The Dead Cockroach: The Beef House @ 217 Syed Alwi Road

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The Beef House at 217 Syed Alwi Road is famed for several things: yong tau foo, beef balls, beef tendon balls, soon pan (笋粄) and suan pan zi (算盘子).

It is not hard to understand why they are so immensely popular because nothing here is factory made - well, maybe except for the various noodles (bee hoon, kway teow, Hakka mee) used here but otherwise, everything else is handmade.

I ordered a bowl of beef tendon ball soup with bee hoon ($5), two pieces of soon pan ($1 each) and a plate of suan pan zi ($2).

Actually, I did not intend to have the bee hoon (rice vermicelli) but I reckoned the photo would look much better with it rather than just having the tendon balls floating aimlessly in a bowl of clear soup.

In a way, the bee hoon acts as a filler to fill up the space in the bowl, and also the space in my stomach.

The soup is refreshingly light and clean-tasting especially with the addition of coriander however, what really stood out for me, are the tendon balls.

One glance and you could probably tell that they are handmade due to their odd shape and uneven look.

Up till the point when I pop one into my mouth, I was still skeptical of how good they really are. However, all my doubts were instantly answered the moment I sank my teeth into one.

I did not feel anything out of the ordinary with the tendon ball inside my mouth but as my teeth cuts through it, the aroma within was released and filled my mouth cavity.

This is not tendon ball.

IT. IS. AMAZEBALLS.

Seriously, I have not tasted such beefy flavored balls before. Also, the texture is firm yet bouncy, I suspect if it rolled off my table, it might bounce across the road to the coffee shop opposite.

It is so meaty, so substantial I doubt there are any fillers in it.

I loved suan pan zi but they are so hard to find! This Hakka delicacy is made by kneading tapioca flour with yam but over here, they added pumpkin into the mixture as well which is then rolled into shape and stir fry with a copious amount of minced meat, black fungus, mushrooms and hae bi (dried shrimps).

All that frying of ingredients imparts a really nice savory fragrance to the suan pan zi yet it is not oily at all. The skin is super chewy with a good spring to it.

I mentioned earlier that the suan pan zi is not easy to find, however, know that the soon pan is even harder! Unlike the usual Teochew soon kueh, the Hakka soon pan had yam added into the dough of the skin.

Incredibly chewy and starchy, the crystal-like translucent skin may seem a little thick but to me, that is the best part because I enjoy chewing on chewy stuff!

They are extremely generous with the fillings inside the soon pan which included jicama, bamboo shoots, black fungus, mushrooms and hae bi.

Oh, their homemade chili pairs great with the soon pan as well!

I was there at about nine in the morning and a short queue has already formed.

While waiting in line, I kept staring at that glass cabinet to see where the suan pan zi and soon pan are as I have heard of how fast they get sold out but I did not see them.

When it reached my turn to order, I anxiously asked the stall owner whether they are still available to which he exclaimed, "什么都有！" (all also have!).

Since everything is handmade here, there is only so much they can produce in one day. Now that you know, if you want these laborious work of love, you have to make the effort to come early for it.