216 Mee Hoon Kueh @ 216 Choa Chu Kang Ave 1

This is a continuation from my previous post, where I visited 216 Coffee Shop along 216 Choa Chu Kang Ave 1 for its chee cheong fun.

As mentioned previously, the coffee shop was a stone's throw away from my house. I arrived at around 7am to place an order for the chee cheong fun. I anticipated that the rice rolls would not keep me satiate for long hence, I also ordered a bowl of dry mee hoon kueh ($4) for good measure.

Just like the chee cheong fun stall, the mee hoon kueh stall does not have a signboard as well therefore, allow me to call it 216 Mee Hoon Kueh.

I was given a number tag and told to take a seat.

216 Chee Cheong Fun @ 216 Choa Chu Kang Ave 1

The location that I am headed for today is just a ten minutes walk away from my place.

Having lived in my area for the last thirty-odd years, not once have I come to this part of the neighborhood for breakfast. And it is high time I did.

216 Coffee Shop is situated at 216 Choa Chu Kang Ave 1. It is a small coffee shop housing just a coffee stall, a mee hoon kueh stall and the subject of today's review - the chee cheong fun stall.

The stall does not have a signboard so, allow me to call it 216 Chee Cheong Fun.

I only got to know about this chee cheong fun through words of mouth from someone who, ironically, stayed at the other end of the country.

So, I took a brisk walk from my house and reached the coffee shop just before 7am however, there are no customers at all. I was secretly screaming for joy on the inside because that meant I could take all the photos I wanted without being judged by anyone.

You Peng Noodle Dumpling House - Sour & Spicy Noodle @ Beauty World Food Centre

You Peng Noodle Dumpling House at Beauty World Food Centre is immensely popular for their affordably priced xiao long bao (小笼包) and jiaozi (饺子) that are freshly made at the stall daily.

Despite located at a inconspicuous location of the food centre, the stall continues to attract a healthy queue of followers who are willing to stand in line for their fix of dumplings. It is a norm to see individuals savoring multiple bamboo steamers of xiao long bao at one go.

To be honest, I am not too big a fan of either as I find such pork fillings usually too heavily marinated for my liking. 

That is why I tend to avoid pork items like siew mai, xiao long bao and even big pau as they tastes the same to me after a while which can be a little overwhelming. 

Penang Home Made Beef Balls @ Beauty World Food Centre

Penang Home Made Beef Ball at Beauty World Food Centre offer a few selection of dishes such as beef ball noodle soup, mixed beef noodle soup, braised beef brisket noodle, beef hor fun and beef fried rice. All the dishes here are reasonably priced at a flat rate of $5.

Footfall here pales in comparison to their ever popular neighbor, Top 1 Hand Made Noodle which attracts a constant queue everyday.

I decide to give them a try anyway, and ordered the braised beef brisket noodle. You can opt for yellow noodle, kway teow, mee kia and chor bee hoon.

Noodlefellas - Lor Mee @ Beauty World Food Centre

Update: Kopifellas has shifted right next to Noodlefellas. The address has been updated at the end of this post.

Noodlefellas is yet another relatively new stall at Beauty World Food Centre. 

Set up by the people behind Kopifellas who took up another stall at another row in the food centre, I am excited to see new entrants setting up business here, injecting new life and vibrancy to the 36 years old premise which narrowly escaped from a acquisition fate just a couple of years ago.

I guess it is a no brainer as to what the two stalls had to offer judging by their names? 

Noodlefellas had fish ball noodle, fish ball soup, minced meat noodle, laksa, sliced abalone noodle and my favorite hawker dish, lor mee included on its menu.

Little Red Dot House Of Noodle - Prawn Paste Pork Chop Noodle @ Beauty World Food Centre

Update: Little Red Dot House Of Noodle has relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post. 

A majority of the stalls were still closed when I reached Beauty World Food Centre at around 9am. Only Top 1 Handmade Noodle and Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Noodle Rice were in service in the early morning but I did not come for those.

There is another stall that opened even earlier than the two stalls. I had come for the prawn paste pork chop noodle from a stall named Little Red Dot House Of Noodle. According to their Facebook, they serve "traditional Hong-Kong style noodles with 古早味".

Other than the usual wanton noodle and dumpling noodle, they also have braised chicken wing noodle, prawn paste chicken wing noodle, braised pork trotter noodle and prawn paste pork chop noodle.

I actually got to know about them through a sponsored post on Facebook that appeared in my feed. I do not recall seeing this stall at the food centre before so I snooped around their Facebook and found out that they are newly opened in August 2020. Before that, they used to operate at 375 Upper Aljunied Road.

While at their previous premise, they serve a different menu of chicken rice and roasts.

Jin Li Satay Bee Hoon @ Beauty World Food Centre

Update: Jin Li Satay Bee Hoon has permanently closed.

I must admit that I am not exactly a satay bee hoon person therefore, you will not find any satay bee hoon reviews here in this blog. I do like satay but I find the pairing of the sauce with bee hoon is kind of weird for me.

