u/iamgettingfat

When I last posted about Ah Heng curry chicken noodles, some of the comments pointed to Heng Kee on level 1 of Hong Lim. So here I am!

For Heng Kee, I really like the aromatic curry that is light enough to be drank directly, yet still tastes rich as a curry should. And the curry levels up significantly when you add some of their smoky sambal chili! I always go for beehoon and mee here, which in my view is a good balance between the bite/texture of the noodle and the beehoon's ability to soak up the curry.

The toppings are great quality too - the chicken is very tender, and the potatos are nice and soft. Special mention as usual to the taopoks: soaked through with so the bite releases a small, warm flood of that curry. And for some reason, the fishcake here has an amazing texture and taste. if anyone knows their supplier I'd happily trade you 2 reddit karma for it lol.

And for the million-dollar question: Yes I do think this is better than Ah Heng.

When I last posted about Ah Heng curry chicken noodles, some of the comments pointed to Heng Kee on level 1 of Hong Lim. So here I am!

For Heng Kee, I really like the aromatic curry that is light enough to be drank directly, yet still tastes rich as a curry should. And the curry levels up significantly when you add some of their smoky sambal chili! I always go for beehoon and mee here, which in my view is a good balance between the bite/texture of the noodle and the beehoon's ability to soak up the curry.

The toppings are great quality too - the chicken is very tender, and the potatos are nice and soft. Special mention as usual to the taopoks: soaked through with so the bite releases a small, warm flood of that curry. And for some reason, the fishcake here has an amazing texture and taste. if anyone knows their supplier I'd happily trade you 2 reddit karma for it lol.

And for the million-dollar question: Yes I do think this is better than Ah Heng.

When I eat prawn noodles I really don't want to waste calories on those weak, diluted prawn soups that taste more like tea. That's why I really enjoy the soup at 52 Prawn Noodles. The soup is slightly smoky and sweet, and I suspect the hawker spends hours fresh prawn heads/shells and pork bones until the flavor is completely concentrated.

I got the dry version here, and I thought the sauce was a bit unique. Its a bit darker than usual prawn noodles which are usually more lard and sambal-focused, and this leans slightly to a more soy-based sweetness. The noodles is topped with fresh halved prawns, generous pieces of pork belly, and pork ribs so tender the meat couldn’t even stay on the bone when I tried to take photos.

And the owner always gives a generous scoop of crispy golden fried lard and shallots!

When I eat prawn noodles I really don't want to waste calories on those weak, diluted prawn soups that taste more like tea. That's why I really enjoy the soup at 52 Prawn Noodles. The soup is slightly smoky and sweet, and I suspect the hawker spends hours fresh prawn heads/shells and pork bones until the flavor is completely concentrated.

I got the dry version here, and I thought the sauce was a bit unique. Its a bit darker than usual prawn noodles which are usually more lard and sambal-focused, and this leans slightly to a more soy-based sweetness. The noodles is topped with fresh halved prawns, generous pieces of pork belly, and pork ribs so tender the meat couldn’t even stay on the bone when I tried to take photos.

And the owner always gives a generous scoop of crispy golden fried lard and shallots!

Always great to see young hawkers take on traditional dishes!

The highlight for me is really the soup - savory, smoky, cloudy broth simmered for hours until it’s super thick. I always go for the dry version, and the meepok is nice and al dente, tossed in a balanced, savory-spicy sauce mix that somehow taste like it has a bit of spicy bean sauce or dou ban jiang. The soup comes with fish maw, tender sliced pork, handmade dumplings, fishballs and meatballs, and the most perfectly cooked pork liver I’ve ever had.

A great reminder that when traditional hawker food like bcm gets glammed up, our hawker culture can really reach a whole new level.

Always great to see young hawkers take on traditional dishes!

The highlight for me is really the soup - savory, smoky, cloudy broth simmered for hours until it’s super thick. I always go for the dry version, and the meepok is nice and al dente, tossed in a balanced, savory-spicy sauce mix that somehow taste like it has a bit of spicy bean sauce or dou ban jiang. The soup comes with fish maw, tender sliced pork, handmade dumplings, fishballs and meatballs, and the most perfectly cooked pork liver I’ve ever had.

A great reminder that when traditional hawker food like bcm gets glammed up, our hawker culture can really reach a whole new level.

Every bowl of the porridge here at Redhill Pork Porridge in Blk 85 Redhill Lane is cooked to order, and loaded with super tender marinated pork slices, bouncy mushroomy meatballs, and perfectly cooked liver that is neither chalky nor bloody. If you ever need a meal that feels like a warm, porky weighted blanket on a rainy day this would be it.

