Category Archives: Hawker Food Tour & Hike in Singapore

Pre-Wimbledon Semi+World Cup France-Germany Dinner@East Coast Lagoon Food Village on 4Jul2014

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bakchormee

bakchormee

went to a friend’s house for a marathon evening of 2 wimbledon semis – Federer vs Raonic & Djokovic vs Dimitrov aka baby Fed. 🙂

we took the pleasant stroll to east coast lagoon food village. the last we came was during roland garros on 8.6.2014. 🙂

bakchormee

bakchormee

braised pig trotters

braised pig trotters

braised pig trotters

braised pig trotters

this time we tried the supposedly famours pig trotters at han jia bakuteh & pork leg. i wanted bakchormee so i skipped the rice & just had the trotters. according to my friend, this stall was quite good except that it was less good in the evening as the trotters got to be too soft.

braised pig trotters, taupok, chai buay

braised pig trotters, taupok, chai buay

my bakchormee was ok but not of the standard of tai wah bakchormee, jalan tua kong lau lim at bedok simpang, jalan tua kong meepok tar at 6th avenue etc.

my 2 other friends ordered also taupok, chai buay + peanuts & kidney, liver soup. all were ok except the pig trotters. partly because  we ordered the lean trotters, but this was way below the standard of any good trotters stall like ng ah sio bakuteh, song fa bakuteh etc.

i had tried several stalls here after 4 visits including laksa, orh luah, satay, beef noodles, bbq chicken & now the pig trotters. except for the bbq chicken wings & orh luah which were good, i have to say that this food centre is way below par c/w with say maxwell road hawker centre, amoy street hawker centre, hong lim hawker centre & bukit timah food centre.

after dinner we enjoyed the top drawer sound system & music, this time jason mraz, & the wimbledon semis & world cup quarterfinals between france & germany. we left about 2am, skipping the brazil-columbia game. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

 

 

Quite Poor Ming Fa (明发) Bakchormee @ HollandV Food Centre on 17Jun2014

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ming fa (明发) bakchormee

ming fa (明发) bakchormee

did some errands at hollandv. walking through the food centre & thought the bakchormee stall looked different. i had a good bakchormee at a commonwealth crescent fai zai eatery bakchormee here on 24.9.2013. now the stall is called ming fa (明发). i guess ming fa (明发) has acquired & franchised the stall. it used to be a middle-aged man hawking, now there were 2 women.

i tried ming fa (明发) at upper thomson road couple times recently & it was 1 of the best. the branding was the same so i decided to give it a go.

ming fa (明发) bakchormee

ming fa (明发) bakchormee

ming fa (明发) bakchormee

ming fa (明发) bakchormee

must say this was really quite poor. the meepok noodles were slightly soggy not enough qq (al dente), ingredients were less. taste was just passable but not great. the previous stall commonwealth crescent fai zai eatery bakchormee was a lot better than this, though the ming fa (明发) at upper thomson was far better. but this ming fa (明发) at hollandv is quite poor indeed!

i am not sure this thus the brand any good at all!

c.h.e.f andy

Very Shiok! Bakchormee @ Ming Fa Upper Thomson on 4May2014

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ming fa bakchormee

went with wife & daughter to ming fa at upper thomson for bakchormee this afternoon on 4.5.2014. must say it as immensely fulfilling. haha. 🙂 such simple food & great satisfaction! guess i was also missing the jalan tea kong meepok tar at 6th avenue. having withdrawals. haha. 🙂

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ming fa bakchormee

the place was very well patronised at 3pm on a sunday afternoon. we could hardly find a table for 3.

the bakchormee was really good, the overall flavours & chilli, the qq noodles, minced pork, pork ball & sliced pork & liver. as good as the tai wah i remember (not been to tai wah for the longest time).

