Shake Mee @ JEM - Diet Noodle Bowl Which Needs A Good Shake

Face to Face Noodle House which brought the popular Sarawak noodles to Singapore has opened a new noodle concept at JEM. The new stall is called Shake Mee, located at Cookhoue@JEM on the top floor of JEM.

Shake Mee offers a variety of small noodle bowls at $3.90 each. The noodles comes in a Japanese cover with a plastic lid cover. Before eating, customers are supposed to give the bowl a good shake to toss the noodle with the sauce.

Mala Pan Mee 4/5

The Mala Pan Mee ($3.90) comes with shredded pork, pickled tuber mustard, peanut, roasted seaweed and sesame. If you can take spicy, the mala is really tongue numbing and fragrant. In local term, this is damn shiok.

Creation Pork Pan Mee 3/5

I suspect the Creation Pork Pan Mee ($3.90) is influenced from the Taiwanese braised pork rice. Instead of rice it is substituted with noodle, braised pork, braised egg, kai lan and cracker. It is a delightful bowl but I did not find the wow factor, exciting me.

House Specialty Pan Mee 4/5

The House Specialty Pan Mee ($3.90) comes in both spicy and non spicy version. We have the spicy version which has a good kick to it. The bowl comes with other ingredients such as anchovies, kai lan, minced meat and onsen egg. Its like having a dry ban mian with the different components coming together for a delectable finish.

Kolo Mee 4.2/5

Among the different noodle bowls I tried, my favourite is the Kolo Mee ($3.90). The kolo mee comes with 4 choices of sauce. You can have the white (traditional), black (dark soy sauce), mix (dark soy sauce + chilli sauce) or red (chilli sauce). We tried the one with the dark soy sauce which comes with fried wanton, kai lan, minced meat and char siew. While the char siew was on the dry side, the dark sauce married with the springy noodle excellently. If it can improve on the char siew, this would be perfect.

Sea-Yo-Later 2.8/5 and K-Pops 3/5

Besides the different variety of noodle bowls, Shake Mee also offers chicken pops on their menu. There are the K-Pops ($3) which is korean spicy sauce with sesame and Sea-Yo-Later ($3) which is mayo with seasweed and sesame. I personally prefer the K-pops over the later. I thought the spicy sauce was not spicy at all and the sauce was somewhat acquire.

Overall I enjoy the quality of the freshly made noodles and sauce. While the concept is diet bowl or small bowl, it can be quite competitive in a food court where you can find bigger quantity food with the same price. I like the concept but the location maybe challenging for the it to kick off.


Shake Mee
JEM
Cookhouse@JEM
50 Jurong Gateway Road
#05-01
Singapore 608549
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Nearest MRT: Jurong East (EW Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 10am - 10pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Jurong East MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles @ Tekka Food Centre - A Taste Of Nostalgia By Pretty Hawker

In my previous post, we had fish ball noodle by a handsome hawker. Today we are going to Tekka Food Centre to have prawn noodle by a pretty hawker, Ruifang. Ruifang is a third generation hawker who runs the Tekka branch while her aunts run the Whampoa stall.

The history of the prawn noodle dated back to 1950s when Ruifang's grandfather was selling the dish along the street of Whampoa. Her dad and grandmother opened their very first physical stall at the Whampoa Market in 1973 when it was first built.

Dry Prawn Noodle 4.2/5

I tried both the Dry Prawn Noodle and Prawn Noodle Soup. My preference is the dry version for the shiok sambal sauce that complements the noodles perfectly. The addition of deep fried shallots and pork lard elevated the flavour further. Have it together with the peeled prawns and pork slice for a taste of nostalgia cooked using a recipe that has been passed down for three generations.

Prawn Noodle Soup 4/5

Perfect for the rainy days is the Prawn Noodle Soup which comes in a thick brown broth that is packed with the crustacean's essence. I could also tasted hints of sweetness probably from the used of some other seafood such as clams to sweeten it. Overall it is a hearty and comforting bowl of prawn noodle.

