Humble Fare 🍲

Got a Chicken Chop and Pork Belly with garlic rice to share - the portions are huge! The chicken chop was tender and soft with a crisp exterior. Definitely one of the better ones I’ve had in Singapore hawker centres. The pork belly was so soft that the fat melted in my mouth - almost didn’t have to chew 😅 it was uninspiring though as it lacked flavor. We also shared a side of garlic rice and it was disappointing. Very dry rice, but on hindsight the garlic notes were strong.

Overall, I don’t see the hype but if you’re staying in the east, it’s a good meal for those who are hungry.

I love chilli pan mee, and this store offers the classic chilli pan mee — but you could opt to add either fried chicken, fish or pork to your meal.

I had the pan mee with fried pork ($6.80) and boy........was I blown away by the pork. Amazing, freshly fried pork belly. It was a tad too fatty, but everything was so soft and juicy, and the fat melted in my mouth. It’s so terribly sinful and so wonderfully succulent at the same time.

Noodles were not bad. What I LOVE is that they topped it with fried garlic pieces! Chilli was nothing to scream about though. I regret mixing the entire chilli in... everything was too spicy and greasy from the chilli oil.

The place was in a hawker setting, limited seats and very smokey. Your hair will not smell great after this.

Would I eat this again? Absolutely.

I always dread the 30minutes queue, but this YTF store is undoubtedly one of the best in Singapore.

On top of their light, savory soup brewed from beans and anchovy stock, they also deep-fry the fried dishes you have selected. The staff would ask if you’d like kangkong and beansprouts when you’re ordering your food.

My current bowl of 6 ingredients, kangkong and beehoon/yellow mee costs $5.10. A must-order ingredient is their fried meatball! I always get 2 of it when I’m here 😋

I added shredded chicken (+$1) to the congee for alittle more texture to the meal. Whitebait was nice but turned soggy pretty quickly - I fished it out and set it aside so that it would retain its crunch throughout the meal. Porridge was smooth.

Silky smooth porridge topped with canned braised peanuts, sliced fishcakes, fried onions, spring onions, preserved radish (cai po) and coriander. Added on fishballs for that extra protein!

Very light yet flavorful bowl of porridge — probably due to the generous array of garnish. This is available at the fishball store.

Back to north canteen again for noodles — and while tom yum from banmian stores never tastes like tom yum at all, it’s my all time comfort food. North canteen’s tom yum is rich and hearty, served in substantial portions.

There’s nothing more gratifying than a huge plate of fried rice, seasoned heavily with sauces and served with chili padi. The sunny side up was oily and the yolk was runny... the perfect companion to a sinful dish. Unfortunately the chicken was bland and didn’t pick up any of the sauce used to fry the rice.

The chicken gives a nice bite, while the thick noodles provide additional textures to the overall mouthfeel. North canteen’s ban mian was generous and comforting. There’s nothing like a good bowl of noodles on rainy days.

Never would’ve thought I’d enjoy this so much.

The curry is free flow, you just have to get it from the self-service counter by the side. I got the sesame youtiao and it was crispy when served. Goes along great with the curry!

Porridge was smooth and topped with spring onions, ginger, and salted “cai po”. A comforting dish when the weather is cold.

The highlight of this mala store is the addition of you tiao (fried dough fritter) to the food selection. When served, the fritter is deep fried to a perfect crisp, picking up the chili oil and spices well.

Their mix is fragrant, but the entire dish lacks the numbing punch I so love from typical mala eateries. It’s also slightly sweet which was strange. I ordered medium spice (中辣), but it was so mild I might have ordered small spice (小辣) instead.

The both of us paid a total of $20.70 for the pictured portion. We ordered a big bowl with one serving of instant noodles, and didn’t get rice.

I’d definitely be back for the you tiao, and perhaps try ordering the highest spice level next time. Overall an okay place.

What makes their mala so damn good would be the fragrance of their spices. Oh what a perfect marriage of ingredients and sauce. They have the right amount of saltiness, and the time used to cook the food rendered a slight crunch for the vegetables and a nice bite for the meats.

NYP Koufu’s mala tend to be milder on the spice, so go ahead and order zhong (中) or da la (大辣). As a rough gauge, my friend who couldn’t take McSpicy well took 中辣 like a champ.

Usually $12-16 for 2 pax.

One of the best mala I’ve had.

Got the small prawn noodles bowl - the portion is decent, albeit rather pricey.

The broth was rich without being overpowering nor oily, making it really addictive and easy to drink. The garnish is amazingly crispy through the entire meal. The noodles were cooked to the right springiness. The best part of the meal? Broth and garnish are both refillable!

There’s a ngoh hiang store right next to the prawn noodles booth, so we got some of it as well. At the end of the meal I was thoroughly stuffed. Highly recommend their ngoh hiang meat roll!