Lau Sim Shredded Chicken Noodles: You are only allowed a maximum of 7 giaos!

With Amagada and SCS butter

Shredded Chicken Noodles with Fish Dumplings (Her Giao)

There is a popular saying amongst the Hokkiens that Teochews are very "Hao Lian" (Proud). Well, when you meet a hawker like the Mr Sim, you can't help but agree that there is some element of truth in it. Having blogged so many hawker stalls, it is inevitable that when I chance upon a hawker that is a bit of a Food Nazi, there is a very big chance that he would turn out to be a Teochew.

But it is good to take pride in the food that you serve, because it is only that pride that keeps you from taking short cuts in the preparation process. The Teochew "Her Giao", which is a dumpling made with minced pork and dried sole wrapped in a skin made almost entirely of fish meat, is a labour intensive dish which many hawkers have decided to outsource to a supplier. You can't blame them really. In order to make the skin, you have to debone the yellowtail, take all the meat and knead it till it can be rolled out as a paper thin sheet. It is not something one would do unless he is a little "Hao Lian" about his food.



This stall is the kind of stall which I get very excited about blogging. SCS Butter has been telling me about this place for months, but he never mentioned about how the owner does business here. Situated in an old style coffeeshop with that classic old black and gold wooden signboard, you would be likely to give it a pass unless someone had told you about the stall. And even if you had just stumbled upon the stall and ordered a bowl of noodles, you probably wouldn't make the effort to return there again. That is because the chicken noodles are pretty ordinary and it is only the Her Giao and the Fish Balls which are exceptional. But if you just went up to the uncle and asked for a bowl of noodles you are not going to get any Her Giao. He only gives it to the regulars and for those people who actually ask for it.

That is not all, he imposes a restriction on how many Her Giao you can actually buy! So here are his rules:

1. You only get 2 Her Giao if you order a bowl of noodles
2. You cannot order just Her Giao without buying the noodles
3. If you buy a bowl of noodles with 2 Her Giao, you then have the option of buying a bowl of Her Giao soup. It is $3.50 and comes with 5 Her Giao
4. Each person is only allotted 7 Her Giao maximum. So if you want more, you have to bring friends along so you can eat their share

Now, he is not mean about it or anything like that. He just feels that he can only make so many Her Giao per week and he needs to make sure that customers that come to eat his Her Giao gets to eat something when they come to the stall. And he also feels that if you eat 7 Her Giao you probably reach the point of diminishing returns so you would get less enjoyment from the Her Giao as you start getting too full.


Special Her Giao 70cents each

So just how special is this Her Giao? Well, it is quite a different style of Her Giao from what I have been eating all along. The skin is rather chewy but somehow increased masticatory work you have to do brings out that extra "pangness" of the fish. Unlike other Her Giao, this one is packed full of the meat filling which has lots of "Ti Poh" (fried sole fish) in it. So if you love Ti Poh, you are going to love this. The soup here is very special too. It is almost milky white because of all the pork bones used to cook the soup. He does use a bit of msg in the soup but he has a money back guarantee should you feel thirsty within 3 hours of drinking the soup. 4.5/5

The chicken noodle as I have already alluded to is really quite ordinary. 3.75/5. But you need to order a bowl in order to order the Her Giao, so really, you have no choice but to eat it. SCS Butter was telling me that the Fish Balls at this shop is really quite special as well. They are only available on Fridays to Sundays and usually get sold out by lunch time. According to Mr Sim, the best time to eat the fish balls is at around 10.30am. If you come too early, the fishball would be a little more salty as they have not been soaked long enough and the texture is not as good. At 10.30am, the fish balls are just right.

Conclusion

This Her Giao is really quite special and coupled with a friendly Food Nazi, it was a really great eating experience.

Lau Sim Shredded Chicken Noodle
Tai Thong Coffeeshop
1 Tai Thong Crescent
Singapore 347835
96663183
7.30am to 1330pm
Closed on Mondays

....Read more!

Ming Kee Fuzhou Fish Balls:

It was reported that a recent poll done by Shin Min newspaper voted Tampines Round Market the Best Hawker Centre in Singapore. OK, I agree Tampines Round Market has got a pretty good selection of Hawkers but I was suprised that it was voted the best. If you ask me, I think Old Airport Road Food Centre should be one of the contenders for Best Hawker Centre. The other contenders in my books would be Maxwell Road and Golden Mile Food Centres.

How would you judge a great food centre? For me it is mainly based on the number of great stalls around and the variety of food that you can find there. So, on one of those "Don't know what to eat days" you should be able to just pop down to the Food Centre, have a look around, and end up with a table full of great eats. And for me, Old Airport Road Food Centre is just one of those places. There are lots of good stalls around and I think you can find almost any hawker dish there, even uncommon ones like this Fuzhou Fish Ball noodle. And it is not just that it is available, this particular stall also happens to be quite popular and there is almost a perpetual queue till around 11pm when they close.