I read that Ruifang starts her day at 2am preparing for the day's ingredients and soup. I could not imagine the finance graduate would leave her office job to be a hawker. This is really hard work just to be ready for the day to serve a bowl of prawn noodle. So next time, don't forget to show a little bit of appreciation to the hawkers, especially when it is a pretty lady.


545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles
Tekka Food Centre
665 Buffalo Road
#01-326
Singapore 210665
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Nearest MRT: Little India (DT Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 630am - 2pm (or until sold out)
(Closed on Sat-Sun)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Little India MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Sumo Big Prawn Noodle @ Blk 628 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 Food Centre - The Ultimate Lobster Prawn Noodle Soup

A new sumo champion has been crowned in Ang Mo Kio Ave 4. Within a month, SUMO Big Prawn Noodle has wrestled its way into the food scene with food lovers travelling all the way from different corners of Singapore, queuing up to an hour to savour the champion's prawn noodle.

When I reached the stall on a Sunday afternoon, there was already a snaking queue. It took me slightly more than an hour to be able to get my food. There was 5 young men manning the stall, each has their own role and responsibility. One is in charge of the cashier and taking order, one is responsible of preparing the order and cooking the noodle, while another one is in charge of cooking the broth together with the crustaceans. The rest of the team is busy preparing the other ingredients for the food.

Lobster  & Big Prawn Noodle Soup 4.8/5

Lobster  & Big Prawn Noodle Soup 4.8/5

With a sip of soup of the Lobster & Big Prawn Soup ($24.90), I was overwhelmed by the richness and robustness of the broth. It was complex, sweet and carried the aroma of Chinese wine. It is packed with rich flavours that complement the yellow perfectly. The price may be a bit steep but it comes with a whole lobster with sweet bouncy flesh, 2 big prawns and la la clams.

Crayfish Noodle Soup  4.5/5

Crayfish Noodle Soup 4.5/5

Having queued for slightly more than an hour, I have to make my wait worthwhile. Hence I also ordered the Crayfish Noodle Soup ($13). The bowl of noodle soup is brimming with ingredients. There were 3 crayfish sliced into halves, 2 big prawns and la la clams. While the body of the broth is still the same, I thought there was a slight different. The soup was not as sweet as the lobster's one but it still had the same richness and robustness. I am not sure whether there was a bit of inconsistency here but the used of Chinese wine was a bit heavy in this bowl.

Besides the 2 dishes that I have ordered, Sumo Big Prawn also offers Prawn Noodle Soup ($5), Big Prawn Noodle Soup ($8) and Lobster Noodle Soup ($18.90) on their men. Guest will have a choice of yellow noodle or beehoon. I would highly recommend you to give Sumo Big Prawn noodle a try if you have not done so. It is worth the queue and calories. For me, there is even a more fulfilling mission to spread the words in support of these young gentlemen willing to labour in the heat and confined space. There is hope for our hawker culture. Ganbatte!


Sumo Big Prawn Noodle
Blk 628 Food Centre
Blk 628 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4
#01-72
Singapore 560628
Tel: +65 92992621
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Nearest MRT: Yio Chu Yang (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 9am - 9pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Yio Chu Yang MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk towards Ang Mo Kio Ave 6. Cross the road. Cut across the housing estate and walk to Ang Mo Kio Street 61. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Yio Chu Yang MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to Yio Chu Yang bus interchange (Stop ID 55509). Take bus number 549. Alight 2 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

Chao Zhou Fishball Noodle @ Kim Keat Palm Food Centre - Old School Fishball Noodle

I used to go Kim Keat Palm Food Centre for my mutton soup fix until Ivy's Hainanese Herbal Mutton Soup pull down its shutter. Recently I went back to the food centre again and decided to give Chao Zhou Fishball Noodle a try since its one of the few stalls at the food centre that always have a long queue. Moreover, it opens only 4 times a week.

