Exploring Hong Lim Food Center @ Upper Cross Street

Best to come during non-peak hours as the queue starts to form around 20 minutes before noon. By 12pm, the lunch crowd are all in. Or, anytime just right after 10am would be good for a leisurely breakfast. Nearest MRT would be Chinatown station. Along with Kris (@msginginly) and Jen (@jellylovefats), we had decided to order our foods from selected stalls at Level 2. Each of us picked one stall to order from. Jen's choice was the Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee (#02-17), Kris selected the Mee Siam from Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa (#02-66) and mine were fromTuck Kee Ipoh Sar Hor Fun (#02-40) and Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee (#02-57/58).

Be prepared to queue for about 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the popularity of the stall. On the weekday of our visit, the fried kway teow stall had the longest queue.

Outram Park Fried Kway Teow @$4.50

Fruit Juice Mee Siam with Crayfish @$6.00

Crayfish and Prawns Ipoh Sar Hor Fun @$8.00 (additional $1 for chicken shreds)

Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee @$4.50

The char kway teow was moist and carried the distinct flavour of lard. The cockles were fresh albeit a tad tiny. As usual, the char kway teow has a sweetish hint and that delightful smokey flavour.The fruit juice mee siam was refreshing and has an undiscernible taste that made one wonders which fruit(s) was used.

The strands of sar hor fun was smooth and the broth was pleasantly mild in flavour. Liked that the seafood was of a good size. Added some chicken shreds as that matches really well with the hor fun. Also liked that this plate of hor fun had some greens in it. A more balanced meal.

Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee has a comforting broth that wasn't spicy. Lots of taupok (fried beancurd skin), few pieces of fishcake and chicken breast meat. Had expected more from this bowl.
 

Bedok Market Place 勿洛坊

Located at 348 Bedok Road (near Simpang Bedok), this renovated food centre is accessible only by stairs. The stalls there have stylish decoration, plus it feels a little hip. Although, we were still in a non-airconditioned food court setting. Certain areas have powerful fan units, so no need to worry about the heat.

entrance

Was there with a specific objective in mind, which was to get some meat. Ok, perhaps that didn't came out right. Had a morning event where we loaded quite a bit on desserts, so to balance things up, the foodie gang decided to grab some late lunch which must contain meat items for that substantial feel.

collection of menu from the features stalls

For our mains, found Ballistic and the Chop Chop Selections. Then, for desserts, the girls got something from SPies & All Things Nice.

so pretty

gonna get their specials, but it ain't on a flatbread

Got some meatballs to try from Ballistic. A few flavours in fact. Chose their shop specialty, chicken and the chili crab meatballs. Added two sides; the deep fried abalone mushroom and the salted egg yolk fries.

Signature Ballistic Meatballs - sesame battered cheesy beef meatballs @$5.90 (back - chicken meatballs @$4)

Chili Crab Meatballs with mantous @$10.50

Crispy Wild Mushrooms @$3

Salted Egg Yolk Fries @$7.90

For the meatballs, unfortunately the Signature cheesy beef meatballs didn't work for us. It was a tad dry. Enjoyed the chicken meatballs more but the favourite was the chili crab meatballs. We liked 'em saucy! The salted egg yolk sauce on the fries was good too but the crispy mushroom was quite addictive for nibbles. A bottle of beer at the drinks stall costs only $5 for an Asahi.

Next, we tried the Chop Chop Selections. Yes, like its namesake, choose your chop (choice of meat), and they will cook it for ya. From simple grilling to deep fried. We got ourselves a beef steak, pork ribs and fish and chips. From the land to the sea. Didn't do poultry though. Should have gotten some wings, aiyah!

Best accessorized stall

meet the meats

Needn't wait long for our food. Quite chop chop, this stall.

Baby Back BBQ Ribs @$15.90

London Fish & Chips @$9.90

Premium Ribeye Steak @$18.50

Most value for money item, would be the London Fish & Chips with that thick slab of dory. Thinly battered, and moist meat. Best tasting would be the BBQ Back Ribs with its fork tender meat. However, thought it was more Asian flavoured than western. The steak was done rare and actually, quite enjoyable to chew on.

Ribeye Steak - customary sliced view

The girls, came back with pies. Cute little mini pies from Spies and All Things Nice.

say hi to Brandon and try their freshly baked savoury and sweet pies

Lots of Asian influenced flavours such as buah keluak, babi pongteh, chicken laksa etc. Not forgetting, their sweet pies with pulut hitam, or the almond flavour tasted exactly like how those desserts should be. So convenient to 'da bao' the flavours. A slightly bigger version would be good too. Yummy.

(top) sweet pies - pulut hitam, almond tart (bottom) - there's buah keluak, basil chicken, laksa, baby pongteh

And, Brandon generously introduced to us his new creation for SG50; the Chili Crab Kueh Pie Tee. The pie tee shell was amazingly crisp, and those chili crab was just so flavourful with the necessary tinge of spice. Gone in one mouthful. *thumbs up*

Chili Crab Kueh Pie Tee

Was fun hanging out with the foodie gang at Bedok Market Place, and trying out the stalls here. To find out what the shops have been up to lately, you might want to check on their individual FB page.

Bedok Market Place

Website: http://www.thebedokmarketplace.com.sg/

Ballistic Meatballs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ballisticmeatballs
 

Chop Chop Selections

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thechopchopselections

SPies & All Things Nice

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spiesandallthingsnice