Piao Ji Fish Porridge: Long Queue plus Pay More, still people come!

With Amagada, ieatjr and ieatprincess

Sliced Fish Soup $5-$7

With the increased emphasis on a healthier lifestyle, I am making a conscious effort to eat more vegetables and trying to substitute meat with fish instead. That does not mean that I am giving up on lard and beef burgers. But as with all things, moderation is the key. So even though you see a post on something really really unhealthy, you must remember that constitutes maybe 4 meals out of a possible 21 meals a week. That underscores what I mean when I say that one should "Never waste your calories on yukky food". Enjoy your food when it is really good and store up your calorie quota at other times.

Smart has been chastising me about not including this fish soup in my series on Amoy St Food Centre. He prefers this one over Han Kee. And since Amagada loves fish soup, I found myself at Amoy St Food Centre one Sunday for lunch after Church. I thought that being a weekend, I would not have to contend with the office crowd.

Boy was I wrong. There was a queue of like 20 people and the queue was moving very slowly. What to do? Die die must try, so Kwai Kwai must queue.

Forty minutes later we finally got our fish soup.

Well, the soup was not quite up to our very high expectations, but the fish was very fresh and moist. The fact that each bowl was cooked individually means that the old man made sure that the fish was not overcooked but maintained its juices. Good but not nearly as good as I expected it to be. My vote still goes to Han Kee. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Would not mind eating it if it wasn't for the long queue and the fact that the smallest serving was $5. So which one is better in your books? Han Kee or Piao Ji?

Piao Ji Fish Porridge
02-100 Amoy St FC
10.30am to 3pm
Closed on Thurs

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Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon: The Original XO Fish Soup!

Who in the world would think of putting XO into Fish Soup?

A guy who loves XO, that's who. It turns out that the inventor of the XO Fish Soup was none other than an XO salesman who loved his drinks so much that he added it into Fish Soup. And as it turned out, it worked!

Come to think of it, there is no reason it wouldn't work. If you think of the creamy fish soup like any European cream based sauce, putting a dash of brandy in it actually does make sense.

But as luck would have it, our man Ricky struck gold when he came up with the very first XO fish soup some fourteen years ago and sprouted lots of copy cats ever since. (So he claims) According to Ricky, you can't just simply add the XO into the soup at the end. Firstly, you don't just use any old XO, it must the best grade. Then it has to be added into the soup while it is boiling and allowed to cook for a little while (the timing is a trade secret). The dash of XO just prior to serving is but the garnishing at the end of the cooking process.

This stallowner is the type of person who believes in only using the best and freshest of ingredients. Well, there's really no point in wasting good XO on 2nd rate produce is there? So he brags about how he sources his snakeheads (Loi He) from Malaysia and how he only uses the top grade MSG so that it doesn't cause the bad aftertaste. The result is a tasty fish soup with that extra XO kick! One little word of reservation. It's been a while since I ate here but I could have sworn the soup was a little more tastier in the past. Might be just that day's batch. 4.25/5



The other dish that I always order when I am there is the Har Cheong Kai (Prawn Paste Chicken). It's always freshly fried, crispy on the outside, juicy and fragrant on the inside. Again, the use of good prawn paste and MSG with fresh (not frozen) chicken wings really makes a difference. I love to dip the wings into the fish soup for just a quick soak before biting into the piping hot mid wing. Heavenly! 4.5/5

Conclusion

It is written that

The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11

Ricky himself admitted that he knows nuts about cooking, but somehow the addition of XO into fish soup became an instant success story. Really goes to show that a lot of success in life has to do with chance and opportunity doesn't it?

Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon
Blk 46, Holland Drive
#01-359
67783691
11.30am to 2pm
5pm to 11pm
Ricky Lau 98331003

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Jing Hua Sliced Fish Bee Hoon: Ooommmph!

With Damien and smart


This is simply the most delicious fish soup I have had this year. I had my doubts at first when smart was lining up for the fish soup, but my first taste of it was quite a Holy Grail experience. OK I admit it, even though I have always called myself a Teochew Ah Hia, I think that I prefer the Cantonese Style milky fish soup to the Teochew version. Oops! I think I can hear my ancestors all turning in their graves.

Forget all that hype about XO, if you've got a tasty fish soup, you don't need to hide behind the veil of XO brandy. Plus the best thing is that you don't have to pay a bomb for the fish soup because it comes in individual servings. The only problem with it is the long queue even in off peak periods. But there is a good reason why there is a queue and it is because each bowl of soup is made individually. But take it from me, the queue is worth it especially when it is someone else who doing the queueing (Thanks Uncle Smart). 4.75/5



Conclusion

It's really shiok. This one I am certain that many will agree.

