and fat but because when you look at the cross section of the meat, the white of the fats vaguely resembles the ancient Chinese character "five".

At any rate, Pork Belly has more than five layers. There are three layers of muscle and three layers of fat plus the skin. So it is actually seven layers, not five. We Teochews refer to this cut as Sar Cham Bak (3 layer pork) which refers to the three layers of muscle. For students of anatomy, these refer to the external and internal oblique, and transversus abdominis muscles. Yes, our anatomy is quite similar to pigs and especially so if you eat a lot and don't excercise.

According to Fatty Cheong, the most prized Charsiew is from the "pig armpit" which is also known as "Bu Jian Tian" (Never sees the sky). Technically, this is the part between the shoulder and belly and so the meat is nicely layered like belly meat. The meat here is tender and springy at the same time and really full of flavour.


Pork Shoulder Charsiew

For those who are more health conscious, the pork shoulder is leaner, but it depends on how the meat is cut. Shoulder and collar have more fats than other parts of the pig, but depending on how it is cut, you will be able to get a lean piece of Charsiew. I find the lean cuts a little too dry, but for our resident metrosexual, Taukwa, this is his preferred cut for everyday eating, but he admits that the "Bu Jian Tian" is much tastier.


Really fatty Charsiew

It might be shocking, but there are some people who actually request for Charsiew which is essentially fats with a sliver of meat in it. According to Fatty Cheong, these tend to be men of the baby boomer generation. We all felt it was just too rich and not something we would dare to order again.

Fatty Cheong's "Bu Jian Tian" was excellent. I had almost the same level of excitement as when I ate my first piece of Meng Kee's Charsiew. There are two points of difference however. Fatty Cheong doesn't make his Charsiew as charred as Meng Kee's because most Singaporeans do not like to eat too much of the charred bits, and he uses Brazilian pork which he himself admits is not as great as Malaysian pork. Unfortunately, Malaysian pork is still banned in Singapore, so we won't be able to do a proper comparison. Meng Kee's scores a 4.75 for me and Fatty Cheong's scores a 4.6/5, but we all felt that it is still the best one we have come across in Singapore.

Oh btw, there has been discussions in our forum that there is a even better Charsiew which is a stone's throw away from Meng Kee's called Overseas Restaurant. If you are in KL, you might want to check it out.

Conclusion

Fatty's Cheong's "Bu Jian Tian" is best Charsiew we have had in Singapore so far. Unfortunately, the Charsiew across the border just has that little extra ommph that can't be found here.

For more pictures of Meng Kee Charsiew check out PChong's blog entry here.

Fatty Cheong
ABC Brickworks Food Centre
6 Jln Bukit Merah #01-120 (near POSB ATM)
Open 11am till about 8.30pm
Closed Thursdays
98824849, 94281983

*Eating excessive amounts of fat can be detrimental to your health especially if you suffer from chronic conditions such as high cholesterol and heart disease. So please eat in moderation and avoid altogether if you are under medical advise to avoid eating fats.

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Fatty Ox Hong Kong Roast Duck: He's not Fat and He's No Ox, but He's Back!

The stall is closed wef 29 June 2009, the owner is looking for a new location

Roast Duck $32 each

Fans of Fatty Ox Hong Kong Roast Duck can rejoice that their favourite Hong Kong Roast Meat man is back after a one and a half year hiatus.

Unlike some other stalls whose "comeback" is claimed by a relative or an ex-employee of the place, this one is a proper return to the pugalistic world (Chung2 Chu4 Jiang1 Hu2) of the famed roaster, Fatty Ox. The last time I met Mr Fatty Ox was just before he closed his shop at Murray Street. Since then Mr Cheung, who is neither fat nor bears any resemblance to an Ox (The only truth in the stall name is the fact that he is indeed from Hong Kong) has been roaming the HDB estates looking for a suitable place to once again entice Singaporeans with his Roast Duck.

I am sure glad he is back because his Roast Duck is still one of the best around. Tender and nicely spiced and served with plum sauce, I gave it high marks in my last review and I am glad to report that standards have not dropped. 4.5/5


Char Siew $32 per kg

When it comes to Char Siew, I had the most mind blowing experience recently when our makan kaki Wahcow, bless his soul, tarpaued this incredible Char Siew from KL which is like 50% meat, 50% fat but 100% shiok. That Char Siew scores a 4.85 from me but sadly I have not come across any that is close to it this side of the border.

