Hawker Hits

One thing I really like about @fuzaienterprise is how their menu isn’t just limited to noodles, they even have pao fan for the homies who love rice. Their Magic Pao Fan ($6 or $8 nett). At first glance it seems to be completely mundane, with rice, prawns, pork meatballs and sliced lean pork submerged in a savoury soup, but once you take your first spoonful, you’ll experience the magic.⠀
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The secret behind the magic is the inclusion of the fried eggs into the rice. That egg has been imbued with an obscene amount of wok hei, and the eggs impart that stellar smokiness to the entire bowl. Most pao fan stop at just being fairly flavourful, but Fu Zai works their magic by adding extra smokiness & depth to the soupy rice bowl.⠀
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If you’ve polished off a whole bowl of that magical pao fan but still can’t hit your protein, Fu Zai has you covered with their Sesame Oil Chicken, priced very affordably at $5.50 a serving. Lots of tender chicken chunks are cooked in a sapid sauce consisting of oyster sauce, Hua Diao cooking wine, shredded ginger and of course, sesame oil. It is a little oily, but it’s not egregiously so, and the heat from the ginger helps to cut down on the greasiness. It’s a simple chicken dish, but there’s no denying that it’s rather tasty.⠀
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Thank you for having us, @fuzaienterprise , and thanks for inviting me @eatwithkeat!

The Fu Zai Special ($6/$8 nett a bowl) lives up to its name, as you don’t find bei tai mak (also known as silver needle noodles in some places) fried up like char kway teow that often. @fuzaienterprise throws a lot of bei tai mak noodles are tossed into a superheated wok with plump prawns, sliced fishcake, sliced lean pork and lots of egg. It’s fried hard and fast, and it hits your hunger hard & goes down fast too.⠀
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The Special is amply seasoned and each mouthful is relatively redolent, and the noodles are slick but not greasy. I did find it slightly wanting when it came to the wok hei, as the expected smokiness was slightly on the weaker side. Still, there’s no arguing that it’s still pretty palatable, plus there’s a fair portion of fresh plump prawns, lean pork slices and egg-citingly eggy bits to ensure that this meal can hit your protein.⠀
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As is the case with the Hokkien mee, there’s a good bit of luscious lard tossed atop the pile of noodles. The lard adds even more flavour, a little extravagance, and some much needed crunch to this otherwise soft affair. And of course, you can add as much of that fiery chili as you want to really spice up your noods. The Fu Zai Special may be simple, but it’s an effective hunger buster.⠀
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Thanks for the invite, @fuzaienterprise & @eatwithkeat!⠀

If you’re a Hokkien mee aficionado and you’ve been wondering where the fairly famous You Fu Hokkien mee has disappeared to, wonder no more, for they have rebranded as @fuzaienterprise . They have introduced a few other dishes that aren’t Hokkien mee onto the menu, but fret not, for they still fry up their claim to fame.⠀
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At six bucks flat for the Fried Hokkien Mee, you’re getting a hearty helping of pork & squid bits and fairly fresh prawns along with a generous pile of thin vermicelli & thicker yellow egg noodles. Fu Zai’s Hokkien mee is of the drier variety so don’t expect much in the way of sauciness, but it is still pretty piquant. The noodles have absorbed most of the umami prawn broth that they have been wok fried in, and most of the savouriness is in the noodles.⠀
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Two crucial components of a good Hokkien mee are the chili and the fried pork lard, and Fu Zai pass both checks easily. The chili is intensely incendiary, and just like that one song, one kiss is all it takes to set your mouth ablaze. As for the pork lard, it was fried expertly, rendering out most of the grease and leaving behind a crispy cube of pure deliciousness. The lard would’ve been much more satisfying if they cut it into larger cubes though, as the tiny bits didn’t produce the crunch & satisfaction desired.⠀

The artist formerly known as You Fu Fried Hokkien Mee has undergone an identity change, becoming @shiokhokkienmee. They also do live up to their name, as they dish out hearty Hokkien mee that’s plenty piquant. Shiok Hokkien Mee solves the age old debate of dry vs wet by doing a version that’s right smack dab in the middle, and my small plate was big on flavour but only cost me five bucks.⠀
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There’s a fair bit of seafood broth in the noodles, but it isn’t swimming in the broth. Speaking of the broth, it’s undisputedly umami and fairly robust, and it flavours everything on the plate pretty well. The seafood, which would be the prawns and bits of squid, is fresh and competently cooked. The prawns were bouncy yet tender, while the prawns had a nice snappiness to them. And of course, the crazy crunchy deep fried pork lard just sends this dish straight into Flavortown. Fat equals flavour, so you best believe these crunchy cubes of pure sin were flavour bombs that were arguably the best part of the Hokkien Mee. Cholesterol schmelesterol, say it with me folks: WE HERE FOR A GOOD TIME NOT A LONG TIME!!!!!

