Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Noodle : How Long Would Such Authentic Taste Stay?

They have been around for decades along, to be exact they started their business in 1945 for close to 70 years now. The 2nd generation is taking charge of the stall and is still serving authentic Teochew style Bak Chor Mee. Their menu is kept simple with just Bak Chor Mee at $5 and $6 together with Teochew Dumpling Soup at $5 and $6 too. Most Teochew style Bak Chor Mee is known for the use of vinegar to enhance its flavor. As for this particular bowl of Bak Chor Mee, i could taste the distinct taste of rather good quality vinegar, though strong but not as overpowering as the famous Tai Hwa Pork Noodle. 

The soup version at $6 served with generous amount of ingredients like slices of lean pork and pork liver, braised mushroom, minced meat, dried seaweed as well as some vegetables. Even though you might see bits of minced meat floating in the soup but it was not as flavorful as expected to be, in fact, it tasted quite bland.

The dry Bak Char Mee is definitely a better choice. The braising sauce for the mushroom was used as part of the sauce mix, together with chilli, soy sauce and dash of vinegar, the combination tasted quite flavorsome.  The mee pok was lightly blanched to retain its desired springiness. The dumplings were quite tasty even though the skin was slightly too thick.

There is a slight drop in the standard but it is still better than most average Bak Chor Mee out there. It reminded me a bit of my favourite Bak Chor Mee from the already closed Joo Heng Mushroom Minced Pork Mee stall if lesser vinegar is added. I know i could never find a replacement as i have been looking for a while since their closure about 2 years ago. I used to go there for 2 to 3 times per week till the friendly auntie could even remember my order that she did not even bother to ask me whenever i was there. Those were the happier days when i get to enjoy my favourite bowl of Bak Chor Mee so often.

I could not help but wonder, how long more would Ah Kow's Bak Chor Mee been around since the owners are getting older and they do not seem to have someone to take over their cooking and stall. That is the reason why they are operating for only 3 days a week now as they could no longer cope with the laborious bit of working as hawker. I could not quite imagine if these pioneer generation hawkers retired. Would such an authentic taste still stay? Would the younger generation still able to enjoy a bowl of traditional Teochew style Bak Chor Mee in time to come? I am really not sure. 

AH HOW MUSHROOM MINCED PORK MEE

531A Upper Cross Street #02-42 Hong Lim Food Centre Singapore 051531

Operating Hours: 8.00 am to 3.00 pm (Friday to Sunday)

Woh Hup Zi Char

The food centre was rather quiet when i was there on a Public Holiday for dinner. Most than half of the stalls in this food centre have already closed for the day or closed on Public Holiday. There were 2 Zi Char stalls right there and this particular one had a good flow of customers. I ever eaten here once quite a while ago and enjoyed it pretty much. It is not difficult to tell that most of these customers are their regular as they seemed to know the menu rather well and overheard them ordering the foods in Cantonese. Most of these customers ordered pot of Chinese Tea from the stall.

I went to the stall to order. An elderly Uncle was there taking the order. I decided to stick with the 2 dishes that i tried the first time. I ordered my all-time favourite Sweet and Sour Pork together with their Fried Chicken with 3 bowls of rice. There is an interesting chinese name for their Fried Chicken as 燕子鸡though i could not quite associate this to the actual dish itself.

The Fried Chicken came first. Unlike most of the other Zi Char stalls, this stall is using parts of chicken and not just the chicken wings for this dish. I could taste the rather slight prawn paste though not too distinctive but pretty flavorful. The chicken pieces were fried to perfection to achieve the desired crispiness. It still tasted crispy even after left it for a while.

It still tasted good but somehow it did not taste as good when i had it the first time but still enjoyable particularly when eaten with their accompanied chilli sauce.

The Sweet and Sour Pork served shortly after. A good portion of nicely fried pork pieces were stir-fried with the sauce and ingredients like onion, tomato, pineapple and green pepper to give it the desired taste. The sauce has gotten the right balance of sweet and sour taste that went well with the rice.

The total bill is $25.50. It is a little pricey than expected as most dishes are priced in between $8 to $10 for the smallest serving in other Zi Char places as compared to the $12 for each dish and $24 for both average tasting dishes ordered right here.