noodles was S$4 and ming fa now has expanded from a traditional stall in chinatown to 7 outlets with a manufacturing arm selling laksa and curry chicken etc. 🙂 saw on their website that there is an outlet at hollandv hawker centre etc. somehow did not notice. only tried the fei zai bakchormee stall, which was not too bad. will look out next time i am there. 🙂

very shook indeed!

c.h.e.f andy

 

Cool Walk along The Green Corridor (KAP to Rail Mall) on 16Jan2014

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bridge over bukit timah & dunnearn road

my weekly jogging partner & i thought of starting some activities among friends who meet often for makan. i did a really fun HK eat & hike trip in may2013 with 3 other friends. but we can do some of these fun things in singapore too that cost next to nothing.

another friend was clearing leave & suggested we do a short walk along the green corridor from king albert park to rail mall & back.  we parked our cars at KAP on 16.1.2014 & started the walk from the rail bridge from bukit timah road side. this is a period of cooler weather & we started the walk about 7.30am. it was really pleasant walk. 🙂

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the green corridor (rifle range)

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bamboo tree

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the friend who initiated this walk is far more educated in flora & fauna than the 2 of us. 🙂 i couldn’t recognise many trees but we spotted this nicely fanned-out bamboo behind some newer terrace houses along rifle range road.

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bukit timah radio tower

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& in the distance was the bukit timah radio tower.

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it was a weekday (thurs). there were only few joggers & people walking dogs.

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i managed to zoom up 20m & captured this flower on a wildly shaking hand (due to the zoom). 🙂

yellow flame

yellow flame

& we saw a few of the yellow flames (i think!).

getting out to rail mall (fuyong estate)

getting out to rail mall (fuyong estate)

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dairy farm nature park

our friend led the way – getting to the road to rail mall (fuyong estate) to singapore quarry & mountain cycling track (dairy farm nature park).

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singapore quarry was quite nice, calm & nice reflections.

bird's nest 30m up

bird’s nest 30m up

on the way down to rail mall, our friend’s eagle eyes spotted a bird’s nest 30m up.

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& there is a halia (ginger) plant infested & 1/2 eaten up by beetles.

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we took some photos at the disused rail bridge at the rail mall.

rail mall

rail mall

the we trooped to the makan places to have our breakfast.

nasi lemak at toastbox @ rail mall

nasi lemak at toastbox @ rail mall

i had the S$6.10 nasi lemak set with coffee – only rice not as good as adam road the rest (chicken wing, ikan bilis, chilli) just as good.

peanut butter thick toast set

peanut butter thick toast set

1 friend had the peanut butter thick toast set.

the entire walk was 7km+ & took 2hr+. a very pleasant cool walk & nice breakfast.

c.h.ef andy

Meepok Tar @ Sunny Fishball 6th Avenue on 20Nov2013

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meepok tar

meepok tar

running some errands & dropped by 6th avenue in the morning on 20.11.2013. good good coffeeshop where jalan tua kong bakchormee stall was located was closed for renovation, so i stopped by sunny fishball at the other corner coffeeshop. 🙂

sunny fishball noodles

sunny fishball noodles

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meepok tar

meepok tar

had not eaten here for a while. the meepok tar was good. everything from fishballs, meatball, minced prok, fishcake to qq noodles & garnishings were all good. the chilli was also good.if i have to make comparison with jalan tua kong bakchormee stall, perhaps that one was a little spicier & maybe that gave more kick. cannot tell! 🙂

there are so many good meepok tar stalls around (just like chicken rice stalls etc) so it was not difficult to find a good stall & the difference maybe quite marginal.

c.h.e.f. andy

Very Good Wanton Noodles @ First Centre Serangoon Avenue 4 on 6Nov2013

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wanton noodles

wanton noodles

went to first centre @ serangoon avenue 4 to install thinkware fxd 900 car cam dvr. had to kill time (about 1.5hrs+) & no place to go so had to while away at the small kopitiam with just 3 makan stalls + drinks.

