A taxi driver told me a few months ago that Lorong 5 Toa Payoh Hawker Centre had some of the best selections around the island for claypot rice, bak chor mee, and fishball noodle. We stopped on by there tonight to see if there were any truth to his claim. There certainly were a number of cabs parked out front.
The stall with the longest lines was Song Kee Fishball Noodle (#1-354M), so we went ahead and got that first. The dry mee pok version seemed to be the popular choice. I liked how they had two different types of fishballs, one of which was coarser in texture and a bit tastier (or at least, relievingly different). But while the overall dish was spicy and oily, the mee pok was overdone to the point where it was mushy and thus still brought down the entire dish in the end. Maybe the other noodle options would be better.
The claypot rice available from stall #1-330M looked decent, but they needed us to wait 20 minutes. So in the meantime, I also grabbed a bowl of bak chor mee from their neighbor at #1-328M. This was quite different with a dark sweet sauce that just didn't appeal to me. The claypot rice came shortly after that. This didn't quite do anything for me either. I didn't taste bad, but the only thing that really sparked my interest was the crispy scorched stuff on the bottom, and even then, it was a bit hard to scrape off.
I'm pretty sure that I won't be making any huge effort to come back here when there are others that I like better. I think the only thing interesting that I saw were these fish skeletons hanging from some lady's stall, but I was so focused on the skeletons that I didn't even look at what she was actually selling.
7 comments:
Hello from a blogger down under in New Zealand. I was searching the blog world when your blog popped up !!! It made me hungry (hehe) I have mentioned your blog @ #485 on my blog 21 21 21 Blogs as it is worth sharing.
Me - again !!! The link doesn't seem to work, but this one will.
21 21 21 Blogs
check this out
crab shack
Stumbled across your blog and loved reading it. We arevisiting Hong Kong, Singapore (and Australia) in a few weeks. - We love our food (check out my blog) but don't particurlar like fish - can you recommend some 'must do' restaurants?
Some websites to start with
ST Foodies Club
Makansutra
Thanks. Coming to an island and you don't like fish, eh? :)
The things that I usually recommend to visitors are the two quintessential items from Singapore: chili crab and chicken rice (venue recommendations in the links, although there are plenty of other good places around too). Others that you can check out include: satay, bak kut teh, and even Indian food. Note that most of these places are generally very casual and out in the open without air conditioning, so don't expect table linens and do dress down.
While you're in HK, check out Mak's Noodle and, if you're feeling really adventurous and want to hang out with the locals, Lin Heung Tea House (again, dress down please).
And finally, if you hit Sydney, be sure to hit the fish market (oh wait - you don't like fish...well, the sight is something to be seen at least) as well as Harry's Cafe on Wheels in Woolloomooloo near the W Hotel.
Please note that the places that I tend to go to are very, very casual places (there are plenty of fine dining "restaurants" elsewhere if that's more your thing). I'm just trying to pick out those few things that are truly unique and local for you, and if you're looking more for ambience and a nice romantic getaway with an extensive wine list, then these are *not* the right recommendations for you. Hope this helps.
that fish skeleton stall was selling Fish Soup. i prefer the Fish soup stall facing the road.
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