Xiang Ji Porridge 香记粥品 (Telok Blangah Crescent Market & Food Centre)

Century Egg and Pork Porridge $3.50 with Egg $0.50

Age seems to have caught up with me. I used to have porridge only when I was not feeling well. And when I am well, I would definitely not have porridge for lunch as it was not filling. But now, ironically, I enjoy a bowl of porridge for lunch every now and then. Yes, even if the weather is scorching hot, I somehow cannot say no to this porridge.

I am surprise that no one has shared about Xiang Ji Porridge 香记粥品 as it is a hidden gem! The stall is located at Telok Blangah Crescent Hawker Centre, which is quite out of the way as it is not near any MRT stations. It is located 5 minutes away from Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and SAFRA Mount Faber.

The stall is open from Tuesday to Saturday and business starts at 7am till sold out, which is usually slightly after 1pm. During lunch time, the queue can stretch to more than 10 persons long. This is how popular they are! In terms of variety, they offer a wide range, from century eggs, pork liver, pork minced meat, pork lean meat, shredded chicken to fish.

The porridge has a grainy texture as it is well cooked till the grains are broken into slightly smaller pieces. Each bowl of porridge comes with generous toppings of fried fritters, spring onion, shallots and preserved vegetable. There is no need to add additional seasoning as the porridge is flavourful, not to the extent of salty, and the preserved vegetable will provide additional flavour.

Century Egg and Pork Porridge $3.50 with Egg $0.50

My favourite and usual dish is the Century Egg and Pork Porridge which cost $3.50. I will usually add an egg for $0.50 to make the texture creamier and provide more flavour. The amount of ingredient given is quite generous (you can see the amount of century egg given in the photos above).

Pork and Liver Porridge $3.50 with Egg $0.50

Another combination which I frequently order is the Pork and Liver Porridge $3.50 with Egg $0.50.

Since I chanced upon this stall, I have been eating their porridge frequently. This simple yet unpretentious bowl of porridge certainly punches its weigh. Whether you are feeling under or above the weather, this is one good solid bowl of porridge worth trying!

Xiang Ji Porridge 香记粥品 (Telok Blangah Crescent Market & Food Centre)

#01-98 Telok Blangah Crescent Hawker Centre

Blk 11 Telok Blangah Crescent

Singapore 090011

Opening Hours: Tue to Sat 7am till sold out (normally slightly after 1 pm)

                          Closed on Sun and Mon

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Hong Ji Mian Shi Jia 鸿记面食家 (Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre)

Dumpling Noodle $3.50 with Char Siew $1

Other than Seng Huat Prawn Noodles 成發,Hong Ji Mian Shi Jia 鸿记面食家  is another stall that is very popular at this food centre.

This stall specialises in serving old school style wanton noodle, dumpling noodle and even chicken claw noodle. Do note that although the queue may seems short, the waiting time tend to be long.

While waiting, you can read the 3 articles that are displayed at the stall. One of the article stated that the owner of the stall, who is the man behind the stall cooking your food, has more than 40 years of experience in preparing, cooking and selling these noodles! He had done this his entire life and back then the cost of each bowl of noodles was 20 cents! Such devotion and perseverance.

I have been to the stall several times to try their different food items after having first try their Wanton Noodle. I must say that their food is really good. Homely, comforting and tasty. They also have a plastic bag of fried pork lard placed at the front of the stall for customers. However, on certain days the fried lard are crispy while on other days, they were not crispy (an indication that they were not fresh).

Wanton Noodle $3.50

This Wanton Noodle $3.50 was damn solid. The noodles were springy and the sauce was flavourful and just right, not too salty. The char siew had a high lean meat to fat ratio and few charred bits. But yet the char siew was surprisingly soft and tender. There were 3 pieces of wanton given. The wanton meat were well marinated and the wanton skin was smooth! Before I knew it, I had polished off all the wanton.

Chicken Claw Mushroom Noodle $3.50

This was the Chicken Claw Mushroom Noodle. It cost just $3.50 and comes with a pair of chicken claw and a whole braised mushroom. In all other hawker stalls, the mushroom would be sliced. I am not sure why this stall served the braised mushroom as a whole, but I preferred it this way because it gave a better bite, and retained more flavour and juice in it. I am won over already! The chicken claw was delicious and appeared to be more ‘meaty’ compared to other stalls.

