Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Matasoh Fishball & Meatball Mincemeat Noodle : handmade fishballs

Daddy Soh or Papa Soh, is the 2nd generation taking charge of this hawker stall. They used to be at Bedok North but closed in April 2019 before moving to the current location in August 2019. He has more than 40 years of experience in producing fishballs and fishcakes before deciding to bring the legacy of the fishballs noodle back. 

It was started by Grandma Soh. She was respectfully known as Mata Soh, literally means "Police Auntie" in Hokkien, partly based on her surname, which is Soh. She started selling the fishball noodles to bring up her 7 children single-handedly right after the end of the Japanese Occupation in the 1950s. The social disorder was a common scene at that time and there were disturbances such as taking the protection money from the street hawkers and shop owners by the gang members. Grandma Soh decided to liaise with the police officers for the much-needed protection to ensure the well-being of herself and the other hawkers. She has also won over the trust of many police officers by urging her fellow hawkers to follow the simple hygienic conditions as well as those simple rules. When her children were old enough, Daddy Soh and the others started to manage the stall at Geylang Lorong 25 as well as in making fishballs and fishcake 


This was one of the few stalls with a queue during lunch on a Sunday. I joined in and waited for a short while to order the Soh Special ($4.50/$5.50), listed as the number 1 item on their signboard. The menu also includes Huatiao Sesame Mee Sua Soup ($4/$5), Dry Noodle ($4/$5), Soup Noodle ($3/$4) and Fishball/Meatball Soup ($4/$5). I pointed to the plastic container placed together with the red-cut chilli and soy sauce, asked, "Those are fried lard?" The younger man replied, "Yeah. It is up to you to put all you want."


When I received my noodles, I added a ton of that crispy lard. The Soh Special is their newest addition, it is served with an onsen egg together with fishballs, meatballs, fishcake sliced meat, and minced meat. I broke the egg to mix it with the noodles and the chilli. The noodles were cooked well to the right texture and those bits of crispy lard actually enhanced the flavor. The odd-shaped fishballs were amongst the nicest that I have eaten, the texture was so soft and springy. The meatballs were equally good as fish meat was added for the desired bounciness. 


MATASOH FISHBALL & 
MEATBALL MINCEMEAT NOODLE
Block 90 Whampoa Drive #01-54 Whampoa Makan Place SINGAPORE 320090
Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 9.00 pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

1 comment:

  1. The food court at westgate, the fishball noodles also have osen egg, but its not on the menu. Just tell the counter u want to add egg. 50 cents only! for an osen egg! and it was perfect. But I think they don't do it anymore or have changed operator.

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