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Today's recommendation is the Curry Rice at Beo Crescent!

Yang Zhou Fried Hokkien Mee: Perfect texture

Fried Hokkien Mee $5 (prices from $3)

Hokkien Fried Prawn Mee has become, in most places, more like a Pasta than a true Fried Noodle. What I mean is that in a lot of places, the noodles aren't really fried but simply cooked in the wok and then the gravy is poured over it and allowed to thicken. That's what you do with a Pasta dish. But when it comes to a truly delicious Fried Hokkien Mee, the noodles themselves need to be fried till it becomes slightly burnt so that it has a wonderful "Mamee" (Instant Noodle) sort of flavour and is ready to absorb all the stock when it is added. So if you want a good Hokkien Mee, you got to observe how long the hawker spends actually frying the noodle before adding the gravy. When they get the timing right, the result is magic.

Well, the uncle at this stall is quite an expert at frying the noodles. A good Hokkien Mee man would swirl the noodles around the wok and avoid cutting the noodles unnecessarily unlike a Mee Goreng man. It makes perfect sense that you want the noodles long since you want to slurp it with a pair of chopsticks rather than spooning it like you would a Mee Goreng. His technique produced a Hokkien Mee with excellent texture and the gooeyness of the gravy covering each strand of noodles was almost perfect. It is just too bad that it was just after the Hari Raya period, so the fishermen haven't been going out to sea to catch wild prawns. Otherwise the man would have used "Sua Lor" instead of farmed prawns which I expect would have made the taste of the Hokkien Mee even better. 4.25/5



Conclusion

Gotta go back and try again when the man gets his usual supply of "Sua Lor". I am sure it would be considered one of the best Hokkien Mees around.

Yang Zhou Fried Hokkien Mee
Blk 40 Lower Delta #01-16
Beo Crescent
62730429 Mr Lim
97400653
10am - 8pm
Friday closed

What Dialect Group do our Foodies Belong to Poll

Thanks to all who have written in to nominate their dialect group. The polls are now up for you to vote. To simplify things, I have only allowed one vote. That is because if I gave everyone two votes to denote paternal and maternal dialect groups, then those who have parents from the same dialect group would only get one vote and that would skew the stats. So just pick the dialect group that you feel you most belong to.

Since we the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion...... I have also included the Malays, Indian and Others so that no one is left out. If you are Chinese and your dialect group is not represented then just pick "others" and write a comment to let us know you represent your dialect group.

In case you are thinking that aside from the language, it would be difficult to distinguish between the dialect groups just by looks, then I would like ask if you can guess what dialect group the old man in the picture belongs to?

Have fun and don't forget to cast your vote!

No Name Hainanese Curry Rice: Maximum Ommph, Minimum Fuss

Crispy Fried Pork

There is really only one word that would adequately describe this meal and that word is SHIOK! Somehow "really tasty", "yummy", "delectable" and all the other adjectives don't really capture the emotional response as well as the word "SHIOK" or even better, "D__n SHIOK!". It just rolls off your tongue and I think it must also cause the release of endorphins when you say it. It really is almost like uttering a vulgar expletive because it does give release to your pent up emotions inside when you taste something that hits the spot. I reckon the Singapore Tourism Board should intentionally market it to tourists so that it has the same level of recognition as "Oishi!" and "Aroy Mak!".

This meal can be found in the most predictable of places, viz in an old run down coffeeshop reminicent of Singapore in the 60's. It is so unassuming that the stall doesn't even have a name, let alone a signboard. They don't even bother to light up the dreary trays of food! It goes to show that for Singaporeans, when it comes to food, it is all about substance over style, Shiokability over show.

The Crispy Fried Pork here is really D__n Shiok! Unlike some other stalls which I have tried, the crispy pork here is like eating Keropok. It is crispy right through and when you add it to the plate of rice covered with the deluge of curry, lor and cabbage gravy, it really is heavenly. Give me just these two things and I am a happy man. 4.75/5


Rice with Curry, Lor and Chap Chye Gravy. 50 cents

Now I always say that the only thing better than really good food is when the really good food is cheap as well. So here is probably the cheapest way for you to fill your tummy, still have change for your dollar AND still be able to say SHIOK! Yes, I have confirmed that they will actually sell you a plate of rice with 3 gravies for 50 cents and it comes with a plate and utensils.


Hainanese Curry Chicken

Now the star of the show is the Crispy Pork. The rest of the dishes like the Curry chicken 4/5, Braised Pork 4.25/5 and Stewed Cabbage with "Lion Head" 4.25/5 are all very good but not as outstanding. However, taken as a whole package, it makes for a very satisfying meal.

Conclusion

Shiok Not Enough! Veeeery Veeery Shiok!

No Name Hainanese Curry Rice
Blk 40 Beo Crescent
6.30am to 3pm
Closed Wed

Hey Hey Hotpot: HongKong style Steamboat

Wintermelon Soup Base

I hated steamboats when I was a kid. As a child, I preferred food that were fried, grilled and deep fried over those that were steamed or boiled. Somehow eating a piece of boiled chicken didn't quite appeal to me as much as eating fried chicken.

I guess tastes change as one gets older. I wonder sometimes if somehow God had created us that way. I mean, in the good old days people used to lose all their teeth when they got older so that they couldn't chew on meats and had to eat tofu and other soft and mushy vegetables. When you are old, not eating too much meat is good for you wheras when you are a kid growing up, you actually do need to eat meat in order to build up muscle. So maybe as we grow older, we are programmed to like foods that is better for us. Maybe that is why I am beginning to prefer steamed and boiled stuff over greasy fried stuff. Maybe its just me or are you all observing the same thing?

