China Street Fritters : Hokkien-style Ngor Hiong & Guan Chang

This stall was started by the late Mr Ng Eng Tuan before World War II as a zinc-roofed hawker stall by the roadside at China Street, where the China Square Central is now. The stall is then taken over by Mr Ng Kok Eng and Mr Ng Kok Hua with his wife. This stall has been awarded the Heritage Hawker Stall award that recognized stalls that have been serving good hawker fare for more than 50 years. They serve Hokkien-style Ngor Hiong as opposed to the Ngor Hiang, which is in Cantonese. Ngor Hiong is actually a minced pork roll seasoned with 5-spice powder which the dish is named after and rolled over a beancurd skin. It is always served together with Guan Chang, the Chinese sausage made by squeezing the lean pork into the pig's intestines. It is a must-have with the Ngor Hiong, that is exactly what 五香贯肠 means on their signboard. It is also often seen on the signboard of the other stalls that are serving it.

Mr Ng Kok Eng was situated outside the stall to take the orders before handed it to Mr Ng Kok Hua to gather the items, deep-fried it then chopped it up and presented them on the plate before his wife took over. She will be serving it to the customers by placing them on the tray and collecting the payment.

Mr Ng Kok Eng, he pointed to the book that was left open on the page where their stall was featured and said, "Our 4 key items are egg slice, guan chang, ter kwa roll (pork liver roll) and ngor hiong. The century egg, deep-fried beancurd and fried homemade fishball are the additional items." They are still handmade these items using the decades' old recipe unlike most of the other stalls that are serving those made by the machine. 

I decided to go with just the signature items with a plate of bee hoon. He asked, "Do you want the century egg, tau kwa and fishball too?" He then continued, "Since there are 2 of you, do you want 2 pieces of each item?" I replied, "No. We already had something to eat earlier so a bit too full now." Uncle just marked down those items that we ordered on the order chit and handed a number to me. He then attended to the next customer right after me. I asked for the permission to take some pictures, he replied, "Just feel free to take. Many tourists are taking pictures or videos of our stall."

The Pork Liver Roll is a personal favorite, it had a unique texture which I liked. The Ngor Hiong was surprisingly tasty with a well-balanced 5-spice flavor and fried to a perfect crispiness. The Guan Chang did not have any surprises but was much softer than some of those that I had eaten. The egg slice is the highlight, this is something that you do not usually get it elsewhere. It is chopped into smaller pieces then deep-fried to the desired crispiness.

Their bee hoon is fried in Hokkien-style with just bean sprouts and dark soya sauce. 

It was served with 2 different sauces, the gooey sweet potato flour dipping sauce with its light and sweet flavor as well as the plain chili sauce made with chili powder, vinegar, and salt. 

It is good to just focus on quality than on the quantity, though they offer just a few items, those are amongst the better ones that I had tasted. Eat it while you can as there is likely no one to take over the stall when they retired, just like many of those older hawkers. There is also another stall in the same food centre serving the traditional Hokkien-style Ngor Hiong, Guan Chang and an assortment of fried fritters.

CHINA STREET FRITTERS

1 Kadayanallur Street #01-64 Maxwell Food Centre SINGAPORE 069184

Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 8.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Chef Ron : homely food prepared with love

This is an interesting stall manned by Ronnie Ng, also known as Chef Ron and his mother-in-law serving a certain selection of Ipoh specialties. Despite naming the stall after him but the actual chef is his mother-in-law. Nonetheless, Ronnie is the chef in the midst of training, he is locally born and bred but his mother-in-law is from Ipoh and they started this stall about 5 months ago. 

I asked for a recommendation as I could not decide between having Ipoh Curry Noodle and Ipoh Dry Curry Noodle. The friendly Auntie said, "If you like some soup to drink then Curry Noodle is nice if not then would be Dry Curry Noodle". I decided to go with the Dry Curry Noodle as this dish is not commonly found in Singapore. Both are priced at just $4.00, which I think it is of pretty good value.

I was telling Ronnie that it is difficult to find a good Ipoh Curry Noodle in Singapore after trying the existing few and none has met my expectations. He suggested I should considering visiting Ipoh as they are many street foods to try.

This was my first time eating the Dry Curry Noodle so there would not be any prior comparison. I was asked to choose between the yellow noodle and bee hoon but Auntie recommended a mixture of both for textural contrast. It consists of the handmade charsiew, sio bak, chicken and added the homemade curry sauce then garnished with fresh mint leaves that they have grown it themselves.

Their secret ingredient that contributed to the authenticity of this dish is the black soy sauce from Ipoh which giving it a rather home-cooked feel particularly to those Malaysian living in Singapore. Most of the items are homemade.

The gravy did not taste like the usual Chinese curry but slightly thicker and less coconut flavor, even so, it was aromatic with a mild spiciness. 

