Feng Zhen Lor Mee @ Taman Jurong Market & Food Centre

My last visit to Taman Jurong Market & Food Centre was probably more than two decades ago. I vaguely recall that it is a single-storey food centre then with no market.

The food centre today is a five-storey building after undergoing reconstruction in 2005. It comprises of a wet market on the ground floor while the food centre is relocated to the second and third floor. A car park providing parking facilities took up the remaining two levels on top.

I am here to check out Feng Zheng Lor Mee which is said to serve one of the best lor mee in the West. I have been yearning to give them a try after learning about them years ago.

They have a couple of other outlets all run by family members. I have tried the daughter's stall at Yew Tee and the grandchildren's stall at Clementi and Choa Chu Kang numerous times however, I have yet to try the grandmother's stall here at Taman Jurong.

Mahan Food - Mee Soto @ Blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road

Right across the coffee shop from Al Mubarak Restaurant is Mahan Food, a Malay Muslim stall selling nasi padang, lontong, mee siam, mee rebus and mee soto.

Other than the nasi padang, their noodle dishes are all priced affordably at $3. I ordered a bowl of mee soto and I could not resist the temptation of adding a begedil and fried chicken wing to complete my meal.

Don't you think the begedil and fried chicken wing are the best accompaniments to pair with mee soto? The makcik placed the two sides separately in another bowl. She even helped to cut up the chicken wing for easy eating.

The total bill came up to $5.20.

Al Mubarak Restaurant - Chicken Briyani @ Blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road

I was visiting the bank in the area so I thought I would drop by Foodclique at blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road for brunch.

I had spent the entire morning waiting at the bank and I was getting hangry. While pondering over what to have from the coffee shop, I saw this huge pot of briyani beckoning to me from the counter-top of Al Mubarak Restaurant, an Indian Muslim stall.

Resistance is futile, they say and I think there is much truth in that as I succumbed to temptation and ordered myself a chicken briyani ($5.50).

My eyes sparkled when the staff removed the lid that was partially covering the pot, revealing the basmati rice together with mutton and chicken in its grandeur.

As I did not had my camera with me, I returned for a second visit within the same week, this time, armed with my trusty camera for a proper review... only to realize that the memory card is still plugged into the computer at home.

I had to depend on my iPhone camera, albeit unwillingly, for the rescue mission.

Shun Li Ah Ma Lor Mee - Laksa @ Redhill Market & Food Centre

After trying the lor mee from Shun Li Ah Ma Lor Mee at Redhill Market & Food Centre, I felt I had to come back to give their laksa a try as well.

This time, it is the male cook who served me as the lady helper is prepping ingredients at the back of the stall. 

Just like my previous visit, I was asked if I wanted bean sprouts however, nothing could prepare me for the next question because, this is the first time in my entire existence that I was asked how I wanted my cockles.

Stunned, I replied "yes" when he asked if I wanted them cooked? I had actually meant to say "no" since the hot broth would be enough to blanch them but at that moment, I simply could not process the question in my brain.

Wow, these guys really go the extra mile with their service! I am still reeling in from the shock!

Seng Heng Braised Duck @ Redhill Market & Food Centre

Seng Heng Braised Duck is one of those stalls at Redhill Market & Food Centre that is only opened for a couple of hours in the morning before they are sold out for the day. 

I made a trip here for their duck noodle previously but they were already closed when I got there at 11am.

This time round, I specially planned to arrive earlier to make sure I lay my hands on a bowl of their duck noodle. 

How early? This early. 

Redhill Porridge @ Redhill Market & Food Centre

In the previous post, I mentioned that I visited Redhill Market & Food Centre early in the morning to have my duck noodle at Seng Heng Braised Duck.

As there is still some time before they open for the day, I decided to check out this porridge stall called Redhill Porridge which is another one of those stall that closes super early.

If you are appalled by the duck noodle stall's four short operating hours, then this porridge stall will shock you further with their three and a half hours before they are sold out. Of course, this is not taking their prep time into consideration.

Now it makes perfect sense why some of the stalls here are perpetually closed whenever I am there in the afternoon. Either they close really early, or they open late.

Shun Li Ah Ma Lor Mee @ Redhill Market & Food Centre

It has been a while since I last came to Redhill Market & Food Centre.

One of the reasons why I do not frequent this food centre is due to the pigeons flying around which I find very unhygienic but, the main reason still boil down to the fact that I am too lazy to walk over from the MRT station! 😈

So, what made me drag my lazy bones here today is because I was craving for duck noodle and I wanted to try the one from Seng Heng Braised Duck however, they were already packing up for the day when I arrived just before 11am.

I circled the food centre, with the hope to find something that might interest me when I spotted a new Chinese stall which I have never seen before.

The stall is called Shun Li Ah Ma Lor Mee and it sells both lor mee and laksa for $4. I ordered a bowl of lor mee opting for the flat Hokkien noodle. The lady helper asks if I wanted beansprouts and whether I wanted more noodle (at no extra cost).