Jing Hua Sliced Fish Bee Hoon Stall
77 Maxwell Road Food Centre
11am to 8.30pm
Thursday Closed

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King's Fish Soup: Savvy 21st Century Hawkers

This stall is closed

With AlecEe, Kathleen, smart, pk, iwatch_ueat, liverpool and zanzoo


It's interesting to observe how our hawkers are evolving. If you think that the typical hawker is your dialect speaking, internet unsavvy, middle aged Auntie/Uncle, then think again. There is a new generation of young and hip hawkers that will transform the local hawker scene during our lifetimes.

These young hawkerpreneurs don't start with the concept of opening just one stall to sell their food. No, they incorporate a Pte Ltd company with the vision of opening chain stalls. They think about the marketing aspects of their dishes, trying to differentiate on quality, and carving out a niche for themselves by focusing on key competitive advantages.

Now why am I saying all this? Well, its because King's Fish Soup is just one great example of the 21st century hawker. The lady (one of our blog readers) who invited us to her stall turned out to be no hawker mama. She's young, attractive and also happens to hold the title of the Business Development Manager!

The food also reflects modern thinking.

Traditionally, fish soup tends to be Teochew in origin, but these people proudly declare that theirs is Cantonese Fish Soup. According to them, its different because its been boiled longer and they have the addition of the shredded deep fried eggs on top. They also make the big point that there is no MSG added to the soup. Rather then using the cheaper Dory for the fried fish, they use fresh Batang for better flavour.



I found the fried fish very tasty and the deep fried eggs are sinfully good. But redemption for that sin comes from the MSG free soup which was tasty and sweet, although with no MSG, it did lack that extra ooomph. 4/5

Conclusion

MSG free soup and fried Batang fish sets this stall apart from the rest. And of course, you get to order from a Business Development Manager cum Customer Relations Officer!

King's Fish Soup
Blk 6 #02-18 Tanjong Pagar Plaza
Tanjong Pagar Food Centre
Mon-Sat 11am to 7pm
64668187
Disclaimer: We were invited to review this stall by Claire

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Mei Xiang Fish Soup: Unusually Un-Cheng Fish Soup

With iwatch_ueat and SCS Butter


What do you look for in a Fish Soup? Some people go for Fish Soup that is very "Cheng" (clear). If you are the "Cheng" type, then you will be very disappointed with this soup. But if you are like me who like a bit of ooomph in the soup, then you would like this one.

The soup here is full of "bits" inside, bit cloudy but really tasty. Not sure if this is due to MSG or not, but it sure hits the spot. We ordered the "Black and White" which costs $6 for a big bowl. You get nice, thickly sliced fish and fried battered fish which is quite yummy (bit on the salty side). 4.5/5

This stall is a bit of a Food Nazi. They don't allow you to take away so if you really want to take it home, you'll have to bring your own box! Also note the weird opening times! However, when I spoke to the owner in the afternoon he seemed quite nice and did not quite appear like a Food Nazi. Maybe you have to get him when he is really busy!

Conclusion

Very shiok fish soup but not for those who like their fish soup to be "Cheng".

Mei Xiang Fish Soup
Stall 44
Jalan Berseh Food Centre
10.12am to 3.16pm
Closed Sat, Sun and Pub Hols

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Yong Lai Fa Ji: Sliced Fish Head Soup!

With iwatch_ueat and smart

Fish Soup $3

Smart tells me that he visits this particular fish soup at least twice a month although he would not say it is the best in Singapore. It has the combination of being "one of the best" and being "close to home". So as a result, he was willing to sacrifice a bit of ooomph for convenience.

Macpherson estate is one of the oldest parts of Singapore, so the food here is still pretty cheap. The food centre is still very much in its original condition, so I suspect that the "Gow'ment" will probably be renovating it soon. Being such an old place, there were lots of stalls that looked like they served really good stuff that was still not too "sanitized". You know what I mean right? Somehow food that is too clean does not taste as robust as food that may have an element of risk in it. Now, I am not advocating that we should all throw caution to the wind. Just merely stating an observation. Lots of people would agree that the food in JB is much tastier than Singapore and that the best Hawker foods are often found in rustic places rather then spotless spots.