If you are looking for something warm for a light supper, this Fuzhou Fishball and Meatball soup might just do the trick and it is quite good value too! For $3, we counted at least 4 of each type of ball. The Meatball is a bit unusual and is sort of like a big Wanton that is filled with a pork filling. It has quite a special taste and is something you don't come across very often because it is imported from China (which might not be a good thing nowadays, but I still quite like it).



The Fuzhou Fishball is specially made in their factory and for those who might not have come across it yet, it is basically a fishball filled with meat. Fuzhou style fishball has quite a different texture to Teochew fishball as there is a higher ratio of flour to fish meat. So it is more doughy rather than springy to the bite. The soup is tasty (?msg++) and full of protein precipitate. 4/5

Unfortunately, most of our kakis found the Bak Chor Mee so so only. Nothing exceptional but an above average Bak Chor Mee which you can find late at night if you are hankering for this dish. 3.75/5

Conclusion

I am not really familiar with Fuzhou food. Any Fuzhou people out there who would like to recommend other Fuzhou places to eat?

Meng Kee Foo Chow Fish Balls
Old Airport Road Food Centre
Stall 103 (Facing Main Road)
7am to 11pm daily
Closed on Sundays

....Read more!

Chao Zhou Fish Ball: Retro Next Gen Fishballs with Killer Chilli and Lard!

There are updates at the end of the blog
With AlecEe, smart, iwatch_ueat and bashful hunter


Does Retro, Next Gen Fishball sound like an oxymoron to you? Let me explain just what I mean. This newly opened Fishball stall is actually a branch of the famous stall in Toa Payoh Lor 7 which has been in existence since 1968. The "prodigal" son of the owner finally returned to run the family business after spending 15 years trying to do his own thing. And he is determined to stick to the traditional way his father has been selling his famous dish but with a Next Gen spin on marketing.

So what is so traditional about this Fishball noodles? Well, for one thing, they actually rented 2 stall so that one stall is used only to make the fishball, crispy pork lard and the chilli. The condiments for the noodles are a combination of their killer chilli sauce, lard, tomato ketchup and vinegar, the same recipe the father had been serving up for close to 40 years.



Eddie explained that the time of the day that you eat the fishball is very important to the characteristic of the fishball. In the mornings the fishballs tend to be tastier but the texture not as bouncy. In the evenings, the fishballs tend to be less tasty but the texture becomes very bouncy. They make their fishball entirely from Yellowtail with no addition of fillers. Because of this they tend to look rather big when they are being cooked but shrink in size when they are left in the soup for a while.



The fishballs here were bouncy and very tasty. They were very good by my standards. However our two uncles were divided in their opinions. Smart loved it while AlecEe said they were not bouncy enough. Ahh, taste is indeed subjective or is it anything to do with whether one has dentures or not?

The ravable item here must be the sauce that goes with the noodles. For a person who does not regularly take chilli sauce, I actually quite appreciate this one. The fiery chilli will make you cough when the noodles arrive piping hot but does not linger on your tongue such that you need a drink! This is indeed fascinating, you get the kick but not the heat..... like taking Wasabi. The combination of the tomato, chilli and lard oil mixed into the Mee Pok is just one of those things that really satisfies a hunger craving. Shiok! 4.5/5

Conclusion

The combination of the chilli, tomato and lard in the mee pok has been etched permanently into my temporal lobes. This is my current favourite place for fishball noodles.

Update 1
Our readers report that the stall has been closed

Chao Zhou Fishball Noodles
Old Airport Road Food Centre #01-143/144 (Right in the corner furthest from the city)
9.30am to 8pm
Closed on Friday

....Read more!

Citizoom Minced Fish Noodle: Everything is made from Fish! Geylang East Central Part 1 of 6

With smart, iwatch_ueat and liverpool


Now this is a great one for those looking for something novel and healthy. This place sells Shou Gong Yu Mian (Handmade Fish Noodles). Not only is the noodle made of fish, the brown crispy stuff is also made of fish, the wanton is stuffed with fish and the noodles are topped with He Chor (minced fish).



The fishball here is one of the best I have tasted. Its substantial and meaty but at the same time bouncy and you can really savour the taste of the fish. I was told that they make all the ingredients themselves at a factory and they use only yellowtail fish. The fishballs are made from fish meat without fillers and that makes such a difference. The only let down was the soup, which could have been more solid.



These hawker has only been in business for over a year, but they are already making quite a name for themselves. The reason you are reading this today is because 3 different people told me about this stall last week!