However, I am willing to make an exception for Jin Li Satay Bee Hoon at Beauty World Food Centre because something about the stall reminded me so much of how a typical hawker stall in the 1980's looked like.

After all, Beauty World was built nearly forty years ago. I believe most of the older stalls here have not gone through much changes since day one.

As a child of that era, I missed the good old days when life were simpler and I really appreciate the 80s vibes the stall is giving me.

Top 1 Handmade Noodle @ Beauty World Food Centre

Top 1 Handmade Noodle at Beauty World Food Centre is highly raved among ban mian fans. I had wanted to give them a try since a long time ago but have always been turned off by the never-ending queue in front of the stall.

Perhaps due to the pandemic, there were a lot less people than usual when I visited the food centre today. What better time to join the queue than now?

But joining the queue is just the first hurdle. I stood in line for about twenty minutes before I finally get to place my order with the female stall helper. After making payment, I was told to wait at one side.

If you are dining in, you will be given a ticket number. It is then another round of waiting for your number to flash on the screen to collect your order (I waited for about another ten odd minutes). If you are taking away, she will call out to you therefore, wait where she could see you.

While waiting, I noticed her accepting phone orders so there may be invisible orders before yours. Manage your expectations regarding the waiting time. Do not join the queue if you are rushing for time. They do not entertain refunds unless the waiting time exceeds thirty minutes.

Koung's Wanton Mee @ JEM (Jurong East)

Update: Koung's Wanton Mee has permanently closed.

Great news for fans of Koung's Wanton Mee especially if you reside in the West like me. The popular wanton mee from the East has set up an outlet here at JEM, right beside Jurong East MRT Station.

I had wanted to try their wanton mee at Sims Ave for the longest time but have procrastinated for just as long due to their location.

Now that they have opened a more accessible outlet near me, I can finally tick it off my bucket list.

Zhao Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice - Tumeric Chicken Rice @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

It is not an exaggeration to say that Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre is heaven for fans of Singapore's national dish - the iconic chicken rice...

All sorts of chicken rice can be found here, from the common roasted, poached and soya sauce chicken to the not so common salted chicken and the star of today's topic, turmeric chicken from Zhao Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Being one of the latecomer to this food centre, Zhao Ji appears to be the underdog here. It does not help that they are surrounded by the more established names such as Ma Li Ya Virgin Chicken at the front and Hawker Chan at the back.

However, judging from the queue I encountered on the day of my visit, they should be doing okay.

169 Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

As the stall that I am supposed to feature today is far from ready to open for the day, I began walking around to seek out another stall to review. My search brought me to this new chicken rice stall called 169 Hainanese Chicken Rice.

If I am not mistaken, the previous tenant serve chicken rice as well under the Super Mummy brand who owned several other stalls along the same row at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre.

The owner, Zhen Jie was crowned Super Mummy in a Mediacorp TV contest decades ago. 

It is not clear if 169 Hainanese Chicken Rice is started by a new operator, or still owned by Zhen Jie but registered under a different name?

New Market Seafood Soup @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

I woke up this morning, craving for a bowl of fish soup. This is rather out of the norm for me as fish soup is not something that I usually have cravings for as compared to wanton mee or chicken rice.

Yes, I do have an occasional bowl of fish soup from time to time (I am talking about years in between bowls) but it is not something that I would look forward to.

I guess I will have the fish soup stall near my place to blame for my lack of enthusiasm towards this dish because frankly, it serves one of the saddest and most boring fish soup around (although the stall does have its loyal fan base).

Admittedly, I have barely tried any fish soup from beyond the perimeter of my neighborhood, hence it would be unfair of me to judge all fish soups based on one single stall.

Maybe it is a sign from above, telling me it is high time I give fish soup hawkers a chance to prove their worth and to let me know that not all fish soups are created equal?

I decided to head to Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre for my fix because where else can you get the freshest supply of fish with the wet market just two floors down?

But, fish soup stalls are aplenty here at the food centre. Which one do I go to? After some googling, the beacon of light pointed towards New Market Seafood Soup.

The Asian Makanstall - Chicken Briyani @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

Update: The Asian Makan Stall has renamed to Onion Mamak Stall and relocated to another stall at the same food centre. The address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

The Asian Makanstall at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre has been around since 2017 but in all honesty, I have not heard of them before.

Their odd location at the food centre might be the reason why people walked by without even realizing they are there as they are hidden from view behind some pillars.

In aquarium speak, the stall is located at a dead water zone where the current (customers) does not flow through.

If it is of any help, the stall is situated at the blue zone of the food centre right next to 二姑糖水, or along the same row as Babas Peranakan.

The stall name is not quite telling as to what they sell but according to Google, the Chinese-owned stall started off selling Fuzhou oyster cake and nasi briyani (chicken/mutton).

Yes, you heard me right. Stalls specializing in Fuzhou oyster cake are usually standalone stalls so it is quite unusual to come across one selling other food items particularly one that is from another ethnicity. 

They have since included rojak, glutinous rice and tau pok pau on the menu.