Fatty Ox's Char Siew doesn't come close but is one of the better ones around. In terms of tenderness and juiciness it scores very highly. However, it still lacked that X factor when it comes to the taste. Alas, now that I have tasted that KL Char Siew, I might not be completely satisfied with any of the local ones anymore! 4.25/5



The Sio Bak was tender and juicy and meat has a great flavour. It is much better than a lot of other places where the Sio Bak is always cut too thin and the meat is completely dry. My only complaint that day is that the skin wasn't as crispy as it should be. That could be because I went after the lunch hour, so it wasn't freshly roasted. If you want the best roast meat experience, you might want to get there at around 11am to get the roast just when it comes out of the oven. 4.25/5

Conclusion

I am sure fans of Fatty Ox will be making a beeline to his new location. They still have one of the best roast duck in town in my opinion and the Sio Bak should also be one of the best around if you get it when it is just out from the oven.

Fatty Ox Hong Kong Roast Duck
10 North Bridge Road (Just After North Bridge Road FC)
HP: 96385345
11am to 9pm
Closed Alt Wed

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Hawker Home Recipes: Fatty Cheong's Char Siew

A trip to Fatty Cheong's Char Siew is regular after-church ritual for the family. The kids love it, the in-laws love it and most importantly, I also love it. Ok lah, we always try to bring the kids to what they like to eat, but it is always a bonus if I also like the food as well. Parents, you know what I mean right?

After blogging a few Char Siew places, we are always drawn back to Fatty Cheong's as his Char Siew is consistently juicy and well charred. Anyway, for those of you who like to try making Char Siew at home, I managed to convince Fatty Cheong to share with us his Char Siew recipe.

According to him, the following are the ingredients he actually uses at the stall. Of course, the big difference is that he has a charcoal oven but many of us don't. So you will have to use your conventional oven or one of those "Xue Di Zi" aka Turbo Broiler if you have one of them. Incidentally, you probably know of the "Xue Di Zi" (Flying Guillotine) if you are about my age (or older) as it was one of those iconic weapons in old Kung Fu films. My mother-in-law affectionately named her Turbo Broiler (also an iconic kitchen weapon in that era) "Xue Di Zi" because of the similarity in shape. I wonder if it is just her or does everyone else also call it a "Xue Di Zi"?

Fatty Cheong's Char Siew Recipe:

1 kg Pork Collar (if you like it juicy) or Pork Shoulder (if you like it leaner)

500g Sugar

300g Oyster Sauce

300g Bean Paste (Dou Jiang)

200ml Soya Sauce

3 teaspoon Rice Wine

2 teaspoon Black Soya Sauce

2 teaspoon Red Colouring

Mix all the ingredients together to make the marinade then use it to marinade the meat for at least an hour or even better if you can marinade it overnight.

Roast in a moderately hot oven for half and hour, turning and basting the meat till it is cooked and slightly charred.

Conclusion

As with all hawker recipes, a lot of "Agarism" (estimation) is involved. So you might have to tweak it a little to suit your taste. And if you find it too tedious, you can always pop down to Fatty Cheong's to get some freshly roasted Char Siew!

Do write in and let us know if the recipe works for you!

Fatty Cheong
ABC Brickworks Food Centre
6 Jln Bukit Merah #01-120 (near POSB ATM)
Open 11am till about 8.30pm
Closed Thursdays
98824849, 94281983

What to do next:

Read more about the Xue Di Zi here

Watch "Master of the Flying Guillotine" here (Get ready for a great 70's Kung Fu flick)

Check out the other famous places for Char Siew

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Yan Ya: Smoked Duck Specialist

With SCS Butter


Tucked deeper in this little Coffeeshop in Siglap is a smoked duck joint that looked pretty promising. Actually this LTN coffeeshop is pretty horribly laid out. There is little exposure for the stalls that are deep inside the coffeeshop but I am beginning to appreciate just how many gems there are in there. Right towards the end there is a Tandoori stall and a Vadai stall which are both pretty good which I have yet to take some pictures of.

But anyway, the one that caught my attention was this stall that claims to be the specialist in smoked duck. Yeah, my sentiments exactly. What's the diff between smoked duck and roast duck? Seems like the same deal to me.

But the duck actually turned out to be unexpectedly good! And I must say that the flesh has actually got a smoky flavour to it. (Or is this just a case of auto-suggestion?) Anyway the duck was quite enjoyable and the char siew was also quite pleasing. Don't mind eating here at from time to time since it is so close to home. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Not bad, not bad at all! I'd say this is a "yet to be" rated Roast Duck. Only problem is that they don't have the plum sauce to go with it.

Yan Ya
936 East Coast Road
LTN Eating House
10am to 10pm

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Golden Horse Roast Meats: More like Golden Pegasus!

