Tow Seng Wanton Mee (Albert Centre Market & Food Centre)

*Edited Oct 2012: Closed. Anyone knows where they shifted to?*

Tow Seng Wanton Mee is located at Albert Centre Market & Food Centre. You are spoilt for choice at this food centre as it is big! I find it amazing whenever I come here and notice the same few stalls having a queue. Tow Seng Wanton Mee is one of them!

They sell just 3 items; Wanton Mee, Chicken Mushroom Mee and Chicken Drumstick Noodle. You can expect to queue more than 15 minutes during lunch/dinner time.

Wanton Mee (Dry) $3.00

You can either choose to order the $2.50 or $3.00 Wanton Mee. I ordered the $3.00 version with no chilli. The noodle was springy (QQ) and not stuck together as a lump. With the self-made sauce, each strand of noodle was well oiled and delicious. It was so yummy that I found myself continuous eating the noodle! The Char Siew was too dry while the green chilli enhanced the taste of the dish.

Wanton Soup

The wanton was average but still this is a very decent bowl of wanton meal saved by the perfectly cooked noodles and sauce!

Chicken Mushroom Mee $2.50 

This is the Chicken Mushroom Mee. Shredded chicken, steamed vegetables and fragrant mushrooms are the normal ingredients for such a dish. The highlight is the perfectly self-made sauce! Brings the taste of this dish to a whole new level. Where can you find such a decent bowl of Chicken Mushroom Mee at $2.50!

I certainty do not mind queuing as this is one of the better Wanton Mee and Chicken Mushroom Mee stall in the food centre. Think most people knows this too, that explains the perpetual queue at this stall. This also made me realised that the sauce plays an important role too.

Tow Seng Wanton Mee (Albert Centre Market & Food Centre)
270 Queen Street 
#01-57 Albert Centre Market & Food Centre
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 4pm

Zhen Zi Prawn Noodles (Toa Payoh HDB Hub)

*Edited May 2013: All outlets has closed*

Zhen Zi Prawn Noodles specialises in serving Prawn Noodle, Pork Ribs Noodle and Prawn & Pork Rib Noodle. Today, Zhen Zi Prawn Noodle has 3 branches; at Toa Payoh HDB Hub, Clementi Mall and Tampines Mall. All 3 branches are located at the respective food courts.

Menu

Current Promotion

Zhen Zi Prawn Noodle is currently having a promotion - $1 off when customers order the Prawn & Pork Ribs Noodle (usual price $5.50).

In addition, they are so confident of their Prawn Broth that they have a Soup Challenge. Customers will be given a FULL refund if they are not satisfied with the soup! Taste is very subjective, I am sure every now and then they are bound to meet unreasonable customers demanding a refund. Kudos to them for being so confident about their Prawn Broth.

(Dun play play), the Prawn Broth has been boiled for over 20 hours to extract the essence of the prawns and thicken the broth. Can you imagine how expensive the gas bills will be!

Prawn Noodle Soup $4.50

Notice the chilli powder at the right? You can add them if you prefer for your Prawn Noodle to be more spicy. The chilli powder has been blended in their factory.

Prawn Noodle Soup $4.50

The most important ingredients in a Prawn Noodle are the broth (soup) and the prawn. I was impressed by the prawn broth. It was robust with intense umami prawn flavour. Moreover, the prawns (three) given were big, fresh and firm. The head and tail (shell) were intact while the shells in the middle were peeled off. Prawns were not overcooked. Pork lard was added to enhanced the flavour of the soup.

The yellow noodles and bee hoon complemented each other as the latter (bee hoon) was of similar size. The Bee Hoon was a little thicker than Thin Bee Hoon (幼米粉) and a little thinner than Thick Bee Hoon (粗米粉). This lead to consistency in texture, size and therefore taste. The little things that add up to the overall foodie experience. Like! The beansprouts added gave a crunchy texture to the overall dish.

