Ah Lim : Mee Poh . Noodle Soup . Dumpling Soup

This stall is in the coffee shop at the junction of Jalan Tua Kong, along the East Coast Road is by the disciple from the original stall. The original Ah Lim is at Marine Parade, the stall is taken over by the son as the elderly Uncle has retired. There is a stall in the coffee shop at the corner of Simpang Bedok by the former helper and there is also a shop directly opposite, near the coffee shop, there are also other stalls in other parts of Singapore that has "Ah Lim" as part of their signboard. It is difficult to really tell whether are they actually related and the authenticity of the recipe used. 

I was there after 2 pm but the coffee shop was still crowded with most of the tables occupied. When ordering, I was told that the waiting time is quite long. I ordered the smallest portion of mee pok for $4. The auntie asked me for the table number and collected the payment. I waited for about 20 minutes before receiving it. 

It consists of a good portion of nicely cooked mee pok with fishballs, minced meat, slices of fish cake and lean meat. My dining companion said, "This is not bad but not the best that I have eaten." 

My dining companion said, "Do you know why I know this is a popular stall?" He pointed to those wooden clippers at the stall and said, "When you see those, that is a good sight." Though not too common, you still get to see those clippers at most of the Ah Lim's stalls. You do not see it often these days but it used to be a common practice at some of those older hawker stalls. My great grandfather used to run a noodle stall at Chia Keng as told by my Grandpa.

AH LIM
15 Upper East Coast Road SINGAPORE 455207
Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 5.00 pm (Daily)

M Chicken Rice : not since 1971

The stall is started by Patrick Lee together with Freddie, his brother, and William Xavier, a local radio DJ in December 2018. I was told that Raymond Kiang, the son of Sergeant Kiang, is one of the partners too but he is currently working in Indonesia. Sergeant Kiang is not in charge of the stall though they are using his recipe. Sergeant Kiang was amongst the pioneer batch of chefs behind the Chatterbox Chicken Rice at Mandarin Hotel in Orchard Road in 1971. It is located in the coffee shop near the junction of East Coast Road and Telok Kurau Road. There is an indication on their logo that M Chicken Rice has been around since 1971 which is not quite convincing though the recipe that they have been using existed since then.

There was a guy donned a white chef jacket sitting beside the stall. He stood up when there was a customer wanted to order. He took the order but there was an older guy doing the chopping and serving it. I decided to follow the customer before me to order the combination of roasted and white chicken with rice for $6.50, an additional $2.

My dining companion was the one that introduced me to Sergeant Chicken Rice when it was still at Chevron in Jurong before Food Republic acquired it. Sergeant Kiang is currently managing Chicky Fun, there are outlets in most of the food courts by Kopitiam. He said, "The chicken rice did not remind me of the then chicken rice from Sergeant Chicken Rice."

I believe the recipe has tweaked as it tasted different, they might have toned down the level of spiciness of their chilli a little. My dining companion commented that their ginger sauce was a little runny on that day. Somehow, the roasted chicken just did not taste as good, not even comparable to the Chicky Fun in Bagus at Northpoint City which I have been eating quite regularly. It was slightly dry and not as flavorful. The white chicken was much better though, tender and more favor.

The pricing is relatively reasonable for a decent tasting chicken rice but more efforts have to be put in to improve it. There is also a branch in the staff canteen at Panasonic building.

M CHICKEN RICE

396 Upper East Coast Road SINGAPORE 466481

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 10.00 pm