Hawker Fare!

From Yu Fa Claypot Delights stall around the corner. Assam Stingray is not a common dish I found in claypot stalls but glad I tried this one out. The assam broth is not spicy- more towards sweet and sour (altho not as sour as I would have expected!), and its lightness makes it so drinkable. It comes with sliced onions as well. Imo the portion is rlly generous for the price point (ard $6 iirc!). Highly recommended!

Love the mix of charred and gooey bits, but the spotlight is definitely the super fresh and plump oysters. I’m still not a 100% fan of the gooey bits cos it can get a bit jelak at times, but overall it’s still delish. The only letdown is the watery bland-tasting chilli— not sure if that’s the norm or we caught them on a bad day. Will return if in the area!

A new gem in Kebun Bahru Food Market! Not usually a big fan of bi tai mak (老鼠粉) but ordered this nonetheless since the stall name is that 😂 We tried both dry mushroom minced pork and soup (Johor bi tai mak) version and the dry one is a winner for us. The dry bowl comes with generous amount of minced meat, fishball and fishcakes. Give it a good toss, and you can taste the mix of sweet, savoury and tangy kicks from their in-house sauce and chilli. The minced meat is leaning more towards the sweet notes- different than most minced meat noodle stalls’ rendition- but I find it a refreshing change. There’s a constant line of people for this stall, so be prepared to wait for a bit!

Dropped by Song Kee’s not-so-new outlet along Yio Chu Kang Road since it’s on our way home (and also to reward ourselves for walking under the sun a bit for a good cause!). Ordered 1 medium and 1 small to get the most of the ingredients and kinda regretted because we should have picked the large bowl for the most number of ingredients! Not a big fan of their noodle cos it’s a tad soft, but the fish-based ingredients are so sooo goood. Their handmade fish dumplings steal the spotlight and our hearts. Unlike the usual white skin, theirs have transluscent skin (thanks to the tapioca flour) but more importantly, it’s filled so generously with fish meat. This is, by far, the best her giao I’ve tried. Do take note that the fish roll is only available if you order medium and large bowls. Definitely will return soon because even le bf, who usually scorns fishball noodle, always suggests Song Kee for our Saturday brunch!

Finally visited this much-talked-about prata shop in the east on our day off. Waited for around 30 mins on a weekday afternoon just before the lunch crowd hit. The highlight of our order is the egg prata as you can really taste the thick layer of egg within. Other than that, the coin prata is worth ordering too, but the plain prata is mediocre at best. The biggest disappointment is the “curry” that comes with our order. It’s a mix of dhal and (what I guess is) chicken curry, which I don’t mind, but the taste is so bland I rather have the prata plain. I actually requested for fish curry but they didn’t serve me that. A few days ago I saw someone posted about similar experience and suggested getting the mutton curry instead (maybe next time!). And yes, another unpopular opinion but I definitely won’t travel nor queue for this.

Decided to queue for this stall because all other stalls that I wanted to try are closed on Tuesdays. I am pleasantly surprised by how gooood this bowl of fish soup is and yet didn’t hear much about this stall when reading through “best food in whampoa” or “best fish soup in Singapore” articles. The white beehoon itself is very smooth and a tiny bit smaller than the usual ones, but of course, the star has to be the fish. We both prefer the fried fish— fried till crispy outside yet the meat is tender (and not mushy). The white fish is nothing special but still enjoyable. Added milk to the soup to get a more creamy taste profile and I’m so happy that the milk doesn’t overpower the original soup flavour. This is one of the best fish soup I’ve tried because each component is done well. What a hidden gem!

Found this hidden gem with really nice her giao (fish dumpling) and meatball! The meepok is satisfyingly QQ and thoroughly coated in lard and in-house-made chilli sauce. Chilli was lacking the spicy kick so I added more chilli padi. Her giao is one of the best I’ve tried. It comes with slippery skin while its filling leans more on the peppery side. What surprises me the most is the handmade meatball as it’s so flavourful thanks to the mix of pork and fish meat. This is gonna be a regular visit for the unforeseeable future.

Please note the stall has moved to 574 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10.

Love the mix of charred and gooey bits, but the spotlight is definitely the super fresh and plump oysters. I’m still not a 100% fan of the gooey bits cos it can get a bit jelak at times, but overall it’s still delish. The only letdown is the watery bland-tasting chilli— not sure if that’s the norm or we caught them on a bad day. Will return if in the area!

Pao fan seems to be gaining traction lately, thanks to the pocket-friendly options that are popping up at hawker centres and coffeeshops. King of Pao Fan’s rendition is chockful of fresh ingredients. I chose the seafood bowl that comes with fried fish, prawns, and clams. The crispy rice quickly turns soggy, but with such flavourful broth, that can be overlooked. Definitely a go-to comfort food especially on rainy days, but be prepared to brace the queue (I queued for 45 mins on a Saturday night and they close pretty early too).

Not usually a big fan of 幼面, but Top 1’s handmade version is super QQ, nearing to hard- which is the way I love it to be. Black sauce was surprisingly not too sweet in spite of the solid colour. Chilli was damn shiok- slightly tangy but with nice kick (then again, I asked for extra chilli 😂) I also have a strange love for their bak chor, slightly crispy outside but mushy inside. And of course, the soup is also very flavourful, not the typical bland one you’d normally find elsewhere.

I enjoy the QQ noodle a lot- springy with good bite- coated evenly with the sauce. Chilli was a let down. Will ask for extra chilli next time. But imo the star has to be the super fragrant chicken feet and mushroom. The crispy lard bits on tops added nice crunch as well. Will return!

Returned here for this solid bowl of Indonesian bakmi! Chilli was so shiok, reminding me of the usual homemade chilli I always added when eating bakmi back in Indo- a bit tangy but kicking the tastebuds hard. I love how after mixing everything, the chilli coats every strand of the springy noodle evenly. They’re super generous with the marinated minced pork too! Like the addition of crunchy cabbage as well as opposed to the typical chye sim.