Tarik, Arab Street

I noticed Tarik (92 Arab Street, #01-02) some time ago and made a mental note to come back for some of their tea. Making a mental note these days aren't as effective anymore because...out of sight is out of mind. Very often. But we were in the vicinity today.

Was spoilt for choice. Ended up with Boss Fav which was basically a saffron masala tea.

I liked it. Even though it was iced, it didn't taste diluted even till the end. Pretty creamy and moderately spiced with discernible notes of ginger in the saffron. Will come back to try the hot one another time.

新路潮洲鱼圓粿條麵湯 (Xin Lu Teochew Fishball Noodles), Mei Ling Food Centre

Have noticed this stall (#02-05 Mei Lin Food Centre, 159 Mei Chin Road) and its queue in the past times I was here so decided to try today.

The chilli option came with ketchup which I didn't like. Had a couple of mee pok clumps. Fishballs were nice and bouncy but I prefer the flavour and texture from Hong Yong Chao Zhou Yu Yuan Guo Tiao Mian and Li Xin. Otherwise, it was an okay-ish bowl of fishball noodles.

More char siew rice from Mei Mei Roast (妹妹李记烧腊)

$6.50 in June 2026. Did not realise it's been more than a year since I last had this.

Next Chapter (樂膳房), Ubi

Have gotten kopi peng a few times from this shop (#01-93, 304 Ubi Avenue 1) before. This was the first time getting food. Crispy chicken cutlet curry noodle. Very crunchy freshly fried chicken. Curry's decent.

Dry mixed seafood noodle with milk broth from Hai Kah Lang (海脚人)

Back at Hai Kah Lang. I've had something similar back at the branch at Taman Sentosa with clear broth instead of the one with milk. Topping of seafood appears to have differences. But those springy noodles and the milky broth with 花雕 were what mattered. The seafood quality's decent but not impressive so 21.90SGD (approx. 68MYR) is an experience I'd rather not repeat. Will stick to the sliced fish bowls which are cheaper the next time.

Taste Legend Charcoal Roasted Delights (味传炭香烧腊家), Tiong Bahru

The coffeeshop at Boon Tiong used to be called Food Paradise (11B Boon Tiong Road). It's been since renamed Food Hub after a recent renovation which has made the layout of the stalls....pretty templated. Anyways, Shiok Hokkien Mee and Chef Hong HoChiak Bar have survived that and are still around. One of the new stalls that caught our attention was Taste Legend Charcoal Roasted Delights.

Competent fat laced roast pork rice they do here.

Came back another time to get them with char siew because they looked pretty good hanging at the stall. We were initially disappointed with how they looked on the plate but turned out to be deliciously smoky. 👍🏼

A few weeks later......

Note to self: Char siew rice isn't always nice. Luck of the draw plays a part. Meat can be dry and lean.

Curry noodle's ordinary. The curry's savoury, had a bit of heat but flavour was otherwise a little flat. The stall use soya sauce chicken instead of the more commonly seen poached chicken. Pretty tender those. But this was nothing that I'll be looking forward to again.

Passable shui jiao.

East Coast Lagoon Prawn Noodle • Laksa, Food Opera @ ION Orchard

I remember eating at this stall at Food Opera (#B4-03/04, ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn) a few times in the past decade but couldn't find any mention of those times except all the way back when I thought the stall was called 3rd Generation Laksa & Prawn Noodle.

Anyways, laksa's pretty damn good here. Gravy was velvety, heart clogging-ly lemak and robust with dried shrimp flavour. Quite Peranakan-ish. Hard boiled eggs, tau pok, some halved prawns and fish cake inside with thick bee hoon. A competent representation in my opinion. 👍🏼

Prawn kuey teow soup was okay-ish. Broth needs a splash of soya sauce.

JJ Fishball (舅舅鱼丸面), Alexandra Village Food Centre

Noticed JJ Fishball (#01-26, Alexandra Village Food Centre, Blk 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1) some time back and wanted to try. Despite the name, they do a little more than just fishball noodles. Here's a $5.50 bowl of mushroom bak chor mee pok.

Nicely done with pretty generous portions. Mee pok was thick (as opposed to the flatter variety Xiang Jiang uses) and vinegary. There's minced pork, sliced pork, pork liver and stewed mushrooms - the latter was flavour packed and garlicky. No meatballs. Sambal didn't have much heat and it wasn't even that spicy even with the sliced chilli thrown in. Not a bad bowl though. Don't mind coming back.

Lye Huat Cooked Food (來發熟食), Jalan Bukit Merah Food Centre

Pretty good tasting Chinese mee siam from Lye Huat (#01-21, 112 Jalan Bukit Merah Market & Food Centre, 112 Jalan Bukit Merah). This one had a slightly gritty broth that was sweet, lime-y and a little nutty with a bit of heat. We were initially intending to try the lontong but that was sold out at around 9am in the morning. Whisper was that that this stall has been operating for many years.

