Beijing Time-Honored Cuisine - Pig Trotters Rice @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

To be honest, I have not heard of this stall named Beijing Time-Honored Cuisine before even though it has been there at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre for a while.

I guess it is easy to be overlooked when the stall is sandwiched in between the bigger names like Hawker Chan and Heng Ji Chicken Rice. The situation is made worse when another stall with a similar menu is ]located directly across them. The stall in question is Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao and it had a Michelin 2018 decal proudly displayed on its display window.

I only got to know about this stall when I came across a photo of their pig trotters rice on Instagram which prompted me to come check them out.

Big Dot Chicken @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

I can never resist the lure of fried chicken hence when news of this month-old stall at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre reach my ears, I knew I had to head down for a look.

A joint venture by three entrepreneur friends, Big Dot Chicken is a social enterprise aimed at helping the unemployed by offering them jobs and providing on-the-job training to equip them with the necessary skills required to run their own stall one day. They do not need any F&B background nor even have to pay any franchising fees.

Impressed by the noble cause behind its inception, I support this business wholeheartedly. If this business module indeed works, it can help someone in need to make a living.

On the day of my visit, I dropped by the stall fifteen minutes before the advertised timing of 11am and guess what? An elderly uncle was already seated at the table in front of the stall, enjoying his fried chicken.

Zhonghua Roujiamo @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

My very first rougamo was from a coffee shop behind Clementi Bus Interchange two years ago. It was love at first bite but unfortunately, that stall has since shuttered.

Fast forward to last week. I heard there is a newly opened rougamo stall named 中华肉夹馍 at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre.

According to a 8 Days magazine interview, the stall belongs to a Mr. Sham Hei from Hong Kong. If the name sounds all too familiar, that is because he is the man behind Chef Sham H.K. Vinegar Trotter - a chain of hawker stalls known for their black vinegar trotters and nutritious Cantonese soups.

The craft of rougamo making was acquired from one of Chef Sham's business associate, a native from Xi'an, where the street snack hails from. He has since gone back to his hometown and the stall's day-to-day operation is now handled by Michael, a Singaporean PR from Malaysia. 

You can read more about the interview here.

Bai Li Xiang Economic Bee Hoon - Ah Lian Bee Hoon @ 651 Jurong West Street 61

Have you heard of a particular Ah Lian Bee Hoon that is located at the far western part of Singapore, inside a coffee shop right beside Pioneer MRT Station?

Notorious for their rude service, it is akin to our version of Karen's Diner, where customers willingly succumb themselves to bad service.

Due to the information online, I always thought this economic bee hoon stall is a "supper spot" that only cater to the dinner crowd. Little did I know they operate from 6pm till 11am the following morning!

The hours are rather odd for a economic bee hoon stall hence, I am unsure if this timing reflected on Google is actually accurate? Nevertheless, I decided to take the risk and visited on a morning. 

To my delight, the stall is indeed opened for business! In fact, it is near closing time when I arrived around 10am.

651 Ayam Penyet @ 651 Jurong West Street 61

Not many people know about this but I have a spreadsheet where I bookmark all the interesting food places that I have come across on social media.

They are arranged according to district, followed by postal code and unit number in running order for ease of classification so I could check them out whenever I have the opportunity to.

Recently, I had plans to get some stuff from Decathlon beside Joo Koon MRT Station so I checked my spreadsheet and found some to-eat suggestions one station before it at Pioneer MRT Station.

One of the earliest stall here to make it into my list, is the infamous Ah Lian Bee Hoon - a title that NTU students bestowed upon the stall owner with the terrible attitude.

Think of it as our version of Karen's diner where customers get scolded and disrespected.

Regrettably, I have yet to experience the stall's hospitality hostile-tality for myself whose actual name is really Bai Li Xiang Economic Bee Hoon (百里香经济米粉) because they only open from 6pm onwards. 

I could only opt for the next stall on the list which is 651 Ayam Penyet.