I always add an egg. Always. I mix the egg into the porridge, and when the residual heat warms up the egg it'll add a nice richness to the porridge. I also like that they toast the youtiao before serving - adds a nice salty crunch!

Every bowl of the porridge here at Redhill Pork Porridge in Blk 85 Redhill Lane is cooked to order, and loaded with super tender marinated pork slices, bouncy mushroomy meatballs, and perfectly cooked liver that is neither chalky nor bloody. If you ever need a meal that feels like a warm, porky weighted blanket on a rainy day this would be it.

I always add an egg. Always. I mix the egg into the porridge, and when the residual heat warms up the egg it'll add a nice richness to the porridge. I also like that they toast the youtiao before serving - adds a nice salty crunch!

Everytime I eat here I notice that everyone having a bowl of this sheng mian looks satisfied. Seriously, not an upset face.

Teck Kee cooked food at Blk 226H Ang Mo Kio Street 22 #01-23 is one of my go-tos if I am looking for comfort in a bowl. The soup here is rich, porky, and egg-fragrant, and the sheng mian manage to keep a nice bite even in the hot soup. They top the noodles with minced meat, surprisingly nice liver slices, and an assortment of garnishes that freshness to the dish.

It’s the kind of breakfast that’s light enough to give the illusion of being healthy, but hearty enough to keep you going until dinner!

Everytime I eat here I notice that everyone having a bowl of this sheng mian looks satisfied. Seriously, not an upset face.

Teck Kee cooked food at Blk 226H Ang Mo Kio Street 22 #01-23 is one of my go-tos if I am looking for comfort in a bowl. The soup here is rich, porky, and egg-fragrant, and the sheng mian manage to keep a nice bite even in the hot soup. They top the noodles with minced meat, surprisingly nice liver slices, and an assortment of garnishes that freshness to the dish.

It’s the kind of breakfast that’s light enough to give the illusion of being healthy, but hearty enough to keep you going until dinner!

Really glad that there's more and more great roast meat stalls in Singapore! The roast meats here have a good smoky taste thanks to their use of charcoal fire to roast.

I'm a great fan of the pork here. The char siew here is well-marinated. Sticky, caramelized, and comes with slightly burnt edges I asked for the half-fat cut, where the fat and the meat combines to give you a taste of a sinful buttery heaven. Contrasts super well with that salty-crunchy sio bak. And the sio bak skin is so crispy you’d think they marinated it with poprocks lol.

The duck to be honest was okay. Not bad in my view but not as stellar as the pork. I've been here a few times, and I think having the meats with rice is more shiok! Their noodles is somehow a bit too sweet for my taste.

It's me again! Sharing good hawker food (or street food) from Singapore.

This is a plate of Cantonese-style roasted meats from a well-regarded roast shop in Singapore named 88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist. I suspect they named the shop 88 because it is considered an auspicious number in Chinese culture, but I see it as a reminder of the number of laps I need to run after a meal here.

But trust me when I say the laps would be worth it! There are three types of roast meats as you can see in the "group photo" - roast pork belly (sio bak) on the left, barbequed pork (char siew) in the middle, and roasted duck on the right.

The pork belly has a simple marinate I believe - mainly five spice. It is then roasted such that the skin becomes crispy. A great mix of texture between the meat and crispy skin, and when the fat to meat ratio is so well-balanced as you see in the photo... it's just a good day.

The barbequed pork is more complicated. It's marinated in a thicker sauce that includes soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, five spice etc. Then it's skewered and roasted till everything caramelizes into a smokey sweet-savoury party in your mouth.

The duck is not as great as the other meats to be honest. The skin has a nice crisp, and a hint of herbal taste to it. But the meat tends to be a bit dry. My view? If you want to try the duck here, go for the thigh or drumstick. The fat from these cuts would keep the meat more moist.

This platter, including the rice, cost me about US$9.

Something not very common around the world I believe!

Oyster omelette, also known as orh luak in Singapore, is a relatively simple Chinese (Hokkien and Teochew to be specific) dish that people often eat as a snack or supper here in Singapore.

The base omelette is made by mixing sweet potato starch to eggs into a batter, before frying the batter at high heat. This gives the dish a great mix of textures because the heat makes the omelette crispy around edges, while the sweet potato starch adds a somewhat chewy texture. Oysters are added when the dish is almost done to give the dish a briny kick without overcooking the oysters.

