628 Soya Sauce Chicken in Ang Mo Kio

This is one of the newest stalls in this food centre that opened in March 2017, it used to be a mixed vegetable rice stall that was around for quite a few years. I was their only customer when I went for dinner at about 6 pm. I decided to go with their Soya Sauce Chicken Drumstick Noodle at $4.50, it is $1.50 more expensive as compared to their regular Soya Sauce Chicken Noodle at just $3 for their dry and soup version. If you do not like the noodle, there is an option to have with horfun too. Apparently, it is only $4 if you order the Soya Sauce Chicken Drumstick Rice. 

If you are thinking of getting half or a whole chicken, there are 2 sizes. The smaller chicken is $7 for half and $14 for the whole, the bigger chicken is $11 for half and $22 for the whole, it is served with some braised peanuts. You can choose to go with rice or noodle for just $1.00 each. They also served BBQ Pork Noodle for $3, it is actually the roasted pork that they are using. 

It tasted close to the Michelin-starred Hawker Chan Liao Fan Soya Sauce Chicken, which is not even that good, to begin with, and definitely not quite worthy of that Michelin award as there are many better Soya Sauce Chicken in Singapore just like Lee Fun Nam Kee in Toa Payoh and Chiew Kee Soya Sauce Chicken in Chinatown, which are my current favourites. Even this Soya Sauce Chicken from 628 Soya Sauce Chicken is not too bad as well. You should give it a try if you happen to be in this food centre. 

628 SOYA SAUCE CHICKEN

Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-59 AMK 628 Food Centre SINGAPORE 560628

Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 9.00 pm (Closed on Sundays)

Seafood White Bee Hoon : one of the best in Ang Mo Kio

You Huak Restaurant in Sembawang is likely to be the first to serve white bee hoon before it gained its popularity and they are believed to be the creator of this popular dish. I still remember those times that I joined the long queue to get a table there for their signature white bee hoon. Through the years, they went through a rebranding and also expanded to include a few other branches under the new name of White Restaurant, which is named after their famous white bee hoon. When this dish started to get popular, there are also other hawker stalls and Zi Char places starting to serve it.

There are 2 hawker stalls that are serving this dish in this food centre near my place, I have tried both and actually prefer the white bee hoon from this particular stall more. I have been one of their regular customers since their opening. Simon, the owner, used to work as a chef at a restaurant in London for many years. He started this stall about a year ago as they were still not that many stalls serving white bee hoon at that time. He is the only one that does the cooking so the standard has been quite consistent so far. He is a friendly chap and he often asked, "Why you did not come for so long?" even though my last visit was just a month ago.

I usually go for their basic portion for just $5.00 that is served with only prawns and clams, their ingredients are always fresh. Simon even made an effort to sear the prawns before cooking it to give it a delightful smoky flavor. He has also wok-fried the bee hoon to give it the charred flavor then left it aside and cooked it with the ingredients in the broth then served along with their freshly prepared fried lard.

During my recent visit, he was telling me that he experimented and using an improved recipe for his white bee hoon. I have told him before that his white bee hoon is amongst the most flavorful ones as compared to the others that I have eaten in Ang Mo Kio, that is probably explained why there is often a queue at his stall. 

SEAFOOD WHITE BEE HOON

Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-49 628 AMK Food Centre SINGAPORE 560628

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 2.00 pm / 4.00 pm to 8.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Sumo Big Prawn : Not recommended

This stall has been the talk of the town after a stall owner of a relatively famous prawn noodle shared it on her facebook. Some food bloggers went to try, they recommended and shared it on the social media. And then, the queue started to form and the waiting time is getting longer to about 45 minutes or even longer. Desmond is running the stall with his wife and his partner, his mother is there to help out at times. He used to be helping his father running a hawker stall in the food centre for a while prior to starting this stall.

The stall started in early September and it was really quiet during their first month, it was even so during the lunch and dinner. The cheapest item on their menu is Prawn Bee Hoon Soup for $5 but it is usually sold out by noon or earlier. This followed by the Sumo Big Prawn Bee Hoon Soup at $8 then the Crayfish Bee Hoon Soup at $13 and the Lobster Bee Hoon Soup is priced at $18.90 using the Asia lobsters, it will be replaced by the Columbia lobsters whenever it is out of stock and it will be at $24.90. These lobsters are not fresh but frozen lobsters and they are also using frozen cooked white clam, they are freshly cooked though. Their prawns are supposedly sourced from a fishmonger in the wet market at the food centre.

