IAAI Malay Food - Mee Siam @ Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre

I have a funny encounter with the nenek of IAAI Malay Food at Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre.

It all started when I ordered a bowl of mee siam with her at the stall. I spoke to her in English but she replied to me in Malay which I did not understand.

I simply smile and nodded at her words. After I received my bowl, I chose a table in front of the stall and started snapping away with my camera.

Then, I heard nenek giggling. I turned to look at her and she gave me two thumbs-up with a big grin on her face. I gave her two thumbs-up in return.

She came to my table with a packet of assam in her hands and began telling me what I believed to be how she used it in the mee siam I was having. I wished I understood what she said so I could put in the extra info here.

After finishing my food, I walked up to nenek to tell her that her mee siam is "sedap" and ordered another round of mee siam and mee rebus to take away for the folks at home. Then, I finally understood why she keep talking to me in Malay - she thought that I am a Indonesian tourist because I was taking photos.

But why Indonesian of all places? Well, technically she isn't wrong as I do have some Indonesian blood in me though I cannot speak a word of it to save my life.

I bade farewell to nenek and she was still grinning from ear to ear.

Guang Fa Laksa @ Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre

The uncle behind Guang Fa Laksa at Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre is real friendly but oddly quiet who uses the thumbs-up sign to acknowledge you.

You have to specify if you want cockles because if you don't, you will not be given any and there will be a difference in pricing. The price for laksa without cockles is $2.50 and $3 while with cockles is $3 and $4 respectively.

What is laksa without cockles? Without a doubt, I had to order a bowl with the shellfish.

Ivan's Porridge @ Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre

During my second visit to Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre, Ivan's Porridge was on the agenda.

I am there to try the boneless fish belly porridge which is highly recommended online but after scrutinizing the menu, I realize that it was no longer available. Perhaps it is an off-the-menu item but I did not ask so I decided to settle for the sliced fish porridge instead.

I placed my order with the auntie who had a punk hairstyle. To my surprise, she is actually quite polite and soft-spoken despite her "havoc" appearance. I was told to take a seat while my order will be delivered to me shortly.

Covent Garden Prawn Noodle @ Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre

When I was researching about Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre, the prawn noodles of Covent Garden Prawn Noodle caught my attention.

Their noodles in the photos seemed so old school and alluring. I guess it's rightly so as the proprietor is a pair of elderly couple.

I have the tendency to patronize elderly hawkers because I choose to believe that they still make food out of passion like the good old days with a well-guarded recipe without cutting corners.

I hope to have a chance to taste such traditional flavors while I still can before their craft disappears with their demise. Also, consider it my way of supporting them to make a living.

The stall is closed for three days a week so I suppose they are not running the business out of necessity but rather, to keep themselves occupied. Of course, this is only speculation on my part.

I made it a point to arrive at the food centre before noon and there were only three customers in front of me. However, the waiting time still took a while despite everyone ordering single bowls.

The wait is due to the senior proprietor preparing orders in their own unhurried way so, do have a little patience to wait in line.

Wen Guang Handmade Fish Ball Noodle @ Blk 505 Jurong West Food Centre

I have blogged about some of the hawker stalls at Blk 505 Jurong West Market & Food Centre a couple of times before like Soh Kee, Long Kee and Kok Kee (yes, that Kok Kee of Lavender fame).

I come to this food centre for breakfast every couple of months and I always stick to the same food choices out of habit.

During this visit, I decide to try a stall which always have a queue whenever I walked past it.

The stall in question does not have a English name on the signboard except for the Chinese characters 文光 (Wen Guang) on it.

This is actually a fish ball noodle stall and their selling point is their handmade fish balls which they got from a certain fishery called da di meng (大弟明).

Eng's Wantan Noodle @ Westgate

Fans of Eng's wantan noodle rejoice!

The famous green bowl wantan noodle has opened an outlet here in the West at Westgate! Apart from their main outlet at 287 Tanjong Katong Road, this is their third shopping mall outlet right after Eastpoint Mall and Ang Mo Kio Hub.

This is certainly good news to me as I already had plans to check them out but have been contemplating due to the inconvenient location. Instead of me going to them, they have now come to me! Saved me the trouble of traveling all the way to the East!

I visited their Eastpoint Mall outlet the week before but it was full with a long waiting queue outside the premises. As I did not have the patience to wait, I left.

On the other hand, this outlet at Westgate have hardly any customers when I visited on a Saturday morning. This latest outlet is only a week old and probably have not drummed up enough publicity with the residents here yet.

