Lao Zhong Zhong Five Spice : it just did not taste as good as it used to be

I went for the Prawn Mee at River South (Hoe Nam) Prawn Noodles on a Sunday and decided to drop by thereafter. I was told that their standard has dropped. I used to see Tan Kee Kwang, the elderly owner, at the stall but I did not see him this time. He started helping his father at the roadside stall outside the old Thong Chai Medical Hall at 11 years old in the 1950s. They moved to a few locations before settling at the current location in 2008. 

All the 14 items are supposed to be handmade at the stall. I ordered just a few items including their signature Water Chestnut Cake, Ngor Hiang, Prawn Fritter with Tofu, Prawn Roll and Fried Spring Roll. I was asked to give the table number. It was brought over by a friendly auntie that offered to bring us another pair of chopsticks together with the chilli sauce. The chilli sauce was topped with crushed peanuts and the chopped onion with a mild spiciness. 

My dining companion said, "The Water Chestnut Cake and Ngor Hiang are still good, the rest tasted just so so." I only liked the Ngor Hiang. I felt, in my humble opinion, it is not as good as it used to be.

LAO ZHONG ZHONG FIVE SPICE

29 Tai Thong Crescent SINGAPORE 347858

Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 12.00 am (Closed on Mondays & Wednesdays)

Sin Sin Prawn Crackers : the fried bee hoon is must-order

This was one of the stalls that got a queue during lunch on a Friday. I joined in the queue and waited for a few minutes to order. I could not quite decide what to order as there is an extensive range of items for selection. I picked a prawn cracker, a prawn fritter, a ngor hiang, a spring roll and a prawn roll, together with a plate of fried bee hoon for $5.50. 

My dining companion said, "The ngor hiang tasted really fresh. It is quite soft and you could taste the five spice powder in it." He also said, "The prawn roll tasted a bit like the Hei Zho, it is nice." The rest of the items tasted equally fresh as well.

The fried bee hoon at the very first look did not seem to be appetizing as its color was rather pale. I was amazed at how fragrant it tastes when I had my first mouthful and I could not stop eating after that. Though Fried bee hoon is just a simple dish, it is difficult to cook it this well. It is so good that I could just eat the fried bee hoon by itself. This is definitely one of the better ones that I have eaten. 

SIN SIN PRAWN CRACKERS

Block 210 Toa Payoh Lorong 8 #01-46 Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Food Centre SINGAPORE 310210

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 3.00 pm (Daily)

Sin Sin Ngor Hiang Prawn Cracker at Sembawabg Hill Food Centre

This is one of the recommended stalls when I asked for a recommendation from the sisters that run a noodle stall in the same food centre. The younger sister suggested I should try the Ngor Hiang from this stall. It was usually closed when I was there for early lunch and so, it was only when I happened to go for a late lunch there then I got to try it. The stall is operated by an elderly couple and they were getting ready and about to start at 1.30 pm. 

Most of the items are handmade, other than the usual items, there are also some of the unique ones that are not likely to be found at the other stalls. One of them is their prawn fritter, it is slightly thicker as there is a piece of the boiled egg right in it. This is an interesting item that is worth trying. The regular items like Ngor Hiang, Prawn Roll, Prawn Cracker are quite tasty too that went well with the accompanying dipping sauce.

Their fried bee hoon is a must-order, it is one of the nicest that I ever had. Though it is a simple dish, they did it well, it was mildly seasoned with light soya sauce and with a handful of beansprouts that added for a textural contrast. 

SIN SIN NGOR HIANG PRAWN CRACKER

590 Upper Thomson Road #01-21 Sembawang Hills Food Centre SINGAPORE 574419

Operating Hours: 1.30 pm to 8.00 pm (Closed on Thursdays)

China Street Fritters : Hokkien-style Ngor Hiong & Guan Chang

This stall was started by the late Mr Ng Eng Tuan before World War II as a zinc-roofed hawker stall by the roadside at China Street, where the China Square Central is now. The stall is then taken over by Mr Ng Kok Eng and Mr Ng Kok Hua with his wife. This stall has been awarded the Heritage Hawker Stall award that recognized stalls that have been serving good hawker fare for more than 50 years. They serve Hokkien-style Ngor Hiong as opposed to the Ngor Hiang, which is in Cantonese. Ngor Hiong is actually a minced pork roll seasoned with 5-spice powder which the dish is named after and rolled over a beancurd skin. It is always served together with Guan Chang, the Chinese sausage made by squeezing the lean pork into the pig's intestines. It is a must-have with the Ngor Hiong, that is exactly what 五香贯肠 means on their signboard. It is also often seen on the signboard of the other stalls that are serving it.