I was offered a small bowl of Braised Pork with White Radish for tasting purpose. I would guess pineapple is part of their ingredients in this dish as I could taste the combination of sweetness and a little sour zestiness amidst the savory notes and a mild level of spiciness. The flavor-rich white radish was a nice accompaniment. 

Other than Curry Mee, there are also Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak, Assam Laksa, Curry Chicken with Rice, Superior Soya Sauce Chicken with Rice, Superior Soya Sauce Pork at $4 each and also Bak Chang. If you are looking for homely food prepared with love, give this stall a try.

CHEF RON

1 Kadayanallur Street #01-03 Maxwell Food Centre SINGAPORE 069184

Operating Hours: 9.00 am to 7.30 pm (Closed on Sundays)

Jin Chen Coffee Stall : 30 years of hawker business

This traditional old-school hawker stall has been around for more than 30 years. It is a really long time. All things in life change quickly in this rapidly changing environment and it will take more than just the willingness of heart for sustaining and surviving it through the years.  Interestingly, they are quite active on Facebook with the usual updates and sharing.

Darren Tay, 40, better known as Ah Boy, is running the stall with his mother.  The stall started in 1986 as a Vegetarian stall run by his mother, he was already started helping out at the stall then. They converted it to a drink stall in 2008. This is the all-time favourite drink stall of their many regular customers, not just in the food centre but also in Raffles Place. They also offer delivery service within Raffles Place. They serve traditional coffee and tea, canned drinks, homemade drinks, toast bread and bun, soft-boiled eggs, desserts and snacks like Chee Cheong Fun and chwee kueh as well. They are also selling ready packed traditional coffee powder at $5.80 for  250 grammes. 

Their coffee has the right proportional of coffee powder, sugar and condensed milk to give it just the right creaminess and sweetness and even so, after adding ice cubes to make iced coffee. Everything about this stall is just so down-to-earth. Apparently, traditional coffee is not just traditional coffee but it is also a part of our hawker culture and heritage. 

JIN CHEN COFFEE STALL

50 Market Street #02-30 Market Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 048940

Operating Hours: 6.30 am to 7.30 pm (Closed on Sundays & Public Holidays)

Market Street Teochew Kway Teow Mee : A popular breakfast choice

This was one of the stalls that has a constant queue when i was there at about 10.30 am. Most of these customers seemed to be the regulars of this stall that offers Teochew style Minced Meat Fshball Noodle. This is amongst one of those stalls that is serving breakfast as it starts at 6.00 am. 

I joined the queue and waited for about 10 minutes before i got to order. I decided to go with the larger portion of mee pok at $4.00 even though there is a smaller portion at just $3.00. As usual, i requested to have extra amount of chill added. There are also other choices of noodles like mee tai mak, bee hoon, kway teow, mee kia and the yellow noodles. There is also Dumpling Noodle at $4.00 and $5.00 available for selection.

The nicely cooked mee pok was tossed in chilli, garlic, lard and also dash of vinegar. It served together with a bowl of lightly flavored soup that has fishballs, sliced fishcake, minced pork, sliced pork and liver in it. 

The overall taste was nice but i would have prefer the other popular noodle stall at level 3.

MARKET STREET TEOCHEW KWAY TEOW MEE

50 Market Street #02-38 Market Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 048940

Operating Hours: 6.00 am to 2.00 pm (Monday to Friday)

Tian Fu Fried Bee Hoon : Economic Choice for Breakfast and Lunch

I visited this food centre for quite a few times during the past few weeks and i took notice of the long queue at this stall when is near or during lunch. Most of these customers seemed to be the office workers in those high-rise buildings nearby. It got me to wonder what actually made these customers join the queue? This seems to be the only stall in this food centre that is serving economic fried bee hoon, kway teow and mee, this might also be one of the reasons contributing to the constant queue. They serve it with common side dishes like like fish cake, ngor hiang, luncheon meat, otak, taiwanese sausage and fried chicken wing.

I was there slightly after 10 am and there was just another customer in front of me. He ordered a plate of fried bee hoon with fried chicken wing together and other sides. I did not want to order the fried chicken wing initially but changed my mind as i expected it to be good.

When it was my turn to order, i went for the combination of fried kway teow and fried mee with a fried chicken wing, a fried egg and ngor hiang, the auntie added in some cabbage too. All these for just $3.10. I would think it is reasonably cheap particularly in a food centre at Central Business District (CBD) area. The fried chicken wing is $1.30, the fried egg is 0.60 cents, ngor hiang is 0.50 cents, the fried kway teow and fried mee is $1.00, it is all listed on the price list displayed at the front of their stall. 

I liked the fried kway teow and fried mee, though quite simple but it was nicely cooked to just the right flavor and texture. The fried egg was done perfectly to still have a soft egg yolk. The ngor hiang tasted just normal but those stir-fried cabbage was cooked well. I did not like the fried chicken wing though, it was coated in a thick layer of batter and slightly over-fried, it ended up to be quite dry and slightly hard. It was served with chilli and the sweet sauce tasted like the type for chee cheong fun. 