Adam Road Noo Cheng Big Prawn Noodle @ Adam Road Food Centre

Noo Cheng Big Prawn Noodle is arguably one of the more popular Chinese stalls at Adam Road Food Centre. This is evident by the long queue in front of the stall everyday.

When I was there at around 11am on a weekday, the stall had already run out of the big prawns for their signature big prawn noodle ($8/$10/$12/$16). Left with the 'normal' prawns, I decided to go for the pork ribs prawn noodle ($5) but they got my order wrong and gave me pork ribs noodle ($5) instead.

The ribs are fine. It is just that I am there specifically to try the prawns hence I am a little disappointed.

Selamat Datang Warong Pak Sapari Mee Soto @ Adam Road Food Centre

With reviews touting it as "unbeatable" and "unparalleled" in Singapore, Selamat Datang Warong Pak Sapari Mee Soto & Mee Rebus at Adam Road Food Centre is reputed for serving one of the best mee soto.

Being an ardent fan of this Malay noodle dish, I have to come try it for myself to see whether they really live up to those claims.

I was there an hour earlier before the lunch crowd arrive so there were only a couple of people in the queue which cleared pretty fast. When it came to my turn, I ordered a bowl of mee soto ($3.50) and added a bergedil ($1).

After receiving my order, I scooped two tablespoons of sambal kicap into my bowl for the extra kick.

Yu Kee House Of Braised Duck 友記鹵鴨之家 @ Adam Road Food Centre

I will be upfront with you. 

Yu Kee House Of Braised Duck was not on my list of to-eats at Adam Road Food Centre. It is more of an accidental find because I am really there to try Noo Cheng Big Prawn Noodle.

For some reason, the lights at Noo Cheng were not lit. I then turned to another stall, Cheng Ji for its pork leg bee hoon but, the stall is not ready as well.

Am I too early at 10-ish in the morning? It is way pass their stipulated opening hours though.

While looking around for alternatives, my gaze fell upon the row of glistening braised ducks hanging inside Yu Kee. From the menu, the stall serves the usual roasts such as char siew, roasted pork, roasted chicken, roasted duck and braised duck with either rice or noodle. 

I find it quite unusual for a stall to offer both roasted and braised ducks. It is either one or the other. I have yet to come across a stall that offers both - until now.

If the stall's name is of any indication, the braised duck here is their specialty hence I ordered their braised duck noodle.

Ibrahim Mee Stall - Maggi Goreng Special @ Adam Road Food Centre

I can't fathom why people would willingly pay a few dollars for maggi goreng at the mamak stall but when I saw this upgraded version that comes with cheese fries and mutton steak, I decided it is time for me to find out why.

This maggi goreng special ($7) from Ibrahim Mee Stall is a real head-turner. From the moment I collected my order to putting it on the table, people passing by would turn their gaze and stare right at it. 

Well, who wouldn't? I have not seen anything quite like it myself. There is so much 'drama' on my styrofoam plate screaming for attention!

Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak @ Adam Road Food Centre

Over at Adam Road Food Centre, there are a number of stalls selling nasi lemak however, only two neighboring stalls stood out among the rest.

Since it is my first time there, I do not know which is the better one but I decided to go for Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak simply for the fact that they do not serve fried peanuts which I am not very fond of.

The seven options on their menu have interesting names, ranging from "Flash Meal" that consists the very basics like ikan bilis and egg with coconut rice, cucumber slices and sambal chili ($2.90) to the "Royal Rumble" ($5.90) which contained everything they have like fried chicken wing and ikan kuning.

Shi Mei Hainanese Chicken Rice - Sesame Chicken Rice @ Blk 371 Bukit Batok Street 31

It is not my first time having chicken rice at Shi Mei Hainanese Chicken Rice stall however, it is my first time writing about them.

Just a five minutes walk away from Bukit Gombak MRT station, the coffee shop is pretty close to where I stay so I would drop by for breakfast once every couple of months.

This time, I ordered the sesame chicken rice set at $4, which comes with a bowl of rice, a plate of chicken meat and a bowl of soup. I did not request for a specific chicken part.

Hougang Jing Jia Mutton Soup @ Haig Road Food Centre

It has been ages since I last had mutton soup and I have been craving for a bowl for the longest time.

Since I stumble across Hougang Jing Jia Mutton Soup at Haig Road Food Centre, I decided to have just that.

I was there just after the peak lunch hour ended so there is no queue at all. I am able to walk up to the stall to place my order immediately.