Dumpling Noodle $3.50 with Char Siew $1

This was the Dumpling Noodle which cost $3.50. I topped up $1 for Char Siew. Look at the generous amount of char siew given! As for the dumplings, they were meaty and was filled with prawns, minced meat and chestnuts which provided a crunchy dimension to each mouthful!

Wanton Noodle $3.50 and Chicken Claw with Mushroom $1.50

On another occasion I actually had Wanton Noodle $3.50 with additional pair of Chicken Claw with Mushroom for $1.50. You should have known by now that I love their chicken claw and mushroom!

Needless to say, I think this stall’s food is really so good! It is a die die must try. The downside is that the lady at the counter is not always in the best mood. But who cares, good food makes the world goes round.

Hong Ji Mian Shi Jia 鸿记面食家 (Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre)

#01-05 Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre

79 Telok Blangah Drive
Singapore 100079
Opening Hours: Daily 7am to 8pm
                          Closed on Fridays

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Seng Huat Prawn Noodles 成發 (Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre)

Prawn Noodles $3

Seng Huat Prawn Noodles 成發 is probably the most popular stall at Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre judging from the queue whenever it is open. As age is catching up with the owner of the stall, the stall is now closed 3 days a week instead of 2 days. Whenever the stall is open, Sat to Mon, there is a queue at the stall.

I visited the stall during weekday lunch time. There was a queue of around 7 persons in front of me. It was around 20 minutes of waiting time. Interestingly, I noticed that the signage of the stall indicates that it sold fishball noodles too. But everyone was ordering prawn noodles!

Prawn Noodles $3

I ordered the $3.00 prawn noodles, dry with chilli. I was impressed by the generous serving of ingredients given for the price. The prawns were sliced into half and deshell except for the tail end. Moreover, the prawns were deveined! Most other stalls do not bother to do this as it is tedious.

Prawn Noodles $3

The prawns were fresh, firm and easy to savour as it was deshelled. Also the sambal chilli sauce was delicious! It was so fragrant and addictive that it reminded me of Fishball Story’s chilli sauce! I can eat the noodles with the chilli sauce all day!

Having tried the prawn noodles, I now know why it has been so highly raved about! Give it a try before the owners retire!

Seng Huat Prawn Noodles 成發 (Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre)

#01-38 Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre

79 Telok Blangah Drive

Singapore 100079

Opening Hours: Fri to Mon, 6am - 2pm

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Song Heng Fishball Noodles 松興魚丸粿條面 (Telok Blangah Crescent Market & Food Centre)

Kway Teow Noodles $3

Every time I am at Telok Blangah Crescent, I am bound to see a queue at Song Heng Fishball Noodles 松興魚丸粿條面 whenever it is open. The queue is the reason why I decided to try this stall and ironically also why I am unable to eat it frequently, due to the waiting time.

The fishball noodles start from $2.50. I always order the $3 version. If you are a fan of Mee Pok, come early! It is frequently sold out by 1pm and customers would need to order other type of noodles.

The fishball noodles that you get from this stall is old-school style. There are no fanciful ingredients and nothing to shout about. But it is a decent bowl of fishball noodles which when mixed with the sauces taste so good. Also, the fishballs are handmade, not factory made, are of different sizes, fresh springy and bouncy. The other plus point is that the owner is so generous with the amount of noodles!

Mee Pok $3

If intend to eat at this stall, do come early. Although the closing time is 3pm, the stall typically closes earlier as they would be sold out at 2pm at times.  

Song Heng Fishball Noodles 松興魚丸粿條面 (Telok Blangah Crescent Market & Food Centre)

#01-124 Telok Blangah Crescent Hawker Centre
Blk 11 Telok Blangah Crescent
Singapore 090011
Opening Hours: Tue to Sat 5am to 3pm
                          Closed on Sun and Mon
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Cai Chuan Tou Mutton Soup 柴船头羊肉汤 (Bukit Merah View Food Centre)

Mutton Mixed Bowl

I have heard about this mutton soup stall for some time, but have not given a thought to give it a try. This is because of its location, short operating hours and the perpetual long queue at the stall. It was only after it got the Michelin Bib Gourmand award that I decided to give it a try.

I went at 12.30pm on a weekday and brave the queue with slightly more than 20 persons in front of me. Surprisingly, I queued for just 25 minutes as the service, including ordering, cooking and cutting the parts, was quick.

