Sheng Seng Fried Prawn Noodle : the wet Hokkien Mee

When i was queuing for the Lai Heng Pork Ribs Prawn Mee, i noticed that there was a queue for this stall, which is just directly opposite. Other than the catchy yellow signboard which has their stall name on it, there is an older one stating Farrer Park Fried Hokkien Mee, likely to be where they used to be. The prices start at $3 then $4 and $5 and i went with the $4 portion. 

The waiting time was shorter than expected. It was the wet version that consists of a good portion of a mixture of bee hoon and yellow noodles serving with ingredients such as sotong, prawns, slices of fishcake and egg, together with sambal chilli and a lime by the side. I started by squeezing the lime then mixing the sambal chilli into the noodles. The first impression after i had my first mouthful was that distinct eggy taste but the noodles were not well braised.  It might be due to cooking it too quickly in order to serve it fast to clear the queue thus did not give it enough time for the noodles to soak it well. 

Though this stall has its supporters but the overall taste was quite average and it would not be in my top list for good Hokkien Mee. I do not think they have added in fried pork lards as i did not see and could not taste any in it. 

SHENG SENG FRIED PRAWN NOODLE

41A Cambridge Road #01-40 Pek Kio Food Centre SINGAPORE 211041

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 5.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

grit at Pek Kio : the better Western food stall

This is a western food stall started by a next generation hawker, Kieranne Chin with his business partners, Jeremy and Sargu at Pek Kio Food Centre. Kieranne has a degree in Banking & Finance, prior to starting this stall, he has worked for a few restaurants in Singapore and also in New York. They started in October and has been around for slightly more than 2 months. Other than the usual hawker western fare, their menu also includes Skillet Roasted Chicken, Skirt Beef Steak as well as pasta dishes like Mushroom Carbonara serving with Onsen Egg.

I went on last Sunday but they were closed, they left a notice pasted on their shutter but did not mention anything on their Facebook page, a wasted trip then. I went again on Friday for dinner and they were in operation this time. I was attended by Sargu. While browsing the menu board and could not quite decide what to order, he asked, "Spoilt for choice ah?" I decided to go with Fried Chicken Burger at $7.00. Then, i said, "What do you recommend for steak". He suggested Skirt Steak or Picanha (rump cap) and both are priced at $14.00. And, i asked, "What is the difference between both?". He said, "The Picanha is fattier and it is more flavorful". I went with Picanha as recommended. I paid $21.00 for both. I was asked, "Where do you seat?". I pointed to a table near the stall.

I waited for about 15 minutes, Sargu came over and asked, "Do you want your Fried Chicken Burger to be served first or both dishes at the same time?" He also asked, "How do you want the beef to be done?", which i replied, "Medium" and "Please serve the Fried Chicken Burger first". I waited for another 10 minutes before receiving the Fried Chicken Burger, Sargu said, "the Picanha is on the way". It was served 5 minutes later. 

Fried Chicken Burger consists of 2 pieces of nicely fried chicken as patties, garnished with a portion of coleslaw and sandwiched in between the lightly toasted buns together with a generous amount of cheese fries. I was telling my companion that i am even willing to pay upto $9 for such a set so pricing at just $7 is quite a steal.

Next up is Picanha. What is a Picanha? It is actually a cut of beef called rump cap and also referred to as sirlion cap, rump cover and coulotte, a triangular cut from the top of the rump region of the cow, it has a beautiful layer of fat. And, the blanket of fat lends the meat flavor and juiciness while protecting it from over-cooked during grilling.

It was served nicely cut up on a bed of mashed potato. Apparently, i did not like it as much as i would expected to be. The cut was a little too fattier and its texture was a bit too chewier to my liking, it actually required a great amount of efforts and time just to chew it well. I will just order the Skirt Steak next time.

I will be also interested to try their Fried Chicken Cutlet or Chicken Chop that is also serving with the delicious mashed potato that left quite an impression. It was smooth, soft and nicely flavored, it is easily one of the better ones that i ever tried. This alone, is a good reason to come back. 

grit at Pek Kio

41A Cambridge Road #01-45 Pek Kio Food Centre SINGAPORE 211041

Operating Hours: 5.30 pm to 8.00 pm (Tue to Fri) / 7.30 am to 8.00 pm (Sat)

7.30 am to 2.30 pm (Sun) (Closed on Mondays)

