Hao Hao Noodle House : old school Wanton Mee

This is supposedly a popular stall run by a husband and wife team in this food centre and it happened to be one of the few stalls that were opened on a Monday with a short queue. I decided to join in and ordered a large portion of Wanton Mee for $3.50 with braised chicken feet together with a bowl of Dumpling Soup for $4. I handed over $10 but was told, it is not enough as the total cost is $10.50. I was a little taken aback and did not quite expect the small portion of braised chicken feet to be $3.00. 

I took a mouthful and frowned. My dining companion said, "I will eat it. You can go order the Bak Chor Mee at 黄大福." He said, "I could taste the alkaline taste. The portion of noodles is quite a lot and that might be the likely reason why there is a queue. It did not have much sauce underneath that pile of noodles." He took another mouthful and said, "There is a fragrance of the lard oil."He also said, "The braised chicken feet did not have much flavor and not soft enough." The noodles were cooked well to the desired texture but those pieces of char siew were very lean and tasted a bit too dry. 

The wantons and dumplings were served together in a bowl of soup. Both tasted just fine though not particularly memorable. 

There is another stall serving Wanton Mee in the same food centre and it is supposedly better.

HAO HAO NOODLE HOUSE

116 Commonwealth Crescent #02-83 Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre SINGAPORE 149644

Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 2.00 pm (Daily)

Xiang Jiang Soya Sauce Chicken : Shrimp Dumpling is nice

The owner used to work in the Raffles Hotel before starting a stall in Jit Poh Building at Keppel Road and relocating to Alexandra Village Food Centre. This has always been one of the popular stalls that have a queue even during the off-peak period, serving Hong Kong-style Soya Sauce Chicken. There are also Shrimp Wanton and Shrimp Dumpling to go with rice or noodles. 

The queue was long when I was there with my dining companion for lunch. He joined in the queue and waited for about 20 minutes before getting to order. He was supposed to order the Chicken Drumstick Noodle ($5.00) and Shrimp Dumpling Soup ($4.50) but decided to take away a half portion of the Soya Sauce Chicken after queued up for so long. The Shrimp Dumpling was sold out right after he ordered. 

To start, lightly tossed the noodles with the braised sauce underneath and mixed it with the chilli. It was not bad but not as memorable as some of the other Soya Sauce Chicken that I have tried. The braised sauce was slightly salty and not as fragrant as I liked it to be. 

I enjoyed the Shrimp Dumpling though. The massive dumpling consists of a whole piece of prawn each together with minced meat, black fungus, and bits of water chestnut. 

It is usually sold out before 2 pm.

XIANG JIANG SOYA SAUCE CHICKEN

120 Bukit Merah Lane 1 #01-77 Alexandra Village Food Centre SINGAPORE 150120

Operating Hours: 8.00 am to 2.00 pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

Dover Road Kai Kee Wanton Noodle : the old-fashioned taste

This stall started at the now-defunct Dover Road Market, near to the Fairfield Methodist School before moving to Alexandra Village Food Centre in 2011. It has been around for more than 3 decades, serving old-school wanton mee. The menu includes the Wanton Mee, Dumpling Mee, Shredded Chicken Mee, Wanton Soup and Dumpling Soup at $3.00/$3.50. I decided to order the larger portion of Wanton Mee ($3.50) and added $1 for extra wanton and $1 for dumpling, serving along with slices of chae siew and some leafy greens. 

My dining companion said, "I do not like it. I prefer Cai Ji Wanton Mee at Bishan. And, I prefer the dumpling to wanton." The wantons were like the old-school type, the lightly seasoned filling was loosely encased in a wrapper. The dumplings tasted about the same but bigger in the size. I did not like the char siew much, it was too lean and slightly dry. The noodles were nicely cooked to the desired springiness and served in the concoction of oyster sauce, sesame oil, lard oil, and chilli. 

It somewhat reminded me of the wanton mee from Nam Seng Noodle House at Far East Square that used to be at the front of the old National Library. The lightly flavored soup was mainly just the taste of soy sauce and pepper, garnished with chopped spring onion. 

This is a simple, old-school tasting wanton mee that brought forth the nostalgic taste of the yesteryear. 