The soup here is indeed very good. The fish is fresh and they are quite generous with the amount of fish. I especially liked the Ti Poh (Fried Sole Fish) which was very "Pang" (Savoury). They make everything themselves here including the Ti Poh and the Ikan Bilis (Fried Anchovies) and the soup is made from boiling fish bones and chicken for at least 8 hours. They also add bittergourd in the soup. Tasty and at the same time good for your cholesterol levels! 4.25/5


Fish Head Noodles $4

I am not one for Fish Head, but smart is. This Fish Head noodle soup is his fortnightly "must eat" dish. The interesting thing about it is that they use the dried egg noodles to cook the dish. These noodles have a unique texture and tastes quite savoury. They are also very generous with the chunks of Batang Fish Head and the soup is sweeter than the normal sliced fish soup. Smart rates it a 4.5/5.

Conclusion

Very good sliced fish soup and real value for money. My only complain is that they only give one or two pieces of the excellent Ti Poh!

Yong Lai Fa Ji Cooked Food
Macpherson Food Centre
79A Circuit Road
5am to 9pm
Closed Sun and Pub Hol

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Jason's Fish Soup: Fish Skin anyone?

With iwatch_ueat and gubak


This is another one of those food blogs to make Westerners cringe. (Not all, of course) As is widely known, we Chinese eat anything that has legs and have their backs facing heaven. (Where does that leave snakes and monkeys?) Not only that, we eat almost every part of the animal. That's cos in poverty stricken China, its not every day that you get to kill the prized pig. So don't waste all those lovely innards yah?

Anyway, this blog is not about pigs, it is about fish. But what makes this fish soup special is that they serve fish skin as one of their specialties. Yes, I see you cringing. We both brother/sister, we both.

Me, I'm no fish skin person. But as I say, if other people like it, I am willing to at least give it a try. I was brought up thinking that the skin of the fish is the part that makes it Chor (gives it its fishy odour). I actually grew up not liking fish much because of the fishy odour. So it was already an achievement for me to start eating fish, much less eating the most fishy part of the fish!


Fish skin or Snake skin?

Truth be known , the skin actually tastes alright. It did not have that fishy odour that I was worried about. The texture was like soft pasta and was a bit slimy on the inside. Tastewise, I can't really describe. I guess it tasted like fish. The soup was good and Jason spikes his soup with a generous dash of Hua Tiao Chiu (Chinese Rice Wine) which gave it quite a kick. I arrived too late that day, so the fresh fish was sold out, but I was told by gubak that the fish is usually very fresh and the quantity generous. 4/5

Conclusion

I don't think I will specifically order the fish skin again, but the soup and the fried fish was pretty good and at $3 a bowl, I'd say its quite good value too.

Jason's Fish Soup
Golden Shoe Carpark
#03-25
10am to 3pm

Recommended by Gubak

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Ng Soon Kee Fish and Duck Porridge: Shiokafishsoup!: Geylang East Central Part 3 of 6

With liverpool, smart, tamago and iwatch_ueat



When you look at the mound of freshly sliced fish at this stall, you immediately know that you are dealing with a man who cares about fresh ingredients. Especially with the monsoon rains causing a shortage in supply of fresh fish, it takes a real passionate Teochew Ah Hia (Typical Teochew Man) to bid top dollor for the fish and still sell it at the same price.



This is one of the few hawker stalls around which sells sliced Pomfret fish soup with Szechuan Vegetables. You can of course get this dish at a Cze Char. But over here you get a nice bowl of Slice Pomfret Soup from $5. (The portion shown here is $8) The fish was super fresh but we had to request a bit more Szechuan vegetables to give the soup more kick! 4/5



The Batang Sliced Fish soup on the other hand was really tasty. Compared to the Pomfret, the Batang soup was more potent and definitely one of the tastiest fish soup I have tasted. 4.5/5 Pity you can't get the delicate flesh of the Pomfret and the potent Batang soup in the same bowl! The stallowner emphasized that the soup stock is prepared from fish bones and Old Mother Hen and they don't use any Pork bones at all.



I can understand the Teochew Passion for Fresh Fish since the Teochew's live in a region of China close to the river where Fresh Fish is readily available. But why Duck and Goose? Eating Goose is like eating the family dog since they are often used as "Watchdogs" at the farm.

