Madam Leong 板面 : Hakka-style Ban Mian

Vivian Leong, 43, started her stall in October 2015 in a coffee shop at Holland Close, serving Hakka-style ban mian. Ban Mian is a common noodle dish consisting of handmade noodles, served dry or in soup. She is a single mother with a teenage daughter. And, she decided to turn her passion for cooking into reality and making a living out of it, this has given her hope. Life has never been a bed of roses for her and at a certain point, she even contemplated the thought of ending her own life when she was left feeling depressed and abandoned after an unwanted divorce in 2012. She was jobless and penniless then but the pleading of her daughter brought her to her senses. She started working as a Kitchen Assistant before eventually opened her own stall after she met a kind owner of a coffee shop that offered her a stall with no deposit. She has recently moved her stall to Amoy Street Food Centre about 2 weeks ago.

I was greeted by the smiley Vivian. She actually looks much younger than her age. She asked, "What do you want to eat?" Her bubbliness was quite infectious. I pointed to the picture of the  Dry Chilli Ban Mian with a "Must Try" printed on it and said, "This. Can I add braised pork to it?" She said, "Can but not worth it." I asked, "Why?" She replied, "You have to pay an extra $2." I decided to order it. When she just started, there were only the soup and the dry ban mian but there are Mee Hoon Kueh (dry/soup) ($4/$5), Dry Chilli Ban Mian ($4.5/$5.50), Ban Mian ($4/$5), Braised Pork with Black Fungus ($5/$6) and Tom Yum Chicken Ban Mian ($5/$6) on the menu now.

While she was cooking, I asked, "Why did you move from Holland Close to here? The coffee shop is quite quiet, right? I used to stay around there." I also asked, "The business is much better here?" She smiled and said, "Much better. The queue is really long during lunch." I asked, "Why did you decide to start a stall in that coffee shop?" She said, "I used to stay at that block." I asked, "Where did you move to?" She answered, "I moved to Clementi." I said, "Why you did not move the stall there? That food centre is always crowded." She replied, "The rental is not cheap." I was surprised and asked, "I thought the rental would be equally expensive in this food centre. The rental should be more than $3,000?" she nodded. I said, "It is not easy to be a hawker, right?" She smiled and replied, "I am used to it and that is why I am always happy every day." I told her, "You have added me on Facebook lately." She asked, "Oh, What is your name? I have added a few friends recently." When she served the ban mian, she said, "Hope you enjoy it. Thank you, Cecilia"

Vivian is originated from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and moved to Singapore after she got married. Her ban mian is towards the Malaysia style and is different from the others here. She did not even serve it with an egg when she just started and will only add it in upon request as it is not common for ban mian to serve with egg in Malaysia. She is using a traditional recipe that passed down her mother. She is hoping to share it by cooking for her customers. The noodles are made fresh daily with no MSG or preservatives added.

She is still cooking with love and passion. When you do it with your heart, it just tasted different. Each bowl of lovingly cooked ban mian consists of a few pieces of braised meat, mushrooms, minced meat with a poached egg then garnished with dried shallots and ikan bilis, tossed with the dark soya sauce and the homemade sambal belachan. It has a home-cooked taste and the ingredients tasted fresh, the noodles were cooked well to the right firmness and springiness. It was served along with the special homemade sambal belachan.

Go support and try her ban mian if you happen to be in this food centre. 

MADAM LEONG 板面

7 Maxwell Road #02-109 Amoy Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 069111

Operating Hours: 8.00 am to 3.00 pm (Closed on Sundays)

Gyu Nami : Wagyu Roast Beef Donburi @ Amoy Street Food Centre

I was at Amoy Street Food Centre for a late lunch when I chanced upon this stall. There was a flower basket displayed right beside their stall, which is a good indication that this is a new stall that likely to be just opened for business. It was only later when I came across their Facebook page then I realized that they have just opened today. There is even a promotion going on, if you like their Facebook Page and follow them on Instagram, you will get free truffle shavings with each order which I did not know and so, I am not entitled. It will be nice if they make an effort to highlight it to their customers. The lady that took my order did not seem particularly friendly though. I was telling her that I did not expect to find such a stall in the food centre and she just smiled away. 

This stall is headed by a few young and passionate foodies that want to make good gourmet food available to the masses at affordable prices and they take pride in their ingredients as well as the cooking methods to serve the best to their customers, as mentioned on their Facebook page. 