DOVER ROAD KAI KEE WANTON NOODLE

120 Bukit Merah Lane 1 #01-09 Alexandra Village Food Centre SINGAPORE 150120

Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 4.00 pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

No Signboard Braised Duck . Rice . Noodle . Porridge

It was sold out when I was there about a week ago so when I returned to this food centre on a Sunday, this was the first stall that we went to queue. This is amongst the popular stalls in this quiet food centre. It was one of those stalls that were from the now-defunct Margaret Drive Food Centre, serving traditional braised duck. The elderly uncle is behind the chopping board and the auntie is taking the orders, collecting payments and serving it.

I decided to have dry kway teow with a portion of duck meat and added braised intestine to go along.  Many of their customers added the braised intestine too so I am expecting it to be of a certain standard. I waited for about 10 minutes to order and a few more minutes before receiving it. Everything was sold out right after.

My dining companion tried the duck meat, he said, "It is good though not really the best that I have eaten. I still very much prefer the braised duck from Hup Kee Duck Rice at Sin Ming." And, I agreed. It was not as flavorful as I expected it to be and it will be nicer if the texture is slightly softer. Those braised intestines were done just right but still not as good as those from Lau San Kway Chap in Ang Mo Kio. 

I enjoyed the dry kway teow though, it is something that I used to eat with my late Grandpa. It was served with braising sauce and a handful of bean sprouts. I started by giving it a good mix. The braising sauce was a little saltier but acceptable. The bowl of soup that came along has got a rather light herbal flavor. 

I might just eat it again only if there is no queue.

NO SIGNBOARD BRAISED DUCK . RICE . 
NOODLE . PORRIDGE
159 Mei Chin Road #02-04 Mei Ling Food Centre SINGAPORE 140159
Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm

Hong Kee Porridge : the homely taste

This is a popular porridge stall in this food centre and they used to serve raw fish but have since stopped. There are choices of Pork Porridge, Century Egg Porridge, Cuttlefish Porridge, Fish Porridge, and Fish Head Porridge at just $3. There were another 2 customers waiting for their takeaway orders and I stood there, waiting to order. The uncle looked up in the midst of cooking at my direction. I told him that I would want to order Pork Porridge, he nodded and asked for my table number, they still deliver it right to the table. 

I waited for about 10 minutes before receiving it, it was served along a saucer of cut chilli. The texture of porridge was smooth with minced pork, sliced pork and liver, garnished with chopped spring onion and a dash of white pepper for a light flavor. It was good though still not comparable to what I had eaten in Hong Kong.

My dining companion took a mouthful and he said it tasted better than the chicken rice and carrot cake that we also ordered. I enjoyed that homely taste, it is a good choice for breakfast or a light lunch. 

HONG KEE PORRIDGE

31 Commonwealth Crescent #02-83 Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre SINGAPORE 149644

Operating Hours: 6.30 am to 5.00 pm (Daily)

Henry's Chicken Rice : the chilli is good

This chicken rice stall is amongst those popular ones in this food centre. The stall has been around since 1985 and it is manned by an elderly couple, they serve the poached chicken and the roasted chicken, which is their signature. They were taught by Sergeant Kiang of Chicky Fun, he was one of the pioneer chefs that created the famous chicken rice for Chatterbox, a cafe in Mandarin Orchard Hotel.

There was always a queue during my last few visits. I decided to try it for the first time on a Sunday for lunch. There was already a few people in the queue and I joined in, waited for about 5 minutes before ordering. I wanted the roasted chicken drumstick with rice for $3.50. 

I was not particularly amazed by the chicken, the rice and the soup as it just did not quite stand out the chilli is really good. It tasted fresh with a hint of ginger at just the right level of spiciness. You should try if chilli is the most component of chicken rice but please come early though as it usually sold out right after lunch. 

I read about their bad service but I did not encounter it even though the Uncle is not particularly friendly.

HENRY'S CHICKEN RICE

117 Commonwealth Crescent #02-84 Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre SINGAPORE 140117

Operating Hours: 9.00 am to 1.00 pm (Closed on Thursdays)

Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao at Alexandra Village Food Centre

Zhang You Zhu, the owner and Zhao Guilan, his wife, came from Nanjing and have been in Singapore for more than 10 years. Her husband was a chef in Nan Jing before moving to Singapore and worked in a restaurant for about 10 years before starting their stall in 2011.