Fishball Noodle 

I ordered the Fishball Noodle Dry ($3) which comes with 5 huge golf size fishball. The bowl of mee pok noodle is also drenched in a mixture of ketchup and chilli sauce.

The noodle is cooked to a nice al dente bite. It shows the skill of the hawker behind the noodle ladle. The ketchup sauce gave the bowl of noodle a nostalgic flavour but I thought there was too much of it, throwing the balance off. The bowl of noodle was too sweet for me.

The highlight actually is not the noodle but the fishball. For a mere three dollars, customers get to enjoy these huge and bouncy, handmade fishballs. It is definitely value for money.

It was understand that the stall used to be run by an old couple but when I was there, a young man is helping out in the stall, cooking the noodle while the old uncle is in charge of the fishballs. Looks like the old couple has found someone that is willing to learn the trade and continue the legacy since 1968.


Chao Zhou Fishball Noodle
Kim Keat Palm Food Centre
Blk 22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7
#01-20
Singapore 310022
Nearest MRT: Braddell (NS Line), Toa Payoh (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Wed-Thu, Sat-Sun: 8am - 1pm
(Closed on Mon, Tue and Fri)

Direction:
1) Alight at Braddell MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to bus stop opposite Braddell MRT station (Stop ID 52171). Take bus number 232. Alight 3 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Toa Payoh MRT station. Take Exit A or B. Walk to Toa Payoh Bus Interchange (Stop ID 52009). Take bus number 238. Alight 4 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

Mr Fish @ Smith Street Food Centre - No Milk Added Fish Head Bee Hoon

It has been a while since I have gone back to Smith Street Food Centre. This time I was actually there to check out Kent Thong Turtle Soup, but decided to dropped by Mr Fish at the same food centre after reading raving reviews of their Cantonese style fish soup.

Fish Head Bee Hoon 4.2/5

I am sure you have eaten at many fish soup stalls. The first thing they do during ordering they will always asked you whether you want to add milk to your soup. At Mr Fish, a clear sign at the front of their stall states "No Milk Added!" in red. Why so?

The reason for the raving reviews is because of the traditional way the stall prepares the fish soup. The stock undergone long hours of boiling to get that creamy and silky texture. Unlike many other stalls that add milk to achieve it. The portion of the Fish Head Bee Hoon ($5) is also very generous. I like the addition of cabbage for a refreshing touch on top of the richness of the soup.

Braised Bitter Gourd and Sliced Fish 3.8/5

Besides the fish head bee hoon, we also ordered a plate of Braised Bitter Gourd and Sliced Fish ($8) to try. Cooked in a black bean sauce, this is a comforting, home cooked food. If the black bean sauce could carry more depth, then this will be excellent.

Be prepared to wait at Mr Fish as they will come your order dish by dish. We waited for almost half an hour to our two orders. The good thing is you need not queue, they will serve the food to your table.


Mr Fish
Chinatown Complex
Smith Street Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith Street
#02-073
Singapore 050335
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Nearest MRT: Chinatown (DT Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 10am - 4pm
(Closed on Sun)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Chinatown MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk down Pagoda Street. Turn right onto Trengganu Street and walk to the end of the street. Cross Smith Street and walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

[CLOSED] Rojak Line @ Holland Drive Food Centre - Vegetarian Shrimp Paste Rojak & Toasted You Tiao Popiah

There is hope in our hawker scene when another young hawker ditched her office job and started a hawker stall at Holland Drive Food Centre selling Rojak. The month old Rojak Line is started by 31 years old Debbie, who likes rojak but cannot stands the taste of the shrimp paste. Hence she created her own vegetarian shrimp taste.

Rojak 4/5

The plate of Rojak ($4/$5/$6) comes with fruits, cucumber, toasted you tiao (dough fritter), tau pok and topped with peanuts. We like the sweet and tangy shrimp paste sauce that is used to hold the variety of ingredients together. It was only later when we chatted with the owner that we realized she is using her own special vegetarian shrimp paste sauce. We could not tell the different at all. It is really good.