Seng Hong Coffee Shop - Otah Roti & Kopi-O @ Blk 58 Lengkok Bahru

Still feeling peckish from my minced meat noodle, I decided to order a Singaporean traditional breakfast set from the coffee stall.

For the uninformed, such local breakfast normally consists of two soft boiled eggs, toasted bread (with your choice of spread eg. kaya/butter/peanut butter) and a beverage.

According to my research, this coffee shop offers steamed bread with otah which is not commonly available at other coffee shops and therefore highly recommended. They also serve supposedly good Nanyang coffee (heard the proprietors are related to Tong Ya).

The customization for my order includes two soft boiled eggs, steamed bread with otah and a small cup of kopi-o. All these for $4.10.

Simple and no frills.

Lengkok Bahru Minced Meat Noodle @ Blk 58 Lengkok Bahru

How did the residents of Lengkok Bahru keep a certain minced meat noodle stall in their neighborhood under wraps from the rest of Singapore all these years?

Located within an old-school coffee shop at the foot of block 58, this noodle stall does not even have a signboard. However, that does not stop people from locating them, as words of mouth soon gave the secret away.

When I first visited the stall a year ago, the noodle stall was closed despite it being a weekday (their off day is on alternate Sundays).

Determined to have my bowl of noodle, I made a return trip to the coffee shop earlier this week, reaching there just a little after ten in the morning. I was half expecting it to be a slow and quiet morning, with only a couple of retirees engaging in a game of chess over a kopi-o siew dai.

Hai Xian Zhu Zhou - Ke Kou Mian @ Blk 233 Yishun Street 21

After having the ke kou mian from Bon Appetit at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, I kept thinking about the one near me at Blk 163A Gangsa Road (Bukit Panjang) and how the two actually compares.

To my surprise, I discovered that they have a stall at Yishun which is managed by relatives and its location is actually along the route to Yishun Park Hawker Centre from the bus interchange.

After I am done with Yishun Park Hawker Centre, I decided to check out this Hai Xian Zhu Zhou outlet at Blk 233 Yishun Street 21.

The coffee shop is located across the street from the bus stop where I got off. It is a quiet neighborhood however, all that changed once I stepped into the busy coffee shop. The premise was full of people with lots of chattering and hardly an empty table available.

I quickly joined the queue to place my order for a bowl of pork ke kou mian and was given a number tag to collect my food when the corresponding number flashed on the digital screen. I know a lot of customers were there for the exact same reason as I do because everyone were craning their necks towards the direction of the stall, waiting for their number to come up.

It took about twenty minutes for my number to appear on the screen.

Ah Tan Wings - Har Cheong Gai Cutlet @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

After hearing so much raves about Ah Tan Wings, I finally had the chance to give them a try at Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

This stall specializes in one of Singaporean's favorite tze char dish - the prawn paste chicken, or better known as har cheong gai which is essentially deep fried chicken marinated in fermented prawn paste.

The menu here is simple.

You can buy the chicken wings ala carte at $1.80 each (minimum two pieces), or as a meal with either two wings (Set A $5.20) or chicken cutlet (Set B $6.80). Both meals come with rice and a sunny side up with cucumbers and half a wedge of lemon.

There is also the basic meal (Set C $3.50) which is similar to Set A but only come with one wing and no fried egg.

51 Noodle House - Japanese Fusion Bak Chor Mee @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

During my previous visit to Yishun Park Hawker Centre, I went to the wrong bak chor mee stall therefore, I am back again to look for the correct one called 51 Noodle House.

51 Noodle House is the collaboration between two young hawkers who already have their own respective food stalls at the food centre.

Rather than being business rivals, the two - Henry Yap from Ipoh Curry Noodle (#01-36) and Darren  Teo from Seafood Pirates (#01-35) - teamed up to open another stall offering fusion bak chor mee with a Japanese element to it.

Da San Yuan - Bak Chor Mee @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

The purpose of this trip to Yishun Park Hawker Centre is to check out the bak chor mee.

Upon my arrival, I realized that I had forgotten the unit number and name of the stall. I began looking around at the signboards, searching for one that offers the dish. It did not take me long to find it and I promptly ordered a bowl.

After taking a few pictures, I began to dig in eagerly. However, a few mouthfuls later, I started questioning myself the reason for including this stall on my list. Do not get me wrong; the taste is decent but the ingredients are hardly rave-worthy for me.

I took out my list to verify only to discover that... I had actually gone to the wrong stall!

I am supposed to go to 51 Minced Meat Noodle but I had mistaken Da San Yuan for it instead. Well, my bad. I had not expected that there would be more than one bak chor mee stall at the food centre.

Apart from bak chor mee, Da San Yuan also sell fish ball noodle, mini pot noodle and laksa.

Seafood Pirates - $3 Oyster Omelette Rice @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

Seafood Pirates is a seafood soup stall run by Darren Teo and a partner. It is one of the more well-known stalls at Yishun Park Hawker Centre with a celebrity status of sorts, having appeared in various news media as well as covered by major food blogs.

In tune with their stall's pirate themed name, their soups are cleverly named as Pirate's Ultimate, Pirate's Signature, Pirate's Treasure and Pirate's Catch.