The queue started to form even before the stall was ready as their operating hours start from 11.30 am. I joined the queue and waited for a while ordering. I decided to go with Xiao Long Bao ($4.50) and Szechuan Spicy Wanton ($10 pieces for $4.50). 

Xiao Long Bao, typically means Little Dragon Bun, is supposed to be originated from Nan Jing. It is a steamed pork dumpling with minced pork as filling and encased in the handmade skin. We were served lukewarm dumplings that might have already steamed ahead to get them ready for the order. We did not like it as we were expecting it to be better after spotted the article from KF Seetoh of Makansutra dated 7 October 2013.

Szechuan Spicy Wanton is none other than poached dumplings served in chilli oil, it tasted more sourish than spicy but quite light and not too oily. It is quite good value for such a dish from a hawker stall. 

SHANGHAI LA MIAN XIAO LONG BAO

Block 120 Bukit Merah Lane #01-56 Alexandra Village Food Centre SINGAPORE 150123

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 8.30 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Shi Hui Yuan Hor Fun Specialty : not worthy of Bib Gourmand rating

This stall was listed in the Bib Gourmand in 2016, 2017 and 2018. I was surprised to see that there were just another 3 customers when I was there for lunch on a weekday. The customer in front of me took away a portion of their Beef Hor Fun ($5.50) and I decided to try it. Coincidentally, the customer right behind ordered the same dish, it is their special recommendation. They only serve Ipoh-style hor fun and there are a total of 9 choices, served with toppings like chicken, chicken feet, duck and spare ribs. It used to be run by an elderly couple, the daughter took over when the elderly auntie suffered from a stroke but it was manned by 2 middle-aged men when I was there.

I waited for just a while before receiving it. The presentation did not look as appealing as their picture, it consists of a piece of beef nicely chopped into pieces served on top of thin rice noodles accompanied by 2 pieces of mushroom with fatt choy in a pool of sauce. The texture of hor fun was quite smooth and slippery. The beef tasted just normal but the texture was right though.

Apparently, I am not quite convinced that they should be listed in the Bib Gourmand. I was talking to one of their regular customers when ordering Fried Hokkien Mee much later. I was telling her that I was not too impressed with their Beef Hor Fun and she said, "You should just go with the Chicken Hor Fun."  My dining companion said, "I think it is the sauce that made it different, it has a rather mild herbal-ish taste and quite flavorful." The main sauce is from the chicken feet and nicely blended with the sauce from pork rib and mushroom. 

SHI HUI YUAN HOR FUN

159 Mei Chin Road #02-33 Mei Ling Food Centre SINGAPORE 140159

Operating Hours: 8.00 am to 2.00 pm (Thursday to Sunday)

Newton Tan Song Heng : good Fried Hokkien Mee

I was there on a Friday for the popular Hai Tang Lor Mee (海棠卤面) but it was closed. Amongst the food choices there, this Fried Hokkien Mee stall was one of those that have got a queue. They used to be at Newton Food Centre before moving to this food centre. I joined the queue and waited for a while before get to order. The auntie was telling me that I have to wait for the next batch of Fried Hokkien Mee. There are the $4, $5 and $6 options to choose and there is also Fried Kway Teow for $3, $4 and $5. I decided to go with the Fried Hokkien Mee as most of their customers were ordering this but opted for the smallest portion. While waiting, I chatted with a customer right behind me. She said, "Their Fried Hokkien Mee is very good. I always come to eat this, the Ipoh Hor Fun and also the Lor Mee."

I waited for about 15 minutes to get my plate of Fried Hokkien Mee. Though it is the smallest size, its portion was quite substantial to share with my dining companion. He got to taste it first and he said, "It is moist but not overly wet, the noodles were nicely braised in the broth to absorb the flavor well."

When I had my first mouthful, I was equally impressed and totally understand why there is always a constant queue at this stall. The same customer said, "If you come at 12 pm, the queue is really very long but not so now as lunch hour is almost over." The prawns tasted relatively fresh and the chilli though not too spicy but it actually enhanced the flavor. 