The weak link for the plate of rojak is the doughy you tiao. For it to be crispier, it needs to be toasted a bit longer or at least cut into smaller size.The pineapple was not ripe enough so it was a bit hard to bite. If it is riper, the sweetness will it a nice balance to the whole execution.

Toasted You Tiao Popiah 4/5

A interested dish on the menu is the Toasted You Tiao Popiah ($2). The toasted you tiao with the special vegetarian shrimp paste sauce and peanut is wrapped with popiah skin. I thought this is an interesting way of bringing two traditional dishes together for a new eat. While my friend do not like the doughy you tiao, I thought otherwise. I find that the doughy texture suit the whole concept, as if I am chewing a churro.

Another popular item at the stall which we did not get to try as it was sold out is the Vegetarian Popiah ($1.80) that comes with turnip, carrot, salad, shitake, sweet sauce, crispy bits, peanut, chilli and garlic. Vegan may request not to have garlic.

Overall, I am impressed with the vegetarian shrimp paste sauce. This is my first time having it and I have to admit I will not be able to tell the different if the owner has not revealed to us. It is only a month into business, so I am sure there will be some fine tuning and improvement along the way. I really look forward to Rojak Line scaling new heights in the new future. All the best.


[CLOSED]
Rojak Line
Holland Drive Food Centre
Blk 44 Holland Drive
#02-13
Singapore 27044
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Nearest MRT: Buona Vista (EW Line, CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun: 12pm - 8pm
(Closed on Mon)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Buona Vista MRT station. Take Exit A. Take the underpass to the other side of the MRT station. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time is about 12 minutes. [Map]

Fishball Story @ NUS UTown

I first get to know Fishball Story when I worked with Douglas for the Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014. Located previously at Golden Mile Food Centre, Fishball Story has now moved into NUS UTown at Stephen Riady Center, Level 2 Foodclique. It is actually quite easy to spot the stall, just go to where the longest queue is.

Fishball Noodle 4.2/5

Many would ask what make the fishball noodle at Fishball Story so special? Douglas, 26 years old this year makes his fish balls and fish cakes from scratch using yellow tail fish only. His usual day starts from 4am to make the fish balls and fish cakes, even the sambal chilli and pork lard. I mean who at this age or his generation is willing to do this nowadays.

Fishball Noodle 4.2/5

The Fishball Noodle is priced at $3 for NUS student and $3.50 for Public. While the firm and bouncy fish balls and fish cakes are outstanding, I was hoping that the sambal chilli would have more kick to it.

Borrowing a paragraph from my previous post on Fishball Story. I continued to admire Douglas's hard work and dedication to provide the best quality in his fishball noodle. It is hard to find or even name such stalls nowadays with factory made fish balls readily availability and even at a lower cost. The fishball noodle at Fishball Story is definitely worthy for a visit and we have to give these young hawkers the due encouragement or we will slowly lose the hawker heritage in Singapore.


[CLOSED]
Fishball Story
NUS UTown
Stephen Riady Center
Level 2 Foodclique
2 College Avenue West
Singapore 138607
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Clementi (EW Line), Buona Vista (CC Line, EW Line), Kent Ridge (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 830am - 8pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Clementi MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Clementi MRT station (Stop ID 17179). Take bus number 183. Alight 3 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Clementi MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to Clementi Bus Interchange (Stop ID 17009). Take bus number 96. Alight 3 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at Buona Vista MRT station. Take Exit D. Walk to bus stop opposite Buona Vista MRT station (Stop ID 11369). Alight 6 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

4) Alight at Kent Ridge MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at Kent Ridge Station (Stop ID 18331). Take free NUS shuttle bus D2. Alight 5 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]

Truly Test Kitchen @ Jun Jie Industrial Building (Macpherson Road)

The two young hawkerpreneurs that have started Truly Curry Rice at Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre has closed their stall and made a bold expansion move, taking over an entire coffee shop inside an industrial building at Kampong Ampat with a rather hip name - Truly Test Kitchen. Located on level seven of the industrial building, Truly Test Kitchen is a concept that consists of Truly Curry Rice, and another 3 other stalls - Truly Western, Mian and Handmade Meatball Porridge.

