Prawn Noodles

Welcome to another review on the food found in Singapore's hawker centre. Today I shall be reviewing the famous River South(Hoe Nam) prawn noodles. They can be found at 31 Tai Thong Crescent, Singapore 347859. They in my humble opinion make the best bowl of prawn noodles around as until now I have not tasted a better bowl than theirs. They have been around for a long time and for something to stay as popular as that it has to mean something. But before delving into the wonderful soupy goodness that is prawn noodles, some background information on the dish itself. The origin of this dish is not very clear but it is very popular in Singapore and Malaysia. The dish is made up of egg noodles that are served in richly flavoured dark soup stock with prawns, pork slices, fish cake slices, and bean sprouts topped with fried shallots and spring onion. The stock is made using dried shrimps, plucked heads of prawns, white pepper, garlic and other spices. Traditionally, lard is added to the soup, but this is now less common due to health concerns. A "dry" (without soup) version is also available and this version usually involves flavouring the noodles and toppings with vinegar, soy sauce, oil and chili if desired. The dish is also usually served with freshly cut red chili slices in light [soy sauce] and lime.


Now for the moment you all have been waiting for the dish itself.

The first thing that i noticed about the prawn noodles from this store was that the broth did not have as much of a fishy smell as compared to others. The smell was still there but it was not as prominent. For me that is a big plus as I do not like that smell. The noodles were cooked the right amount just as it should be and the prawns were quite nice. Coming from a person that does not usually eat seafood I think that's quite an achievement. All in all I think that this is a very well balanced dish with just the right amount of everything. One thing that might set you back a little however is the price. The smallest bowl you can order is about $5 but you will not be disappointed by it trust me on this one I have been going to their store for almost 5 years and not once have they let me down when I need a prawn noodle fix.

Final Rating
5 / 5

Question of the day: Where do you like to go to eat prawn noodles?

Wanton Noodles

Today’s review will be on wanton noodles. Specifically the wanton noodles from Pontian wanton noodles store.  But before we delve into the wonderful noodles, some background info about this  popular dish. Wanton noodles is originally a Cantonese dish. This dish is normally served in a broth together with wanton dumplings.  However after it had spread to countries like Malaysia they have made the dry version of this dish which is the same noodles except with the noodles dressed in oyster sauce rather than in a soup therefore making it “dry”. The dry version will usually also include char siew which are roasted pork slices. Because of the availability of a dry versions, generally you will be able to order both versions of the noodle at any shop. The noodles are supposed to be cooked al dente which means to say that they should not be too soft and have a slightly firm when you bite it. 

Now on to the more exciting part, how does this particular wanton noodle taste. Since this is from a reputable chain of stores I have high hopes that it will be delicious.

Image taken from johortongue.wordpress.com

Let’s start with how the dish smells like. Straight away you can smell the sauce from the noodles and the slight hint of the char siew covering it. Judging by the texture of the noodles they seem to be cooked perfectly fine.  The sauce was slightly on the salty side for me but not by much for some of you it may even be just right. In its entirety I feel that this chain of stalls deserve the business that they are getting as they have managed to make such a delicious dish at a low cost so that everyone may enjoy the wonderful taste of wanton noodles at almost every hawker centre.

Final Rating

4 / 5

Question of the day: How do you like your wanton noodles? In a soup base or the dry version? Post your comments down below.

Bak Chor Mee

For this one post I have decided to stray just a little from the hawker centre by getting this particular bowl of noodles from EAT which is a chain of stores that sell almost solely this dish. However this dish can still be found in every hawker centre in Singapore.

 

Today's dish will be Bak Chor Mee but before we go into this delicious dish here is some background info about it. First of all, this dish is actually a variation of a popular dish called Mee pok. Mee pok in english. actually refers to the flat noodles that are used in this dish. This dish consists of flat noodles that are then mixed with the most important part of the dish, which is the sauce. The sauce is made up of 4 main components:  chili, oil, vinegar and other condiments such as soy sauce.  The chili is optional for the people that do not like the spiciness that it provides and it is instead replaced by ketchup for a different taste. The dish is then served with minced meat, pork slices and stewed mushrooms on the top.

Personally I do not like chili with my bak chor mee so instead I opted for the ketchup. The dish is naturally oily as they add oil to make sure the noodles do not stick to each other. The moment you can smell the dish, the smell of the vinegar in the sauce is the first thing that registers. For this dish the sauce must be mixed once more with the noodles to ensure it is evenly spread. The noodles are supposed to have a slightly hard feel to them but not too hard that it breaks instead of tearing when you pull them. For this bowl the noodles were almost perfect just slightly under cooked in my opinion but possibly just right in another's. This dish is my comfort food as I have been eating this since I was very young and until now my preference for it has not changed one bit. I recommend all of you to try this dish and i'm sure you will not regret it.

Final Rating

4.5 / 5

Question of the day : Where are your favourite places to eat Bak Chor Mee? Comment down below

Char Kway Teow

Today I had the opportunity to eat another signature hawker dish in Singapore, the Char Kway Teow. Firstly what is Char Kway Teow you may ask? The word char kway teow literally refers to the way the dish is cooked and the ingredients. It means "Stir-fried ricecake strips". Different countries have their own take on the ingredients in the dish but the basic ingredients are the same. For example, in Malaysia they do not include the pork fat in the dish for religious reason but they replace it with extra soy sauce and spices. This dish was originally a poor man's dish as the ingredients were cheap and it provided a lot of nutrients in the form of a high fat content. While this makes the dish rather unhealthy, as long as you do not eat it too often, it is a very tasty dish and well worth the increased amount of fat. 

This dish is one of Singapore's most famous dishes. Did you know that char kway teow is so popular that it is even served in Australia and New Zealand? This just shows how what started as a relatively simple dish can still gain worldwide recognition. 

Now on to the review of this particular kway teow stall. This stall can be found along Simon Rd next to Dominos pizza at the corner. For the purpose of this review, I will only be talking about the char kway teow, while the stall also sells other food such as carrot cake and oyster omelette. Firstly a regular sized plate will set you back about $3 while they usually sell them in two sizes regular and large which will generally cost about a dollar more. I got mine for $3. As you can see on the right the dish is brown in colour from the sweet sauce that they add. Mine was a little on the salty side but the actual taste apart from that was fantastic. I could also smell the blend of sauces in the dish and it was heavenly. For only $3 I think this is totally worth it. 

Final Rating 
4 / 5

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Chicken rice, it is one of Singapore's signature dishes. It is said that you haven't been to Singapore until you have tried a plate of chicken rice. For your information, Hainanese chicken rice is a dish of Chinese origin, most commonly associated with Hainanese,Malaysian and Singaporean cuisines.


 It is a very simple dish consisting of fragrant rice with steamed or roasted chicken. This dish can be found at almost any place selling a variety of food.
Today I had the opportunity to try the steamed chicken rice from A1 Chicken Rice at the Heartland Mall Hawker Centre. The plate of chicken rice only costs $2.50 and it tastes pretty good. The rice was fragrant and soft, the gravy on the chicken was slightly salty but still tasted good. Now we come to the main part of the dish, the chicken. Unfortunately the chicken was slightly too hard for my liking. For all of you that have never tried chicken rice before you should note that the chicken is purposely not steaming hot when it is served as it is supposed to be eaten with the warm rice. Overall the chicken rice from this stall is not bad and I would come back again. 

Final Rating
 3.5 / 5

Introduction

Hello, welcome to my blog. I will be posting reviews of some of the hawker centre foods that can be found in Singapore. Posts will be made weekly so check back here for more! Please feel free to comment on any suggestions to improve this blog.

-Andre