Each of these are served with a different combination of seafood such as crayfish, prawns, fish, clams, oysters and fish roe ball in a soup base made with fish bones and chicken bones.

As I am having the Ipoh curry noodle from next door, I decided to leave the soup for another visit. Instead, I will have the oyster omelette rice which I decided to takeaway in case I could not finish it (after having the curry noodle).

Yap's Noodle - Ipoh Curry Seafood & Roasted Pork Noodle @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

Henry Yap, the owner of Yap's Noodle at Yishun Park Hawker Centre hails from the Malaysian town of Ipoh. His stall specializes in dishes from his hometown, particularly curry noodle.

There is quite a variety of curry noodle available on the menu: curry seafood & roasted pork noodle, curry seafood & abalone noodle, curry shredded chicken & roasted pork noodle, curry chicken noodle, curry fish ball noodle and curry noodle (no meat).

I was actually undecided between the curry shredded chicken noodle and the curry seafood & roasted pork noodle. The former is my personal favorite while the latter, I heard, is limited to only fifty bowls per day.

Furthermore, I supposed the one with seafood would appear better on photos therefore, the choice is made.

Nasi Lemak Cabe Ijo @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

Singaporean Mohammed Noorman and his Indonesian wife, Puti Andam Dewi Henry are the owners of Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang at Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

Just like the marriage of the stall owners, their signature dish - the nasi lemak ayam taliwang which the stall is named after - is a cross-cultural union between nasi lemak and ayam taliwang, an Indonesian spicy grilled chicken dish.

The couple had tried ayam taliwang while on honeymoon at Puti's hometown and they liked it so much that they decided to introduce it to Singapore and paired it with Noorman's nasi lemak recipe.

Apart from this, the stall also have nasi lemak ayam balado and nasi lemak ayam cabe ijo.

They are basically the same thing - good old nasi lemak served with grilled chicken leg but are smothered in different types of rempah.

I had the nasi lemak ayam cabe ijo, which is served with grilled chicken leg in green chili rempah.

Bon Appetit - Ke Kou Mian @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

Update: Bon Appetit has permanently closed.

What is ke kou mian (可口面)?

I first heard of this dish from a stall named Hai Xian Zhu Zhou (海鲜煮粥) at Blk 163A Gangsa Road (Bukit Panjang) which is pretty close by my place.

Ke kou mian translates to "delicious noodle", or it could simply be referring to the Koka brand of instant noodle that the stall used in the making of this dish. Basically, the stall cook instant noodle with your choice of broth flavor (pork, seafood, spicy, tom yum) and added ingredients like meat and vegetables to it.

I am not too sure if paying a couple of dollars for a bowl of instant noodle which I could easily whip up at home myself is such a good idea therefore, even though this Hai Xian Zhu Zhou is near me, I have not paid them a visit yet.

I think partly, it is also due to their ungodly operating hours from 4am to 2.30pm.

I doubt this ke kou mian stall named Bon Appetit at Yishun Park Hawker Centre is related to Hai Xian Zhu Zhou but since it have a much more normal operating hours, I decided to give them a try.

One Mouth Noodle - Char Siew Wanton Noodle @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

From far, you would have thought that this stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre sells ban mian as the words 手工面 (handmade noodle) took centrestage on the signboard in a very large font size.

However, as soon as you come nearer, you will realize that the stall's real name is the one on the left-hand side in a smaller font that reads 一口麵 (One Mouth Noodle).

But, the biggest surprise is, the stall does not sell ban mian at all. Instead, they sell Hong Kong-styled wanton noodle.

And the best part? The stall owner actually makes his own egg noodle, a skill which he picked up from his father and that is what the "手工面" on the signboard refers to.

Qi Le Chicken Rice @ Blk 744 Yishun Street 72

Mention chicken rice in Yishun and 925 Chicken Rice near the old bus interchange would come to mind. I had it before but did not find it inspiring enough to want to write about it.

It has been years since then and now I am back on a food trail around Yishun. I thought of looking for another chicken rice stall to try and my search brought me to this chicken rice stall called Qi Le Chicken Rice located inside the S-11 coffee shop near the MRT station.

It is easy to get here: simply exit the MRT station and follow the footpath to the coffee shop. The stall is right in the middle of the coffee shop, partially hidden behind a pillar.

Pak Mandor Nasi Lemak @ Blk 645 Yishun Street 61

Just a slight distance away from 618 Sim Carrot Cake at blk 645 Yishun Street 61, is a coffeeshop with a very popular Malay Muslim stall named Pak Mandor & Family.

The stall sells mee rebus, lontong and nasi lemak however, most customers are there mainly for their coconut rice from what I observed.

The queue was not long but it is very slow-moving as some of the customers in front are buying multiple packs to take away.

You can pick your favorite ingredients ala carte but I simply pointed to the photo on the signboard and told the kak kak that I wanted the same combination which came with coconut rice, a fried chicken wing, a fried kuning fish, an omelette and the usual condiments like peanuts, ikan bilis, cucumber and sambal chili.

I thought a combo like this with both fried fish and fried chicken would have cost at least $4 but no, all these cost a mere $3!