Bedok Chwee Kueh @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

After having the wa kuih from Ah Kong Wa Kuih at Chinatown Market & Food Centre, I realized it was not satisfying enough as I am still hungry. I walked past Bedok Chwee Kueh stall and decided to have some to "fill the gaps".

While wa kuih and chwee kueh may seem similar, they are in fact two different things even though both are steamed rice cakes. The wa kuih, of Hokkien influence is usually steamed with fillings such as mushrooms and dried prawn then served with gravy while the chwee kueh, of Teochew influence is steamed plain and served with chye poh (preserved radish).

There are several Bedok Chwee Kueh branches around Singapore. The unique thing about their chwee kueh compared to the other brands such as Tiong Bahru Jian Bo Chwee Kueh is their larger than usual size. Their rice cakes costs 50¢ each with a minimum purchase of two pieces. I suggests getting four pieces instead because two will never be enough.

Ah Kong Wa Kuih @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

A few months back, a new wa kuih stall called Ah Kong Wa Kuih has opened next to my favorite pandan butterfly bun stall at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre.

I have tried visiting the stall numerous times but the shutters were always down. It does not help that information regarding their operating hours and off days are not available.

I must have made at least six wasted trips to the stall before I was finally able to catch it in business today.

Yuan Lang Soy Sauce Chicken Master - Salted Chicken Rice @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

Update: Yuan Lang Soy Sauce Chicken Master has permanently closed.

Among the many chicken rice stalls at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, Yuan Lang Soy Sauce Chicken Master is often the overlooked one...

I visited the food centre on a Monday to grab my late lunch after an appointment at the nearby hospital. It is probably a bad idea to visit a food centre on the first day of the week since a majority of the stalls would be closed but this stall is just one of the few options available.

This stall sells soy sauce chicken that you can have with noodle or rice. Hanging on the rack alongside the soy chicken is something quite unusual - the salted chicken - which many might mistaken for Hainanese chicken.

However, do not confuse it with salt baked chicken either because it is not baked. Think of it as the poached version of salt baked chicken that is cooked in a stock made of Japanese scallops, dried octopus and a variety of herbs giving the chicken its unique taste. 

What the stall cannot emphasis enough is that they do not use MSG so what you are ingesting are all natural goodness.

If you notice from the signboard, they used kampung chicken which are healthier.

Porridge Master @ Blk 442 Jurong West Ave 1

While checking out the chicken rice balls from Qi Lin Xuan Kitchen at Blk 442 Jurong West Ave 1, I found out about this porridge stall called Porridge Master from the coffee shop next door. 

A search revealed that this porridge stall does not have much online presence. According to whatever little information I could gather, the stall owner purportedly dishes out fantabulous bowls of porridges. 

Upon my arrival at around 10am, the stall owner was sitting outside his stall, having porridge with canned sardines.

I felt bad for disrupting his breakfast but I did it anyway and ordered the signature mixed pig's organ porridge ($4.50). He did not immediately respond to me but took his time to put down the spoon and slowly make his way into the kitchen without a word.

Chong Jia Food - Lu Rou Fan @ Blk 493 Jurong West Street 41

Update: Chong Jia Food has relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

Over at Jurong West Street 41 is a coffee shop named Tahoe Garden. Inside, you can find Chong Jia Food, a stall specializing in Taiwanese lu rou fan (braised pork rice), special marinated drumstick steamed rice and congee. 

I was greeted by the cheerful stall owner who prepared my order for a plate of lu rou fan. The ingredients were all ready cooked so it did not take her long to assemble everything together.

On my plate of white rice sprinkled with black sesame seeds were a generous serving of lu rou, braised peanuts, two halves of a hard-boiled egg and a bed of lettuce. It came with a free bowl of vegetable soup.

JJ Sarawak Noodle @ Blk 504 Jurong West Street 51

Update: JJ Sarawak Noodle has relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

I recently found out that there is a stall selling Sarawak noodle (kolo mee) as well as Sarawak laksa inside a coffee shop at Blk 504 Jurong West Street 51.

I visit the market and food centre at Blk 505 from time to time but I have not seen or heard of the stall called JJ Sarawak Noodle before as the coffee shop is located at a secluded part of the neighborhood with low footfall.

Business here is a far cry from the food centre or even the halal coffee shop just one block away. You have to see it for yourself to know what I am talking about.

Anyway, I am not complaining because those places are rowdy and difficult to find seats. If I wanted some peace and quiet to have my meal, this is where I would go.

Fu Ji - Minced Meat Noodle @ Blk 491 Jurong West Ave 1

After my dental appointment at the nearby Polyclinic, I visited this noodle stall named Fu Ji which is located inside Fu Chan Coffee Shop at Blk 491 Jurong West Ave 1. 

I learned about the minced meat noodle here weeks prior my appointment from a Instagram friend so I planned a visit to check it out.

Business was sluggish upon my arrival with only Fu Ji and a chicken rice stall opened. At a glance, there are less than five customers in the coffee shop.

As it is my first time here, I am not sure if it is due to the dine-in restrictions or competition from across the road at Jurong Central Plaza where there are more coffee shops and therefore more choices.