5 tasty wantons & soup

5 tasty wantons & soup

wanton noodles

wanton noodles

tauyou fried noodles, ngoh hiam & fish cake

tauyou fried noodles, ngoh hiam & fish cake

tauyou fried noodles, ngoh hiam & fish cake

tauyou fried noodles, ngoh hiam & fish cake

the S$3 wanton noodles turned out surprisingly good! 🙂 there were so many pieces of char siew & they were juicy & tasty. PLUS 5 wantons & very tasty, with the soup too. & the noodles the usual qq (al dente). A really great find! and a wanton noodles i will go if in the vicinity, like the 1 i like at tembeling road (unlike bakuteh & curry chicken noodles, wanton noodles & bakchormee i like but won’t drive out of the way just to eat).

the kopitiam tables were continuously packed with workers working there. while having my noodles, i saw some indian workers taking the tauyou fried noodles which looked good. wanton noodles couldn’t take up 1.5hrs+ idling time, so while very slowly seeping kopi-c gosong tilor, i decided to try the S$1 noodles topped with ngoh hiam & fish cake (total S$3). the noodles were quite good, but really this something i could skip.

c.h.e.f andy

Best Kambing Rib Soup @ Bahrakath Adam Road FC on 21Oct2013

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excellent lamb ribs kambing soup

excellent mutton ribs kambing soup

excellent lamb ribs kambing soup

excellent mutton ribs kambing soup

not taken kambing soup for a year felt like having some so dropped by adam road food centre on 21.10.2013. 🙂

excellent lamb ribs kambing soup

excellent mutton ribs kambing soup

i take the leg & tripes too but for this time just wanted some mutton ribs & soup & ordered a S$5 bowl at this Bahrakath Mutton Soup King stall. the ribs were excellent – falling off the bones, soft & tender to the bite & tasty!  the soup was very tasty & enhanced by the scallions & toasted onions, absolutely delicious. i could do this a lot more times if not for the high cholesterol etc.

c.h.e.f andy

Not Great Teochew Fishball Noodles @ Food Opera Ion Orchard on 8Oct2013

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teochew fishball noodles

teochew fishball noodles S$5

meepok tar

meepok tar

6 bouncy fishballs

6 bouncy fishballs

went to daiso at ion orchard to pick up something on 8.10.2013. thought i would try out some stalls at food opera at B4. 🙂

i tried the bakchormee the other time i was here so decided to give the teochew fishball noodle a shot. i ordered meepok tar. its S$5, i guess they have to pay for rent so ok. the fishballs looked great & they were good & 6 of them, quite satisfying. even though i am low in carbo preference, still a good chilli noodles is what makes it shiok! otherwise might as well eat fishball soup? anyhow the noodles were much below par, just a little done which was ok still fairly qq, but made it unpalatable was the heavy mix of sweet sauce. somehow it managed to taste like yongtaufu! it was way off xin lu’s S$3 fishball noodles (former margaret drive now at mei chin food centre) and of course nothing like the jalan tua kong stall at 6th avenue. won’t do this stall again but the bakchormee stall here was ok, will try that again next time.

c.h.e.f andy

Jalan Tua Kong Meepok Tar @ 6th Avenue on 12Sep2013

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teochew meepok tar - S$3.50

teochew meepok tar – S$3.50

decided to stop by good good coffeeshop at 6th avenue for the jalan tua kong teochew meepok tar today on 12.9.2013. i don’t take this so much these days, but had a nice teochew fish ball noodles at mei chin road last week with son, & this stall was nearer & i like meepok tar more than fish ball noodles. 🙂

teochew meepok tar - S$3.50

teochew meepok tar – S$3.50

teochew meepok tar - S$3.50

teochew meepok tar – S$3.50

the stall has been at this coffeeshop for several years, apparently the owner had previously worked at 1 of the jalan tua kong stalls and now pays a fee to use the name.