Wagyu Roast Beef Donburi ($10) is their signature dish, it is slowly roasted to a perfect texture which still has its moisture retained for the desired tenderness. It is served along with an egg and their signature homemade yogurt sauce on rice. This is not a common dish to be found in a food centre and they are likely to be the first hawker stall serving such a dish.

I first tasted such a dish during my recent trip to Japan, though not really a fan but it is something different to have when visiting a food centre for lunch. I would think that $10 for such a dish is of decent value though it is more expensive as compared to the usual hawker fare. When I brought along to order my coffee from another stall, a fellow hawker was asking how much did I pay for it and when I told her it costs $10. She looked a bit shock and was telling the Uncle of the coffee stall that this beef rice bowl is $10. She did ask which stall that I ordered it from, I told her that it is a new stall near Taste Affair and the famous Han Kee Fish Soup. 

The real thing did not look as tall as the one in the picture on their Facebook and also with lesser beef slices though I totally understand that pictures are always just for illustration purposes. In this case, what you see is not exactly of what you will get. Overall, it was not bad. Those beef slices were quite tender with a runny egg yolk and when mixed it well, it provides a nice textural contrast. This would not be something that I will look forward to eating it again soon when I am here for lunch again.

GYU NAMI

7 Maxwell Road #02-126 Amoy Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 069111

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 3.00 pm (Mon to Sat) (Closed on Sundays)

Coffee Break : Atas Coffee in Hawker Centre

This coffee stall is at the 2nd level of Amoy Street Food Centre and has been around since 1935, it is helmed by the 3rd generation now. Faye used to be a Barista in some coffee joint has took over this family coffee stall founded by her Grandfather. She is doing it with Jack, her brother. They serve not just the traditional Hainanese style coffee but also the modern blends with different flavors like Green Tea Latte, Irish Cream Coffee, Sea Salt Caramel and many others. The beans are freshly grounded to give their coffee its distinct flavor. I was told that they are still using a sock to do it the traditional way.

I ordered their Iced Green Tea Latte at $4.80 to go. The hot version is at $4.30. It was smooth, creamy as well as lightly sweetened with a distinct green tea flavor and is served with just enough ice cubes to keep it chilled. The prices are quite steep in a hawker centre though it is still cheaper than those coffee joints. And, i do not quite mind to pay the extra for that something different when having it with the usual hawker fare.

Latte with Caramel at $3.80 is another recommended choice. The flavor is smooth but rich with just the right amount of milk for a creamier taste a hint of caramel.

They are famous for serving thin-wholemeal toast spread with Hainanese kaya and frozen butter though no longer toasted over a charcoal fire but in an electric toaster. They do not just serve it with kaya but also with Black Sesame Paste, Yam Paste, Earl Grey Creme and Cinnamon Sugar.

COFFEE BREAK

7 Maxwell Road #02-78 Amoy Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 069111

Operating Hours: 7.30 am to 2.30 pm (Monday to Friday)

Ah Ter Teochew Fish Ball Noodles

It was an early lunch on a weekday. I was hoping to meet Gilbert there but it was his dad manning the stall at that time. Gilbert is the third-generation hawker and the face of this noodle stall that named after his father. He is working with his dad in a team to take charge of this unassuming noodle stall at this food centre and that somehow explained why are they able to operate such a long hours, they start at 7.00 am to 10.00 pm with a 1 hour break in between from Monday to Friday and only from 7.00 am to 2.00 pm on weekends. By the way, Gilbert is named the Most Handsome Hawker in 2005 in the National Day edition by The Straits Time. The father was not as friendly nor as chatting as Gilbert as there was no smile on his face, i guess he is just not used to being chatty. I could hear a soft thank you when i was about to move off with my tray.

The choices available are the dry and the soup version at $3.50, $5.00 and $6.00. The top's pick as indicated is the $5.00 portion and that was my choice too. And, i requested to have extra chilli added and that turned out to be quite a mistake later. 

As i was the only customer at that time, i gotten my order after a short wait. The ingredients were served separately in the bowl of soup that came along with the noodle. It came with quite a big portion of mee pok served with coarsely chopped spring onions and a bit too much chilli. It was partly my fault as i requested for an extra amount to be added. I would prefer the other version that they added tomato sauce to the noodles which i tasted the previous time that cooked by Gilbert. The presentation reminded me of another rather popular fishball noodle stall over at Toa Payoh Lorong 7.

