Xiang Rui Gourmet at Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre

This was one of the stalls that got a queue during lunch so I decided to join in. I went ahead to order a Century Egg Porridge ($3) added with an egg ($0.50) and You Tiao ($0.60). I also ordered the small portion of Spring Onion & Ginger Pork Liver at $5, the larger portion is available at $8. While waiting, there were more people joining the queue to order. 

The Century Egg Porridge was ready first, it was garnished with chopped spring onions and fried shallots with pieces of you tiao. I waited for another few minutes for the Spring Onion & Ginger Pork Liver to be ready.

The porridge was rather grainy, not quite smooth but it was quite comforting. 

The Spring Onion & Ginger Pork Liver was quite tasty. I wish those slices of pork liver were in bigger and thicker pieces. Those pork liver were sliced a little too thin and that might be the likely reason that caused it to be overcooked. 

This is a good choice for lunch when the choices are quite limited in this food centre.

XIANG RUI GOURMET

110 Pasir Ris Central #01-08 Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre SINGAPORE 519641

Prawnaholic : the fusion Prawn Mee

Alan Choong, 24, the owner, started this stall serving Prawn Mee, his favorite hawker dish. He ventured into the Food & Beverage industry about 5 years ago, working in hotels and restaurants before deciding to start this hawker stall. There are only 5 items on the menu, the Special Prawn Noodle ($6.50), King Prawn Noodle ($8.50), King Prawn Udon ($12.50) and 2 side dishes, Prawn Balls & Salted Egg Mayo ($6.50) and Salmon Skin & Salted Egg Mayo ($6.50). There used to be Lala Prawn Noodles at $4 but it has since been removed from the menu.

The first step to ordering is to select the type of noodles and the choices are yellow mee, thick bee hoon, kway teow or a mixture of those. There is the dry and soup version but their signature is the dry one. There are choices to add $1.00 for either lala, prawn, pork or an onsen egg. I ordered through Alan and I decided to have Special Prawn Noodle. Alan asked, "Do you want to add an egg?" I nodded. The total amount was $7.50. The Special Prawn Noodle came with a small portion of noodles, 2 pieces of large prawns, a homemade prawn ball and the torched Kurobuta Pork that replaced the usual pork ribs and sliced meat.

The prawn ball did not taste too special as I have eaten a similar one at Bai Nian Yong Tau Foo. The relatively fresh prawns were not deshelled and so making it rather difficult to eat without dirtying your hands. The Kurobuta Pork was quite a pleasant surprise and I would not mind paying for extra pieces but not for the onsen egg. Though the onsen egg has given the noodles a textual difference but not quite worth paying $1.00 for it. There was some pork lard added but was rather soggy and with a slightly burnt taste and bitterness. The accompanied chilli tasted strange though, it was a bit too sweet and lacking in spiciness. The bowl of soup that served along with the noodle was quite flavorful. 

There is also a traditional Prawn Mee stall at the first level of this food centre by another young hawker serving equally good prawn mee at cheaper prices. 

PRAWNAHOLIC

Block 110 Pasir Ris Central #02-12 Pasir Ris Hawker Centre SINGAPORE 519641

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 3.00 pm / 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm (Closed on Mondays)

The Humble Burger : Sio Bak Burger

I was there at about 12.30 pm for lunch, the Stack Burger ($7.00) and Portobello Burger ($4.00) were not available. I was the only customer at that time. The remaining options are Beef Burger ($5.00), Double Beef Burger ($7.50), Sio Bak Burger ($5.50), Chicken Rice Burger ($5.50) and Fish Burger ($4.00).

I decided to go with the Sio Bak Burger ($5.50) and I was asked whether to go along with twister fries which I agreed. I went with the smaller portion at $1.50, there is a larger portion at $3.00. I was asked to come back in 5 minutes to collect it after paying up.

It consists of 4 pieces of thickly sliced sio bak with mustard and miso dressings as well as lettuce and sandwiched between the toasted buns. I guess I must have waited for too long as those slices of sio bak were no longer crispy. It was slightly tough and a bit too chewy, it did not have the saltiness that a good sio bak would be expected to have. My dining companion commented that it did not have much flavor. 

