Ah Lim : Mee Poh . Noodle Soup . Dumpling Soup

This stall is in the coffee shop at the junction of Jalan Tua Kong, along the East Coast Road is by the disciple from the original stall. The original Ah Lim is at Marine Parade, the stall is taken over by the son as the elderly Uncle has retired. There is a stall in the coffee shop at the corner of Simpang Bedok by the former helper and there is also a shop directly opposite, near the coffee shop, there are also other stalls in other parts of Singapore that has "Ah Lim" as part of their signboard. It is difficult to really tell whether are they actually related and the authenticity of the recipe used. 

I was there after 2 pm but the coffee shop was still crowded with most of the tables occupied. When ordering, I was told that the waiting time is quite long. I ordered the smallest portion of mee pok for $4. The auntie asked me for the table number and collected the payment. I waited for about 20 minutes before receiving it. 

It consists of a good portion of nicely cooked mee pok with fishballs, minced meat, slices of fish cake and lean meat. My dining companion said, "This is not bad but not the best that I have eaten." 

My dining companion said, "Do you know why I know this is a popular stall?" He pointed to those wooden clippers at the stall and said, "When you see those, that is a good sight." Though not too common, you still get to see those clippers at most of the Ah Lim's stalls. You do not see it often these days but it used to be a common practice at some of those older hawker stalls. My great grandfather used to run a noodle stall at Chia Keng as told by my Grandpa.

AH LIM
15 Upper East Coast Road SINGAPORE 455207
Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 5.00 pm (Daily)

Geylang Lorong 29 Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee at East Coast

This stall is located in a coffee shop along East Coast Road, their Fried Hokkien Mee is amongst one of the most recommended choices.  The menu also includes Fried Carrot Cake, Fried Oyster, and Fried Oyster Omelette. I was there for the first time on a Sunday for lunch. Despite the name, this stall is not originally from Geylang Lorong 29 even though the father of Alex See, the owner, started Swee Guan Hokkien Mee at Geylang Lorong 29 and is currently manned by his brothers.

There are 4 sizes for the Fried Hokkien Mee, the smallest portion at $6, followed by $10, $15 and $20. I ordered the smallest portion to share with my dining companion, it was delivered to our table within 5 minutes.

I squeezed the lime then mixed it well with the sambal chilli before partaking the first mouthful and I actually enjoyed it. The texture was gooey, moist and quite flavorful with ingredients like prawns, squid, and egg, fried well with a mixture of yellow noodles and thick bee hoon, accompanied by their homemade chilli. I did not exactly taste the wok flavor amidst it though. This was my first time eating it and it was good but I was told that their standard can be quite inconsistent. 

If I am to base on this particular experience to do a comparison, I would prefer this to the Fried Hokkien Mee by Swee Guan Hokkien Mee as the last experience there was not quite a memorable one. I remembered that the waiting time was quite long, the texture of their noodles was slightly drier with an unpleasant charcoal taste and I did not manage to finish it.

GEYLANG LORONG 29 

CHARCOAL FRIED HOKKIEN MEE

396E East Coast Road SINGAPORE 428994

Operating Hours: 11.45 am to 9.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

M Chicken Rice : not since 1971

The stall is started by Patrick Lee together with Freddie, his brother, and William Xavier, a local radio DJ in December 2018. I was told that Raymond Kiang, the son of Sergeant Kiang, is one of the partners too but he is currently working in Indonesia. Sergeant Kiang is not in charge of the stall though they are using his recipe. Sergeant Kiang was amongst the pioneer batch of chefs behind the Chatterbox Chicken Rice at Mandarin Hotel in Orchard Road in 1971. It is located in the coffee shop near the junction of East Coast Road and Telok Kurau Road. There is an indication on their logo that M Chicken Rice has been around since 1971 which is not quite convincing though the recipe that they have been using existed since then.

There was a guy donned a white chef jacket sitting beside the stall. He stood up when there was a customer wanted to order. He took the order but there was an older guy doing the chopping and serving it. I decided to follow the customer before me to order the combination of roasted and white chicken with rice for $6.50, an additional $2.

My dining companion was the one that introduced me to Sergeant Chicken Rice when it was still at Chevron in Jurong before Food Republic acquired it. Sergeant Kiang is currently managing Chicky Fun, there are outlets in most of the food courts by Kopitiam. He said, "The chicken rice did not remind me of the then chicken rice from Sergeant Chicken Rice."

I believe the recipe has tweaked as it tasted different, they might have toned down the level of spiciness of their chilli a little. My dining companion commented that their ginger sauce was a little runny on that day. Somehow, the roasted chicken just did not taste as good, not even comparable to the Chicky Fun in Bagus at Northpoint City which I have been eating quite regularly. It was slightly dry and not as flavorful. The white chicken was much better though, tender and more favor.

The pricing is relatively reasonable for a decent tasting chicken rice but more efforts have to be put in to improve it. There is also a branch in the staff canteen at Panasonic building.

M CHICKEN RICE

396 Upper East Coast Road SINGAPORE 466481

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 10.00 pm

Chendol Melaka : probably the best Chendol in the east

When I posted a picture of the popular Old Amoy Chendol on Facebook, a friend commented that his preferred choice for Chendol is in a popular coffee shop at the junction of Jalan Tua Kong, along East Coast Road. This humble looking stall is serving Nasi Ulam and Chendol only. There are choices of Chendol ($2.30) and XO Durian Chendol ($3.30), Nasi Ulam is priced at $5.30. I decided to go with Chendol and while waiting, I said, "My friend told me about your Chendol and he said, it is the best Chendol in Singapore. The Chinese owner replied, "OK only. There are better ones than mines." He asked, "This is your first time having it?" I nodded. He said, "Welcome to Siglap." 

