Kim Kitchen Braised Duck : the owner is only 22 years old

Zip, 22, the owner, is running the stall with Jia Hui, 20, his girlfriend, and they actually look like 19 years old, much younger than their age. Marcus told me about this stall at Beo Crescent Food Centre, it is side by side with another duck rice stall. I said, "A friend told me about your stall. He said the stall is manned by a very young couple and I should come by to support." Zip looked up while cooking, looking very energetic and said, "Need to thank your friend then." He sounded high-spirited. 

I asked, "Did you bid for the stall?" He said, "We did not but took over from the previous owner." I said, "Is the rental high? should be around $2,000?" He nodded. I also asked, "How is the business so far?" He replied, "Still ok." I asked, "Who taught you how to cook?" He said, "My father did." Jia Hui giggled and said, "I came by to help out when there is a shortage of manpower initially but later on just continue to working here full-time." I asked, "You also serve Minced Pork Noodle? You are the first braised duck stall to serve this dish." He chuckled. 

I ordered Kway Chap and added Braised Duck for $7.50. When eating it, I find the taste to be quite familiar as it somewhat reminded me of the braised meat by Mr Lorbak. The overall taste was alright, though a little heavy on the use of five-spice powder and slightly saltish. This is not the best Kway Chap that I ever tasted but I could taste the passion behind it. I believe they would improve along the way if they persist. 

They are the youngest couple manning a hawker stall that I have ever met amongst the many others of different stalls. They reminded me of a saying in Chinese, which is 初生之犊不畏虎, this means "the newborn calf fears no tiger".  It is just so good to be young, to have plenty of time with a good amount of courage to keep trying and doing their part in preserving the hawker culture.  

Do drop by to support the young hawker if you happen to be in the vicinity for breakfast or lunch.

KIM KITCHEN BRAISED DUCK

38A Beo Cresecent #01-82 Beo Cresecent Food Centre SINGAPORE 169982

Operating Hours: 6.00 am to 2.00 pm (Closed on Thursdays)

Hong Heng Fried Sotong Prawn Mee : just so so

Manfred Lim, 40s, is the 3rd generation hawker that took over the stall from his mother when he was 27 years old. His mother took over the stall from a relative. This decades-old stall has been award Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Though they are not amongst the famous Fried Hokkien Mee around, they have been around for a long time. 

I was there on a Saturday, there were just a few people in the queue. The queue was much longer at Tiong Bahru Hainanese Chicken Rice which is also awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand. There are the $3, $4 and also $5 portions available and I decided to go with the $4. The assistant was taking the order the moment when I joined the queue. It is cooked in batches and added in the pre-cooked ingredients later. 

Their version is wetter and not quite flavorful, no hint of wok flavor and not serving with fried lard. It was served with ingredients like prawns, squid, slices of pork belly and fish cake with sambal chilli by the side. My dining companion said, "It is not bad but not exceptionally impressive and I do not think they deserved the Michelin Bib Gourmand. How good can a Fried Hokkien Mee be if without wok flavor and fried lard?"

I think the inspectors from Michelin did not get to taste enough of the other Fried Hokkien Mee for a comparison. Tiong Bahru Yi Sheng Fried Hokkien Mee at ABC Brickworks Food Centre that has been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand this year is definitely more deserving. What do these foreign inspectors actually know about our hawker food? 

HONG HENG FRIED SOTONG PRAWN MEE

30 Seng Poh Road #02-01 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 8.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Ming Nam Pork Ribs Prawn Noodle at Tiong Bahru Food Centre

This stall has been in this food centre for a long while and when Ah Leng, the owner, took over from his father, the business was declining. He participated in the "Buzzing Hawker" (抢摊大行动) series that was aired on Channel 8 years ago. A mentor chef was assigned to help the stall that eventually revived their business and it has been doing well since then. Apparently, most of those stalls that participated in that TV show were already closed and this stall is likely to be the only surviving one. There is usually a queue during lunch. They serve Prawn Noodle ($3.00/$4.00), Pork Ribs Prawn Noodle ($4.50/$5.50) and Pig Tail Soup ($4.00/$5.00). I have been patronizing on quite a regular basis and their standard has been consistent so far. 

There was still a few people in the queue after 2 pm on a weekday. I waited for a few minutes before ordering and I decided to go with the bigger portion of Pork Ribs Prawn Noodle. 