For just $5, it came with a big bowl of soup with ingredients like slices of pork's liver,  lean meat and fish cake together with minced meat, fishballs and meatball. I could detect the natural sweetness in the soup and the freshness of the pork's liver. 

It was quite a pleasant lunch.

AH TER TEOCHEW FISH BALL NOODLES

7 Maxwell Road #01-47 Amoy Street Food Centre SINGAPORE

Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 4.00 pm / 5.00 pm to 10.00 pm (Mon to Fri) 

7.00 am to 2.00 pm (Sat & Sun)

KOKO Thai Coconut Ice Cream at Amoy Street Food Centre

Read my article on MAKANSUTRA about the KOKO Thai Coconut Ice Cream at Amoy Street Food Centre.

KOKO ICE CREAM

7 Maxwell Road #02-104 Amoy Street Food Centre Singapore 069111

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 3.30 pm (Monday to Saturday)

Fishii Tales : Noteworthy Fishball Noodle

Read my article on MAKANSUTRA about Fishii Tales, a noteworthy Fishball Noodle by 2 young hawkers.

FISHII TALES

7 Maxwell Road #01-54 Amoy Street Food Centre Singapore 069111.

Operating Hours: 6.30 am to 3 pm (Monday to Friday)

NEA Hawker Master Trainer Pilot Programme - # noodlelicious

This stall is operated by one of the 13 trainees from the NEA Hawker Master Trainer Pilot Programme. Check out my review on Makansutra. 

# noodlelicious

7 Maxwell Road #02-134 Amoy Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 069111

NEA Hawker Master Trainer Pilot Programme - Liang Zai

This is one of the 13 hawkers graduated from the NEA Hawker Master Trainer Pilot Programme. Check out my review on Makansutra. 

LIANG ZAI

7 Maxwell Road Amoy Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 069111

A Noodle Story

A noodle story started in February 2013.

This noodle story is about 2 passionate young men met as classmate in SHATEC and came together to share their dream in wanting to serve warm and delicious foods to happy customers at an affordable price. Both of them have worked for some top restaurants before they started this stall at Amoy Street Food Centre as their first step to realise their dream. They are hoping to make up the disappointment that many of us encountered by a not so perfect bowl of noodle. Here, they are looking into serving simplest dish using the modern techniques to make it possible. Every bowl of noodle is passionately served whole heartedly to give the best to make every cent worth. 

It was served to my table by one of the friendly chefs though self-service is expected. I paid up and thanks him for such initiative and attentiveness. 

I was impressed by the presentation. 

First that caught my eye is the crispy potato wrapped prawn rested on a wooden ladle. 

Next, was the onsen egg with a pretty looking orangy egg yolk. Then, the 2 pieces of chashu with just the right balance of fat and lean meat. Also, the 2 pieces of pump wantons there. It is the $5 portion of the egg noodle served with a lot of ingredients. It is supposed to be the Singapore style ramen though the noodle did not quite resemble the typical Japanese style ramen but more like the mee kia that most of us familiar. The noodle served dry.

After tossed it well in the lemon grass and ginger infused oil, it was a bowl of delicious noodle awaits. It was garnished by kelp and prawn dust that made of blended dehydrated prawns to give it an extensive flavor. It was served with chilli aside. I felt the taste of chilli did not enhance the flavor any further. The type of chilli used is like sambal chilli but with minimum spiciness. To complete it, it was topped with sliced scallions, strands of red pepper and kombu seaweed. If you want more of the crispy potato wrapped prawn, the chashu, the wantons or the onsen egg, you can order them as side dishes for $3 per serving.

My first mouthful was quite an experience. It was delightfully tasty. The Hong Kong style wantons has got a good mixture of prawn and minced meat. The potato wrapped prawn was freshly fried to give it the crispiness. The prawn together with paste was wrapped by strips of potato. The chashu and onsen egg give the noodle a hint of Japanese touch. The pieces of chashu were of the right thickness and derived at nice tenderness, the ultimate result of sous vide. The onsen egg has got a running egg yolk that was pretty enjoyable. 

And, not forgetting the bowl of soup that came along with the noodle. It has got a rather slight taste of dried shrimps.

The noodle is the only item on their menu for $5, $6 or $7.

Other than the 4 type of ingredients, i can taste the amount of passion in this bowl of noodle. I truly enjoyed it, very much.

A NOODLE STORY

7 Maxwell Road #01-39 Amoy Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 069111.