炎记, Yan Ji Lobster Seafood Soup！

Lobster Seafood Soup ($40)

This is the famous Yan Ji in the Old Woodland Hawker Centre. They have since relocate into the new Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre, and are offering lobsters in their menu!

You can imagine how fresh-tasting this lobster soup. While the lobster meat remains sweet and succulent; same goes for their all-time favourite large prawns. Fish maws, meat balls and tender fish fillets included.

An affordable extravagant. Go pamper yourself.

Braised Pork Trotters ($7)

稳稳白米粉, Woon Woon Pek Bee Hoon - Chomp Chomp

Crayfish Platter (S, $27)

Crayfish + Prawn + Sliced Fish + LaLa

At the set of a glorious sun, a plate of luscious seafood in savory broth was presented. The drag of a long day, i'm grateful to finish the quiet evening this way, at the weekday Chomp Chomp. The beautiful orangey broth immediately whet the appetite, and pick-me-up!

Fresh, crunchy pork lard is my favorite. But we were busy slurping in the sweet broth. And working to undress the 4 crayfishes and prawns. Even the casual Snakehead fish slices taste fresher than most others. The vermicelli were missing the wok hei, but being lesser fired, it absorbs the broth oh-so-well!

Plan your weekends here. You'll be glad a meal at Chomp Chomp doesn't always have to be heavy with hokkien mee and bbq wings.

实里达, Seletar Sheng Mian. Mian Fen Guo

Stall #01-05

It's near 2pm. Yet the perpetual queue at this mee hoon kway stall in Toa Payoh Lor 8 Food Centre continues! If such common food commands a wait, it can't be a walkover.

Sheng Mian, soup ($3)

True enough. The hawker offers some good chewy handmade noodles and mee hoon kway. So good, the mee hoon kway is sold out. Will surely make an effort to come back early for it. Besides the usual ingredients of minced meat, raw egg, anchovies and vegetable, the minimum order includes 2 good sized fresh prawn too!

For the rare occasion, i actually enjoy their ultra flavorsome broth, with Ric being the only one complaining today. He finds the taste too heavy for our liking, preferring their springy noodles tossed over black savoury sauce, chili and shallot oil instead.

This is our virgin visit to the Lor 8 food centre. And i hope to cover some of the interesting stalls here; that is if we don’t crumple to the bee hoon kway again! It’s tough. This stall has now overtaken my favourite, the He Jia Huan Ban Mian at Jurong West.

Sheng Mian, dry ($3)

韩江, Hung Kang (Bedok) Fish Soup

Sliced Fish Soup ($4.50), Rice ($0.50)

Just when we thought the Blk 16, Bedok South Hawker Centre holds no more surprises for us, it presents a significant queue at this late lunch hour.

Without a doubt, it is a satisfying bowl of fresh Batang fish soup. We actually emptied the bowl, slurping in many chunks of dried sole fillet (flat fish) found within! The real surprise here is their side dish of stewed duck. Savory meat aside, i ladled on the dark braised sauce lavishly and finished the whole bowl of rice!

Stewed Duck ($3.50)

顺记, SK Seafood Soup

Crayfish and Prawn Soup ($10.50)

Add $1 for Batang Fish and $0.50 for rice. 

Many such crayfish seafood soup stalls seem to congregate in the Woodlands area, but we haven't found one soup that we really fancy. Today we were at Shuan Ji, in the Marsiling Lane Market & Cooked Food Centre. Not to be confused with Sin Kee seafood soup, at the adjacent kopitiam.

The soup tasted similar to Sin Kee though. But the crayfish here is beautifully orange, unlike Sin Kee's. Price is fair for 1.5 pieces of crayfish and 3 fresh prawns. The added dollar serving of Batang fish was aplenty!

Not bad at all, and the search continues.

稳稳白米粉, Woon Woon Pek Bee Hoon

LaLa + Clayfish White Bee Hoon (M, $15)

This is supposedly our first 'white bee hoon' - where vermicelli was stir fried to achieve that wok-hei fragrance before cooking in a seafood broth. A signature dish that is fast gaining popularity in Singapore's many hawker centres.

The soup first hit us as being a little fishy, but was soon forgotten as we got used to it, and were busy slurping everything up! 3 crayfishes, 6 clams (with 1 being spoiled), lots of white cabbages and crispy pork lard was satisfying. We had wished they could be a little generous with their serving of the vermicelli, which was done with a good wok hei.