This is definitely better than the Yang Zhou Hokkien Sotong Mee at Jalan Bukit Merah. I would think this is easily one of the better Fried Hokkien Mee that I have eaten so far and definitely worth traveling to this secluded hawker centre just for this. I am likely to come back for their Fried Kway Teow.

NEWTON TAN SONG HENG

159 Mei Ling Street #02-40 Mei Ling Food Centre SINGAPORE 140159

Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 7.00 pm (Closed on Tuesdays & Public Holidays)

Wok In Burger : taste the Kungfu burgers

Paul Liew, 37, and Wayne Liew, 34, have recently started Wok In Burger, a stall at their father's coffee shop after getting approval from Mr Liew Choy, 65 who is still overseeing the operation of Keng Eng Kee Seafood. It is also known as KEK Seafood, a family restaurant in Alexandra Village. They are known to serve old classic items like Chilli Crabs, Salted Egg Stong, Coffee Pork Ribs, Moonlight Horfun and more. Wayne is the third-generation head chef of Keng Eng Kee Seafood. The stall name alludes to tossing and stir-fried in a wok just like what it is usually done in a traditional zichar stall before serving in between the burger buns and presented in wok-shaped platters. Such an effort of incorporating Asian elements into Western dishes to showcase zichar dishes and transforming it into burgers is definitely commendable. Wayne started by making these zichar-inspired burgers for staff meal before eventually featured them as Wok Hei Burgers as part of the side menu at their now-defunct outlet at Pandan Garden, it was closed last August after the lease was up.

The menu consists of the 7 types of Kungfu Burgers with pasta dishes, rice sets, sides, and drinks. This is not fast food as everything is made from scratch, the recipes and the cooking methods are the same as that of the Zichar stall. The order has to be placed at the counter and a buzzer will be given for collection. All burger orders come with fries, coleslaw, and a water chestnut drink with the option to top up $1 for Lime Fizz cordial or $2 for a Root Beer Float. There is also an option to add a sunny-side up egg for $1. There were 4 of us and we ordered 2 sets of Chilli Soft Shell Crab Burger, a set of Salted Egg Sotong "Blur"ger and a set of Marmite Pork Burger.

Their signature Chilli Soft Shell Crab ($15) is a must order. The soft shell crab was battered in thin batter then deep-fried before sandwiched in the sesame buns accompanied by a brunch of thinly julienned purple cabbage, cucumber, and lettuce. 

It was served along with a saucer of chilli crab sauce together with hand-cut fries and coleslaw. The sesame buns are buttered and toasted for crispier texture but still fluffy within. The sauce is supposed to be poured on the fried soft shell crab and eat it together. The sauce had a good balance of sweetness, spiciness and sourish.

Salted Egg Sotong "Blur"ger ($9.80) is an interesting choice. The squid rings were fried over a high fire for the desired crunchiness and softness, it was tossed in the wok with the salted egg sauce then sandwiched between the sesame buns with thinly julienned purple cabbage, cucumber, and lettuce. 

The salted egg sauce is made from scratch consisting of a blend of sweet and savory flavors that further accented by the curry leaves. It is served with hand-cut fries and coleslaw. There is also the choices of chicken and pork for this burger. This has to be the best salted egg burger that I have eaten so far. The hand-cut fries were lightly salted, slightly crisp and still soft within. The coleslaw provides a refreshing twist. 

My friend that was having the Marmite Pork Burger said, "I did not expect the meat to be so soft." She also said, "The fries are also very nice." I was telling her that, "They have the skills after running the Zichar stall for quite a while to actually infuse the familiar flavors to these burgers."

This is likely to be the only place for such hearty burgers with the familiar local flavors and it is definitely worth a try. 

WOK IN BURGER

Block 124 Bukit Merah Lane 1 #01-136 SINGAPORE 150121

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm / 5.30 pm to 10 pm (Daily)

Milah Hokkaido Curry Puff at Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre

My dining companion told me about this stall after he went walking around the food centre. He said, "There is an interesting curry puff located at that corner." I decided to go check it out. When I was there, the "Hokkaido Curry Puff" on the signboard actually caught my attention. They are using 100% "Wonderful Traded Flour" from Hokkaido as indicated on their signboard. This is a halal stall owned by a Malay owner.