This somewhat reminded me a similar burger served by Hambaobao at Beauty World Food Centre, which is tastier in comparison. 

I must just come back for their Chicken Rice Burger someday.

THE HUMBLE BURGER

110 Pasir Ris Central #02-22 Pasir Ris Hawker Centre SINGAPORE 519641

Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 9.00 pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

Fully Good Food : Prawn Noodle with Pork Ribs

Poh Chee Eng, 28, the owner, was a former civil servant and he is a first-time hawker. He used to help out at his parents' stall at Chong Boon Food Centre in Ang Mo Kio before starting this stall at the newly opened hawker centre. He wants to continue the legacy of his family's recipes through this stall. He is under the "hawker-preneurship" programme by NTUC Foodfare, which aimed to attract and nurture new-generation hawkers by lowering their start-up costs with guidance provided. He started preparation as early as 2 am and left the stall as late as 8.30 pm.

There was just another customer in front of me when I was there for an early lunch. Their menu includes Prawn Noodle ($2.80), Prawn Noodle with Pork Ribs ($4.50), Pork Ribs Noodle ($3.50) and Mee Rebus ($2.80). I decided to go with Prawn Noodle with Pork Ribs. While waiting for it to be ready, I helped myself with those red-cut chillies. 

It is served with a good portion of yellow noodles with kang kong, 2 pieces of pork ribs and 4 pieces of small prawns, garnished with a stalk of coriander. I tossed the noodles a little but it did not have much sauce underneath thus it was slightly dry. Though I asked for an extra amount of chilli to be added, it was not as spicy as I expected it to be. Those pork ribs were lovely though, its texture was desirable falling-apart. Overall, it might not be the one of the best Prawn Mee now as there are still opportunities for enhancement. 

FULLY GOOD FOOD PRAWN MEE . MEE REBUS
110 Pasir Ris Central #01-14 Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre SINGAPORE 519641

The Stew House : not as good as I thought it would be

Caleb Tan, 28, the owner, is a first-time hawker, started this stall to serve stew in the recently opened "hipster" hawker centre. It was a weekday lunch, some stalls were closed but there were 2 stalls that have got quite a long queue. I decided not to go for that 2 stalls but this one that got only 3 people waiting to order. When it was my turn to order, I pointed to the menu board and said, "Beef Bourguignon, regular portion". The regular size is priced at $6 and the large one is at $8, it stated that it will be served with rice.  Then, I asked, "Can I have just a bit of rice?" The chap that was taking my order, said, "You might want to have it with the soft rolls?" I asked, "Can I have just 1, please?" He said, "It came in 2." I know I could not finish as I just had a bowl of Prawn Mee before this. 

Their signature Beef Bourguignon, also called Beef Burgundy, is a basic beef stew using a traditional French recipe that is quite difficult to go wrong. It is prepared by braising the beef in red wine and beef broth, flavored with garlic, onions, thyme, bay leaves and sage. It consists of beef chunks, mushroom with pieces of potato and carrot. I was quite excited but soon this excitement turned to disappointment. Those beef chunks were not sufficiently tender and even those pieces of potato were quite hard. The gravy was not as thick as I liked it. Overall, it fared quite badly in comparison with the similar dish served by Lad & Dad that moved from Serangoon Garden Food Centre to Maxwell Food Centre not too long ago.

The soft rolls tasted quite stale, it might be softer if they served it warm by toasting it first. I ate only half of the soft roll and also left those pieces of potato and some beef chunks unfinished. The only thing that was decent in this bowl of stew was actually those mushroom. 

There are other options like Nonya Curry Chicken ($5), Chicken Tikka Masala ($5/$7), Chicken & Mushroom Veloute ($5) and Cream of Mushroom with soft rolls ($5). The Smoked Duck Salad ($7) and Chicken Caesar Salad ($6.50) have been marked as "sold-out". 

THE STEW HOUSE

110 Pasir Ris Central #02-07 Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre SINGAPORE 519641

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