Thursday, August 1, 2013

Hong Kong Style Breakfast.

I expected to see a queue but i did not. There was only 2 other people right in front of me. 

You might be wondering who is Gen Shu (根叔)? He is originated from Hong Kong. He used to be the Head Chef of the famous Mouth Restaurant for 15 years then he retired. He gotten bored with his retirement and decided to start this humble stall at the heartland of Toa Payoh to share his love for Hong Kong Cuisine. 

It is rather difficult to find good yet authentic Hong Kong style breakfast in Singapore. 

There are at least 20 items on the menu but it is on rotation. Certain items are served on the weekdays and then the rest are on the weekend. The different types of steamed rice are usually available during the weekdays and the different Hong Kong style Dim Sum are usually for the weekend. 

I went for the special rectangular shaped Lo Mai Kai but it stated on their menu board that it is only available during weekends. He is the first and the only in Singapore serving it. 

I went for Chee Cheong Fun, Glutinous Rice and Fried Noodle. The assistant recommended their Siew Mai. He said they left the last 2 and i should try it. He shouted the orders to another assistant at other side of the stall in Cantonese. Self-service is expected.


The type of Chee Cheong Fun is not quite like those that i used to eat in Hong Kong. This one is without the filling. It is just plain rice rolls served with the sweet dark sauce and their specially made chilli sauce the topped with sesame seeds and chopped green onions. 


The texture of the Chee Cheong Fun was quite smooth and soft. It tasted good when eaten with the sauces. The dark sweet sauce has got the balance in between the sweet and salty taste. The chilli tasted good with a minimum level of spiciness.


A good portion of glutinous rice served with roasted peanuts, dried shallots and chopped onions with thier special chilli by the side. The texture of the glutinous rice was nicely gummy with a likable moistness. The roasted peanuts have a slight crunchiness that complemented the crispiness of the dried shallots. It went really well with their special chilli.


I would think the Siew Mai is a good recommendation. The size is slightly larger than those Siew Mai out there. It looked a bit like those Japanese Shuumai topped with a chinese wolfberry right at the centre. Though it is not good enough to compare to the exquisite version of those from the restaurants but it tasted good in its simple way. And, i must be lucky to get the last 2 pieces at 10.30 am. 



I tried the authentic Hong Kong style fried noodle. It was served with ingredients like bits of char siewbut lots of cabbage and beansprouts.  It is not the typical fried yellow noodle that we usually get but thetypical type of fried noodle that are commonly available in those Cha Chaan Teng in Hong Kong. The fried noodle has been stir-fried well and it somewhat retained the crunchiness of the beansprouts and cabbage by under-cooking it. I did not quite appreciate it though as the vegetable tasted a bit too hard. The fried noodle then served with a handful of chopped green onion, dried shallots together with their special chilli. The texture of noodle has got the desired softness and it tasted like e-mien. 

I paid $6.60 for everything.


If you could speak Cantonese, you could actually sit down with the friendly and chatty Gen Shu and have a chat with him. He might ended up sharing the stories of his glorious past with you. I could not speak Cantonese so i did not have such an opportunity though i spotted him sitting down with a group of his regular customers chatting over a cup of coffee. 

The stall starts as early as 6 am till noon or earlier if sold out fast.

This is a hidden gem in the heartland. 

GEN SHU MEI SHI SHI JIA
根叔美食世家
74 Toa Payoh Lorong 4
#01-03 Toa Payoh Vista Market
SINGAPORE 310074.

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