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).

Cheng Heng Kway Chap And Braised Duck Rice @ Holland Drive Market & Food Centre

In my opinion, Cai Shu Kway Chap at my neighborhood serves one of the best braised pig's offal there is and I especially enjoy slurping up their slippery kway in the delicious broth which I could easily have three bowls of.

I have to admit that I have not eaten that many kway chaps to come to a fair conclusion; there are many other kway chap stalls like Lao San and To-Ricos which are all very famous but until I have the chance to give them a try, Cai Shu shall remain crowned at the top of my list.

Kway chap is something that you can customize according to your liking by picking your favorite ingredients or simply have a little of everything. For me, I only like the big intestines, pork belly and pig's skin. As for the braised egg, fish cake, tau kwa and taupok, not so much.

This week, I visited Cheng Heng Kway Chap And Braised Duck Rice at Holland Drive Market & Food Centre for their kway chap which seems to be quite popular.

A one person serving here costs $3.50.

Soh Food - Stewed Duck @ Empress Road Market & Food Centre

Update: Soh Food has permanently closed.

I just realized that the stalls at Empress Road Market & Food Centre which I have featured on this blog are all located along the same row just next to each other.

The third stall that I wanted to introduce at this food centre is called Soh Food. From its name alone, it might be hard to guess what they sell but their specialty is actually stewed duck.

Do not confuse stewed duck with braised duck because they are not the same even though they may look similar. In fact, I have not heard of stewed duck before and this is definitely my first time having it!

I ordered a stewed duck leg which came with a portion of spinach and two pieces of Chinese mushrooms. You can make it into a meal by having it served with either kway teow or rice.

I opted for rice and my set (see photo above) costs $6.

Happy World Roast @ Empress Road Market & Food Centre

Happy World Roast at Empress Road Market & Food Centre specializes in Cantonese roast meats. Other than the usual roasts like char siew (bbq pork), siew yoke (roasted pork) and roasted chicken, they also serve Hainanese chicken.

After studying the menu, I decided to go for their char siew and siew yoke set for one person ($6). The set includes a plate of rice drizzled with dark soy, a single portion of char siew and siew yoke served separately, a bowl of stewed cabbage and a bowl of peanut soup.

The reason I chose to have this is because I like stewed cabbage and it is quite unheard of to have a roast stall offering this. Thus, I wanted to check out how this one person char siew and siew yoke set is like.

Ah Wing Wanton Mee @ Empress Road Market & Food Centre

When I was previously looking up Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre on Google map, I discovered that Empress Road Market & Food Centre (also known as Farrer Road Food Centre) is just a little further up.

I did not realize that Farrer Road is actually so close to the Queenstown and Commonwealth area. I have wanted to check out Empress Road Market & Food Centre since a few years back but shelved the plans as I thought it is rather out of the way.

Now that I know how easy it is to get there from my place, I decided to pay a visit to the food centre even though if it meant I had to take three buses to reach my destination (but it's okay, I love bus rides especially when it's raining and with my ear pods plugged in).

So, what makes me want to come Empress Road Market & Food Centre all these years? It is all because of Ah Wing Wanton Mee!

I once saw a photo of their wanton mee and I was fascinated by their plump wantons and charred char siew that I promised myself I would have a plate of it one of these days. The "one of these days" took a little longer than expected but better late than never, right?

Bee Yee Teochew Famous Fish Ball Kuay Teow Mee @ Blk 117 Commonwealth Drive

I am done with reviewing the food at Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre but I thought I will give Google photos a final browse just in case I missed out on anything.

And I am glad I did because the photo of a beautiful bowl of Teochew mee pok (flat noodle) caught my attention. It did not look like it came from Huang Da Fu or Hao Hao Noodle House.

I clicked on the photo and it brought me to a Straits Times article about this noodle stall called Bee Yee Teochew Famous Fish Ball Kuay Teow Mee at block 117. Then, it dawned upon me that I have seen that article a long time ago.

That bowl of mee pok with prawn, fish cake, bak chor and pork lard seemed alluring enough for me to want to have a bowl but at that point of time, I still have not figured out how to get to the location thus, the matter was soon forgotten.

