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)

Tow Kwar Pop : it has been around for 50 years and counting

It started by 2 brothers in 1965 and it has been around for more than 50 years since then. This stall serves Rojak set at $4.00 and $5.00.  It consists of their signature Tow Kear Pop, Cuttlefish, Fried Dough Fritter, Pineapple, Turnip, Green Papaya and also slices of Apple. It was served with 2 types of sauces separately in the saucers, the dark sweet sauce that tasted a little sourish and a rich and fragrant Shrimp Paste. I enjoyed dipping those pieces of the Rojak into the sauces. I could decide the amount of sauce that I liked in such a way and by serving the sauces separately, the Tow Kwar Pop and Cuttlefish would not get soaked in it and it will remain crisp to the last bite. 

An extra portion of sauce is chargeable at $3.00 as well as for other ingredients like Tow Pok ($1), You Tiao ($1), Dried Fish Fillet ($2) and Cuttlefish ($5) are available at different prices. It was sprinkled with some ground peanuts for a rich nutty flavor. 

The Tow Kwar Pops were freshly toasted over the charcoal, it was meticulously grilled by flipping around to make sure every side was toasted to a slight crisp in a traditional way before cutting it up and adding in to be part of the Rojak. Each Tow Kwar Pop was stuffed with blanched bean sprouts and shredded cucumber. 

The portion is good for a light snack or to go in between meals. This is definitely amongst one of the best Rojak and is a must-try if you are at Tiong Bahru Food Centre. 

TOW KWAR POP

30 Seng Poh Road #02-06 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898

Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 8.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

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 Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice : Bib Gourmand Award

There are many Chicken Rice stalls in Singapore but this particular one at Tiong Bahru Food Centre is awarded Bib Gourmand by Michelin for 2016 and 2017. Cheong Weng Wah, 48, the owner, grew up in Tiong Bahru prior to starting his stall in 1988. He was only 20 years old then and just completed his National Service and he happened to know a friend that used to work as a cook at Chatterbox in Mandarin Hotel, cooking the legendary Hainanese Chicken Rice. This particular friend imparted the skills and given the recipe to him. He further improvised by experimenting and improved on the recipe. 

Other than the Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice ($3), there is also Roasted Chicken Rice ($3), Lemon Chicken Rice ($3) and side dishes like the Soya Sauce Vegetables ($3) and Bean Sprouts ($3) on their menu. I was there for a late lunch but there was just another customer right in front of me. I wanted the combination of blanched chicken and roasted chicken with a plate of rice for $5.00. 

The blanched chicken was smoother and juicier but the roasted chicken was more flavorful, both were equally good though I would prefer the roasted chicken a little more. It was served with a portion of salted vegetable, which is not quite common. Onion is added as the special ingredient to the rice apart of the usual garlic, ginger and spring onion, that making it different from the others. The texture of the rice was fluffy and not greasy. This might not be the best Chicken Rice that I have tasted but this is definitely above average.  Though, there were some negative reviews about this stall but I was honestly impressed with what I had eaten. 

There is also another outlet by the same name in Chinatown that is run by his elder brother and his other brother has another outlet at Changi Village. 

TIONG BAHRU HAINANESE BONELESS CHICKEN RICE

30 Seng Poh Road #02-82 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898

Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 8.00 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)

Hui Ji Fish Ball Noodle . Yong Tau Foo : Is there a drop in standard?

The last visit to this stall was about a year or so ago, i remember rather well that there used to be an elderly Auntie helping out there. She was not at the stall today and i found out from the stall assistant that she would not be coming anymore. The stall is left with the Uncle to take charge of the cooking with that assistant to do the rest.

I was there at about 11.30 pm and there was a short queue at the stall. I joined in and waited, there were more people joining in but some left the queue after waited for a while. The lady behind me commented that the elderly Uncle was too short in cooking thus prolong the waiting time. We chatted for a bit before she left, she said, "It's getting difficult to find such an old noodle stall as most of those stalls in the food courts are by foreigners that are employed to do the cooking". After she left, I waited nonetheless. I waited for another 5 minutes to make my order and another 8 minutes to receive it.

This stall is mainly serving Fishball Noodle at $2.50 and $3.00 but you could choose to add in their handmade yong tau foo items. You could choose between their default items that has arranged placed in a bowl or to pick them yourself. I added fishcake, ngor hiang, tau kwa and dried beancurd skin to my fishball kwa teow mee for a total of $4.00. 

While waiting for my order, i overheard the other customers requested to have extra fried pork lards added to their noodles. I came across a particular review that said it is their chilli and fried pork lards that actually made their noodles stood out. 

Their no-frills presentation looked a little messy, the portion of kwa teow and mee was topped with ingredients then with sweet sauce and chilli, garnished with chopped spring onions. My first mouthful was a bit disappointing, it just did not taste as good as i remember. Though i requested for extra chilli to be added but its spiciness was not distinctive but it tasted better when i had it with those bits of fried pork lards, indeed, its taste has been enhanced by the fragrance of those bits of tasty pork lards. 

The supposedly handmade fishballs did not taste quite like it, the texture was not as springy and bouncy as expected. I wonder whether, perhaps it has to do with my expectation as it did not actually taste too bad but just not as good. 

I wonder how much longer would this stall be around? That elderly Uncle was looking tired, perhaps due to the long working hours that he put in to run this hawker stall and age is catching up with him. 

HUI JI FISH BALL NOODLE . YONG TAU FU
30 Seng Poh Road #02-44 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898
Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 2.00 pm (Closed on Wednesdays)

About Tiong Bahru Food Centre

They were once itinerant street food vendors around the Tiong Bahru area before relocating to the old defunct “triangle square” hawker centre there. They are still here today in this fairly new and refurbished centre. Here is a list of the stalls that were passed down from the 1^st generation to the 2^nd generation owners. Some of these stalls have been around for more than 50 years. You might be wondering how does it taste now and is it still as good as it was.

Read my article on Makansutra.

Lunch at Tiong Bahru Food Centre

I was there on the last day of 2013 for lunch. 

I'd think this particular bowl of messy looking Yong Tau Foo served with Fishball Noodle was quite a surprise. I was there rather late and most items have already sold out then. I was given the option of Mee Kia with Yong Tau Foo as suggested by the friendly Auntie at $4. 

I did not get to choose the items. What i got was a mixture of everything like cuttlefish, green chilli with fish paste, bitter gourd with fish paste, tau pok with fish paste, fish dumplings, fishballs with kang kong.

HUI JI FISH BALL NOODLE . YONG TAU FU

30 Seng Poh Road #02-44 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898.

MIN NAM PORK RIBS PRAWN NOODLE

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

TOW KWAR POP

30 Seng Poh Road #02-06 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898.

TIAN TIAN YUAN DESSERT HOUSE
30 Seng Poh Road #02-15 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898.

KOPI MUSEUM
30 Seng Poh Road #02-03 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898.