Lai Hiang Pork Ribs Prawn Mee

It was a Sunday and i made a trip to the Pek Kio Food Centre at Cambridge Road for Grit at Pek Kio, a western food stall there. I did not quite expect it to be closed on that day as there was no such announcement on their facebook page. I actually made an effort to check it before i travelled there but there was a notice pasted on their shutter to announce their closure on that day though. I will have to look for an alternative then, some stalls were closed on the Sunday and the remaining stalls, most of them have a short queue apart from the longest queue spotted at Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles. I walked around for a bit and decided to join the queue at Lai Heng Pork Ribs Prawn Mee. It was 1.20 pm, the mee pok and mee kia have already sold out so left with just bee hoon, yellow noodle and kway teow. I counted and there were 9 people in front of me and i waited for about 15 minutes to order and another 5 minutes for it to be ready. 

There are 3 pricing for the Prawn Mee, starting at $2.50 then $3.00 and $5.00. I went for the $5.00, expecting to have pork ribs added. I opted for a mixture of yellow noodle and kway teow, requested to have extra chill. 

It was quite a big portion serving with ingredients like slices of fishcake and lean meat with quite a few pieces of deshelled prawns but there was no pork ribs. I guess you have to specifically tell what type of ingredients to be added or else, it will be just a bigger portion with extra fishcake, lean meat and prawns. 

I added with a bit of dried chilli powder that is available for self-service at the counter. To start, i tossed it well to have the noodles nicely mixed with the sauces and dried chilli powder. They actually overcooked the noodles particularly the kway teow, the texture was too soft so after tossed it, it was broken into shorter pieces. 

It tasted quite normal even with the extra amount of chilli added, it did not quite enhance the flavor. Perhaps that is the reason why most of their customers actually ordered the soup version. Their standard could not quite compare with the famous Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles at all and that somewhat explained the forever long queue right there.

LAI HIANG PORK RIB PRAWN MEE

41A Cambridge Road #01-41 Pek Kio Food Centre SINGAPORE 210041

Operating Hours: 8.00 am to 2.30 pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

Soon Lee

Though i have tried some of those famous Bak Cho Mee out there but none has come as close as my favourite Bak Chor Mee that closed down a couple of months ago.  So, the persistent long queue of this stall definitely caught my attention.

I joined in the queue and waited for 10 minutes to order. Though this stall is only manned by 2 elderly uncles but the waiting was a short one. I wanted the $3.00 portion of Mee Kia with extra chilli added.

A substantial portion of Mee Kia was given with ingredients like slices of fishcake and lean meat, minced meat, fishball and braised mushroom then garnished with coriander.

Though extra chilli was added but it still did not taste spicy enough to my liking.

It has got quite a distinctive taste of vinegar. I am not a fan of vinegar so the taste was a bit overwhelmed. If you do not like it too then you might want to request to omit it or to request for lesser amount to be added. The soup that served along with the Mee Kia tasted rather plain with just a slight peppery taste.  Though not the best that i have eaten but it actually tasted not too bad. It definitely worth a try if you are there for lunch.

SOON LEE MUSHROOM MINCED PORK NOODLE

41A Cambridge Road #01-22 Pek Kio Food Centre SINGAPORE 211041.

Good Spice Carrot Cake

Where can you still find $1.50 Fried Carrot Cake in Singapore? I was rather amazed when their signage stating the different prices of their Fried Carrot Cake caught my attention. The smallest serving of fried carrot cake is $1.50 to $2.00 then $3.00 to  the largest serving at $4. Both the black and the white version are available for selection. I guess that very much explained the persistent long queue right there.

I always prefer the black version to have extra egg so i went for the $2.00 portion. I observed how it was prepared.

A portion of the pre-fried carrot was pan fried slightly before a total of 3 eggs were added in and this followed by the sweet dark sauce. It was then garnished with chopped spring onion to serve.  I would think the portion given was definitely good for $2.00.

When taken a closer look, the pieces of carrot cake were evenly covered by a large amount of fried egg.  The taste of dark sweet sauce was rather intense though not overpowering. I enjoyed the bits and pieces of the fried egg quite a bit.

The texture of the carrot cake was rather moist with a desired softness. It would definitely be perfect if added in an extra amount of preserved radish to enhance its taste further. I have always enjoyed the combination of the sweetness from the dark sweet sauce and the saltiness from the preserved radish.

Their Fried Carrot Cake is a good choice for breakfast or even lunch.

GOOD SPICE CARROT CAKE

41A Cambridge Road #01-20 Pek Kio Food Centre SINGAPORE 211041.