Other than fried bee hoon, fried kway teow and fried mee, they do offer century egg porridge and chicken porridge at $1.00 and $1.50 for taking away. They also serve set meal at $2.60 that is including the choice of noodles with default sides like fried chicken wing, fried egg and tau kwa. 

TIAN FU FRIED BEE HOON
50 Market Street #02-29 Market Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 048940
Operating Hours: 8.00 am to 2.00 pm (Monday to Friday)

Wei Nan Wang Hock Kian Lor Mee : Soon to be Gone

This humble stall is operated by an elderly couple. This stall has an interesting name and to translate it into English, it simply means the 'unforgettable taste' Hokkien Lor Mee. I was there at about 10.30 am, the elderly Auntie was still slicing the braised meat and i thought they are not ready yet, i approached the Auntie to ask. She said, "We have already started. What do you want?" I told her that i wanted the $4 portion with $1 extra ingredients added. Auntie did not quite expect that i go for the bigger portion. There is also the smaller portion at $3.00. There are also a few types of noodles to choose from.

While waiting for the Uncle to prepare it, i started chatting with the Auntie. We talked about the demolition of Market Street Food Centre that is going to take place next year. When asked whether would they be moving to the new food centre, the Auntie said, "No, we are going to retire after this food centre is gone." She then said, "I am already 77 years old." I asked, "How old is your husband?" She replied, "He is also 77 years old. We are of the same age."

She told me that they have been selling Lor Mee for the past 40 over years, they started in Bugis Street and have moved a few times though still in the town area. She said, "We stay at Pasir Panjang and we have to come as early as 3.00 am to start the preparation work. We used to stay in Bukit Merah though but moved farther and farther away." She added, "We are already too old to continue doing it." She also said, "It can be quite boring if just stay at home and do nothing." And, i asked, "Would your children want to take over?" She said, "My son is a graduate and he used to study Computer Science in oversea. He would never want to take over." Auntie was saying there is usually long queue during lunch time and they will closed after lunch.

I did not quite expect it to be such a big bowl when i received it. I do not know whether is this the usual serving size or i was given an extra bigger portion for my friendliness? In the end, i did not manage to finish it with some noodles left. 

It was topped with minced garlic, sambal chilli and also the red cut chillies. The gravy was not too starchy, a little too light though and a bit watery, it has a slight of sourish taste. It was served with quite a bit of those fried balls that are made of flour, i thought it was meatballs initially though. The other ingredients consist of braised meat, shredded fish meat, fried fish skin. There was also another fried item in it which i think was the fried beancurd skin, it was a bit too soft after soaked in the gravy for a bit so i could not really tell. 

This is another stall to check it out before the demolition of the food centre as they would call it quit after the food centre is gone. Then, the forgettable taste would only be in the memory. It might not be the best tasting Lor Mee that i have ever eaten but the old-school taste is rather pleasing. 

WEI NAN WANG HOCK KIAN LOR MEE

50 Market Street #03-03 Market Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 048940

Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 2.30 pm (Monday to Friday)

Say Seng : Old-School Fishball Noodle that has been around for 56 years

When i was just walking around and deciding what to eat, i came across this stall and what caught my attention was 'Established since 1960, well-known by its tasty and delicious mee poh" on their signboard. And, there was a short queue of about 4 people at about 11am, a particular customer was taking away a few portions. There was an elderly auntie taking away, she might not be too smiley but she is actually quite friendly. When i asked to have some red-cut chillies to go with the noodles, she just said, 'Here, just help yourself'. As it was still early and i was not too hungry then so i decided to go with dry Kway Teow at $4.00, there are also the $3.00 and $5.00 for selection. 

It is 'Self-Service' so i waited in the queue for it to be ready. Auntie was quite systematic, she will read out the orders one by one to the cook in there. The kway teow used is the thicker type and not the thinner version that is usually for Ipoh Horfun. It was perfectly cooked to the right texture without getting too soft and mushy. I requested for extra amount of chilli to be added and its spiciness has added flavor. It was served with slices of fishcake and lean meat with 2 pieces of fish balls and a halved prawn then garnished with coriander. 

It used to be cooked by an elderly couple before the current owner took over, he is also the co-owner of Claypot Rice stall next door. He has doing the cooking for a few years now. As i have never get to try it before so there would not be any comparison on their standard.

It reminded me of another stall in Ang Mo Kio where i used to eat with my late Grandpa, that stall has been taken over by a younger couple and the taste is no longer the same, i have since stopped eating there.

It has recently announced on the news about the re-development of this Golden Shoe carpark into an office building. All the hawker stalls are likely to be relocating to a new food centre just nearby but how many of these hawker stalls would still be around at that time? 

SAY SENG

50 Market Street #03-14 Market Street Food Centre SINGAPORE 048940

Operating Hours: 7.30 am to 2.00 pm (Monday to Friday)