Anyways, back to steamboats. When I was younger, the steamboat always meant raw meats dipped into a rather plain chicken stock and eaten with a chilli sauce. I always found that a bit boring. However, of late, stalls are getting more creative with the soup bases. So we have the likes of "Mala" steamboats as well as porridge and laksa steamboats. This particular steamboat appealed to me not only because they emphasize on the quality of the soup base, but they also have a variety of different "dim sum" that you can cook in the soup.

I particularly liked the Winter Melon soup which is a favourite amongst Hong Kongers. It takes quite a bit of effort to cook this soup which is why this is one steamboat which you actually have to pay for the soup. (The top up for the winter melon soup is$10 per pot. Other soup bases start from $5). Aside from the Winter Melon soup they also have Shark Bone and Herbal Chicken soup which are all very "Hong Kong".


Crab Roe wrapped with Fish paste $5.80 (not part of buffet menu)

Some of the specially imported "dim sum" that caught our attention are the Crab Roe wrapped in Fish paste dumpling shown above which combines savoury crab roe with an out covering of fish paste. Or I guess you could think of it as a fish ball with crab roe filling. 4/5


Char Siew Pau Dumplings $4.80

What I ended up eating quite a few off that night was this "Char Siew Pau" which is char siew filling wrapped in "Crystal" skin (ala Crystal Dumpling).



I have never boiled a char siew pau before so it was a pretty wierd notion at first but after the first bite, I was quite hooked. I think I ended up eating around ten of these that night. (they are around the size of a 50 cent coin) 4.5/5 I think the texture of the sticky chewy skin with the fragrant char siew filling was pretty novel and addictive.



The other dim sum that I really like is the Cheese filled Fish Paste dumpling. Might sound a bit wierd but the chewy, melted mozarella cheese goes quite well with the fish paste and chilli. 4.25/5


Sliced Angus Beef (Australian) $16.80 (normal price $21.80)

Beef lovers will rejoice at their "Fei Niu" (lit fat cow) which uses Australian Angus. They were having a promotion at that time and a plate costs $16.80. 4/5

Conclusion

I like the uniqueness of this Hong Kong style steamboat. The soups are very good quality and you get to try stuff very different from the usual steamboats. Pricewise, they have lunch buffet starting from $18++ and dinner starting from $27++, which is a tad more expensive than the ones you find at beach road but certainly something to try if you are looking for a good quality steamboat with good soup bases and novelty "Dim Sum".

Hey Hey Hotpot Restaurant
1 Selegie Road,
#B1-20, Paradiz Centre
S188307
11.30am to 2.30pm
Dinner 6.30pm to 11pm
63335166
Lunch Buffet $18++
Dinner Buffet Mon-Thur $27++
Fri-Sun $29++
Top Up for soups starting from $5 per pot

What Dialect Group do most of our Foodies belong to?

I have known for a long while now that a lot of the kakis you see on this blog are Teochew. Smart, Cactuskit, Fashionfoodie, Wahcow, Damien, Jencooks and Amagada, just to name a few from the top of my head. I myself am true blue 100% Teochew as well. So I am just wondering if it is just a matter of coincidence that our group happen to have a lot of Teochews or is it a representation of the wider audience reading the blog?

It would be fun to find out with a poll next week, but I would need to shortlist the top 5 dialect groups before we can start. So let us know which dialect group you belong to!

Swee Guan Hokkien Mee: It's at Geylang Lor 29!

Xtra Large Plate Hokkien Mee $20 (for 3-4 persons)

Now if you are at Geylang Lor 29 to try the Pork Belly Satay, don't forget to order a plate of Hokkien Mee to go along with it. Hokkien Mee and Satay is my number one, all time favourite Singapore hawker combo. So it is a bonus to find two really good stalls side by side.

Now it might be a little confusing but this Hokkien Mee that is located at Geylang Lor 29 is not called "Geylang Lor 29" Hokkien Mee, but rather "Swee Guan" Hokkien Mee. The "Geylang Lor 29" Hokkien Mee is located at Telok Kurau instead. Both are using charcoal to fry the Hokkien Mee and as you might have guessed, this is another of those hawker family stories where the famous patriachal hawker had a few kids who went their own way to start new branches to carry on their father's legacy. It has happened with Beach Road Prawn Noodles, Hock Lam Beef Kway Teow, Rochor Bean Curd and many more.

As far as I know, there are three members of the same family who still use Charcoal to fry their Hokkien Mee. They all originated from the original Geylang Lor 29 stall. The other two have already been blogged viz Uncle Alex's Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee and his sister-in-law's stall, Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee. This stall thus completes the trio of stalls that continue the Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee tradition.

The style of the Hokkien Mee is similar at all three stalls. They use thin bee hoon to fry and it tends to come out a little gooey but full flavoured. This stall though is a little cheaper, being in Geylang, and the prawns are slightly larger. Tastewise it is definitely one of the better Hokkien Mees around that will complement Pork Satay perfectly! 4.25/5

Conclusion

Satay and Hokkien Mee! Any others also like this combination? What other combination of hawker foods do you all enjoy? I know Prawn Mee and Ngoh Hiang is another favourite of many people.


Swee Guan Hokkien Mee
Geylang Lor 29 (Geylang Side)
5pm to 11pm daily





What to do next?

Try Kwong's Pork Satay next door
Check out the other stalls in Geylang
Check out the other famous Hokkien Mee Stalls