Fatt Kee Shou Shi @ Albert Centre Market & Food Centre

Albert Centre Market & Food Centre is not where I consider a comfortable place to have a meal due to the heat and the congesting human traffic in the afternoons. #introvertwoes

I would fatt mang zang whenever I am there (albeit unwillingly) to help the folks with their dried goods shopping on the floor above the food centre.

As such, I was never in the mood to explore the food centre even though we have eaten there a few times before heading upstairs. 

It is time that I give myself a chance to discover what this place has to offer.

I decided to get round the problem of bad ventilation and overcrowding by reaching there real early at 7am on a weekend. The downside is that not many stalls are opened yet.

Fatt Kee Shou Shi is one of the few stalls that are fully operational at that timing.

The stall offers old-school Cantonese style breakfast like char bee hoon, char mee, chee cheong fun, peanut porridge, yam cake and rice dumplings.

All the items here are priced at $1.20 per serving except $3 for the rice dumplings. Do take note that this is the price for dine-in. There is a different set of pricing for takeaways.

I am full of anticipation for this one as they uses charcoal stove to fry their bee hoon and cook their porridge.

Zhu Jiao Shu Shi - Affordable Old School Breakfast Offerings @ Tekka Market & Food Centre

Zhu Jiao Shu Shi (竹脚熟食) at Tekka Market & Food Centre is managed by a pair of elderly couple with a younger man whom I assumed to be their son.

The stall offers simple breakfast options such as white bee hoon ($1.70), fried bee hoon ($1.20), chee cheong fun ($1), glutinous rice ($1.50) and peanut porridge ($1). There are also some ala carte side dishes which you can add-on to complement your meal.

I ordered a plate of fried bee hoon and added a slice of luncheon meat and cabbage. I also had a bowl of peanut porridge. 

The total cost of my meal came up to just $3.30.

42 - Economical Fried Bee Hoon That Truly Lives Up To Its Name @ ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre

Fried bee hoon, also known as economical bee hoon, is a popular breakfast option for many that gives you the flexibility to add different ingredients to your meal. Unfortunately, due to rising costs, the word 'economical' may have lost its meaning along the way.

Simply add one or two ala carte items to your bee hoon and watch the cost of your breakfast soar past the $3 mark.

The term 'economical bee hoon' is loosely used to describe such fried bee hoon which is ironically getting increasingly uneconomical these days.

However, I have discovered a stall at ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre that truly lives up to the economical bee hoon name!

This stall have no name except for the number 42 in a very large font on its signboard, in reference to its unit number (#01-42) alongside with the menu of what they sell such as nasi lemak, fried bee hoon, peanut porridge and chee cheong fun.

Chang Ji Gourmet - $1.20 Porridge & Fried Bee Hoon @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

Chang Ji Gourmet at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre has a very simple menu with just three items: fried bee hoon, fried noodle and peanut porridge.

I have not eaten at this stall before but I did walk past it many times and I am intrigued by its long, snaking queue.

Chang Ji offers a simple, no-frills breakfast at just $1 per serving. Their fried bee hoon and fried noodle come with just bean sprouts and nothing else. They do not even have additional sides that you can add on to your meal so why are they such a hit with customers?

I decided to join the queue on a Saturday morning to find out why.