It consists of a good portion of noodles with 3 pieces of prawns as well as pork ribs together with a handful of Kang Kong and bean sprouts then garnished with crispy fried lard. I will usually request for an extra amount to be added and the friendly owner usually obliged. It was served along with a bowl of tasty soup that has a concentrated flavor of prawn. I was amazed that the prawns were de-shelled, left with just the head and the tail parts. Most stalls would not be bothered to do it as it can be quite laborious and definitely time-consuming. The pork ribs were also nicely cooked to the desired tenderness. 

While eating, one of the elderly aunties sharing the table asked, "This looks really good. Which stall did you order it from?" I pointed to the corner and said, "That one, right at the corner". It is not the taste of the noodles but the politeness of the owner that has actually left an impression. He actually made an effort to say "Thank You". That might be one of the likely reasons to keep his customers return. 

MING NAM PORK RIBS PRAWN NOODLE

30 Seng Poh Road #02-31 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898

Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 3.00 pm / 5.00 pm to 9.30 pm (Closed on Thursdays)

Tiong Bahru Lor Mee : a comforting choice

There are 2 stalls serving Lor Mee in this food centre and both are equally popular. This one is serving a traditional Lor Mee with the usual ingredients and the other is focusing more on fried shark fish nuggets. Apparently, both stalls are not the original stalls from the Seng Poh Road Market that was demolished in 2004. The 2 original stalls that used to be there were moved out, one of them is currently at Bukit Batok and the other has already ceased operation. 

It was a Saturday when I went for lunch. This was the only option as the other stall was closed on that day. It was located at the corner and you might not get to see the queue from far. There are 3 sizes available, the smallest one at $3 then followed by $4 and the largest portion is at $5. I told the Auntie, "The $4 portion with extra ingredients." She replied, "so the $5 portion la." 

It came with a substantial portion of flat yellow noodles in flavorful gooey gravy with ingredients like slices of fishcake and ngor hiang, fried fish nuggets, stewed pork belly and braised egg, serving with sambal chill, red/green chopped chillies, and minced garlic. Overall, it was not too bad though not amongst my top 3 choices. 

TIONG BAHRU LOR MEE

30 Seng Poh Road #02-80 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898

Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 8.00 pm (Daily)

Tiong Bahru Fishball : Oldies but still Goodies

This is one of the original stalls from the Seng Poh Road Market that was shut down in 2004 and they relocated to the Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre in 2006. It was founded by Mr Loh since 1962 and they have been around for more than 5 decades serving homestyle fishballs made from Wolf Herring fish, commonly known as Ikan Parang or Sai Tor Her using their family recipe. 

Other than the fried fishballs, there are also mixed vegetable chilli balls, otah, fried beancurd roll with fishpaste, flat ngor hiang, cuttlefish ball, fish roll, fried tofu with fish paste and so on. Some of the popular items are usually sold out quite early. You are to select what you want first then handed over to the Uncle, it will then be re-fried and cut it up nicely and presented on disposable place with a bowl of chilli. 

This is also the place to go when you need to bring something to be shared at a potluck party. 

TIONG BAHRU FISHBALL

30 Seng Poh Road #02-20 Tiong Bahru Food Centre Singapore 168898
Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 3.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Tiong Bahru Fried Kway Teow : The $2 Fried Kway Teow

This stall has been around for the last 25 years and they are likely to be the only stall that is still selling their fried kway teow at just $2.00. If you visit during lunch, you could see a short queue forming right in front of their stall. 

The owner, Mr Tay Soo Nam, 87 years old was there when i visited. He started frying the kway teow when he was 24 years old on a push cart along Kim Poh Road before moving into old Tiong Bahru Food Centre in 1968. He has not been doing much of the cooking these days but i was lucky to have my plate of kway teow done by him. 

He has already handed over the stall to Madam Tay Li Hwa, his daughter, this stall is now manned by Madam Tay and her husband since 16 years ago. This is good at least such taste is still going to be around for a while longer unlike some of those pioneer hawker stalls that have been forced to cease operation as they do not have anyone to takeover.

When i asked Mr Tay why are they still selling it at $2, he said, "We want to take care of our elderly customers in this area so it is okay to earn a bit lesser." This is also the main reason why he is insisting to keep it at $2 for all these years, bigger portion is available at $3 and $4. The $2 portion is not served with cockles. 

Their fried kway teow has a rather old school taste and is served with ingredients like chinese sausage, fishcake, cockles and beansprouts. Its texture is moist with a sweet-savory flavor and is satisfying. How do they make such simple food taste so memorable? 

This is another hawker stall that is truly deserving our respect and support.

TIONG BAHRU FRIED KWAY TEOW

30 Seng Poh Road #02-11 Tiong Bahru Food Centre Singapore 168898
Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 10.30 pm (Closed on Wednesdays)