As for the chili, Shiok’s sambal is viciously violent and it will melt your tastebuds. The hotheads will utterly adore Shiok’s scintillatingly spicy yet savoury chili, but everyone else is going to have to proceed with cold pint of beer from the craft beer stall behind Shiok Hokkien Mee.

The only possible improvement I could think of is to cut the strips of pork belly bigger, so that it would provide a more satisfying chew & overall satisfaction.⠀
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Thank you so much for the invite, @shiokhokkienmee!

Chicken is arguably the most versatile protein on the planet and nothing even comes close. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it, or if you’re @sin_chao_culinary, you can cook it in a claypot in a variety of sauces.

My favourite chicken claypot would be Sin Chao’s Gong Bao Chicken ($8 nett). Succulent chunks of chicken are cooked in the gong bao sauce which, unlike many other gong bao recipes, leans more towards savoury, with notes of sweet & spicy in the background. Each bite of juicy chicken in that savoury, spicy sauce is culinary bliss, and it’s even more perfect when paired with Sin Chao’s Fragrant Pork Lard Fried Egg Rice. Better yet, refer to my previous post so you can score yourself one free bowl of said Pork Lard Fried Egg Rice!⠀
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Thanks for hosting us @sin_chao_culinary, and thank you to @laoniangagency & @eatwithkeat for inviting me!

Chicken is arguably the most versatile protein on the planet and nothing even comes close. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it, or if you’re @sin_chao_culinary, you can cook it in a claypot in a variety of sauces. Beginning with the sauciest of them all, Sin Chao’s Curry Sakura Chicken ($6.50 nett) has supple, tender chunks of chicken submerged in a rich & spicy curry, and it’s the perfect combination with rice.⠀
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Thanks for hosting us @sin_chao_culinary, and thank you to @laoniangagency & @eatwithkeat for inviting me!

Recently, a famous food blog featured an article about Yit Lim, a hawker stall dedicated to the fine culinary art of soya sauce chicken rice, in the otherwise unremarkable Bendemeer Market & Food Centre. My dad has an unofficial hobby of comparing everyone’s soya sauce chickens to his own, so naturally he went to sample this highly rated stall. Now he’s a devotee of Yit Lim Hong Kong Soy Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle, and he makes weekly excursions to have his fix of soya sauce chicken.⠀
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Naturally I had to experience this revolutionary bird for myself, so one morning I followed my dad down to Yit Lim and endured a two hour long queue for a plate of this promising looking chicken rice. A plate of chicken rice here is an astoundingly affordable $3.50 or $4.50, and even buying a whole chicken is rather reasonable at twenty dollars per bird. I took one bite and oh my God…I get it. I understand why Yit Lim sees queues like prime Hawker Chan when he first got the Michelin Star.⠀
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This is most certainly one of the most supple & tender chickens I’ve ever had the privilege of dining on. Each morsel of meat is super smooth & stunningly soft, and minimal chewing is required. The sight of the slightly bloody bone might make some squeamish, but that’s how you know a piece of dark meat is cooked just right. ⠀
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The umami braising broth of soya sauce & other spices had bonded to the chicken at a molecular level, and each gloriously juicy & supple bit of chicken was superbly savoury. The beautifully browned chicken skin was the cherry on top of the chicken, with a delightful gelatinous texture that easily split apart. Most of the fat under the skin had been rendered out while braising, which is the only reason why the skin is so utterly perfect.⠀
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For years my undisputed GOAT of soya sauce chicken was Fatty Ox at Chinatown Complex. Now the Ox has some serious competition.

There’s a new stall on the block in Hougang Mall’s flashy Foodies’ Garden food court, and @rongguangbbq is in the business of dishing out hearty meals on hotplates. The offering that caught my eye was the Hot Plate Pomfret Fish Rice Set, which set me back $9.90 flat. No tax nonsense, no service charge, just a man and his fish.⠀
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Pomfret is notorious for being a bony fish, so caution is advised as you fish for the bones & remove them. Once you’ve fished out all the bones, you can finally fully savour the deliciousness of the pomfret along with the spicy & salty sambal paste. The pomfret is very lightly seasoned, relying solely on the savoury & spicy sambal. The sambal chili certainly does not disappoint, as it is salty, spicy & complements the firm flesh of the pomfret. ⠀
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The only gripes I have with this is that the sambal chili is a paste, and lacks the fluidity to be a sauce for the pomfret. This also means that the sambal has insufficient sauce to flavour the broccoli on the side, and this did lead to a bit of burning. Additionally, I personally think that they could add more vegetables to fully flesh out the meal and make it more substantial.⠀
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Still, at just $9.90 for a flavourful fish dish, this is good eating. Now all I need is a $7 pint from the bar, and I’ve got myself a good night out.

