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

Geylang Lor 9 Fresh Frog Porridge (芽笼九巷活田鸡) @ Geylang

It's been a decade (or more) since I last ate in Geylang. Kid you not. So, it was with some anticipation when friend suggested a trip there to eat porridge. Yay!

bright red signboard

The road was super busy, with cars turning round and round in search of a parking lot. Pedestrians dashing out of the road or strolling at a snail pace without care...probably everyday occurrences there.

The signboard definitely wasn't like that, way back in the 'olden days'. Yes...am ancient btw. Could still remember the beef hor fun from across the road. Beef hor fun was't good looking but super tender and very yummy black peppery beef. But frog's porridge...can't really recall how it tasted like back then.

orh luak (oyster omelette)

Actually, don't know if its 'orh jian' or 'orh luak' but it's panfried oyster omelette flour (@$5, I think). This was a rather tasty plate. The bits of well-fried flour has some heat in it (chili?), and a certain fragrant ingredient. Perhaps, dried shrimp or something. But the oysters were limited edition. Few and scarce.

pre-packed drink of lime juice with sour plum

Done with appetisers, and the main course came after a 20 minutes wait.

spicy fresh frog legs (3 pieces)

plain porridge

The porridge has quite a thick consistency but thankfully, it wasn't clumpy. The frog legs cooked in dried chili sauce goes very well with the hot porridge. Definitely need to drizzle the sauce onto the porridge for oomph! The meat was sweet but very bony as well. Shioks. Porridge and the frog legs costs $25.

comfort food

Xiang Mei Roasted Meat Chicken Rice @ Bukit Batok Central

Was at Bukit Batok Central, and had to run some errands at Block 636. Then, came across this dingy looking foodcourt (think it was S11) and saw a queue for this stall selling roasted meat. Curiousity got to me, so I queued as well.

still queuing

Got to the front of the line some fifteen minutes later.

roasted duck and roasted pork rice (烧鸭加烧肉饭) @$5

closer view

Hmm, the roasted pork has crackly skin but the portion that I got was towards the sides so the meat was hard. Roasted duck was pretty good with tender meat. The chili was very garlicky but has no punch.

Best of the lot, was its soup. Flavourful with lots of peanuts and chicken feet.

soup, all gone

Tai Liok Claypot Rice @ Alexandra Village Food Centre

Visited the new Alexandra Village Food Centre for dinner tonight. Alot of stalls were closed. Guessed those are only opened during the day. Not many people there at night, so we took our time to browse. Old Punggol Satay had moved there from ABC Market. My friend wanted to eat claypot rice, so we went and got ourselves one pot. Minimum order is $10 for 2 pax. Waiting time was between 25-30 minutes. Added an extra order for watercress soup.

waiting patiently for our food

After some 20 minutes or so, our food came.

claypot chicken rice

add the dark soy sauce according to taste or colour...

watercress soup $4

The rice came piping hot, and it has chinese sausages (lap cheong) and a darker sausage (yun cheong) that is made out of liver. Besides that, it also has some stalks of vegetable, salted fish bits and chicken breast meat. However, do watch out for that odd bit of chicken bone and skin.

fragrant savoury claypot rice with generous amount of ingredients

spicy chili sauce

Each of us got around 4 small bowls of rice, and plenty of soup. The portion should be just right for one male and female combo, but for two females... it was a little too much... hahaaa! The chili sauce is worth mentioning. A little dash of this chili, goes a long way! Kid you not. It is loaded with garlic! Superb.

scraped till the bottom...

almost done..

Enjoyable and worth the wait. Take note that this stall is not open during lunch time.

ps: we've finished dinner by 8pm but am still feeling full... even at 1130pm...

Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles @Pek Kio Hawker Centre

Located at Pek Kio Hawker Centre (or Blk 41A Cambridge Road), this stall seemed quite popular. Can see lots of awards displayed (awarded in Year 2003 and 2007) and a poster from "Our Makan Places, Lost and Found."