I was there near 5 pm, just right after their lunch break. The queue was not too long at that time but they were quite slow and it somehow jammed up the queue. I waited for about 25 minutes to order and another 10 minutes to receive it. Though some customers in front of me have ordered the Lobster Bee Hoon Soup but i decided to just have it with crayfish, this was so after reading some negative reviews that it was often overcooked and its texture was tough and bland. I have also ordered the Sumo Big Prawn Bee Hoon Soup.

I tried the Sumo Prawn Bee Hoon Soup first, it consists of 4 pieces of big prawns with quite a handful of clams. I was expecting it to be better but the broth was a little diluted with an artificial sweetness and a little greasy. I was told that they are also using margarine as a cheaper alternative rather than the butter to flavor the broth. The prawns were relatively fresh and quite big though, they even made an effort to remove part of the shell so much easier to eat. They managed to cook those white clams to the right texture. 

The Crayfish Bee Hoon Soup came with 3 pieces of crayfish that have been chopped into halves and serving together with the clams. The broth tasted better with more flavor as compared to the Sumo Big Prawn Bee Hoon Soup but it was equally greasy with a slight hint of garlic. Those crayfishes were cooked just right.

If i am to compare the values, the Crayfish Bee Hoon Soup is definitely of a better value as compared to the Lobster Bee Hoon Soup but the Sumo Big Prawn Bee Hoon Soup is more worth it as it is served with 4 pieces of relatively fresh big prawns at just $8.

SUMO BIG PRAWN

Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-72 AMK 628 Food Centre SINGAPORE 560628

Operating Hours: 9.30 am to 4.00 pm / 5.00 pm to 8.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

72 Xiao Chu Zhi Jia (72 小厨之家) : Curry Fish Head

This is the only Cze Char stall in this food centre and it has been around for about a year or so. I was there for an early dinner, when i was looking at the menu board and deciding what to order. The elderly Uncle attempted to make a recommendation by asking the number of pax. He suggested that we should try their Curry Fish Head when i told him it was for just 2 pax. The Curry Fish Head is one of their signature dishes as well as their White Bee Hoon, they even have it indicated on their signboard. I decided to go with his recommendation, i given the table number and went back to wait for it to be served. It took about 20 minutes before the elderly Auntie brought it over.

The Fish Head got a notably freshness, serving with brinjal, cabbage, lady finger and also pieces of dried beancurd skin. Its spiciness was rather comforting with a light coconut taste. My dining partner commented that it actually reminded him of Lotong as it tasted quite alike. And, it did not taste as sour as the Asam Fish Head or as strong-flavored as those Indian style Curry Fish Head. 

Those pieces of dried beancurd skin were quite hard, it was so even after soaked in the curry gravy for a while. I expected it to taste similar to the famous Kam Long Curry Fish Head that i used to eat in Johor Bahru but it was quite different and definitely not as good. Their Curry Fish Head is served with dried beancurd skin too and i usually order an extra portion to go with it. I have been looking for a similar version that has dried beancurd skin in it but has yet to find a good one as substitute.

I have also tried their White Bee Hoon on another occasion but i felt it did not taste as good as compared to the other stall in the same food centre that is serving the same dish.

72 小厨之家

Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-86 AMK 628 Food Centre SINGAPORE 560628

Operating Hours: 10.30 am to 10.30 pm (Daily)

Konomi Zen : Hawker Style Japanese Fare

They moved from Amoy Street Food Centre to the current location in 2012 and is still serving affordable Japanese fare in hawker style starting from $3.00 to $6.00. This is just those kind of places that you will go for something simple yet satisfying. The service is warm, the chef and his assistant have the habit of addressing their customers as 'brother' and 'sister'. And, they are listed in the Makansutra 2017 as one of the must-try stalls. 

Amongst the items on their menu, the most popular has to be the Chicken Katsu Don at $3.50, it is served with a bowl of miso soup. The portion is good for its price, it consists a portion of plain rice with a chicken cutlet that is nicely chopped into pieces together with beaten egg, onion then topped with seaweed strips. 