En Hui Vegetarian Food - Vegetarian Chicken Rice @ Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre

In the previous post, I had the vegetarian nasi lemak from Hong Cook Food however, my hunger was not satiated by its small portion so I went in search of the other vegetarian stalls at Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre to see what they have to offer.

I came upon En Hui Vegetarian Food and what caught my eye here, is the photo of their vegetarian chicken rice ($5).

The stall owner began to fry the mock chicken in the deep fryer only after I placed an order so there is a short wait.

Hong Cook Food - Vegetarian Nasi Lemak @ Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre

If I am not mistaken, Hong Cook Food is one of the three vegetarian stalls located at Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre.

I found out about this stall when I come across a photo of their vegetarian nasi lemak ($4) on Facebook. It looked promising to me so I was tempted to give it a try.

Something cropped up on the day that I am supposed to drop by. I postponed the visit to the following week which coincidentally falls on the lunar fifteenth when I have to abstain from meat for a day.

Seems like everything is working out according to someones' plan.

Gao Ji Shu Shi - Nasi Lemak @ Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre

Gao Ji Shu Shi Nasi Lemak is another one of the more popular stalls located at Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre.

I have bookmarked this stall ever since I found out that they were from the Old Woodlands Town Centre Hawker Centre. I believe they may have been around since the 1980s, judging from their very old school signboard.

They have a very simple menu which are mostly deep fried finger food such as Chinese sausage, hotdog, fish roll, ngor hiang, fish fillet, crab tempura, luncheon meat, fried egg, otah otah and fried chicken drumstick/wing/cutlet.

Uncle Louis Famous Chicken Rice @ People's Park Food Centre

It has been some time since my last visit to People's Park Food Centre at 32 New Market Road. 

The hawker centre underwent a 3-months long renovation last year and is now comparatively cleaner and brighter. However, the persisting bird nuisance remains a issue to be addressed.

The lunch crowd was already gone by the time I arrived at two o'clock. I walk around to check which stalls are still available post lunch hour and I came upon Uncle Louis Famous Chicken Rice. 

I do not remember seeing this stall before. I have not been here for ages so it might be new. I decided to give it a try.

Quan Long Wanton Noodle @ Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre

Within the past two weeks, I have been to Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre three times for this Quan Long Wanton Noodle however, I have no luck with it as the stall is close each time I am there.

I wanted to try this stall so much because of its glowing reviews. According to Google, they open everyday so it seems like they might have closed for good?

On the fourth visit, I still harbor a glimmer of hope that the stall is still in business but I am also mentally prepared to try something else just like the previous three visits. 

Imagine my joy when I saw the shutter up with a line in front of the stall. I joined the queue eagerly.

Ye Lai Xiang Laksa - Prawn Noodle @ Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre

If you have been researching for food recommendations at Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre, chances are, you will see one particular name keep turning up in your search.

As I was about to find out, this stall called Ye Lai Xiang Laksa is one of the more popular stalls here with a constant queue. I observed that customers just keep coming the entire time I was sitting there in front of the stall, however, the staff clears the line efficiently.

I think the auntie would make a pro at playing Cooking Mama.

The stall serves laksa, lor mee and prawn noodle at two prices: $4.50 for regular and $5.50 for large.

Although laksa is their signature dish, I decided to try the dry prawn noodle instead hence I ordered the large bowl.

Ah Yi Handmade Noodle - Manually Hand-Pinched Mee Hoon Kueh @ Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre

This is my first ever visit to Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre at 4 Woodlands Street 12. Opened in 2018, it houses 70 cooked food stalls with 80% of the hawkers coming from the Old Woodlands Town Centre Hawker Centre.

While researching for food recommendations here, Ah Yi Handmade Noodle & Fish Soup caught my eye. Maybe I am bias but that is because I love handmade noodle.

Among the types of noodles available, my favorite is the mee hoon kueh. However, most of the time, I would order either the ban mian or u-mian instead.

The reason for doing so is because not all mee hoon kueh are created equal.