Today there was a short queue and we waited for about 10-15 minutes to reach the front (there were about 4-5 customers infront). Once we're at the front, we waited for about 5 more minutes before the aunty spoke to us.

To order, you need to wait for the aunty to speak first. Otherwise, she can't/won't remember what you are saying also.

stall front

I've seen the $3 noodles and frankly speaking, you can skip that one. Today we had the $5 noodles. I liked mine soupy.

$5 prawn noodles soup with coarse bee hoon

The ingredients were pretty simple. Big prawns, kangkong, big heap of fried lard, oil, minced garlic and noodles. The broth tasted somewhat like a mix of Penang style and local prawn noodles soup. Tasty. The chili powder seemed like a pricey commodity because the aunty would keep it inside her stall and my friend had to ask from her three times before the aunty entertained her request....

The 3 prawns were big! And in my opinion, befits the $5 price tag. The prawns' flesh falls off easily, succulent and firm. And most importantly, not overcooked.

Hua Yuen Porridge @Tiong Bahru Market

Wanted to eat porridge and raw fish tonight, so hopped onto SBS bus 123, and about 10 minutes later, voila! Tiong Bahru Market at Seng Poh Road. I thought there will be a couple of stalls selling cantonese porridge, but I was wrong. Most were selling Teochew fish porridge! Hmmmm, I know... it's been ages since I last visited this market :P

The porridge stall was manned by a young chap and a lady. Opted for the value set of century egg with shredded chicken porridge + raw fish slices for $4.50 only. Good right?



value for money



yummylicious


The porridge was thick, and every bite has century egg bits and chicken shreds. Mine has thigh meat, and that's exactly what I liked! Tasty!


I don't know why, but the raw fish slices were whitish in color. Was kinda expecting like pinkish raw colored...


looks like kinda cooked, hor?


The fish slices were quite decent, but some of the meat has tendons so those parts turned out to be rather tough and chewy. Otherwise, the fish was tasty from the drizzling of sesame seed oil, lime juice, soy sauce and eaten with spring onions, ginger and chili padi.

Eating Out in Kajang

Back home, breakfast is usually, eating outside food. On weekends, my sis would go to the market, so our dad drives us to eat either in Kajang or Sungai Chua which is slightly further away.


Da Ji at Sungai Chua


Usually, I like to order a cup of coffee and chee cheong fun. The cheong fun in Malaysia, in a way, is more fun (sic) to eat! Why? Because you can mix it with yong tau foo stuffs, and put a little sweet sauce, chili sauce and curry sauce mix and a dash sesame on top, voila! A hearty breakfast!


chee cheong fun


wanton noodles soup


My dad likes this hawker centre, "Happy Cafe". Haha!


rows of stalls


And, he likes food that are not good for you! Such as char kway teow (laden with oil!) and curry (heaty!).


char kway teow


curry noodles, with juicy see-hum (cockles)


The prawn noodles in Malaysia is different from those in Singapore. There's more variety in terms of taste as compared to those in Singapore which tends to be more cleaner tasting on the palate.


prawn noodles, shioks!


i like the soup!


There's a eating place nearer to the Kajang market, and it is only open at night. That place is called 'Da Zhong', and there's this stall that sells BBQ chicken wings. The chicken wings here is cooked upon order, so expect to wait for about 15 mins. This is a must-try!


yummy chicken wings


Another thing to try, is the nasi lemak from any roadside stall (but pick a hygenic one la..). I'd order it with hard boiled egg, sambal see-hum (cockles), peanuts, and anchovies sambal. Of course, if it's my dad ordering, he'd add one piece of chicken. But of course, in this case, the nasi lemak will then be around RM$4-RM$5 per pack.



looks messy, but taste good!




Don't forget to try the zhi-char in Malaysia, and order the black black hokkien mee.


a plate of glistening black hokkien noodles




However, my mom prefers the Cantonese fried noodles.


Yuan Yang Cantonese noodles, where the noodles are beehoon (deep fried) and hor fun


Don't forget to try these dishes, if you're in the vicinity! ;)