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.

Woo Ji Cooked Food - $2 Laksa & Prawn Noodle @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

The food centre at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre is like a labyrinth filled with surprises at every turn. I am excited to learn of a stall here that sell laksa and prawn noodle for a mere $2!

The only catch is, you have to come very early for a bowl as they are opened from 6am till they closes at 10am. Yes, only four hours! Very short operating hours I know!

But, what is one to do if you want to have a bowl? Well, you jolly wake up and leave the house when the skies is still dark which is what I did!

There is already a snaking line when I reached the stall Woo Ji Cooked Food at 7am. I cannot decide whether to have laksa or prawn noodle so I ordered both!

Jia Ji Mei Shi @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

After an intensive three-months renovations, Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre has finally reopened much to the relief of the stall owners (no income for three months!) and the nearby office workers who had to venture further for their lunches.

Honestly, I do not see any difference with the newly renovated food centre. Illumination within is still as bad as before, throwing people into a dreary mood. Furthermore, seemingly cleaned tables still have stains on them, suggesting half-hearted jobs from the cleaning crew.

The only evident thing I see are the nets put up to keep out the birds.

The very first stall that I cannot wait to revisit is Jia Ji Mei Shi which serves all-day breakfast like chee cheong fun (rice rolls), orh kueh (yam cake), porridge, fried bee hoon and rice dumplings, etc.

This particular stall is one of the more popular ones hence a perpetual queue is to be expected although it is not as terrible as Liao Fan's (Hawker Chan) which is just perpendicular in front to their stall.

Leong Wei Roasted Delights - $2 Char Siew Rice @ Holland Drive Market & Food Centre

To be honest, I was drawn to Leong Wei Roasted Delights by its low price. Their char siew rice, roasted pork rice and roasted chicken rice starts from $2. In this economy when everyone is struggling to cope amid rising costs, such affordability is truly a god send.

Kudos to the stall owners for keeping prices affordable to the lower income group.

I guess I am not the only one to feel the crunch; thirty minutes before the stall is due to open at 11.30am, a snaking queue made up mainly of retirees, has already formed.

Da Chang Jin Handmade Chee Cheong Fun @ Holland Drive Market & Food Centre

Update: Da Chang Jin Handmade Chee Cheong Fun has permanently closed.

Da Chang Jin Chee Cheong Fun at Holland Drive Market & Food Centre serves the Hong Kong-styled rice roll. You can pick an assortment of fillings to have inside your rice roll ranging from the usual char siew to the more exotic flying fish roe and salmon.

Since it is my first time at this stall, I decided to go for the original ($2.50) without fillings so I could better appreciate the rice roll in its simplicity.

Unlike the Singapore-styled chee cheong fun which is factory supplied, the Hong Kong version is made from scratch at the stall upon ordering. The rice-flour batter is first poured on a piece of white cloth over a steamer. Once the rice sheet forms, the entire cloth is lifted and transferred to a oiled metal tray by the side where the rice sheet is separated from the cloth. Your desired filling is then added and rolled into shape before a special concoction of soy sauce is ladled on.

Hakka Noodle @ Holland Drive Market & Food Centre

Hakka Noodle is one of the crowd favorite at Holland Drive Market & Food Centre.

Google about them and their specialty, the Hakka noodle, will turn up as one of the top results in the search engine.

If you are scratching your head over what Hakka noodle is, you might be more familiar with its other name - yong tau foo. It come in two sizes ($3/$4) and I ordered the big serving.

The ingredients are fixed so there is no choosing here.

My order come with a plate of noodle and a bowl of soup.

Yap Kee Wanton Noodle @ Holland Drive Market & Food Centre

Yap Kee Wanton Noodle at Holland Drive Market & Food Centre is managed by the Koo family - a husband and wife team hailing from Batu Pahat in Johor, Malaysia.

According to Tony, you might be interested to know that Uncle Koo's brother is the man behind the famous "flying wanton noodle" at Permas Jaya. Unsurprisingly, the brother uses the same noodle supplier and yes, his stall is called "Yap Kee" as well.

I wonder why are they not called Koo Kee since they are, you know, the Koos?

Anyway, Auntie Koo was there alone in the stall on the day of my visit. She was all smiles and I ordered the large serving of the wanton noodle ($3.50/$4.50).