Kim Phung : Banh Mi at food centre

This Vietnamese sandwich stall opened on 3 June 2019, sharing the stall space with a Fried Kway Teow. The stall is manned by Nguyen Thi Kim Phung, 32 and the stall is named after her. She moved to Singapore in 2006 from Ho Chi Minh City and she used to sell Banh Mi there for a while. She is a permanent resident now.

Banh Mi is bread in Vietnamese, it is usually referring to the baguette with different ingredients that is like a sandwich. The menu consists of Banh Mi ($4.50) and Curry Chicken ($4.50), rice is available for $0.50. I ordered just the baguette and specially requested to have it cut into half with chilli at one of the halves. The handmade baguette was toasted before placing the filling in it, it still has a slight warm when it was handed to me. 

My dining companion took a bite then said, "The one that I had in Hong Kong is nicer." The texture of the bread was nicely crisp and light, not as chewy as some of those. Pork liver pate is used as a spread, it is handmade by steaming it with milk and spices for hours. The main ingredients for the filling consisting of pickled radish, pickled carrot, cucumber, and coriander as well as pork sausage and pork belly enhanced by the spiciness of the chilli. 

Though not quite as elaborate as some of the others but this is a refreshing choice nonetheless. I actually prefer the one by Que, a Vietnamese hawker stall in a coffee shop at Toa Payoh Lorong 1.

KIM PHUNG

Block 14 Haig Road #01-53 Haig Road Food Centre SINGAPORE

Operating Hours: 7.30 am to 7.00 pm (Daily)

Chef Chik : Cantonese-style dishes at hawker price

Chef Chik Ka Chung, came from Hong Kong in the 90s to work as a Cantonese chef in different hotels including as an Executive Chef at Wan Hao Cantonese restaurant in Marriot Tang Plaza Hotel before starting this hawker stall with his wife in 2012. He is concentrating on Cantonese-style cooking like the double-boiled soups, claypot rice, and steamed dishes as well as some off-menu items depending on what he gets from the wet market. 

We ordered the Claypot Sausage Chicken Rice ($8), Black Fungus Steamed Chicken ($8), Salted Fish Pork Patty ($3.50) and Lotus Root Dried Oyster Pork Ribs Soup ($4.50) with a small bowl of rice. 

The Claypot Sausage Chicken Rice is done using gas instead of a charcoal fire, it was still aromatic with a nice crispy crust right below the rice. It was served with ingredients like Chinese sausage, liver sausage, cured pork belly, salted fish, chicken, and bok choy. It tasted quite similar to those that I had eaten in Hong Kong. 

The Black Fungus Steamed Chicken is a comforting dish. The chicken was tender and smooth doused in soy sauce, served together with soft black fungus and topped with chopped spring onions. I enjoyed eating this and it went well with rice. My dining companion did not like it as much though. 

Salted Fish Pork Patty tasted homely and that is the reason why I ordered a bowl of rice. The meat was finely chopped to have better textural contrast. The only taste of salted fish was from that small piece placed on top of the patty. My dining companion said, "I mashed the salted fish to mix it with the minced meat for more flavor. The choice of fattier meat has given it a softer texture."

The Lotus Root Dried Oyster Pork Ribs Soup was a pleasant surprise. My dining companion started looking for the dried oyster and there were 2 in total. It reminded me of those double-boiled soups that I had in Hong Kong. 

The dried oyster is not a common ingredient to be found in these soups offer by the hawker stalls here. It usually have a deeper, stronger and earthy flavor and not to everyone's taste but it has given it an extra flavor and not as monotonous as compared to most of the others. 

We were during lunch on Friday but the waiting time was a short one.

CHEF CHIK

14 Haig Road #01-36 Haig Road Food Centre SINGAPORE 430014

Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 7.30 pm (Closed on Sundays and Mondays)/

Goody 'N' Jolly : The Lost and Found

They started at the food court in Parkway Parade decades ago before moved to Katong Shopping Centre and then moving to the current location at Haig Road Food Centre. It is a part of growing up memories of many and some have even perceived their ever big portion Mee Rebus and Mee Siam as one of the best eaten. I used to patronise them quite often when i was attending a church just a stone's throw from Parkway Parade. It was good to see the Uncle and Auntie again and they have a younger man as their assistant now when i visited on a Sunday. The Uncle is operating a drink stall just next to it and left the Auntie with her assistant to man this stall.

I wanted to order Mee Rebus but was told that Mee Rebus is not available on that day and i left to choose between Laksa and Mee Siam. The Laksa is in 2 sizes, the smaller portion is $3.00 and the larger portion is $3.50. The Mee Siam and Mee Rebus are at $3.00 per portion. Though many of their customers ordered their Laksa but i still went with their Mee Siam nonetheless. They have reduced their prices from $4.00 to lower after moving to this food centre.

Their Mee Siam is still served in a generous portion with bee hoon, fried tau kwa cubes, beansprouts and a whole egg then garnished with chopped chives and calamansis to serve. Their gravy is not as sweet as the Malay style Mee Siam but rather savory, which is nearer to the Nonya style. It is still as tasty as i remembered it to be.

I will definitely be back for their Mee Rebus and their Laksa, which seems to be quite a popular choice amongst their customers. 

GOODY 'N' JOLLY

Block 13 & 14 Haig Road #01-71 Haig Road Food Centre SINGAPORE 430013/14
Operating Hours: 9.30 am to 5.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)