Hainanese Curry Rice 4/5

I was quite amazed to see the inner rice clean of gravy, after sitting there for quite some time with gravy coated all over. That to me was already a huge plus. The consistency of the curry allows it to just glaze the rice without drowning it. It is flavourful yet not overpowering the other dishes. I highly recommend their braised dishes - Radish, Chap Chye and Bittergourd.

Curry Chicken Noodle 3.5/5

Homely Noodle 3.5/5

From the Mian Stall, we had Homely Noodle and Curry Chicken Noodle. I have never seen such a huge portion for only $3.50. After observing that most customers working in the area will head straight to the rice stall without giving the noodles or porridge stall a chance. The two hawkerpreneurs increased the portion for a value return to counter that. Hence, both noodles and porridge are made extremely hearty to satiate their hunger. Homely Noodle is something that comforts your soul, while the Curry Chicken Noodle sets to fire your energy for the rest of the afternoon.

Homemade Pumpkin Cakes 3.8/5

Their Homemade Pumpkin Cakes are also worth trying. They are slightly differently from the usual. Crispy on the outside soft on the inside, the special sauce and chilli at the side make it extra moreish.

Meatball Porridge 3.8/5

Chunky homemade meatballs and velvety porridge, the liking for their Porridge is unanimous.  Thick and gluey, this hearty porridge is slow cooked for 2 hours to achieve such consistency. Hence, you wouldn't see your porridge turning watery till your last drop. That happens when potato starch was being added to quicken the thickening process. 

Chicken Chop Baked Rice 3.5/5

Chicken Chop 4/5

From Truly Western, their Baked Rice, Chicken Chop and Chicken Waffle ($4.50 each) are their popular dishes. Their baked rice is more towards the Hong Kong style. Perhaps it's the batter, I must say their Chicken Chop is really good, hence be it we had it by itself or as Chicken Chop Baked Rice, both were equally satisfying.  Their pasta, however, pale in comparison.

Pasta 2.8/5

Their Chicken Waffle ($4.50) may excite you as much as it had excited our table. Isn't it interesting to see how hawker food has evolved?  Some may see it in a negative way but such evolution may give people a chance to taste new things that is almost out of their imagination. This particular dish actually made an old couple coming back for it consecutively everyday for weeks!

Chicken Waffle 4/5

Joel and Deniece, former forex traders and colleagues, are the two young people who made it happened, barely after a couple of years after Deniece's dad handed over the hawker stall at Telok Blangah Food Centre to them. They took over the defunct coffeeshop on the 7th storey of the industrial building, spent months to get the entire space up and running, to what you see today. Hungry for success, you can see that in their eyes.

I can't imagine how this place was like back before Joel and Deniece took over, but to see so much energy going on at a level so high up in an industrial building on a Saturday, Truly Test Kitchen has definitely breathed a new lease of life into this place.

Written by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food.



[CLOSED]
Truly Test Kitchen
Jun Jie Industrial Building
153 Kampong Ampat
#07-05
Singapore 368326
Nearest MRT: Tai Seng (CC Line), Aljunied (EW Line)

Opening Hours
Mon-Sat: 7am - 2pm
(Closed on Sun)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Tai Seng MRT station. Take Exit B.Walk down Harper Road. Turn right onto Playfair Road and then left onto Mactaggart Road. Walk to the end of Mactaggart Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Aljunied MRT station. Take Exit B. Cross the overhead bridge. Walk to bus stop opposite Aljunied MRT station (Stop ID 81081). Take bus number 62. Alight 5 stops later. Walk to Kampong Ampat road. Turn left onto Kampong Ampat road. Continue on Kampong Ampat. Walk to destination. Journey time about 20 minutes. [Map]