I don't know about you, but I don't really think much of the typical BBQ chicken wings. I generally feel that most of them are too conservative. What I look for in a good BBQ chicken wings is that sticky sweet and spicy caramelized glaze that gives you that eye opening oooomph when you bite into it. A few years back, there was this particular stall along Zion Road which sells the most shiokalicious wings and Char Siew. But sadly, they moved out and last I heard, they have retired. I have since been searching high and low for beloved BBQ chicken wings.

That is why I am so excited to have found this "undecorated" stall while searching for something to eat at Bukit Merah View Food Centre. They don't seem to have a lot of wings or Char Siew on display but the wings looked so good, I just had to give one a try. Phwa! Phwa phwa phwa! I found it, I found it! These spicy sweet chicken wings will sure hit the spot if you have just spent the last week preparing for your cholesterol test and have just gotten a good result. The glaze is sticky and sweet and has just the right amount of spiciness to give you that zing when you bite into the juicy and succulent meat. Of course I had the fortune of eating it when it was just taken out of the oven! I could easily down half a dozen of these before going for the Char Siew! 4.5/5

Now, this little shop is what I would call a boutique Roast Meat stall. By "boutique" I mean that they only make a small amount everyday and the owner lovingly glazes each item till it is cooked till perfection. It was just a thrill to see how much effort went into glazing the few strips of Char Siew and then putting it back into the oven, then pulling out the wings, glazing them, putting them back in the oven, then taking out the Char Siew again...........



The Char Siew is unsurprisingly, also very very shiok. Apart from the sticky glaze, the texture of the meat is also very different. By using pork collar meat and controlling the roasting process to perfection, they managed to get the texture of the meat to almost a "fishball" like consistency. The meat is really chewy and tender at the same time! Excellent Char Siew! 4.5/5



Conclusion

Totally and unexpectedly delighted. This stall has been around for over 20 years, but there is hardly any write-ups displayed on their stall front. Just looking at the one white chicken, 2 roast chicken, 4 charsiew and one rack of chicken wings, one can be forgiven to just pass on by. But boy was I sure glad I took the chance and tried one of their chicken wings. It's a real gem of a find!

Golden Horse Roast Meats
Bukit Merah View Food Centre
#01-283
10.30am to 10pm
Closed on Sun and Pub Hols

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Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint: Move over Colonel Sanders, I also got 11 Herbs and Spices!

With iwatch_ueat and SCS Butter


I am beginning to realize the only common thing about Char Siew is the fact that it is long strips of marinated meat! No, some people don't even BBQ their Char Siew and it still passes off as Char Siew. (I am not in anyway endorsing this, but I even see it in Hong Kong!) It does not have to be red in colour, some are dark brown or even near black. And the number of recipes for Char Siew abounds. My last post on Char Siew featured a Teochew style Char Siew which uses Tau Cheo (Fermented Beans) and malt. The Fatty Cheong Char Siew was an Oyster Sauce and caramelised sugar version. Now I discover Kay Lee's Zhu Jiang version which uses Yao Chai (Herbs) in the marinade!



The Lao Ban Niang is a colourful character who is fiercely passionate about the Zhu Jiang heritage of her Char Siew and Roast Duck. She insists that she has tasted all the best Char Siew in Singapore and still feels hers is the best.

"We don't use any MSG in our marinade! My sauce is the only one of its kind in Singapore. When you taste it, it leaves a Karm Karm (Astringently sweet is the best I can describe this word) taste in your palate, AND you never get thirsty from it!" She boldly declared. Even the method of chopping the duck is special. She chops it diagonally, insisting that it makes a difference to the texture of the meat.

The only thing I love more than people with passion is expressive people with passion!



The Char Siew here is very shiok and, as the Lao Ban Niang said, the sauce is very special. And most importantly they use the pork "Armpit" meat which is beautifully marbled. It's wonderfully tender and chewy at the same time. 4.5/5

SCS Butter and I had differing opinions on the duck. I thought it was one of the best ducks I have tasted in Singapore though it still lacks that extra ooompph that I referred to in my last Roast Duck post. The special thing about it though, is that the skin is crispy which sets it apart from a lot of other Roast Ducks. 4.5/5



The Sio Bak here is very good. The skin is crispy and the meat has got enough five spice and salty flavour. Unfortunately we ate it in the afternoon so it was not fresh out of the oven. It would have been even better then! 4.25/5

The steamed soup here is excellent. I liked the watercress soup just slightly more than the winter melon. Those who are fat conscious should skim off the layer of fat on top of the soup which is evidence of how long the soup has been steamed. Lao Ban Niang claims that they are slow cooked for 6-8 hours to extract all the flavours. Again she claims that no MSG is added! With the soup so tasty, I was of course a bit skeptical. But we all can say that we did not have that "post MSG thirst" that you usually get with poor quality MSG.