Menu

Using tongs instead of hand as it is hot

Cai Chuan Tou Mutton Soup as its name suggests specialises in mutton soup. They sell a whole range of mutton meat/parts ranging from meat, ribs, meatballs, tendon, stomach to even the most exotic part, the brain! Since I did not know what to order, wanted to try as many variety as I could without feeling brave enough to try the brains, I decided to go for the Mutton Mixed Bowl.

Mutton Mixed Bowl

Mutton Mixed Bowl

The Mutton Mixed Bowl consisted of meat, meatballs and stomach. The Mutton Soup was lightly flavoured and had a very very mild herbal taste. Interestingly, despite the mild flavours, there was no pungent gamey taste of mutton in the soup. As for the mutton meat, it was tender. In fact, I noticed that mutton ribs were also given and for the ribs, their meat were practically folk tender! As for the mutton meatballs and stomach, there was nothing much to shout about as I felt that there was not much taste in the meat. In fact, everything tasted so light and was so mildly flavoured. This is coming from a guy who does not like salty food or extremely sweet stuff.

If you are keen to try this, be there early as I heard that they can close as early as 1.30pm when they sell out all the parts.

(Read with a pinch of salt or two) Personally, I do not understand the hype and why the stall has gotten the Michelin Bib Gourmand award while others have not. The unique selling point I felt was more towards price. It is so cheap!  Mutton dishes are typically more expensive elsewhere. For mutton soup, I prefer Ivy's Hainanese Herbal MuttonSoup version.

Cai Chuan Tou Mutton Soup 柴船头羊肉汤 (Bukit Merah View Food Centre)

#01-51 Bukit Merah View Hawker Centre

115 Bukit Merah View

Singapore 151115

Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 11am – 2.30pm

                          Closed on Sun



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Wow Wow West Genuine (ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre)

Chicken Chop $7

I have always wanted to try out this western stall called Wow Wow West for the longest time ever. I still remember that I read about this stall in 2011 from Daniel Food Dairy blog and made a mental note to visit the stall when I was in the area. It was notable for its generous portion and delicious food then. Fast forward to 2018, I am glad that I have the opportunity to visit the stall at last!

A brief background about the stall. It started with Mr Eric Ng who started a western stall in the canteen of Raffles Institution. He moved out of the school environment to the hawker centre as the earnings were low during school holidays. Today, his son-in-law, Mr Jayden Cheong, helps to run the stall. In fact, he is the main chef at the stall and it is essentially a family business as Mr Eric Ng and his wife are also at the stall.

I visited the stall on several occasions and each time I am there, there is a perpetual crowd of people in front of the stall, either queuing up to order the food or waiting to collect their orders. I must say that I am most impressed with their system and processes, from ordering to collection of food. Despite the crowd, I have always waited for less than 20 minutes for my food. This is not an easy feat considering the crowd and number of orders. Unlike most western stalls, Wow Wow West does not churn out dishes one at a time. Instead, they churn out nearly 5 dishes at a time and different type of dishes too! At any one time, they are frying chicken chop and fish and chips, and cooking beef steak, pork chop and chicken chop, all at the same time! In addition, sometimes, they are frying fries too! I have always tried to observe how they do this, but never figured it out.

Chicken Cutlet $7

Look at the size of the piece of chicken given for the Chicken Cutlet $7. It was huge, nearly as big as my face. For someone who could eat a lot, I was very full after I finished the whole dish. The chicken cutlet was well-marinated and fried perfectly, which is not easily achieved considering the size. The exterior was so crisp and not over fried while the interior was tender and juicy.

Chicken Chop $7

The Chicken Chop $7 was huge too. It was marinated with herbs and pepper and was served with brown sauce. I particularly liked the bits of crisp skin at the sides as they provided a different texture with each mouthful. Surprisingly, the chicken chop was not as juicy as the chicken cutlet.

Pork Chop $7

The Pork Chop $7 was average. Maybe I had too high an expectation considering the quality of the other 2 dishes. I felt that the pork chop was dry and tough. Although the portion was big, I got too tired of chewing the meat.

All their dishes were served with fries, coleslaw and baked beans. Though these lost limelight compared to the mains, I must highlight that the portion of fries and coleslaw given was huge!

