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

新路潮洲鱼圆粿條麵汤 : formerly from Margaret Drive Food Centre

This is one of the stalls from the now-defunct Margaret Drive Food Centre before moving to this food centre. I used to eat at their stall at Margaret Drive Food Centre, it was already popular then. There was a short queue and it took me about 15 minutes to order and receive it. I ordered the dry mee pok with extra 5 fishballs for $4.50, there is also an option to add 2 fishballs for $3.60. The normal portion is $3.00 and $3.50 with extra noodles. It was cooked by a young chap with a man bun.

The mee pok was cooked al dented then served with chilli and ketchup with bits of crispy lard, garnished with chopped spring onions. The concoction of the sauce has an old-school taste and I liked it, it is not exactly spicy and with a tinge of sweetness. 

The fishballs were served in a bowl of lightly flavored soup and there was a total of 15 in it. The texture of those fishballs was firm and bouncy, it tasted quite fresh. 

It was sold out at about 1 pm on that day. It was sold out before 12 pm when I returned for lunch on a Sunday.

新路潮洲鱼圆粿條麵汤

159 Mei Chin Road #0205 Mei Ling Food Centre SINGAPORE 140159

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

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)