Anyway, you should try the braised duck here. It is very shiok. The taste of the Lengkuas (Blue Ginger) really comes through nutralizing any "fowl" smell and the duck has been braised to the extent that the braising sauce has permeated right through to the bones. $3 4.5/5

For those who like to try braising duck at home, the stallowner was kind enough to share his "Secret" brand of Dark Sauce with us! -------->

Conclusion

If you like fish soup and you have not tried this one then you really need to add it to your fish soup resume!

Ng Soon Kee Fish & Duck Porridge
Blk 117 Aljunied Crescent Ave 2
#01-11
12noon to 9pm
Closed Sunday
Ng Hoe Soon 67476014

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Hong Qin Fish Porridge: The early bird catches the Fish!

Bad news for lovers of Sliced Fish Soup! There is currently a shortage of fish which I suspect is due to the heavy monsoon rains. So by 1pm, the Uncle told me that I may not even get fresh sliced fish soup and may have to settle for fried fish instead. So dissppointed as this was my second attempt to taste this famous Fish Soup widely held by some to be the best fish soup in Singapore.



Luckily, we still managed to get a few slices of fresh fish in our soup to try. The Uncle admitted to us that the quality of the fish was only 70% of what it is normally due to supply problems. Nevertheless, the soup was still very Cheng (clear and light) and sweet. The fresh fish was nothing to rave about that day, but I was pleasantly surprised by the really tasty fried fish. Ok, real fish lovers will criticise me for this, but I actually liked the fried fish very much. The seasoned batter perfectly complemented the fish meat making it really Pang (savoury). 4/5 (Should score better when there is no supply problem)

Conclusion

Real pity about the fish supply. Judging from the crowd of people eating the fish soup, it just has got to be better then this. I shall have to return after monsoon season!

Hong Qin Fish Porridge
302 Sims Ave/Lor 27
8am to around 2pm daily
Closed on 1st and 15th of the month

Acknowledgment: First heard about this store from eslim!

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Northen Thai: Tom Yum Soup with a Twist!

With smart, mien, iwatch_ueat, fertilefoodie and accidentalfoodie


I have been eating at this stall for 2 years and I am still amazed why they have not gotten a newspaper writeup or have any mediacorp stars' face pasted on the stallfront yet!! Time and time again, when I bring my friends here, the response has always been a resounding SHIOK!! This time round, the four new foodies all agree that this stall deserves a rating of between a 4 to a 4.5.

Besides the taste, the other great thing is that the Tom Yum Fish Soup is unlike anything I have ever eaten here or in my 2 years living in Bangkok! It is not the classic Tom Yum that we know. The soup is more like a cross between Tom Yum and Tom Kha (With coconut milk). The soup is robust with the flavours of lemongrass, basil, chilli padi and Kaffir lime leaves to give it that tangy and spicy taste with just a tint of coconut to give it some body.



The other thing to die for is the crispy fried fish. For me at least, the fried fish was astounding! It has just the right balance of seasoning (and most likely MSG) to get your umami receptors happily pinging away.

Conclusion

You must try this because it is not only really shiokadoo, it is the only version of it I know of anywhere in Singapore! $3 4.5/5


Northen Thai
Coffee shop at the Cnr of Tyrwhitt
and Kitchener Road
10.30am to 4.30pm Closed on Sundays

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Hong Kong Street Chun Kee: Is there milk in the soup?

With ieatFamily, skinnyfoodie and chinchyeguy


Everytime I eat this type of fish soup, I have 2 questions. The first is, "How come the soup is white?" The second is, "Why are there so many restaurants named Hong Kong Street, which one is the original one and how come the government allow so many restaurants to have the same name? Isn't there a law against such things?" (Ok, that was 4 questions)

So this is one of those serendipidous blogs which I hope will elicit a "Orrrr! Like THAT one!" (Eureka!)



Would it surprise you if I told you that you don't need milk to make the fish soup white? It certainly surprised me! For many years, "people" have told me that milk was added to the fish soup to make it white, and I always assumed that this was so. Imagine my surprise when the Uncle explained to me that they don't put milk in the fish soup!

The first step in the fish soup receipe is to deep fry the sliced Toman fish. Once it is browned and the oil has absorbed the fishy flavour, most of the oil is decanted, leaving just enough to mix with the soup stock.



I thought it was supposed to be some really thick fish stock but was very surprised that it was a simple ginger stock! (At this point I was in a state of disbelief)



Next, the lid is put on the wok and high heat is applied until white smoke start streaming from the edges. The ginger stock is then poured over the lid slowly. The combination of the high heat, stock and oil enables the oil and water to combined together into an emulsion! It takes almost 5 to 10 minutes to make one bowl of fish soup! And because every bowl is made separately, you can't really ask for more soup without having to wait.