I shared it with my dining companion. He enjoyed it, he does not usually eat Chendol as he is not a fan of Gula Melaka. He said, "The taste of Gula Melaka is not overwhelming and it also has the right level of sweetness."

This Chendol is probably the best in the east, it is excellent and not too sweet, those chendol stripes are handmade with a distinct pandan taste and those red beans are at just the right softness, the fresh coconut milk has the desired creaminess. 

We decided to order another one to share. My dining companion went to order but he came back telling me that the owner will deliver it as there were 2 other customers waiting for their orders. The friendly owner delivered the Chendol to our table in about 5 minutes. I said, "We liked it so much to order another one." He asked, "Would there be the 3rd bowl?" 

I will come by next time to try the Nasi Ulam together with the Chendol. Nasi Ulam is a traditional dish of steamed rice dish mixed with various herbs that usually serve during the special occasions in most Peranakan households. It is usually sold out quite early.

CHENDOL MELAKA

15 Upper East Coast Road Soy Eu Tua Coffee Shop SINGAPORE 455207

Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (Tue to Fri) / 9.00 am to 5.00 pm (Sat & Sun)

Goldhill Hakka Restaurant (1997) : decades old Hakka Yong Tau Foo

This is a humble Hakka restaurant located along Changi Road for 22 years. Steven Lee, the owner, started helping his father at about 8 years old on a trishaw in Katong. He eventually moved into the shop and named it Goldhill, which means Jin Shan (金山), this is none other than his Chinese name. He has been making Yong Tau Foo for more than 40 years and Wen Long, his son, has started helping out but not too sure whether is he in the process of taking over the business.

Their signature is Hakka style Yong Tau Foo that consists of a limited selection of just 7 items. These 7 items are Tau Hu, Square Tau Pok, Triangular Tau Pok, Fishball, Tau Gi, Better Gourd and Chilli that are stuffed with fish paste. There is the selection small portion at $6 (10 pieces), the medium portion is available at $8 (15 pieces) and the large portion at $12 (20 pieces). There are also Yam Abacus Seeds ($4, $6 and $8), Steamed Lala Venus Clams ($12/$24), Vegetables with Oyster Sauce ($6/$12) and Steamed Fish at market value. There are only a total of 6 items on their menu.

I was there on a Public Holiday, the restaurant was almost full and there were still customers kept coming in, most of these customers are regulars and they came as a family. Wen Long was at the counter and he signaled to me when I was wondering how should I order so I walked towards the counter. I said, "This is my first visit." He pointed to the menu and said, "This is what we have. We do not serve rice and noodle." I replied, "There are two of us." He said, "You can order the individual set of Yong Tau Foo or a medium set to share." I ordered the medium portion of Yong Tau Foo and a small serving of Yam Abacus Seeds. He recommended to try the Steamed Lala but I did not order. 

The Yam Abacus Seeds is also one of the must order items, it is the Hakka version of Yam Cake. It is still made using the traditional laborious method and more yam than rice flour is added for a firmer yet softer texture. It is served with a concoction of dried shrimp, shredded cuttlefish, and minced salted fish then garnished with chopped spring onion, which is different from the others.

Those pieces of handmade Yong Tau Foo were stuffed with fish paste, the fish paste is freshly made using fish, a little flour and other ingredients based on the recipe passed down by his father. My dining companion said, "Every piece is so fresh but it is a bit plain if you do not eat it with the sweet sauce and chilli." 

It was steamed then served with just a drizzle of sesame oil and garnished with coriander, served together with the sweet sauce and chilli for dipping. The texture of the fish paste was quite firm. The soup that served along was lightly flavored with a slight hint of ikan belis. 

Payment is made at the counter after done eating. Wen Long saw me taking pictures of the menu. He said, "Like our FB page, the menu is there."

GOLDHILL HAKKA RESTAURANT (1997)

299A Changi Road SINGAPORE 419777

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 9.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Seng Kee Black Chicken Herbal Soup : kidney mee sua

I have heard about their signature Kidney Mee Sua but have not been in that part of Singapore to try it. I was near there recently and managed to drop by for lunch. It is located within walking distance from Kembangan MRT. I was there for an early lunch and was told to go over to the shop next to it to order. There was a lady at the counter beside the menu board, busily taking orders.

I have already made up my mind to try their highly raved Kidney Mee Sua. The lady that was taking my order asked, "Do you want it with just the kidney?" I replied, "I want it with liver too." I was asked to take a seat as it will be served to the table later. While waiting, I ordered a Luo Han Guo Herbal Drink for $2.00. The mee sua was brought over by a man and the same lady came by a little while later to collect $5.50 as payment. 

It consists of a substantial portion of mee sua with ingredients like the kidney, liver and also pieces of lean meat. The mee sua was not mushy even after soaked in the soup for a while. The soup was light with a slight herbal taste. The kidney and liver were cooked just right too. I actually enjoyed this simple yet comfort dish. Their signature Black Chicken is another must-try dish and I would have ordered it if I was not eating alone. 

This is a popular place for supper as they operate till 4 am daily. 

SENG KEE BLACK CHICKEN HERBAL SOUP

467 Changi Road SINGAPORE 419887

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 4.00 am (Daily)