This particular plate is from a well-regarded stall in Hougang Avenue 8. I especially liked how the cook broke the omelette into smaller pieces while frying, which gave the dish a lot more crispy edges. They also controlled the heat extremely well, giving the dish a nice smoky flavour without turning the omelette into a rubbery substance by overcooking it. This here costs about US$3.

As usual, just sharing about Singapore's hawker food that I'm super passionate about on r/food. :)

I usually avoid fishballs outside because they're often those perfectly round factory stuff full of fillers. So I really appreciate stalls like Xin Lu at Mei Ling Hawker - their fishballs are definitely not one of those factory-made, perfectly spherical stuff!

The fishballs are really firm, almost bouncy. Can tell that its made from high quality fish paste with little-to-no fillers, and handmade.

And I really the sauce for the noodles. As usual there's lard and chilli, and its thick without overpowering everything else. Definitely a great option if you're in the mood for fishball noodles!

Tai Hwa Pork Noodles is one of the most famous minced pork noodles (or bak chor mee) in Singapore, especially after it became one of the cheapest Michelin star eateries in the world (a bowl of noodles here starts from US$6).

Like all pork noodle stalls in Singapore, they use different variations of egg noodles. I went with my favorite meepok here, which is a flat variant of the egg noodles. The al dente noodles were coated in a concoction that's heavy on lard, chili, soy sauce, fish sauce, and vinegar. The bowl here cost me about US$9, and you can see how full of toppings it was. Besides minced meat, there was also sliced lean pork, dumplings, pork meatballs, pork liver and fried sole fish. Highlight for me was definitely the sole fish, which added a nice smokey taste to the noodles.

Tai Hwa has always been very divisive in Singapore with some criticising its prices, as most minced meat noodles cost US$3-US$4 here. But to me, this is a genuinely consistent and amazing bowl of minced meat noodles that is worth the premium. 

I know this is a bit niche, but I'm super passionate about hawker food in Singapore so I thought to just share about the food we have here with a larger audience on r/food. :)

I am a huge fan of the braised duck noodle here at Kwee Heng Braised Duck here in Singapore.

The noodles are tossed in a savoury, garlicky, and slightly herbal braise sauce with some lard, and the chili adds a slight tang which makes the dish really welcoming.

The duck is surprisingly tender, and has a deep umami which tells you that it has been braised for hours before it appears on your plate.

Newton Food Centre, where Kwee Heng is at, is a known “tourist trap” here in Singapore. But if this dish is the bait then I’d gladly walk into whatever trap this is!

I am a huge fan of the braised duck noodle here.

The noodles are tossed in the savoury and slightly herbal braise sauce with some lard, and the chili adds a slight tang which makes the dish really welcoming.

The duck is surprisingly tender, and has a deep umami which tells you that it has been braised for hours before it appears on your plate.

So forget the sambal stingray and other tourist trap dishes at Newton, and go queue up for Kwee Heng instead!

Sometimes, we all just need a soul-warming, coconut-milk-infused liquid hug.

The curry at Ah Heng is well balanced - rich enough to coat your tongue in velvet, but drinkable enough that I found myself tilting the bowl for the last drop.

The chicken is very well-poached and tender, which allows it to soak up all that spice. But the real star of the show for me? The taupok. Those tofu puffs act like savory little sponges, exploding with coconutty curry goodness when I bite into them.

It’s messy, it’s vibrant, and it’s a reminder that some of the best things in life come in a melamine hawker bowl.

This isn’t the typical oily, doughy “sleepy” prata that we get from void deck coffeeshops. Enaq's prata has an extreme crunch that gives me the same satisfaction as stepping on dry leaves while walking my toddlers.

The exterior is a golden crispy fried dough, while the inside remains pillowy and soft. It’s almost like a croissant and a prata had a beautiful, buttery baby. And I absolutely love the ikan bilis sambal. I always dunk the prata into curry before scooping some sambal onto it. Perfection.

Enaq is one of the reasons why I can believe the central thesis of that Go West song - everytime I eat this prata I do feel like life is better!

Btw here's a tip - always order plaster, because the prata will always come hot!

It's getting tougher to find good lor mee nowadays - many of their gravies are a bit watered down, almost like tea sometimes.

But Zhi Xiang's gravy is not one of those - the gravy is so clingy the noodles is trying to get a personal protection order from it lol.

But the highlight for me is the crispy fried yam balls. They are only included when you order the bigger portions, but they're super worth it because they add a nice salty crunch to the lor mee. Everytime I eat this decadent breakfast I want to cancel all my afternoon meetings and just lean into the food coma!

You can find them at Blk 93 Lor 4 Toa Payoh, #01-49 :)