Prawn and Pork Ribs Noodle (dry) $5.50

Prawn and Pork Ribs Noodle (dry) $5.50

The Prawn and Pork Ribs Noodle was topped with fried shallots and pork lard. The prawns and prawn broth were similar to what I have wrote above. In this picture (above), you have a clearer view of the yellow noodle and bee hoon. Similar in size (diameter). The pork ribs were tender but tasted bland. Was glad that they used the part with soft bones. Which is one of my favourite part.

Overall, Zhen Zi Prawn Noodle is one of the better prawn noodle stall around. If I am around the area, I will certainly pop by for its Prawn Noodle Soup. Why? Well, the prawns used were fresh and the prawn broth packed such a oomph of umami prawn flavour that I am sure prawn soup lovers will love it!

Thank you Zhen Zi Prawn Noodles for invite.

Zhen Zi Prawn Noodles (Toa Payoh HDB Hub)
Stall No. 8, Gourmet Paradise Food Court
B1 Toa Payoh HDB Hub 
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Tel: 6853 9555

Don - Your Personal Pie Club (China Square Central)

Don - Your Personal Pie Club located at China Square Central started out serving pies. Today, it has expanded its product range from Chicken Pies to Crab Bee Hoon! What a combination! (Western plus Chinese). Although this place is not halal certified, they use no pork and lard. In addition, their chicken used in the pies are from a halal supplier. (check out the write up on the chicken pie at the last section of this post)

Don - Your Personal Pie Club has received several recognitions from newspapers, TV programmes and magazines for its Chicken Pie and even Crab Bee Hoon.

Pipping hot pies!

Don's Chicken Pie (top), Chicken Shephard's Pie (Bottom)

The Don's Chicken Pie and Chicken Shephard's Pie are the two pies that have garnered many reviews online!

Menu (a)

Menu (b)

Lots of seating capacity at the back of the shop.

Claypot Crab Bee Hoon $19.00

Presenting Don - Your Personal Pie Club's Claypot Crab Bee Hoon! I have not tried this dish over here before. But have heard so much raves about it that I know, I had to make a trip down one day to try this!

The Claypot Crab Bee Hoon's broth had a slight hint of herbal (e.g. dang gui) taste in it. It was very flavourful and unique, different from the other Crab Bee Hoon soup (maybe due to slight herbal taste in it). I felt that the flavour of the roe of the crab, ginger and yam was not fully infused in this broth. There were 2 big pieces of fried Yam in it, along with vegetables, bee hoon and of course the Crab!

The crab is medium size. This is the star of the dish and it did not disappoint! The crab was very fresh! The crab meat was firm, sweet and you can easily pull out the whole crab meat from the shell be it the body, legs or even claws. (How many times have you done this? Most of the time the crab meat just sticks to the shell).

Don's Chicken Pie 

Don's Chicken Pie (Whole) $18.00

As we were still feeling hungry, we decided to buy Don's Chicken Pie (Whole) back home and ask for a quarter of it to be taken out on a plate for our consumption.

The chicken pie consisted of ingredients that include corn, carrot, potato, sliced boiled egg, mushrooms, peppercorn and chicken! Look at the above pictures and you will notice how big and thick this pie is! The other crust was not too thick is not too thick, just sufficient to hold the ingredients. It was very crispy, light and fluffy! The filling inside was flavourful and fragrant. However, I felt that the flavour of the spices was not as strong as before. Nevertheless, this is still one Chicken Pie worth coming back for!

Although  Don - Your Personal Pie Club is not halal certified, they do not use any pork and lard. In addition, their chicken used in the pies are from a halal supplier. Hence, Muslim friends can enjoy this  pie too.

For takeaways, you will be given a solid box that will keep your pie warm for a few hours!

Overall, I like my dining experience at Don - Your Personal Pie Club. Both the Claypot Crab Bee Hoon and Don's Chicken Pie were delicious! Now I understand why there has been so much positive word of mouth on the Claypot Crab Bee Hoon! If I am working in the CBD area, I am sure I will be eating this every week!

Don - Your Personal Pie Club (China Square Central)
20 Cross Street 
#01-34 China Square Central
Tel: 6327 4344
Delivery Hotline: 6536 0925
Opening Hours: Daily 8am to 9pm
Website
Nearest MRT Station: Chinatown  or Raffles Place
Location

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