While most hawker food see a pool of contenders for "best", Xin Mei Xiang's rendition of 𝗟𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗲 ($4/5/6) seemed to have abnormally strong backing and recommendations from many — reflected in their hour long queues.
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The essence of the dish is in its gravy and theirs was expertly rendered — thick and consistent with little hint of starchiness. The drab shade of brown deceptively concealed a wealth of deep and robust flavours, accented by agreeable sweentess. Punchy vinegar zest and bright chili added levity to the hefty richness — proportioning was inch perfect and not a shred of cloyingness was felt.
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In place of fried fritters commonly found in other renditions, an eye-catching amount of pan fried fish swam about the pool of brown, each mouth flaky and fresh. A very convincing classic, but didn't astound to the extent for me to consider another 1 hour queue. The Tiong Bahru ones might suffice for me.
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[𝘿𝙖𝙠𝙤𝙩𝙖] 𝙓𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙚𝙞 𝙓𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙇𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚𝙚
📍 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲, 𝟱𝟭 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗥𝗱, # 𝟬𝟭-𝟭𝟭𝟲, 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝟯𝟵𝟬𝟬𝟱𝟭
⏱️ (Wed-Tues) 6am-2pm; 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