HPB Voices Reloaded
July - August 2007
Chinatown Temporary Food Centre
The Chinatown temporary food centre opposite SGH has been around for nearly a year. Being a convenient, accessible place for lunch, we decided to review a couple of stalls.
Rating: *** Average **** Good
Bee Hor Fun and Fish beehoon. Huan Xi Canton Cuisine, #01-171. (Closed on Thursday) ****
It is actually a Zhi Zha stall selling a variety of food. The beef horfun is $5 a plate and fried with fermented black beans. The beef is nice and tender. The standard is comparable if not better than the beef horfun over at Lorong 9, Geylang. The $5 plate is actually too much for a female but will do for a male. Two ladies could try the $8 plate.
The sliced fish beehoon (they also have fish head with beehoon) for $5 a big bowl is not cooked with evaporated milk unlike the famous fish beehoon in Holland Village near to IPAM. The soup is clearer and the fish is definitely fresh.
Hill Street Char Kway Teow (Closed on Tuesdays) ***
This is not the famous Hill Street Char Kway Teow. (The ‘real’ good one is in Bedok South Ave 1 food Centre.) It is of the dry variety served on brown paper unlike the Old Airport Road one which is served on ‘upih’ leaf. Personally, I prefer the ‘wet’ type like the famous Outram Park char kway teow now in Hong Lim Food Centre. One plate cost $2.50.
Satay Beehoon (Closed on Wednesdays) ***
It dish is rare nowadays so that I find this average tasting satay beehoon a rare treat. For $3 you get a plate-full of beehoon, top with pork fillet, taupok, cuttlefish, cockles and satay sauce that almost flows off the plate.
Jin Hua Fishball noodles (Closed on Tuesdays) ***
I tried the fishball noodles because I saw this elderly couple running this stall and wanted to give them some business. For only $2, you get a bowl of 3 big fishballs and fish cake with your dried meepok or mee kia. It was not bad and actually value for money.
Fried Hokien Mee (Closed on Mondays) ****
You could say that this stall Hokien Mee stall is unique as it serves it on a ‘upih’ the brown leafy thing. For $3, you get 4 medium prawns and some sotong. Delicious!
Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck Rice & noodles (Closed on Fridays) ***
This stall also sells Kway chap. For $2 & $3 you get your serving of braised duck with yellow noodles or kway teow. Kway Chap is $3.40 including the bowl of kway chap ‘kway teow.’
Ka Soh
Situated in the Alumni medical centre, Ka Soh is reported to have a 70 year old heritage in fish head soup noodles. The fish soup is unique as it does not contain milk. Instead, Ka Soh attributes its creamy soup to the cooking process and the use of Toman fish based ingredients. For $6.50, the serving was not as large as expected. The noodle was firm and springy, and the soup had not hint of milk, but yet was milky - lactose intolerants rejoice! The fish slices were however, paper thin, containing too many broken fish bones for my liking. Sifting each slice for bones was a chore - definitely not for the impatient gobbler. Ka Soh boasts of a wide variety of typical chinese dishes and seafood, even unique dishes like fried fish intestines with bean sprouts and deep fried "Or Ni" yam paste ($6). Not feeling as adventurous after the fish soup, I enjoyed the "Or Ni" served differently from the usual manner – deep fried Or Ni.
Tung Lok Seafood Restaurant
Blk B 1000 East Coast Parkway
2nd Floor Marine Cove
Mon-Fri
Lunch: 11.30am – 3.00pm
Dinner: 6.30pm – 11.00pm
Sat, Sun and Public Holiday
Lunch: 10.00am – 3.00pm
Dinner: 6.00pm – 11.00pm
Tel: 62460555
Nestled inconspicuously in the midst of East Coast Park (just behind MacDonald’s) is this seafood restaurant that happens to offer pretty savoury dim sum. Most economical is the buffet which they serve on weekdays for $16.80++, quite affordable for the usually pricey restaurant chain. The menu is not compromised, with a reasonable selection of the usual items one would find at local dim sum haunts. Of worthy mention are their egg tarts and coffee-flavoured pork ribs. And if you like herbal jelly and red bean cream, they serve these as desserts as well.