The other popular item is their Salmon Bento Set at $6.00. It is only prepared upon order. It consists of quite a big piece of grilled salmon, shredded cabbage, tempura sweet potato and a portion of rice, together with a bowl of miso soup.

It has stated on their signboard that their food is of 'Restaurant Standard' at 'Hawker Price', even so, i think it is rather unfair to actually do a comparison in terms of portion and taste. As their prices are much lower, they will have a tighter budget to work around.

KONOMI ZEN

Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-59 AMK 628 Food Centre SINGAPORE 560628

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 8.00 pm (Closed on Sundays)

Ang Mo Kio Cold Hot Drinks : Ice Kacang & Bo Bo Cha Cha

There are a total of 3 dessert stalls in this food centre but this particular stall usually starts after lunch and lasted till after dinner, and closed around 10 pm or earlier. There used to be only an elderly Uncle but joined by a younger man in a recent year, it looks like a father & son team. This is amongst the popular stalls in this food centre that has been around for a long while with many regular customers, though you hardly see a queue but there is always customers there ordering their desserts.

There are at least 48 types of different hot and cold desserts on their menu board, the most popular has to be their Ice Kacang for $1.40 or have it with strawberry, mango or durian puree at $2.00. Other than the usual ingredients like atap seeds, red bean, jelly cubes, there are also pineapple cubes to be found under that pile of coarsely shaved ice. The level of sweetness from the condensed milk and syrup was just right. 

Amongst their most popular items, there is also Bo Bo Cha Cha at $2.50, which they only served in the cold version. Their Bo Bo Cha Cha is only consists of sweet potato, yam and tapioca but without those colorful tapioca jellies, it is served with shaved ice in coconut milk at just the right level of sweetness. 

ANG MO KIO COLD HOT DRINKS

Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-54 AMK 628 Food Centre SINGAPORE 560628

Operating Hours: 1.30 pm to 10.00 pm (Daily)

Heng Huat Soup House : Cheap & Good Double-Boiled Soups

This is one of the newest stalls in this food centre, they serve different types of double-boiled soups with rice and often, there is always a short queue. This is a family run business and they are friendly people, the food items are quite affordable. 

Their menu includes Old Cucumber with Soft Bone Soup ($3.50), ABC Soup ($3.50), Watercress with Soft Bone Soup ($3.50), Peanut Lotus Root with Soft Bone Soup ($3.50), White Radish Soft Bone Soup ($3.50), Sze Chuan Vegetable with Soft Bone Soup ($3.50), Papaya with Soft Bone Soup ($3.80), Pear with Soft Bone Soup ($3.80), Apple with Soft Bone Soup ($3.80), Herbal Steamed Black Chicken Soup ($4.00), Herbal Imperial Chicken ($5.00) and Chinese Steamed Egg($1.50). Other than the different type of stewed soups, you could also choose between the Taiwan Braised Meat Rice ($1.50), Pumpkin Rice ($1.00) and Cabbage Rice ($1.00). 

My usual order is their Taiwan Braised Meat Rice with a braised egg added. Though it did not quite taste the real thing that i had eaten in Taiwan but it is actually unique in its own way. It is healthier as less oily though not as fragrant as not much dried shallot flavor in it. The braised egg is just normal but it is a nice addition that i usually like to have it with.

Their Peanut Lotus Root with Soft Bone Soup is my usual order. It consists of 2 pieces of soft bone with a few slices of lotus root and a handful of peanuts in it. The flavor is light and not too oily, it tasted quite healthy, too.

The Sze Chuan Vegetable with Soft Bone Soup consists of a few pieces of Sze Chuan vegetable, a small chunk of carrot and sweet corn with 2 pieces of soft bone added. It is more flavorful with a well-balanced saltish taste. It is usually one of those soups that are always sold out first.

The soft bones for both soups have a desired softness and the meat came off from the bone effortlessly.

I have been back a few times since their opening in early July 2016.

HENG HUAT SOUP HOUSE

Block 628 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-65 AMK 628 Food Centre SINGAPORE 560628

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 8.00 pm (Daily)