Chef Ron : homely food prepared with love

This is an interesting stall manned by Ronnie Ng, also known as Chef Ron and his mother-in-law serving a certain selection of Ipoh specialties. Despite naming the stall after him but the actual chef is his mother-in-law. Nonetheless, Ronnie is the chef in the midst of training, he is locally born and bred but his mother-in-law is from Ipoh and they started this stall about 5 months ago. 

I asked for a recommendation as I could not decide between having Ipoh Curry Noodle and Ipoh Dry Curry Noodle. The friendly Auntie said, "If you like some soup to drink then Curry Noodle is nice if not then would be Dry Curry Noodle". I decided to go with the Dry Curry Noodle as this dish is not commonly found in Singapore. Both are priced at just $4.00, which I think it is of pretty good value.

I was telling Ronnie that it is difficult to find a good Ipoh Curry Noodle in Singapore after trying the existing few and none has met my expectations. He suggested I should considering visiting Ipoh as they are many street foods to try.

This was my first time eating the Dry Curry Noodle so there would not be any prior comparison. I was asked to choose between the yellow noodle and bee hoon but Auntie recommended a mixture of both for textural contrast. It consists of the handmade charsiew, sio bak, chicken and added the homemade curry sauce then garnished with fresh mint leaves that they have grown it themselves.

Their secret ingredient that contributed to the authenticity of this dish is the black soy sauce from Ipoh which giving it a rather home-cooked feel particularly to those Malaysian living in Singapore. Most of the items are homemade.

The gravy did not taste like the usual Chinese curry but slightly thicker and less coconut flavor, even so, it was aromatic with a mild spiciness. 

I was offered a small bowl of Braised Pork with White Radish for tasting purpose. I would guess pineapple is part of their ingredients in this dish as I could taste the combination of sweetness and a little sour zestiness amidst the savory notes and a mild level of spiciness. The flavor-rich white radish was a nice accompaniment. 

Other than Curry Mee, there are also Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak, Assam Laksa, Curry Chicken with Rice, Superior Soya Sauce Chicken with Rice, Superior Soya Sauce Pork at $4 each and also Bak Chang. If you are looking for homely food prepared with love, give this stall a try.

CHEF RON

1 Kadayanallur Street #01-03 Maxwell Food Centre SINGAPORE 069184

Operating Hours: 9.00 am to 7.30 pm (Closed on Sundays)

Hup Kee : Malaysian-style Handmade Fishball Noodle

I happened to chance upon this new stall in a coffee shop near to a food centre in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4. I approached the stall and started to chat with the cook in Mandarin, i said, "Your stall seem to be quite famous." He said, "I cannot say that we are famous but we do have other outlets in Malaysia and this is the first in Singapore." He continued to say, "We are famous for our handmade fishballs."

Their menu is quite simple, there is the dry and the soup version at $3.50 and $4.50. I ordered one of which, at $4.50. I asked the cook, "Do you bring the noodles from Malaysia or source locally?" He said, "We are currently getting it locally but would consider to bring in from Malaysia later." He then said, "The texture is actually different."

The soup noodle at $4.50 consists of 4 pieces of handmade fishballs, a few slices of fishcake, a fried wanton and a fried stuffed beancurd. They topped it with chopped spring onions and fried shallot to serve. Though simple, it is actually quite tasty and the flavor is bring forth by the fried shallot. 

The mee pok is cooked just right with a slight springiness still intact, just how i would liked it.

The deep-fried wanton tasted quite normal but the stuffed beancurd is quite unique, it was still slightly crispy when i ate it. They even have a special chilli to go with it but the spiciness is quite intense. 

I requested to have extra fried pork lards for my dry noodle which contributed to a bowl of deliciousness. I would actually prefer the dry to the soup one as it is a tastier choice. It tasted quite different from other fishball noodle locally. Just like those available in Malaysia, they actually made an effort to mix the noodles with the sauce before having served it to you. 

The texture of fishball is soft and rather springy, it tasted fresh. 

The stall is closed from 13 September to 17 September as the cook and his assistant will be going back to Malaysia to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with their families. The cook said, "We have been in operation for 3 months and this is our first time to be on off." 

HUP KEE FISHBALL

Block 158 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-590 SINGAPORE 560158

Operating Hours: 7.30 am to 8.00 pm