On the menu, they have tendon soup, mixed soup, mutton soup and brain/meatball soup. I opt for the mixed bowl ($6) which had a bit of everything (meat, belly, tendon and ribs except the meat balls and brain).

I am not too adventurous when it comes to food.

Traditional Haig Road Putu Piring @ Haig Road Food Centre

Mention Haig Road Food Centre and the famous putu piring comes to mind.

To be honest, I have long heard about it but never tasted one before.

I always wonder what is the difference between the putu piring and the tutu kueh since they look so similar in appearance?

After trying Traditional Haig Road Putu Piring for the first time, I finally know that the Malay putu piring is filled with gula melaka instead of coconut and peanut like its Chinese cousin.

Rosy & Nora - Ball Kentang And Roti John @ Haig Road Market & Food Centre

I normally will not visit a food centre at 2pm but since Rosy & Nora opens only at that hour, I had to accommodate to their timing.

I am there to try something new called the "ball kentang" ($3.50).

When I arrived at the stall, there were two ladies - presumably Rosy and Nora themselves - inside busy churning out roti john and deep frying popiah to cater to the demands of the afternoon crowd.

Lin Yu Mei Sarawak Kolo Mee @ Haig Road Food Centre

I am a bit slow with updates for the month of September because Haig Road Food Centre is too inaccessible for me. It is even further than Golden Mile and I could feel my energy draining simply by thinking about the journey.

Anyway, after two weeks of procrastination, I have finally dragged myself back to the food centre to check out Lin Yu Mei Sarawak Kolo Mee.

My last bowl of kolo mee was way back in 1992, when I was in Kuching. Suffice to say, I could hardly remember how it tasted so it is about time for me to have another bowl now.

Afandi Hawa & Family - Mee Rebus @ Haig Road Market & Food Centre

I am not too big a fan of mee rebus but when I heard that this particular stall at Haig Road Market & Food Centre cooked theirs with shrimps, flower crab and mutton, I am all game to give it a try!

I do not eat mee rebus often, hence I am uncertain if this is the usual way of how the dish is normally prepared but I can imagine the umami-ness coming from all that ingredients!

While I understand the shrimps, flower crab and mutton may be used to flavor the gravy and that they might not really give it to you without additional top-up, I still gave my noodles a thorough toss with hopes of finding a stray piece of mutton.

Kiat Huat Wanton Noodle @ Haig Road Market & Food Centre

Other than Zhenguang Wantan Noodles, Kiat Huat Wanton Noodle is another stall offering the same noodle dish under the same roof at Haig Road Market & Food Centre.

However, I noticed that Kiat Huat is the one with a perpetual queue whenever I visit the food centre.

I decided to try them out to see if they are better than Zhenguang Wantan Noodles since they draw a bigger crowd in front of their stall.

Heap Seng Leong @ North Bridge Road

When I was covering the food stalls at Golden Mile Food Centre recently, I have walked past Heap Seng Leong numerous times while making my way to the food centre.

Despite its dingy-looking facade, the coffee shop is popular for its kopi guyu (butter coffee) which is not very common nowadays due to people getting increasingly health conscious. 

I told myself I will make this my pit stop after I'm done with Golden Mile but the opportunity was not there as I would often be too full for anything else after each visit to the food centre.

I have currently moved on to covering Haig Road Food Centre (still in progress) and I thought I will not be visiting Golden Mile anytime soon. 

Honestly, I am quite tired of the walking journey from Lavender MRT Station towards Golden Mile as this is by far, my most repeated trip to any food centre no thanks to Mr Baguette! 

However, as fate would have it, my pre-ordered comic book has arrived thus I had to go pick it up from the comic shop at the nearby Kitchener Complex. Since I will be in the area anyway, I thought I might as well make the trip to the coffee shop.

Hollywood Zhenguang Wantan Noodle @ Haig Road Market & Food Centre

The old Hollywood Theater would be no stranger to those living in the east. Built in 1958, it has seen some of the biggest movie stars from Hong Kong like Siew Fung Fung, Fong Bo Bo, Chan Bo-chu, Nancy Sit, etc performing live on stage.

Just behind the theater is a canteen called Hin Hollywood Canteen where Zhenguang Wantan (sic) Noodles has been doing business for fifty years.

The area was demolished in 2011 to make way for redevelopment and standing in its place now is the new One KM Mall. 

What happened to Zhenguang Wantan Noodles stall then? It shifted across the road into Haig Road Market & Food Centre.