If you like what you see here, this is Woon Woon (#01-54) at the Changi Village Food Centre. Our first, and it certainly makes me fall for this thing called 'white bee hoon'.

Within the week, we went back for their LaLa and prawns set.

LaLa + Prawns White Bee Hoon (M, $9)

鲜记, Sin Kee Seafood Soup, SK

Clayfish with Batang Fish ($10.50), add another $0.50 for rice.

We followed a Yahoo! food post to Sin Kee at Marsiling, while maintaining our doubts. Notice many were first time diners too, like us. It had better be good, i thought.

Food was served. And we had to compare them to Yan Ji Wei Wei, who is famous for this rendition of seafood soup. The soup at Sin Kee is easier to drink than Yan Ji's, as Yan Ji can sometimes be too salted and over-whelming. Both stalls, however, neglected their meatballs. We suspect they were left to overcook till tasteless. The only best thing is their crayfish and prawns, where you could count on natural seafood freshness.

Overall, we thought Yan Ji does it better.

勿洛亚坤, Bedok Ah Koon Fish Soup

Pig's Trotter ($6)

Sambal Sweet Potato Leaf ($7)

Don't be deceived by the sparse crowd at Ah Koon Fish Soup, this was because the Bedok North Market and Food Centre is not a crowded lunch place to begin with. The hawker took up 2 stalls and serve an order of unpretentious fish soup, with a simple Cze Char menu. And it was here that we discovered a very good fish soup, handmade meatballs and egg omelette!

For a start, i'm one who doesn't fancy meatballs. I hate the messy lump of fatty minced meat. But the one here is definitely delicious! I don't need to be coaxed to have a second helping of it.

Then we have the humble egg omelet, done at its best. It was not oily, but crispy on the outside, yet still soft and melted in its center! I really enjoy this. Last but not least, drink up their light, refreshing Batang fish soup. It's the signature, remember?

Fried Omelette ($6) 

Handmade Meatball Soup ($4)

Sliced Fish Soup ($4)

Marsling Teochew Fish Soup

Twin Fish Soup, mix of fried and fresh fish ($4)

In every of my visit to the Marsiling Lane Market & Cooked Food Centre, there was always a long queue at this fish soup stall (#01-41). But we have been stubborn to resist the lure of the queue until today, and it was no regret. 

A good drink of milkiness, unless you opted for clear soup. Bitter gourd and few green vegetables satisfy the fiber needs. Fluffy deep fried omelette which we called the 'bomb' was included. The star of the dish was without a doubt - the fresh sliced Batang fish, which was way... better than their fried fish fitters.

And what do you like with your fish soup? They have options of bee hoon, ee mian, rice, kway, porridge, and even mee sua! It is no wonder, business is a constant bustle here.

炎记威威食品, Yan Ji Wei Wei Seafood Soup

Crayfish Seafood Soup ($10), added Fish Maw for $2

This is my second visit to Yan Ji Seafood within a week. I was totally wowed during my first trip, but got weary after the more than salted soup this afternoon. Its signboard read that sun-dried Hokkaido scallops are used in concocting its seafood broth, but on both occasions we tasted mainly of dried sole fillet (flat dried fish, 扁鱼干)? So while many complained about the half filled bowl of soup serving, we don't.

What's gratifying is perhaps the freshness of their shellfish. No doubt about it. The crayfish, prawns and fish maw are the must order. It's a great pity that Dory fish fillet is used in their fish soup, unless you specified for the more expensive Pomfret ($10) or Red grouper ($10). The freshness of their Dory doesn't rid it of the mud tang.

Minced meat balls were also the standard fare. It was special because dried sole fillet was hammered to bits and added into it. But i asked for mine to be excluded this time as it is too filling and forgettable. I had preferred to leave more appetite for their flavorsome braised trotters. Alas, more Dory fillets were substituted in the absence of meat balls...

Long distance to the Woodlands Food Centre and the fact that the stall closes for dinner are good excuses for me to avoid a hurried return.

Braised Pig Trotters ($7)

合家欢, He Jia Huan Ban Mian, Mee Hoon Kway - Tom Yum!?

We seldom come across Ban Mian stall that drew so such attention - always a crowd, a perpetual queue at its crammed corner in the spacious Kopitiam. Their specialties are the zesty Tom Yum and dry rendition, where dark soy sauce greases fresh, bouncy noodle.

