Local Loco

One of my fav local dishes - Wanton noodles. A spin on it here with Duck Confit Noodles ($10); Braised Mushroom Noodles ($7). The duck confit was crisp outside, with duck meat within that yielded easily to shreds. Not mine, but a taste of the crispy skin was enough to tell. The braised mushroom was alright, but perhaps go for the char siew to make it worth the buck. The consistency is in their springy egg noodles in a plain sauce (the way I like my wanton noodles) and copious amounts of lard for your own helping. Seats by the bar, but it gets crowded during lunch. Tuesday when we had it.

Tai Wah, not Tai Hwa. The difference? Opened by each brother separately and the other has a Michelin star. Taste? Heard it's quite similar between the 2, but I haven't tried the other.
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On its own, 1st time I am seeing wanton in bak chor mee and loved it because of the flavourful meat filling. The mee kia borders on that slightttt soggy, but otherwise the vinegar zing sauce base mixed with chilli, juicy lard, flavourful meat balls and tender meat pieces sums up why bak chor mee is a loved dish. First foray into Hong Lim food centre at lunch - 20 mins queue for this

Bak Kut Teh 肉骨茶. Plenty of variations in Malaysia and Singapore, and the SG-style is a peppery broth, much unlike its usually darker and herbal cousin in Malaysia.
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In SG, a few big names come to mind when you think of the scene and @founderbkt is one of these. Go straight for the premium ribs ($11.80 - top of pic), which has two pieces of long ribs that yield easily when you take hold of the bone end and bite. The meat retains the chewiness and sweetness. Dip the meat into the thick, mellow sweet dark soy sauce with a spoonful of rice. Then wash it down with a spoon of the hot broth, which is refillable. The soup here is sweet with some depth; the pepper that hits after is not overpowering. Makes for a great warm, casual and tasty meal. Not sure exactly where it stands among the names, but honestly wouldn't mind returning for this. A fascinating tale and kudos too to the people who strive to preserve, ensure the continuation and make local heritage flavours more accessible to everyone.
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Other items that are worth a go: the steamed cod fish - so fresh and I also liked the crispy prawn roll, which has a filling of minced meat with prawn.