Eng Kee Fried Bee Hoon And Chicken Wings @ Blk 117 Commonwealth Crescent

Eng Kee is a typical economical breakfast stall serving the usual staples like fried bee hoon, fried noodle and fried kway teow with an assortment of sides like fried chicken wings, otah, luncheon meat, ngor hiang, fish cake, fried long beans and stewed cabbages among other things.

Unlike other such economical stalls which closes by noon, Eng Kee starts business from noon onwards till late at night.

I have tried Eng Kee at their Redhill market outlet before and I am now at their main outlet - the birthplace of the fried chicken wings which they are famous for.

I arrived at around 11.30am so I ordered a drink, intending to wait for the stall to open for business at noon. However, I noticed that by 11.40am, they have already started operations.

By then, a short queue have formed but I did not join in until the queue starts moving.

Henry's Chicken Rice @ Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre

I have read numerous reviews about Henry's Chicken Rice at Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre just across from Hao Hao Noodle House and I decided to check them out.

I am particularly intrigued by two of the reviews which mentioned about a certain black-faced auntie. Why is she black-faced? I reminded myself not to blindly believe everything that was posted online. Who knows, it might have been a disgruntled customer bad mouthing her?

On the day of my visit, I approached the stall with an open mind. Surely, the auntie will not be black-faced for no rhyme or reason? Her back was facing me when I stood in front of the stall. It was still early so a queue have not build up yet. When she turned around, I have to say, I was taken aback by her expression. Her face was, like they said - black.

Auntie:  要什么？(what you want? what is your order?) 
Me: 烧鸡腿饭，这里吃。(roasted chicken drumstick rice, having here)

She proceeded to prepare my order, placed them on the tray and collected payment without another word, a smile or thank you.

But I did not do anything to make her angry what. Why is she mad at me? I eventually came to this conclusion: perhaps auntie is naturally poker face lah. Not that she is angry or anything.

Cannot expect people to keep smiling right? Siao meh?

Hao Hao Noodle House Wanton Noodle @ Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre

Hao Hao Noodle House is another popular noodle stall at Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre.

The stall sells a variety of noodles like wanton noodle, sui kow noodle, Ipoh hor fun, mushroom & chicken feet noodle, and laksa.

Being a fan of wanton noodle ($3), I have to order a plate of my favorite noodle. It is self-service here so you order, make your payment and wait to collect your food.

I was watching the chef blanch my noodles when he suddenly toss them high into the air and catching it deftly in his ladle with precision. That was totally unanticipated! I thought such flying acts could only be found in Malaysia.

Huang Da Fu Minced Meat Noodle @ Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre

Huang Da Fu is one of the more popular noodle stall at Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre. 

Run by a young couple, the stall serves minced meat noodle (bak chor mee) that come in three sizes ($2.70/$3.50/$4.50).

Their cheapest bowl, at $2.70, is the most affordable I have ever seen. I think bak chor mee at most places starts from $3. I decided to go for the medium bowl and the lady who took my order suggests adding on their delicious fish dumplings (4 pieces for $1).

After collecting payment, the guy immediately gets to work; blanching the noodles and putting the bowl together.

牛車水阿婆鹵鴨 @ Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre

I am not a duck person but I am a convert after discovering Cai Ji's braised duck from Seah Im Food Centre a couple of years ago. Now, whenever I come across a braised duck stall at any food centre, I would be most willing to give it a try.

During my first visit to Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre, I noticed there is a braised duck stall called 牛車水阿婆鹵鴨 located near the escalator. Although there is a perpetual queue in front of the stall, it gets cleared pretty fast. I made a mental note to give it a try during my next visit.

On my second visit, I came up from the escalator and was elated to see no one in the queue. The stall owner was sitting outside the stall, taking a break.

I immediately walk up to her and ordered a plate of braised duck rice ($3).

Hong Kee Porridge @ Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre

In my previous post, I was at Commonwealth Crescent Food Centre for the fried chicken burger from Hammee's. Because there are other orders before mine, I was told to pick up my burger in ten minutes time.

Instead of whiling away that ten minutes, I decided to order a bowl of pork porridge from Hong Kee Porridge as there is no queue.

The plan was to leisurely sip on, and savor my porridge while waiting for my burger. However, plans often do not work out the way you intended. The lack of a physical queue does not mean there is no queue at all. You place your order, let the uncle know where you are sitting and the auntie will bring the porridge to your table.