i like this teochew style more than the tai wah type mushroom sauce bakchormee & fish ball noodles (though i like them all..haha). the noodle is qq with a nice bite (al dente) and not mushy. there were 2 fishballs, pork, prawn, fishcakes & minced pork, and most important the chilli & of course the fried lard (lar pok). love it! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

For Old Time Sake @ Xin Lu (新路) Teochew Fishball Noodles on 3Sep2013

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xin lu teochew fish ball noodles (former margaret drive)

xin lu teochew fish ball noodles (former margaret drive)

decided to drop by xin lu (新路) teochew fish ball noodles (formerly from margaret drive) at mei chin road food centre with son after sending car for servicing on 3.9.2013.

xin lu teochew fish ball noodles (former margaret drive)

xin lu teochew fish ball noodles (former margaret drive)

xin lu teochew fish ball noodles (former margaret drive)

xin lu teochew fish ball noodles (former margaret drive)

this one of the popular stalls relocated from margaret drive (see another relocated stall why we queue? @ hai kee cha kuay teow). i had frequented a few times after they relocated, though these days i am less enamoured with this style of pure fishball noodles c/w the teochew meepok tar type or the bakchormee, both which i like.

the price was S$3 for noodles with 5 fish balls. i ordered my usual 1/2 portion noodles to reduce my carbo intake haha (but made sure i had the same amount of chilli) & they gave me 1 more fish ball. whatever!

for me the noodles were just as good as before, qq, & the fish balls were excellent – bouncy & “shouk shouk”! i love the chilli & to go back to old times pouring the soup into the chilli after eating the noodles. it’s just that i don’t take this much nowadays and my preference is anyway for meepok tar or bakchormee. will be back after a while. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Hawker Tour @ Bukit Timah Food Centre (BTFC) on 19Jul2013

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or luah (fried oyster omelette)

or luah (fried oyster omelette)

for zi char tour, see cheap & good zi char on 10.8.2013.

a group of us makan kakis (for this round 4pax) decided to start hawker tours. we picked Bukit Timah Food Centre (BTFC) to start our journey on 19.7.2013. 🙂

food galore @ Bukit Timah Food Centre (BTFC)

food galore @ Bukit Timah Food Centre (BTFC)

for this day we ordered 8 hawker dishes. all were good but not one really stood out.

the HK style beef briskets & offals was very tasty, but actually quite different from those at street beef noodle stalls in HK. the chinese herbal mutton soup was good too, but i would say the amoy street hawker centre one was better & so was bukit merah view.

white fried carrot cake

white fried carrot cake

there were many foodie posts about the white fried carrot cake. it was good, crispy, quite tasty, but…didn’t see much difference from other hawker places or c/w with good black ones, say at ghim moh market. 🙂

if i had to pick, i would say my best was the or luah (but then again,many places did just as well), & after that the HK style beef brisket & offals. 1 friend was missing her favourite “jiu her eng chye” (cuttlefish kang kong) stall which was not open (we were there on a friday 2.30pm to 4pm). 🙂

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the fried hokkien mee looked good in the photos, quite good ingredients, but probably rated lower..that could be because we were satiated as we had 8 dishes excluding dessert for 4 of us! 🙂

char kuay teow (fried noodles with cockles)

char kuay teow (fried noodles with cockles)

the char kuay teow had very good “wok hae” & tasty at the start but as it gotten cold it became much less compelling…

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rojak

rojak

both the popiah & rojak were good.

iced cheng chow with aloe vera & lychees

iced cheng chow with aloe vera & lychees

a friend had ice cheng chow with aloe vera & lychee (looked tempting). I had a plain ice jelly.

very satiated… after that 3 of us went to watch Pacific Rim (good enjoyable movie) at Cathay Cineleisure. 2 of my friends had the S$4 movie ticket + free coffee privilege. i had still to bear with paying S$10.50 movie tickets for the next few months. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy