Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee: Fantastic Chilli and Lard!

With Tag, iwatch_ueat, PK, smart and VB


Did you know that you can't actually register a company name with the word Singapore anymore? I guess it makes sense since everything is already Singapore this and Singapore that. I reckon they should do the same with "Raffles". (or have they?)

Anyway I think the name Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee is very apt since Hokkien Mee is very uniquely Singaporean. You can of course find it in other countries nowadays but they are never as good or as varied as the ones here. I have been on record (Sunday Times) to say that Hokkien Mee is grossly underated in Singapore and that it is my first hawker dish I would eat when I get back from overseas.

To be completely honest, my first spoonful of this Hokkien Mee was pretty unmemorable. BUT that was before I added the sambal chilli and a piece of the crispy pork lard. Boooom! Phwah Sayah! Shiok lah! For a guy who does not usually take chilli, that is a big complement. The sambal here is very tasty and not overly spicy. And the pork lard, oh the pork lard, one of the best I have ever tasted. Light and crispy and oh so pang (fragrant). Why, oh why, do you tempt me so! Oh heavenly pork lard? The combination of the noodles, chilli and pork lard really made my day! 4.5/5



Lovers of Chinese Style Mee Goreng will be very happy to know that this stall also fries a pretty mean Mee Goreng. Actually if you think about it, the ingredients are almost identical except for the addition of Tomato Ketchup. So any HKM stall should be able to fry a Mee Goreng. The Mee Goreng was a bit dry that day but I felt it could be easily fixed. Tastewise is as good as the ones that I usually eat at seafood restaurants, but at a fraction of the price. 4/5 Please note that Mee Goreng is only available at off peak periods ie in the afternoons at around 4 to 6 pm as they get too busy frying HKM during the peak periods.

Conclusion

If you like to eat your HKM with sambal, this is your place to be. If you don't then maybe this is the place where that will all change!

Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee
Whampoa Temporary Market
4pm to 1.30am

Ruby Poh Piah: Double Skinned Poh Piah

With PK, smart, iwatch_ueat, Tag and VB


When you eat Poh Piah, what do you go for? For me the skin is paramount. The skin must be hand made, chewy and leave that carbo rush at the back of your palate. Then it must have the shiok shiok crunchy sweet stuff and of course they have to be generous with the lup cheong and other ingredients.

This Popiah is quite well known amongst my group of kakis so we gave it a try. The thing that differentiates it from the rest is that the lady uses 2 pieces of Popiah skin to wrap the Popiah and the skin is quite good. The ingredients are generous except for the ever important crunchy stuff. So, quite a good Popiah to eat while you are at Whampoa Temp Mkt but not something I'd drive all the way to Whampoa for. 4/5

Conclusion

Good value popiah with double skin which is quite yummy. The lack of crunchy stuff is the big stumbling block for me.

Ruby Popiah
Whampoa Temp Mkt

Ah Hock Oyster Omelette: Crispy Gooey Shiokness!

With PK, smart, Tag, iwatch_ueat and introducing poledancer wannabe: VB


Its been a long time since I ate Orh Luak (oyster omelette). Too long. The last time I had a truely great Orh Luak was in Bangkok. Oyster Omelette is a Teochew dish and there is a thriving Teochew community in Bangkok (Swatow, where the Teochews live, is very close to Thailand) When I used to live there, we frequented this old Teochew eating house which had the best Orh Nee (Yam Paste), Orh Luak, Braised Duck and of course Ter Kah (Braised Pig trotter). Ooooh, its hard to find something as rustic in Singapore. The place would have been given a "D" rating by NEA but the food was darn shiok!



Anyway, back to this Orh Luak. It may not be as rustic but is seriously shiokadoodledoo. The owner is yet another Teochew Ah Hia who insists on using the best oysters from Korea, the best sweet potato flour from China, the best eggs from Swee Choon Egg farm in Choa Chu Kang, everything must be grade A. The only thing that he does not do himself is the lard, but he insists that he gets only the best ready made lard available.

What else do you get from frying the best oysters, sweet potato flour, eggs, fish sauce and homemade chilli sauce in a hot pan full of the best lard? The yummiest and most artery clogging concoction invented by man, that's what. 4.5/5

That is why this dish is something one takes only Gu Gu Jip Pai (long long time once) and if you ever ordered one that is mediocre, then it would be better to not eat it rather than trying to finish it just because mom always taught you never to waste food. In my opinion, sometimes it is better to waste the food in order to save on the medical costs later. (Of course in the first place you should not even order it if you know it is not good)



This stall fries several styles of oyster omelette. You must try the Orh Neng (Oyster Egg) which is fried without the sweet potato flour. This one was amazingly more shiokadelicious than the Orh Luak! It is wetter then Orh Luak and the fried eggs soaking in the juice created by the oysters, chilli and lard is absolutely (and literally) to die for. 4.75/5

Conclusion

Darn good but oh so sinful. Why is it that all the really tasty stuff like lard, oysters and eggs have to be bad for you? I'd eat this every week otherwise.

Ah Hock Fried Oyster
#01-111 Whampoa Drive
Temporary Hawker Centre (opp Blk 76)
11am to 12am
Closed Wed