After the soup has turned into a milky white colour, some condiments are added. The last step is the addition of Chinese rice wine just before serving. As you know, some other stalls have substituted Chinese rice wine with XO.

The soup was good and certainly better then the fish soups that you get at the normal hawker centres, but I remembered it to be more shiok in the past. (Might be a case of having high expectations) That day it only scored 4/5.

Now that you know how it is made, you would realise that this type of fish soup is cannot be considered "healthy"! $10 per bowl



The bittergourd pork ribs was another of the signature dish of the restaurant. According to the Uncle, they were the first stall to introduce this dish which has become quite popular in many Cze Char stalls. It was tasty, but I found the pork ribs to be really small and emaciated. $8 4/5



If this had been just called Deep Fried Chicken Wings, I would have given it a high mark! It was really crispy and the chicken was tasty. However, being Prawn Paste Chicken, I have to say that the prawn paste taste did not really come through. The chicken flesh also lacked the red colouring which would indicate that the meat was marinated long enough. Dissppointed that day because it used to be soooo shiok! $10 3.5/5



The Sliced Fish Hor Fun was still good. Both Kway Teow and Sliced Fish were very fresh! $8 4/5



According to this uncle, his mother was the one who originally ran the stall at Hong Kong Street. They then moved to Commonwealth Ave and in 1997, following a newspaper article on their Fish Soup, the business started to boom. This then gave rise to many of his chefs leaving to start their own "Hong Kong Street" restaurants. Now you see them everywhere and "Hong Kong Street" has become synonymous with the milky fish soup.

Conclusion

This restaurant used to be really good. I have eaten there quite a few times and the Fish Soup and Prawn Paste Chicken never failed to satisfy. Though they were still good that day (still better then a lot of other fish soups), it was nowhere near what I remembered. May be a case of a new Chef that day!


Hong Kong Street Chun Kee
Blk 125 Bukit Merah Lane 1
#01-190
62718484/62728484

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Old Signboard Fish Porridge Bukit Timah Food Centre Part 3 of 5

If you are in the Bukit Timah Food Centre and feeling guilty about all the lardy, artery clogging stuff that you have eaten the night before, then have no fear! There's a pretty decent fish soup stall in the food centre where you can make your confession and receive a pardon.

The stall makes it very clear that they have been around since 1966 and that's a good thing. They serve both Batang and the more expensive Red Grouper. My wife who is the fish soup afficianado said the fish soup was really good and the fish was fresh. I felt it was a decent bowl of fish soup and better than most. 4/5


Fish Porridge
Bukit Timah Food Centre
Up the stairs look to the left, can't miss it!
11.30am-3.30pm
Closed Thursdays

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Han Kee Fish Porridge Amoy Street Food Centre Part 3 of 5

Healthy stuff can't be all that tasty right? Wrong! This is one very tasty bowl of fish soup and it is healthy as well! It is probably one of the icons of Amoy Street Food Centre. One of the forummers (bobafett) is even willing to stick out his neck to proclaim it the best fish porridge in Singapore!

Uncle tells me that they use only good quality Knife Brand vegetable oil here and there is no pork lard used. The stock is also made purely from boiling the bones of the Batang (Mackeral). He would start boiling the soup from 5am in the morning and it would only be ready by 10am. For those more adventurous, you can also partake of the other parts of the fish like the eyes, head, stomach area, roe and the mail equivalent of roe. (Which I find very hard to put in writing)



You have to eat this piping hot because you don't want to overcook the fish. The fish is very fresh and the meat is firm but still delicate. Unlike most other fish porridge I have eaten, this one comes without the skin, so you don't get the Chow Chor (fishy odour) smell. The soup is really sweet and you can taste the quality and the effort that goes into the preparation. Even if you don't like fish, you might still like this because it isn't really fishy at all.



Yet another Teochew Ah Hia adament on using only the freshest ingredients! Again equally Hao Lian (Proud) about the quality of his food!

Conclusion

You don't have to wait until you are feeling guilty about all the unhealthy stuff you have eaten whole week to eat this. This is healthy stuff that you can really enjoy and still feel that you have done your heart a favour after that. 4.5/5


Han Kee Fish Porridge
Amoy Street Food Centre Stall (2nd level opp sgkueh stall 122) Open 10am to 3pm
Closed on Sundays

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