So now you know, the queue here is actually invisible. It took quite a while but when my pork porridge finally reached me, there is just mere minutes left to collect my burger. I gulped through my bowl of hot porridge with no leisure to speak of and needless to say, I did not get to enjoy or savor its flavor.

By the time I am done with the porridge, I am still late for my burger by five minutes. As such, I decided to make a return trip for the pork porridge again, to give it a fair review.

Hammee's Fried Chicken Burger @ Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre

This week, I decided to check out Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre because there is a new hipster burger joint that I wanted to try. I like hipster joints like this because they offer artisanal burgers at food centre prices. What's not to like?

I believe you should have seen them on social media by now. Yes, I am talking about Hammee's who opened their stall at the food centre above the market six months ago.

Previously selling seafood white bee hoon, the young couple made a complete switch-over to selling handcrafted burgers. There are currently three offerings on their menu: Premium Beef Cheeseburger ($8), Classic Beef Cheeseburger ($6) and Fried Chicken Burger ($5.50).

All the burgers come included with shoestring fries. I decided to go for the fried chicken burger which is available in either original or spicy. As the burgers are only made upon order, I was told to pick mine up in ten minutes.

Guan Kee Wanton Noodle @ Geylang East Market & Food Centre

By the time I am done with my fried Hokkien mee at Geylang East Market & Food Centre, the rain has eased a little but still showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Now, what do you do when you are stuck at the food centre? Well, you eat some more!

According to my compiled list of the must-eats here, the wanton noodle from Guan Kee Wanton Noodle is another popular choice with the foodies. Being an ardent fan of wanton noodle, I had to order a plate ($3) to try.

Ming Yun Famous Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle @ Geylang East Market & Food Centre

After a visit to Certis Cisco Centre at Paya Lebar, I decided to check out the nearby Geylang East Market & Food Centre for my late breakfast.

Due to it being my first time in this area, I had a bit of trouble locating it.

It doesn't help that I was caught in a heavy downpour that morning. Even though I had with me an umbrella, I was completely drenched.

With the wind threatening to wrench the umbrella out of my hands, I tightened my grip on it with one hand while the other held on to my phone for directions from google map.

I eventually found the food centre behind some shop houses which is almost impossible to spot from the main road. Feeling cold and uncomfortable with wet clothes sticking to my skin, I make a beeline for the shelter, grateful for the respite from the rain.

I have done my due diligence the night before and had a rough idea of what the food centre has to offer. I have my eyes set on the hokkien mee ($4/$5/$6) from Ming Yun Famous Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle. 

Xiao Yang Guo Kui - Flatbread With A Thousand Years History Arrived In Singapore!

Update: Xiao Yang Guo Kui has permanently closed.

Forgive the hand model, k? Don't let the fur get to you.

When I first heard of Xiao Yang Guo Kui (小杨锅盔), I was bewildered as its name does not make any sense nor give me an idea of what the product really is.

After some googling, however, I found out that this naan look-alike flatbread is called a guo kui (锅盔) while Xiao Yang Guo Kui (小杨锅盔) is the brand name which brought this chain to Singapore. 

Xiao Yang Guo Kui has got absolutely nothing to do with Yang Guo of The Condor Heroes fame from Louis Cha's novel. However, it does have an impressive history dating back to the Three Kingdoms.

Wow. Imagine having the same thing as Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang?

Word has it that a soldier used his helmet (kui) as a wok (guo) to cook some flour over a fire and voila, the guo kui is born. For the next thousand of years, this staple army provision has evolved into a popular traditional street snack for the masses in China.

Soon Heng Hot & Cold Desserts @ Tanglin Halt Food Centre

Update: Soon Heng Hot & Cold Desserts have relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

As its name implies, Soon Heng Hot & Cold Desserts at Tanglin Halt Food Centre serves a selection of hot and cold Chinese desserts.

What I find amazing about this stall is that most of their desserts costs only a dollar per bowl! Yes! ONE DOLLAR!

That is the charm with food centres found at the older estates. Food prices are usually kept low so that the lower income and elderly could afford it.

I am totally spoilt for choice here but I decided to order the lian zi suan, ice kachang and tau suan.