If you are looking for a big serving of western cuisine, look no further! This is the place to be at. And make sure that you are hungry. Very hungry! Try their Chicken Cutlet and Chicken Chop! If you are in a rush, you should refrain from eating this western food. Not because of the less than 20 minutes waiting time, but because you will likely need some time to polish off the whole dish considering the portion.

Wow Wow West Genuine (ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre)

#01-133 ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre

6 Jalan Bukit Merah

Singapore 150006

Tel: +65 9380 8571

Opening Hours: Tue to Sat 10.30am - 2pm, 4.30pm - 8pm

                           Closed on Sun & Mon

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Quan Ann Prawn Mee 全安虾面 (Shunfu Food Centre)

Quan Ann Prawn Mee 全安虾面 is an old school, no frills stall located at Shunfu Food Centre.

It reminds me of the school canteen stalls in the good old days. The menu and price is simple and clearly stated with only one dish offered. There are no fanciful or glamorous menu signage.

I ordered the dry version Prawn Noodles $3 with chilli. Although the broth and prawns hit the right notes, I felt that the chilli was lacking in terms of fragrance as it was just spicy with no hint of sambal fragrance in it. The prawns were fresh as they were firm and sweet. As for the broth which was cooked with pork and prawns, it was tasty with a subtle umami flavour.

While this bowl of prawn noodles may not be at the forefront among the best prawn noodle stalls, it is worth a try, if you are looking for one which is old school with resemblance to home cooked food. I suspect that it would be more appreciated by the older generation, as the younger generation may not like this, as they may fancy the likes of Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodle more (big prawns, robust soup).

Quan Ann Prawn Mee 全安虾面 (Shunfu Food Centre)
#02-11 Shunfu Food Centre 
320 Shunfu Road 
Singapore 570320
Opening Hours: Daily from 9am to 3pm

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#MAKANBOLEH Epok Epok (Curry Puff) (Seah Im Food Centre)

Sardin Epok Epok $1

One evening late last year, I was scrolling through my instagram feed when I spotted a unique post about epok epok at Seah Im Food Centre that caught my attention. It was a post by Miss Ha. I searched the internet but could not find much information. I knew that I had to give it a try when I had the opportunity to. 

So I made three trips down to the stall called #MAKANBOLEH. On my first visit, I went during lunch time and was told that they only start making and selling the epok epo at 4.30pm. During my second visit, I was told that I had to wait for 1 hour! As I was in a rush, I could not afford to wait. So I made another trip and this time, I was told that the waiting time was 45 minutes. In reality, I waited for an hour.

PS: do you know that curry puff are known as epok epok by our Muslim friends? Although both terms Curry Puff and Epok Epok are used interchangeably in Singapore, their taste tend to differ. For example, curry puff tends to include curry in the fillings whereas the tradtional epok epok uses chilli sauce.

True enough when you visit after 4.30pm, you will be able to witness how the epok epok are made and cooked on the spot. From the pastry to the filling and to the frying of the epok epok. There are two varieties of Epok Epok, the Sardin Epok Epok and Potato Epok Epok. They cost $1 each.

Sardin Epok Epok $1

I have placed a one dollar coin next to the Epok Epok to illustrate the huge size of it. This Epok Epok cost just $1! Moreover, it comes pipping hot, fresh out of the stove of hot oil!

The crust of any epok epok or curry puff is always important as it needs to be thin and yet be able to hold the fillings in well, and is crisp. #MAKANBOLEH's Epok Epok crust hit all the right notes in this aspect. Moreover, it has a butter fragrance which is a plus point.

Sardin Epok Epok $1

This Sardin Epok Epok came with huge chunks of sardine meat and small pieces of onion. On the first bite, the spiciness of the chilli pasteoverwhelmed me, before the sweetness set in. The more I bite into it, the more I love it! Sedap!

Potato Epok Epok $1

The Potato Epok Epok was equally good although it tasted different. Instead of chilli paste, curry paste was used. The curry sauce was not as spicy and was sweeter, coated each chunk of potato. You can literally bite into the potatoes as they were not mashed up. A chunk of hard boiled egg was also added.

Most of the time, I prefer my Epok Epok with potato fillings. But this time, both were really good. If you are a fan of Epok Epok, wait no more! Give this a try!

#MAKANBOLEH Epok Epok (Curry Puff) (Seah Im Food Centre)

#01-36 Seah Im Food Centre 

2 Seah Im Road 

Singapore 099114 

Opening Hours: Daily 6am to 9pm

                           Closed on Mon

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