The tasty soup was always served scalding hot, and its ingredients were of freshest standards - minced meat, meat balls, pork slices. My colleagues would always request for additional helping of their fried anchovies at 50 cents extra.

If you are anywhere near, do drop in at Blk 492 Jurong West St 41. You wouldn't be disappointed.

Tom Yum Ban Mian ($4.50)

Ban Mian, soup ($3.50)

Ban Mian, dry ($3.50)

U-Mee, dry ($3.50)

海春板面, Hai Chun Ban Mian - Fresh fish slices in one of Singapore's most quiet corner

Ban Mian ($2.80)

Fish Porridge ($3.50)

Strictly speaking, you wouldn't recommend this stall (#01-06 in Blk 1A) in the categorizes of gourmet food, but the faithful stall which stays open during the Chinese New Year festive and offers large serving of their mains with fresh fish slices clearly won our hearts. This is also some quiet dining in laid-back Tanglin Halt Food Centre. You go slow on weekends, don't you?

Being one of Singapore's most remote hawker centre, business is good at Hai Chun; many residents going for their fresh fish slices vermicelli soup/ or porridge, dine-in or packing away - that's how the stall caught our attention actually.

We enjoyed their slurping hot Ban Mian equally; their fried dumplings were just to fill the gap of the overly healthy dinner.

Fried Dumpling ($4)

Fish Bee Hoon in Tong Lai Eating House, 东来餐室

It was always a headache for us, when i'm craving for a bowl of hot fish soup while getting stuck in the West - There didn't seem to be any good fish soup around here, is there?

I was therefore so happy to discover this stall at Blk 283, Bukit Batok East Ave 3, in the Tong Lai Kopitiam. They are not the best, but surely above all average.

Fresh Fish Slice Bee Hoon ($4)

We appreciate that soup was served steaming hot, and comes with strong hints of ginger and dried sole fish (扁鱼干). No extra charges for our request of Bitter Gourd vegetables. It would have been perfect if less seasoning was used on the fried fish, and no added salt on the fresh fish slices.

While the stall serves only fried fish heads, and not the fresh ones, meat is fresh and firm - we're simply happy that fish heads are still available at this afternoon hour.

Fried Fish Slice Bee Hoon ($4)

Fried Fish Head Bee Hoon ($4)

韩江鱼汤, Han Jiang Fish Soup

Late lunch on a Sunday; we want to decide on something fast.

Spotted this really long queue as we drove into Blk 409, Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, Teck Ghee Square  hawker centre and i decidedly joined the line. Lucky we did; we were their last customers this afternoon as they declined new orders - explaining their near consumed fish broth.

Fish Meat Porridge ($4)

Good choice to follow long queues. It was satisfying biting into these thick slices of beautifully cut fillets! Wonderful, with a dipping sauce of cut chili and salted soy beans. The soup comes with lots of greens and seaweed and tastes on the sweeter side; while i had preferred a savory broth.

Still, we shall return for their thick fish slices, but most probably not the fish heads.

Fish Meat Bee Hoon Soup ($4)

Batang Fish Head Soup ($4)

Ng Soon Kee Fish Soup

"Next time we order the $4 bowl, ok?"

Was my first word to Ric, after finishing our dinner in silence approval at this island-wide renowned fish soup stall. If you haven't heard of the Ng Soon Kee in the Geylang East Food Centre, you are as ignorant as us. We were ignorant; past-tense.

Now we know. We know the wait is long, even when you don't see table-full customers at their stall because their many regulars call them 30 mins in advance to book. We know if you walk-in, the wait is about 45 mins. We know the number to call is 6747-6014!

Fish Porridge ($3)

Fish Soup with rice ($3.50)

119 Fish Soup, Aljunied Crescent

Fish Porridge ($3)

Our second attempt to have the famous Ng Soon Kee Fish Soup, but were once again turned away by the hawker citing the long waiting time for us. So what shall we do when the day's craving is for some steamy hot soup?

Well, there's actually another popular but lesser known fish soup stall just round the corner, at the adjacent coffeeshop, Blk 119 Aljunied Crescent where the good Shi Wei Xiang HK dim sum is. During this lunch hour, almost every table order the fish soup and there is quite a wait too.

Fish Soup Bee Hoon ($3)

The stall offers only plain rice, porridge or fine vermicelli to go with; whilst we acknowledged the fish broth as being one of the better ones we had. At its counter front, tall heap of fish meat piled under freezing ice blocks promises the freshness of stock and their whopping sales.