Conclusion

Its new, its tasty, its healthy. Gotta try it right? 4/5 (The soup needs more kick!)

Citizoom Minced Fish Noodle
Blk 117 Aljunied Ave 2
#01-34
7am to 3pm
Closed Alternate Thursdays
Jorene Yeo 81254883

....Read more!

Yong Tau Foo: Is this the Ultimate YTF?

With our new makanbro, Liverpool1965!


Tucked in the People's Park Complex Food Centre is this stall with the longest queue I have ever seen!! And for something as unexciting (for me) as Yong Tau Foo! How can people get excited over Yong Tau Foo?

Everyone gets a standard bowl of Yong Tau Foo with no options for noodles or beehoon and no questions asked. Each bowl is $3 and the items are all standard. It's beginning to sound like the Food Nazi from that Seinfeld episode!

OK the verdict: The fried beancurd roll with fish paste was the star of the bowl. You can taste that it is really freshly fried and I have never tasted anything so good from any other YTF stalls. The fish balls were also very good as they make their own. The rest of the tofu were good but nothing to rave about.

The reason the stall only opens for business from 1pm is because all the preparation is done in the morning. From the beating of the fishballs, to the wrapping of the ngor hiang, to the frying, everything is done in the stall. I guess that's why it's so popular.

Conclusion

As good as YTF can get, I guess. I am not a big YTF fan, so if you ask me to line up behind 20 people, I'd give it a miss. 4/5 (I am sure YTF fans would give it close to a 5)

Yong Tau Foo
Peoples Park Complex Food Centre
Stall with the perpetual long queue
Opens 1pm sold out by 4pm latest

....Read more!

Yong Kee Fish Ball Noodle: Fishball at 2am anyone? ABC Food Centre Part 3 of 4

It is good to know that the humble fishball is experiencing a revival. Years ago the NEA (Environment Agency) restricted hawkers from making their own fishball for the sake of hygiene, it almost marked the dissappearance of the homemade fishball. Thankfully, the decision has been reversed and now I am discovering more and more homemade fishball vendors.

This particular stall not only sells fishballs, they also sell an interesting meatball which is a mix of pork, fish, chillies and spring onions.



One thing that is really good when the stall makes its own fishball is the soup. That is because the soup is made from the water that is a byproduct of the fishball making process. So this soup is really tasty and clear. The fish balls were excellent. They was tasty and had a great bouncy texture. 4/5 I wasn't too overwhelmed by the meatballs however, and would just go for the fishballs next time. 3.5/5

I just need to mention that if you are craving for fishballs at an unearthly hour, you can come down to ABC Food Centre because this stall is opened till 2am!! It is run by a husband and wife team that rotate on 2 shifts and they still managed to have 4 kids! Funny. Some people work really hard so that people like us can have something to eat late at night!


Yong Kee Famous Fish Ball Noodle
ABC Brickworks Food Centre
#01-121
7am-2am daily

....Read more!

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.

....Read more!

Special Yong Tau Foo - Golden Mile FC: Part 5 of 8

Accompanied by: ieatMaMa, iwatch_ueat, genetronic



Got there at almost 3pm and they have sold out most of their items. Aiya! Only able to taste the soup, a few fish balls and Tau Kee (Crispy Bean Sheets). I am not a big Yong Tau Foo man, so I've got to rely on ieatMaMa who loves the stuff to give her opinion.



If you want to eat great food, you have to look for hawkers who are passionate and proud of their heritage and cooking. There are a few types of hawkers nowadays. You have those in the food courts who are hired by a boss to run a stall, they won't know nuts about the food. Then, you have hawker traders who merely buy stuff to sell, like most Tau Hway (Bean Curd) and Ngo Hiang (Prawn Fritters) stalls. Most of the highest rated hawkers are of the third category. They insist on having the best ingredients and most of the time, this means that they have to prepare most of the food from scratch.




So here's the secret of this shop's success. They make their own fish paste and insist on using the traditional Hang Zse Her (Yellow Tail) fish. The fish paste is then used to fill the Capsicums, Brinjal, Tau Pok, Okra etc. The water that the fish paste is soaked in is used to make the soup! Mmmmm, no wonder the soup is so nice. And the fish balls are exceptional! They are not overly bouncy, but have that authentic bite and tastes like unadulterated fish meat, which is what it really is.




Conclusion

Have to come one day to try the full menu! They have over 10 items that they make themselves, and it should not only be really tasty, but quite healthy too! 4/5
(Real Yong Tau Foo enthusiasts may rate it higher)

Golden Mile Special Yong Tau Foo
B1-44 Golden Mile Food Centre
6298 5908
Opens 11am and usually sold out by 2.30pm
Closed Sundays

....Read more!