I am not quite likely to be back too soon. Well, at least not for these 2 dishes as tastier and cheaper version can be found in other places.

WOH HUP 合众菜社

531A Upper Cross Street #02-55 Hong Lim Food Centre SINGAPORE 051531.

Bak Chor Mee

TAI WAH PORK NOODLE

531A Upper Cross Street #02-16 Hong Lim Food Centre SINGAPORE 051531.

Curry Chicken Chop Noodle

The queue was still rather long even at 2 pm. I joined in and waited patiently for my turn. This stall is manned by a middle-aged couple. I could hear the man asking one of the elderly customers in Hokkien whether he wants to have rice or noodle. When the man was busy cooking behind, the smiley lady was taking the orders in Chinese, English and Cantonese. She always ended with 'thank you' when she served it. I was told that the couple used to work with SIA as cabin crew. And, i guess that very much explained on such professionalism in service delivered. 

When it was my turn, I answered in English when she asked in Mandarin for my order. She then immediately followed up with replies in English. 

I wanted the Curry Chicken Chop Noodle for $3.50. She said, 'Be careful. It's hot.' followed by 'Thank You' when she placed it on my tray. I was deeply impressed and totally amazed.  

A substantial portion of mee kia came with a massive piece of nicely chopped fried chicken cutlet and pieces of potato. It was served in a generous amount of curry sauce.  The chicken chop was freshly fried to give it a noticeable crispiness and succulent texture without the greasiness. It tasted extremely good after soaked in the curry sauce.  

The mee kia was cooked well to give it the desired springiness with an enjoyable chewiness. It might be a little heavy for breakfast but definitely an ideal choice for lunch. It tasted much nicer as compared to the Dumpling Noodle that i ordered during my first visit quite a while ago.

Another popular item that ordered by many of their probably regular customers is Curry Yong Tau Foo. I have indicated this on my must-try list and hoping to try it on my next visit. 

Good foods coupled with good service. What more to ask but to go back for more. Strongly recommended.  

CANTONESE DELIGHTS

531A Upper Cross Street #02-03 Hong Lim Food Centre SINGAPORE 051531.

Hakka Delights

I happened to sit at a table directly facing this stall and i observed that this stall seems to have a constant flow of regular customers. This stall offers different types of Hakka dishes and i suspected might be of certain standard as that was probably the reason behind the lunch crowd patronising this stall.

Though the elderly Auntie was rather efficient in taking the orders but she did not seem too friendly. I wanted to take away their signature Hakka Yong Tau Foo but was told it has already been sold out. I overhead earlier that their chicken dishes have been sold out too. I decided to take away the Stewed Preserved Vegetable with Pok Belly, Stir-fried Sliced Beef with Bitter Gourds and Meatballs with Pineapple for $10.50.

These are some of the dishes that they served it with rice and soup as a set meal from $3.50 to $4.50.

I waited for about 15 minutes as there were other orders in front of me. I asked for the smallest portion for all the dishes and requested to have it packed in plastic bags to avoid paying the 0.20 cents chargeable per container.

It tasted alright though not as nice as compared to the one served by a stall that specialized for different types of Steamed Rice and Soup in Yishun. The taste of preserved vegetable was a bit overpowering which i did not like. There were only about 4 slices of thinly sliced braised pork belly in it.

Though never a fan of bitter gourds but still went ahead to order this dish. The bitter gourds did not taste as bitter as anticipated. It was sliced thinly to stir-fry with sliced beef. The texture of the sliced beef was slightly harder and a little more chewier. A rather comforting home cooked dish to go well with the rice nonetheless.

This was an appetizing dish. The meatballs were prepared by shaping minced meat into many of those. The meatballs were deep-fried before stir-fried with bits of pineapple and tomato based sauce to give it its desired taste. The amount of meatballs given for this dish was pretty generous. The sauce tasted a bit like those for sweet & sour pork but not as sweet.

An interesting find but i am not a Hakka so not able to determine the level of authenticity of all these dishes.

MEI YUAN HAKKA DELIGHTS

531A Upper Cross Street #02-29 Hong Lim Food Centre SINGAPORE 051531.