Mr Ng Kok Eng was situated outside the stall to take the orders before handed it to Mr Ng Kok Hua to gather the items, deep-fried it then chopped it up and presented them on the plate before his wife took over. She will be serving it to the customers by placing them on the tray and collecting the payment.

Mr Ng Kok Eng, he pointed to the book that was left open on the page where their stall was featured and said, "Our 4 key items are egg slice, guan chang, ter kwa roll (pork liver roll) and ngor hiong. The century egg, deep-fried beancurd and fried homemade fishball are the additional items." They are still handmade these items using the decades' old recipe unlike most of the other stalls that are serving those made by the machine. 

I decided to go with just the signature items with a plate of bee hoon. He asked, "Do you want the century egg, tau kwa and fishball too?" He then continued, "Since there are 2 of you, do you want 2 pieces of each item?" I replied, "No. We already had something to eat earlier so a bit too full now." Uncle just marked down those items that we ordered on the order chit and handed a number to me. He then attended to the next customer right after me. I asked for the permission to take some pictures, he replied, "Just feel free to take. Many tourists are taking pictures or videos of our stall."

The Pork Liver Roll is a personal favorite, it had a unique texture which I liked. The Ngor Hiong was surprisingly tasty with a well-balanced 5-spice flavor and fried to a perfect crispiness. The Guan Chang did not have any surprises but was much softer than some of those that I had eaten. The egg slice is the highlight, this is something that you do not usually get it elsewhere. It is chopped into smaller pieces then deep-fried to the desired crispiness.

Their bee hoon is fried in Hokkien-style with just bean sprouts and dark soya sauce. 

It was served with 2 different sauces, the gooey sweet potato flour dipping sauce with its light and sweet flavor as well as the plain chili sauce made with chili powder, vinegar, and salt. 

It is good to just focus on quality than on the quantity, though they offer just a few items, those are amongst the better ones that I had tasted. Eat it while you can as there is likely no one to take over the stall when they retired, just like many of those older hawkers. There is also another stall in the same food centre serving the traditional Hokkien-style Ngor Hiong, Guan Chang and an assortment of fried fritters.

CHINA STREET FRITTERS

1 Kadayanallur Street #01-64 Maxwell Food Centre SINGAPORE 069184

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

Prawn Fritter & Ngor Hiang.

This seems to be a popular stall though not so much for their dry and soup version of prawn noodle but more for their prawn fritter and ngor hiang. I decided to order to go with my noodle. I ordered only 3 items: the prawn fritter, the ngor hiang and the yam roll.

I given my table number and proceeded to wait there. It was served in about 10 minutes. And, i paid $3.90 for all the items. I'd say a little expensive than expected. It was served along with a bowl of chilli sauce in a small disposable bowl. 

All the items have been deep fried again to give it the desired crispiness. 

I tried the ngor hiang first. It tasted quite average though it did has a likable crispiness with a rather dominating taste of the five spices. I did not quite like it as i have tried much  better ones out there. 

I went for the fried prawn fritter next. Though it tasted much better than the ngor hiang but i was not amazed by its taste. It tasted rather average as compared to some i had before. I had it with that bowl of the chilli sauce but it did not has any effect in enhancing its taste further. The chilli sauce did not have  a distinctive spiciness nor sweetness.

The last item was the yam roll. Apparently it did not fare any better than the earlier items. Though it has a bit of crispiness but the taste did not stand out at all. I could not taste any distinctive yam taste but mostly the taste of the flour.

This is not the best so i will be happy to skip it. I might try the prawn noodle though. 

XIANG CUN BIG PRAWN NOODLE

Block 85 Bedok North Street 4

#01-05 Fengshan Food Centre

SINGAPORE 460085