Bai Sheng Teochew Minced Meat Noodle (百胜潮州肉脞面), Defu Industrial City

Pretty generously portioned $5 bowl from Bai Sheng Teochew Minced Meat Noodle (GHK Defu Industrial City, 2 Defu South Street 1). A few things I didn't like. Mee pok was overcooked. Fried lard (猪油渣) chunks were a little soggy and not particularly fragrant. I suppose the bowl could also benefit from the sambal packing a bit more punch. But otherwise edible.

Shou Yi Fried Fritters (手義油条•豆浆), Food Opera @ ION Orchard

I've been looking these glutinous rice buns. Chanced across them at Shou Yi Fried Fritters at Food Opera (B4-03/04 ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn).

The last time I've found these was at Xi De Li. For some reasons, they don't seem to have them anymore since.

Ratio of bun to glutinous rice felt different but the flavour's kinda similar with the five spice saltiness in the buns and sweetness in the tender glutinous rice.

Hong Xing Handmade Fishball • Meatball Noodle (鸿興手工鱼圆•肉圆麵), Hong Lim Food Centre

I've been wanting to try the fishball noodles from this branch of Hong Xing (#02-30 Hong Lim Food Centre, 531A Upper Cross Street). 

Pretty decent. Fishballs were delicious, especially the speckled ones. But I found myself remembering the mee pok from the Hong Xing at Bukit Merah View more fondly. This one just didn't taste as good based on saucing and texture of the noodles.

This sign to me seems half assed. What it conveyed to me, was that there was something to be said and they didn't have the fishballs to say it. That meant that the Hong Xing Fishball shop at Bukit Merah View isn't related to them, innit?

Revisiting Tiong Bahru Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Takashimaya

That's their coconut fizz float which was basically a scoop of coconut ice cream in tonic water. Kinda liked this.

We were here to try something different from them. Something they called oven baked French poulet with Japanese rice which was prepared on order and had a 25 minutes waiting time. So we munched on some stuff...like their sweet and sour pork while waiting. Not bad this one. Crisp on the outside.

I don't know if this was French chicken because we also heard them mention kampong chicken. Meat was tender. The crisp skin had a flavour which reminded me of honey soya sauce glaze.

Under the chook was chicken rice with garlic. They used Niigata Koshihikari rice for that. Nice. 

Hong Yong Chao Zhou Yu Yuan Guo Tiao Mian (鴻榮潮洲鱼圓粿條麵), Jalan Bukit Merah Food Centre

Found out about Hong Yong Chao Zhou Yu Yuan Guo Tiao Mian (#01-09, 112 Jalan Bukit Merah Market & Food Centre, 112 Jalan Bukit Merah) recently. Apparently, they've been around since 1969.

The recommended noodle(s) of choice is kuey teow mee.

A $4 bowl gets one a bowl of noodles and a bowl of fishballs in a clear broth. Great flavour in the fishballs. While they were obviously smaller, the flavour of these fishballs were at least on par with Li Xin if not better. What's mentioned was that they're made with yellowtail as well. 

That inconspicuous clear broth was also packed with flavour.

The sliced chilli they provide are the regular ones with less heat as opposed to the smaller and feistier types which packs more kick. Chilli sauce was umami-laden. Gotta come back another time. Note to self: Open only weekends from 4.30am to 9.30am.

Fei Fei Roasted • Noodle (肥肥烧腊 • 云吞面), Hawkers' Street @ 100AM

I remember someone mentioning this stall once back at Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre. Never got to try them. Came across their outpost at Hawkers' Street at 100AM (#04-05/06, 100 Tras Street) and their beautifully caramelized char siew beckoned to us. As hard as it was to believe, it looked much better than it tasted. Not that it tasted bad but the meat beneath all the beautify red and black surface was a little dry and harder than we imagined.

Ivan's Porridge is back!

After what seemed to be months of closure, Ivan's Porridge is finally back! I have missed the smoky chilli with their bee hoon.

They've mentioned that they'll be taking more frequent breaks moving forward.

Zhen Xiang Hainanese Chicken Rice (臻香海南鸡饭), BK Eating House @ Jurong Gateway Road

Came across Zhen Xiang Hainanese Chicken Rice (BK Eating House, 134 Jurong Gateway Road, #01-309) by chance while looking for lunch. What decided for me were actually those slabs of pork belly char siew hanging with the chicken in the stall. This turned out to be a pretty good find. Got the poached thigh. Chook was competently smooth and tender, well sauced with a pleasant sesame oil flavour. That and a light but adequately flavoured rice with a lime-y garlicky chilli which had a pleasant heat. That char siew though - was well caramelized, fatty and savoury sweet. Nice.