I have saved the best for last!

This is my discovery of the month! Hakka Salt Chicken! I am not sure if there are other stalls in Singapore that sells this but this is the first time the 3 of us were eating this dish. The chicken is first boiled then roasted. After it is chopped into bite sized pieces, a special condiment made from fried garlic, ginger and lemongrass is liberally spooned on top of it. I think God must have made Chicken and Ginger to go together! Somehow the combination just tingles the tastebuds like a well composed symphony. First bite was a "Phwa Sayah, where have you been all my life" experience. If you don't come all the way from Choa Chu Kang for the Char Siew, you must come for this chicken! 4.75/5

Conclusion

Excellent roasted meat with a unique sauce that is not commonly found. The hidden pearl is the Hakka Salt Chicken which is a really Must Try!

Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint
125 Upper Paya Lebar Road
67438778
kayleeroastmeatjoint.com
10am to 7pm
Closed on Tuesdays

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Lau Phua Chay Roasted Duck: Teochew Style Roast Meat Anyone?

With Tag, Carnineviand, iwatch_ueat and Bashful Hunter


If there is one thing the Teochews are not well known for is Roasted Duck. We are more famous for our Braised Duck. So when this Teochew Ah Hia told me that his Char Siew and Roast Duck is Teochew Style it threw me absolutely off balance.

So what is so special about Teochew style Roast Meat? I am seriously wondering if you can find this type of Char Siew if you went to Swatow today! Did this man invent his own style of Roast Meat or does this style of Char Siew really exist in Swatow? Will some Teochew Ah Zhek (uncle) please let us know?

The stallowner explained that Teochews love sweet things. (Think Orh Nee and Teochew Bak Chang which has sweet bean paste inside) So the Char Siew is much sweeter then usual. He shared that his marinade has got bean paste and malt in it. Certainly the sauce that he liberally pours over the rice is unique. It was pretty lumpy and was quite sweet which suited my palate very well.



Undoubtedly the Char Siew here is the star of the show. Don't be alarmed, he does serve leaner cuts, but when asked which bits are the best bits, he joyfully cut up the sample shown in the picture. Oooooh, I feel my tongue tingling and my coronary vessels stiffening up at the same time! There is nothing more sinful and shiok than burnt fat with caramelised sugar! 4.5/5

Both Sio Bak and Roast Duck here are competent but not as outstanding as the Char Siew. So I will give it a 4/5 and say no more.

Conclusion

Have to add Teochew Style Char Siew into your Char Siew resume, don't you think? Worth travelling all the way from Tampines for.

Lau Phua Chay Roasted Duck
Alexandra Village Hawker Centre
Stall 01-20
11am to 7pm
Saturday closed

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Foong Kee Wanton Mee: Wanton Mee Challange Part 1 of 3

$3 portion with extra Char Siew (Normal $2.50)

Wanton Mee is the quintessential street food and yet I have had so much difficulty finding one that I truly "die die must try" (ddmt). I really cannot understand why it is so difficult to make a great Wanton Mee. The way I see it, you need 1. Great Noodles 2. Great Sauce 3. Great Char Siew, 4. Great Wantons. If you look at the list of Wanton Mee Stalls that I have blogged so far, none of them have actually scored a 4.5. It would seem that Wanton Mee sellers have really been wanton about their Wanton Mees. Can't someone just dish out a truly ddmt Wanton Mee such that people will stop talking so fondly about the ones in Hong Kong?

Perhaps my problem is that I have yet to taste the best one! Fine, so I went on a Wanton Mee hunt and tasted three of the most talked about Wanton Mees in Singapore. Let's see if any of them can truly be called great.

First up is Foong Kee, who was rated #1 in a Sunday Plus article.

This stall has only been in operation for four years, but it has quickly risen to the top of the rankings. You could wait up to an hour during peak periods to get a plate of this Wanton Mee. The strength lies in the fact that they roast all their own Char Siew and they use a very good cut of pork so that the Char Siew is tender and juicy.



Their noodles are also made to specially from the factory so that they do have a quality taste and texture about it. It was better than most but I still had a niggling feeling that there must be a better one out there. The sauce was good, but just a little too bland for me. To zest it up, I asked for extra char siew sauce and chilli. Ohhh that really hit the spot! The wantons and shui gao were also very good but not outstanding. For a char siew lover like myself, this can be considered a very good plate of Wanton Mee. 4.25/5

Conclusion

The strength of this Wanton Mee lies in the quality of the Char Siew. It's certainly one of the best ones I have tasted in Singapore so far, but still a few elements short of it being legendary.

Foong Kee Coffee Shop
6 Keong Saik road
96953632
Open 11am to 8pm
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays

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