Pin Ji Fishball Minced Meat Noodles: Handmade Her Giao (Fish Dumplings)
Fishball noodles are a dime a dozen. But ones with fish dumplings, or what is known in Teochew as “her giao” are much less common. Even rarer as ones with really good handmade her giao! What makes these dumplings so special is that the “her” ie fish is not in the filling but in the […]
A bowl of mee pok tar is the quintessential Singaporean staple which you can eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper! Unlike some of our other dishes like char kway teow or satay beehoon, mee pok tar is still very much alive and thriving.
The stall was started by Mr Sim’s grandfather who sold bak chor mee from a push cart along the streets of Chai Chee years ago when it was still a real kampung. Mr Sim himself has already been helming the stall for 32 years!
Mei Ji Fishball Noodles: #OurHawkerCulture The Kampung Spirit!
The kampung spirit is still alive and well in our hawker centres! I met with Philip Tan recently who has been selling fishball noodles at Bukit Merah Food Centre since 1980 and he related some fascinating stories of how the hawkers, about half of whom have been there for almost four decades, behave almost like one big extended family.
[email protected]: Modern Hainanese Coffee House with Ramen, Mee Sua and McMuffins!
Remember the old school Hainanese Coffee House? It’s a place where you can get western food, Hainanese pork chops, hor fun and a good cup of sock brewed coffee! They were operated by Hainanese chefs who wanted to give Singaporeans a cheaper alternative to European restaurants in the old days. In Hong Kong, they have […]
Ah Ter Teochew Fishball Noodle Bar: Forerunners of Hawker Cuisine!
Our hawker cuisine has been undergoing a period of maturity in the last decade or so. In the 70’s and 80’s we witnessed the progression of hawkers from pushcarts to hawker centres. Then in the 90’s and 2000s, some of the famous ones moved into the food courts and franchising began. In the last decade or so, we have seen how certain dishes like wanton mee have gone on to open their own specialty restaurants.
Da Sheng Bak Chor Mee: The Key to Better Hawker Food!
Bai Yong Sheng, 36, has been helping out at his dad's bak chor mee stall since he was 15 years old. His father had, in turn, learnt the recipe from his grandfather who used to sell bak chor mee from a pushcart! That makes him an uncommon, 4th generation hawker!
The original owners of Song Kee Fishball noodles has resurrected their famous fish ball noodle shop and they now occupy the same Coffeeshop in Tembeling road, where another hawker legend, Hong Mao Wanton Mee, used to be!
Bak chor mee has always been an understated Singaporean dish. At least it was until last year when Hillstreet Tai Hwa Minced Pork noodle become one of the first street foods to be awarded a Michelin Star! Suddenly, this beloved Singaporean dish which had never quite been a poster-boy for Singapore food is thrown onto the world stage.
After the meepok is tossed in the sauce, it is topped with a generous amount of sliced pork, pork balls and minced pork. Then tender sliced Japanese style charshu which has been slow cooked for 5 hours is draped over the noodles and finally, in case you still haven't satisfied your need for pig, a generous amount of crispy pork lard is laid on top of the mountain of pork.
In my story of the Teenaged Japanese Mee Pok Girl, I mentioned that her dad, Naoji-san spent 6 months learning the art of Mee Pok from a local mee pok master. Since I enjoyed their mee pok so much, I just had to experience the master's kung fu for myself.
A very good bowl of bak chor mee made by a Japanese family. One one hand I am very glad that they have managed to master the authentic flavour of our bak chor mee. However, I must admit that there is a part of me which wanted to see bak chor mee that has been given that special Japanese makeover to bring bak chor mee to the next level. Perhaps this is something that our next generation Japanese Mee Pok girl might be able to do in the future? Let's wait and see!
