Sunday, March 15, 2020

Quan Xing Mei Shi : old school Laksa

This stall has been in this food centre for decades, it used to run by an elderly couple but it left only the elderly Uncle with his son. There is only Laska on their menu for $3.00 per bowl. Most of their customers are the residents staying nearby and have been patronizing the stall for the longest time.


It usually sold out quite early and that is why I was quite surprised to see the light of the signboard was still on at 11 am and quickly, I joined in the queue. There are choices of thick bee hoon, thin bee hoon, and yellow noodles. I opted for the yellow noodles, it was topped with chopped laksa leaves and sambal chilli to serve. The portion of yellow noodles was quite substantial, serving with ingredients like slices of fishcake and pieces of tau pok with a handful of cockles and beansprouts. 


It tasted old school, no-frills and purely comforting. This simple Laksa is good enough, it does not need premium ingredients to make it tastier. 


QUAN XING MEI SHI
162 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-26  Mayflower Food Centre SINGAPORE 560162
Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 1.00 pm

Thursday, March 12, 2020

Song Kee Fish Ball Noodle at Circuit Road Food Centre

This stall at Circuit Road Food Centre is one of the many outlets of Song Kee Fishball Noodle in Singapore. All of them are mostly operated by relatives, they are related but different entities and so, they will usually claim that they are, in fact, not related. The Finest Songkee's Cuisine at Upper Serangoon seemed to be the only exception, the nephew is a minor shareholder there so an identical name is used. As for this stall, it is operated by one of their uncles, and this uncle has been making fishballs for more than 40 years. He is still insisting on doing so right now. It is located just beside Soon Lee Lor Mee that I patronize regularly.


There was just another customer in front of me so it was my turn, he asked, "You want a mixture of everything?" I nodded. He took out the oval-shaped and started cooking. When it was done, he placed the bowl on the tray and collected $5. There is a smaller portion for $3.50.


The texture of fishballs was soft and bouncy, those 2 pieces of tau pok with fish paste were not too bad but there is no fish dumpling and no crispy lard too. The other Song Kee at Cheng San Food Centre in Ang Mo Kio used to have fish dumplings too but it seemed to stop serving. 



The other Song Kee at Tembeling Road in Joo Chiat will be moving to Yio Chu Kang Road in this coming April. The new shop is at 100 Yio Chu Kang Road and it is much nearer to where I am staying.


SONG KEE FISH BALL NOODLE
Block 79 Circuit Road #01-06 Circuit Road Food Centre SINGAPORE 370079
Operating Hours: 5.00 pm to 1.00 am (Closed on alternate Wednesdays)

Monday, March 9, 2020

Changi Lorong 108 Fei Lao Seafood at Bedok North

I have heard so much of this Horfun and so, made an effort to travel all the way to the east for lunch. The coffee shop was quite quiet when I was there. I heard they were really famous at one time when Fei Lao was still around at Changi Lorong 108. They were famous for their charcoal fried horfun at that time. They stopped using charcoal after moving to the current location as restricted by the National Environmental Agency (NEA). Fei Lao has since passed away bringing along his 40 years of wok skills. The stall is taken over by his nephew.


It was good though wok hei was not as distinctive as I expected it to be. This might be the only horfun that is serving with pork liver. It used to be a common ingredient for horfun but most have stopped doing so. Overall, it was tasty and memorable, this is definitely one of the special ones but though I still prefer the eggy horfun by Hoy Yong Seafood Restaurant at Clementi a little more. Nonetheless, the search for a good horfun is still on.


I also ordered the Fried Rice to share which I actually enjoyed but my dining companion did not think much of it. I think they have done it well, nicely seasoned with a slight smokiness, this is a much better Fried Rice as compared to most. 


I wanted to order Prawn Paste Chicken but I was told that they only serve the normal fried chicken mid-wings. My dining companion said, "I won't actually pay for normal chicken wings at cze cha stall." It does make sense.


I am likely to drop by again if I happen to be in the vicinity.


CHANGI LORONG 108 FEI LAO SEAFOOD
Block 86 Bedok North Street 4 #01-165 SINGAPORE 460086
Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 2.00 pm / 5.00 pm to 9.00 pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

Monday, March 2, 2020

Seng Kee 119 Steamed Fish Head at Chinatown

The steamed fish head is a common dish that is easily available at Chinatown Complex Food Centre as there are a few stalls serving it. And, this is amongst the most popular choices. When we were there for lunch, almost all the customers seated near the stall ordered their steamed fish head. We ordered it too since it is a must-try dish together with Pork Ribs King and 2 bowls of rice.



This Cantonese style steamed fish head is priced at $15 for a portion, consisting half a Song Fish head in their special sauce then topped with crispy lard. The fish though had a little mud taste but was tasted quite fresh. The special sauce was good to go with the rice, it tasted slightly spicy coupled with a slight tanginess and overall, quite savory. The fermented beans and crispy lard added flavor. The fish head was meaty but it came with a lot of fine bones so got to be careful when eating it.


The Pork Ribs King was a disappointment. My dining companion took a bite and said, "The meat is hard and not too flavorful."



SENG KEE 119 STEAMED FISH HEAD
335 Smith Street #02-190/191 Chinatown Complex Food Centre SINGAPORE 050335
Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm / 4.30 pm to 9.40 pm (Closed on Tuesdays)