@nadeshiko_sg has opened recently, taking over the space vacated by the dearly departed The Flying Pan (rip, press F to pay respects). Nadeshiko is a bit of an oddity when it comes to Japanese food hawkers, as they don’t do donburis or bentos. Instead, they dish out homely teishoku (set meals) and hot udon as the sole option for the noodle contingent.⠀
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I could not resist the allure of the Hamburg Stew Set, priced at a sensible twelve dollars flat. I won’t lie, I was somewhat catfished by the menu photo, as the photo promised a phat patty (a phatty, if you will) inundated with a deluge of tomato sauce, served with a side of salad and an interesting combo of sautéed asparagus & shimeiji shrooms. Instead, I got a phatty covered in a tomato sauce that looks & tastes like Italian marinara, a small portion of pickles and some plain old shredded cabbage. ⠀
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Sides aside, this phatty, constructed from a blend of minced beef & pork, was sublime. Biting into it revealed a loosely packed texture, which was impressive considering the strong sear on the exterior. Meatballs & patties tend to fall apart when place on high heat, so the fact that Nadeshiko’s phatty stayed intact was impressive. While there was a healthy amount of tomato sauce, it certainly wasn’t enough to be considered a stew. However, the moderate amount of tomato sauce was a blessing in disguise, as it accentuated the simple yet superb seasoning of the beef & pork patty. This Hamburg Stew Set was so simple yet so supremely satisfying with the combination of well seasoned & juicy meat, paired with the subtly sweet & tangy tomato marinara. It was the culinary equivalent of getting a hug from your grandma, and I kid you not, that’s how homely & comforting this meal was.
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As for the cabbage on the side, it was sparsely dressed with some soya sauce, but mix all that in with the kewpie mayo that’s on the plate for some reason, and voila, you’ve got an impossibly delicious & thick dressing to mix the shredded cabbage in. Sure, I would’ve preferred to have the sautéed asparagus & shimeji mushrooms shown on the menu, but this cabbage salad will do.

The Albert Street coffeeshop where Jiak Song & Rong Liang Ge seems to be a revolving door when it comes to some stalls, as Mui Zai Nasi Lemak (aka @muizaicafe) is the fourth new tenant to open shop there since the start of 2024. They’re a Chinese nasi lemak stall, so they are most certainly haram and the side dishes (of which they have plenty) would fit right better in a standard cai png (mixed rice) lineup more than it would on a standard nasi padang lineup.⠀
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They offer six nasi lemak sets to ease your decision making, and I chose set B with the fried chicken wing for $5.50 nett, and added a serving of veg for an extra dollar. The rice was surprisingly satisfactory, with no lumps of mushy rice and a decent, rich aroma of coconut milk emanating from the nasi. The sambal chili was most certainly Chinese in style, being equal parts salty & spicy with a notable sweetness to round everything out. The sambal’s consistency is like a slightly runny paste, with just enough thickness to stick to whatever you apply it to.⠀
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The otah was alright, but probably the factory made stuff, but the fried nuts & ikan bilis (anchovies) were stellar, proving their fresh out the fryer status with their colossal crunchiness. The fried egg was also unusually flawless, retaining a liquid yolk that flowed out upon breaching the yolk. Unfortunately, the chicken wing, while sufficiently seasoned, was cold and about as tender as Gandhi’s flip flops. I’m not an advocate of refrying fried foods, but for crying out loud please at least heat up the chicken.⠀
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Embarrassing chicken wing aside, this was a respectable plate of nasi lemak for under six bucks. But for the love of all that is good, either invest in a heat lamp, or par fry the chicken, and then fry it till it’s fully cooked just before serving. Trust me, when you do that, the wing is gonna make your profits soar.⠀

Their Marmite Chicken ($8.50 nett), is equally delicious, with a subtle funk from the yeast of the marmite sauce, and a delectable savouriness. Unfortunately, due to the uneven sizes of the chicken chunks, some pieces of fried chicken were definitely overcooked & dry, while the bigger pieces were decently fried. Still, the marmite sauce was delicious enough to ameliorate the dry bits of chicken, and you really shouldn’t miss out on this unique rice dish.

@newstationsnackbar is a legendary Singaporean zichar institution, so when I viewed fellow @burpple #tastemaker the_xw post about their new outlet in Fortune Centre, I knew I had to pop on over and get a taste of their renowned Salted Egg Pork Chop Rice ($8.50 nett). New Station Snack Bar’s new digs in Fortune Centre have had a slight name change to @newstationricebar, but the food still retains the same excellence from what I can tell.⠀
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The pork chop fillets are remarkably tender and coated in a thin, crisp batter, and New Station Rice Bar (NSRB from here on out) is acceptably generous with the pork portions. However, the real star attraction is the stellar salted egg sauce. It’s more liquid than most other places, and it’s perfect for mixing in with the rice. The rich, creamy salted egg sauce is chock full of the stunningly savoury goodness of the duck eggs. With this luscious plate of salted egg pork chop, I’m fully reminded & convinced of why New Station is consistently one of the top zichar places in Singapore.