The friendly owner spotted me and he asked, "Any curry puff for you?" I asked, "What exactly is Hokkaido Curry Puff?" He pointed at the paper bag that has "Tokachi Mill Factory" printed on it together with some Japanese characters and said, "I am using the flour from Hokkaido to make all these curry puffs." He added, "There are different flavors ranging from the usual potato and sardine to cheese potato and mentaiko cheese potato." I asked, "How long have you been running this stall?" He answered, "We have been around for about 7 months." It is 1 piece for $1.20 or 3 pieces for $3.00. I decided to get one of each of the remaining flavors for a total of $4.20. 

We tried the sardine flavor and the potato flavor first, it actually tasted just like the usual curry puffs from the Malay stalls. We then tried the mentaiko cheese potato, it did not have the taste of mentaiko though we could actually see it amongst the filling. And, the cheese potato flavor did not have the taste of cheese in it. My dining companion said, "Though they claimed to use flour from Hokkaido, I could not quite tell the difference. It did not seem to have much effect in enhancing the texture of those puffs."

The size of these curry puffs is quite small. 

The owner seems to be passionate enough to keep this stall going and perhaps, give it more time and it will get better. 

MILAH HOKKAIDO CURRY PUFF

31 Commonwealth Crescent #02-64 Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre SINGAPORE 149644

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 6.00 pm (Mon to Fri) / 9.00 am to 5.00 pm (Sat & Sun)

(Closed on Thursdays)

黄大福 : cheap & good Bak Chor Mee

I did not manage to ask for the name of this young owner but I know that his name is not 黄大福, the name of this stall. I seated right in front of his stall while waiting for my burgers to be ready and I took notice of the constant queue there. Most of these customers seem to be the regulars, there was even a caucasian man ordered his Bak Chor Mee. I decided to try it.

I decided to order Bak Chor Mee and added $1 for extra ingredients. While waiting for my order to be ready, I said, "I somewhat could not quite associate the Chinese stall name with a young man cooking at the stall." I asked, "Did you happen to take over the stall from your father?" The young owner replied, "黄大福 is not my name. I balloted this stall. I decided to use  as the stall name as this is the name of the person that taught me how to cook the noodles." The young owner actually reminded me of Douglas Ng that operates Fishball Story, the Fishball Noodle was really good when he just started at Golden Mile Food Centre but not so now. 

I also said, "A basic bowl at $2.70 is cheaper than most of the other stalls." He replied, "There are many elderly folks in this estate so I cannot afford to set the prices too high." He continued to say, "There are also other stalls in this food centre selling at this price. There is a Chicken Rice stall behind selling at $2.50 per plate and also a dessert stall selling desserts at $1.00 per bowl." He said, "My stall used to be next to the dessert stall When I first started. The elderly owner has quite an attitude. She will snap at the customers when they ask her for cold desserts." I asked, "How long have you been in this food centre?" He replied, "About 3 years already."

It consists of a good portion of mee pok with liver and lean meat with minced meat together with meatballs. The pork liver was cooked just right, those pieces were thinly sliced in big pieces. The lard is available in a container at the stall for self-service. I helped myself with a big spoonful of those bits of crispy lard, it was tasty and not oily. I tossed the mee pok to mix it with the sauce beneath. 

The first mouthful wowed me. The mee pok was perfectly cooked to the right texture, with just the right balance of chilli sauce, and vinegar added. This bowl of Bak Chor Mee is easily amongst the best that I have eaten. This is even better than some of those popular ones out there.

The accompanying soup was lightly flavored with a hint of fresh pork.

I went back to the stall and tell the young owner that, "I am a big fan of Bak Chor Mee and your Bak Chor Mee is really nice." He smiled and said, "Come back more often then. We open on every day." This Bak Chor Mee is a new found favorite.

黄大福
31 Commonwealth Crescent #02-93 Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre SINGAPORE 149644
Operating Hours: 8.00 am to 5.00 pm (Daily)