No Name Fish Soup : comforting Sliced Fish Mee Sua

This Fish Soup stall has no name and it used to be a Teochew porridge stall but it was too laborious for the owners so the owners decided to serve Fish Soup instead. Their simple menu include Fish Slice Soup ($4/$5), Fish Head Soup ($5), Fish Porridge ($4/$5), Fish Thick Bee Hoon ($4/$5), Fish Mee Sua ($4/$5), Fish Poh Chai Mee ($4/$5) and white rice is served at 0.50 cents per bowl. 

I was there during lunch, though no queue but there was a constant flow of customers. There was only another customer right in front of me. I went with a $5 portion sliced fish mee sua, it was served in a deeper bowl with a slightly larger portion of mee sua and more slices of fish as compared to the $4 portion. While waiting, I helped myself to their 2 different types of chilli and they do have the fermented bean sauce too, a typical Teochew style of enjoying the sliced fish soup.

I brought it to the table that I used to seat with my late Grandpa for our lunch and coffee sessions. It has been 5 years but it was just like yesterday when he passed on and it brought back lots of fond memories with him whenever I dine here. Our usual noodle stall is no longer around though. 

The soup did not have much taste but those slices of fish tasted relatively fresh, eat it fast before the sua mee turned gooey. Though simple, it is comforting particularly on a rainy day.

NO NAME FISH SOUP

Block 341 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 #01-13 Teck Ghee Court Food Centre SINGAPORE 560341

Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm / 5.00 pm to 9.00 pm (Closed on Sundays)

Jenny's Laksa : Nyonya laksa, cooked with love

I first came across this stall when a friend posted it on Facebook. He went to try and liked it enough to recommend it. They are located in the coffee shop that is directly opposite Teck Ghee Court Market along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, the same market that I used to visit with my late Grandpa. We used to go there for breakfast and for our usual coffee sessions then shopping at the wet market on a regular basis. I have not been going there that often ever since his passing about 4 years ago. This food centre and the market have always been bringing back a lot of fond memories. 

This stall started in October 2016 by a 28 years old next generation hawker using a recipe for Nyonya laksa that has been passed down from his grandmother to his mother. He even named this stall after his 63 years old mother. He started cooking at the tender age of 15 and eventually learned how to cook the laksa at 21 years old. This stall is a family business, he is doing the cooking, his mother is helping to prepare the ingredients and his elder sister is taking the orders as well as serving it. They usually sold about 60 to 80 bowls on weekdays and 140 to 170 bowls on weekends. And, to maintain the consistency of its standard, he is doing it by eating a bowl of his laksa each day. 

The taste is lighter though not as rich but it is flavorful enough. Coconut milk is added to actually make a difference, it is one of the main ingredients for a more authentic flavor. It tasted different as compared to the other laksa that is using condensed milk, a usual and cheaper alternative.  Everything is prepared from scratch including their rempah, which is also known as spice paste, and the sambal. It starts from the grinding, blending then followed by cooking all the ingredients and no MSG is added during this process. 

There are only 2 choices available and that is, with cockles or with shredded chicken, serving with other ingredients like quail eggs, tau pok and slices of fishcake. They run out of bean sprouts when I was there after 1 pm on a Sunday. Each bowl is reasonably priced at $3.50. 

They also do catering, their laksa set costs $45 for 10 pax and you have to order at least 3 days in advance. As for the coming Chinese New Year, they are providing their laksa base at $28.80 for 10 pax and the laksa set is at $48.80 for 10 pax, too. Delivery charges are applicable from $8 to $15 depending on the location and it is free if you order for 30 pax and above. The closing date for ordering is 22 January 2017, before 23:59 hrs. For more details, please visit their stall or check out the contact number on their Facebook page. 

It is heartening to see a family comes together to put in their efforts for a common interest. Though their laksa tasted quite simple but they cooked it with love and serve it with their hearts.

JENNY'S LAKSA

Block 338 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 SINGAPORE 560338

Operating Hours: 7.30 am to 3.00 pm (Daily)

UPDATE: They have moved to Block 421 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 with effect from 15 March 2017.

Teochew Porridge

It was a raining afternoon and we wanted something warm and i thought of this teochew porridge.

I was there at about 11.45 am when they just opened. There was already a queue of about 6 people in the line and i decided to join in. Most of the customers seemed to be their regulars as they do know what to order. This was my first time eating there so i decided to follow suit.

I waited for about 10 minutes to place my order. I ordered 2 bowls of white porridge, a plate of braised meat, a platte of tau kwa and tau pork, a plate of minced meat with fermented beans as well as a plate of braised cabbage. All the dishes were for 2 pax. When done ordering, i left them with my table number then helped myself with the spoons and chopsticks. If you do not like porridge, they do have rice as an option as well. I only paid a total of $7.00 for all the dishes and the 2 bowls of porridge. 

All the dishes and the porridge were served by a nice auntie right after i seated down at my table.

The braised meat was very well-braised to give it the right texture and the flavor. It might looked rather fat but it did not taste too oily at all but rather soft and tender. The portion give was rather generous. 

The tua kwa and tau pok seemed to be a popular choice as almost every customer ordered it. Though it tasted just average but it went really went with the plain porridge. 

My favourite amongst all the dishes gotta be the mined meat cooked with fermented beans. It is a very homely dish, something that most families will cooked at home to go with the porridge. It was a little saltish if eat it on its own but the saltiness tasted just right when have it with porridge. And that dish alone was good enough to finish 2 bowls of porridge. My partner went back to get another bowl of porridge for 0.50 cents.

The braised cabbage was my another favourite and i had it all by myself as my partner does not like eating cabbage at all. The cabbage was well-braised to obtain the desired softness with a distinctive taste of dried shrimps. Some people like it if they prefer a crunchier version.

It was a satisfying lunch and i will definitely be back more often.

Strongly recommended.

ECONOMIC MIXED VEGETABLE RICE

Block 341 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 #01-13 SINGAPORE 560341.