a Food Trail Adventure
moon and i had planned some time ago to go on a CBD food trail because when both of us were working along Shenton Way, we got to feast on some really good food every lunchtime. we had planned to do a route starting with the lor mee stall on the ground floor of the building along Shenton Way that was opposite SGX building, working our way to Amoy Food Centre, then around to Maxwell Food Centre and finally off to Chinatown for desserts. we had planned to sample at least 8 dishes and tried to get many people to join us so that we could order many dishes and still be able to finish all.
unfortunately, things dont usually always go according to plan. like that fact that it ended up with only two of us plus my mom who was free and game for the adventure. and also that my appetite has shrunk (sacred bleu!) and after one stop was feeling pretty full already. not good if one wants to undertake such a task.
we met at Raffles Place MRT station and walked to the first food outlet. but to our disappointment, we couldnt find the lor mee stall! instead, the little coffee shop seems to have been replaced by a whole slew of new hawkers. so we sadly trooped off to Amoy to try the lor mee there instead.
moon had earlier recommended the char kway teow sold at the unassuming stall #01-01, simply names Char Kway Teow. i really liked the char kway teow because it was not overly sweet (the lime gave it some kick) and the noodles had a lovely burnt wok aroma to them. rather generous with the ingredients and the beansprouts were nice and crunchy while not undercooked. i was rather surprised that the stall didnt have any foodie awards despite the long queue - or perhaps the owner did not want to display any awards? whatever it is, i definitely give it 2 thumbs up!
we also tried the famous fish soup/porridge stall on the upper floor (right in the middle - you'll find it by its long queue) which was delicious. though it was more expensive than other fish soup stalls, the $5 bowl (smallest) definitely had loads of fish slices. the soup is packed with flavour and having porridge instead of the rice and soup separate really makes a difference as the rice soaks up the stong flavour of the soup. and they use lard in their soup. mmmm...
on the other hand, the lor mee was quite a let-down. moon had told me that when she was working in SGX there had been a debate among the staff about which lor mee was nicer - the one across the road from them or the one at Amoy Food Centre. while moon was more inclined to the one opposite the office, a few felt that the Amoy Food Centre one was superior. when we tried it however, i found it lacking in flavour, and instead tasting rather bland and merely starchy. there was not enough vinegar nor minced garlic and no chilli sauce added by the side of the bowl. perhaps we should have added more vinegar to taste but that would still have not really given it much body, only one dimension of taste.
i was significantly full after downing the meal with some soy milk and by the time we got to Maxwell Food Centre (which is just 2 mins away) i could not imagine myself eating the famous wanton mee so we settled on just ordering the China Street wu xiang as planned. i enjoyed the chilli sauce for the wu xiang and the ingredients were hot and crispy, having been fried-to-order.
feeling terribly demoralised at how little we could eat, we threw in the towel and went straight for dessert at Mei Heong Yun in Chinatown. which is apparently rather famous (according to both my mom and rachel though moon had never heard of it despite living near Chinatown her whole life - though she isnt good with street or restaurant names). moon and i each had a bowl of mango, pomelo and sago dessert while my mom had peanut paste.
i loved the mango dessert because it was very refreshing and i could the sweetness of the mango puree yet enjoy the hint of sourness from the cubed mango and the bitterness of the pomelo. the peanut paste was nice and thick and was not overly sweet nor powdery.
we took a break from food by venturing to People's Park to look at the new shops that had sprung up selling "trendy" clothes but after a while, the heat got the better of us and we made a beeline to People's Park Centre for more dessert. this time moon and my mom had longan ice while i had almond jelly with longans.
the drink was not impressive but nonetheless very refreshing and not overly sweet. the finely shaved ice was a redeeming aspect of the drink. on the other hand, the almond jelly fascinated us because it was very chewy, rather like konnyaku instead of the usual agar-agar style almond jelly.
we called it a day and decided to go shopping instead. and while looking at Bossini in Chinatown, we figured that the Orchard Rd branch might have a bigger range so we made our way (moon and i) to Takashimaya where we discovered, to our disappointment that the downtown outlet did not have the 50% discount that the Chinatown one was offering. on the other hand, the trip to Orchard Rd allowed me to visit the Food Republic on the top floor of Wisma Atria for the first time. moon suggested i try the fried Hokkien prawn noodles which was rather steeply priced at $4 (smallest) but surprisingly good (it seems hard to find good fried hokkien prawn noodles these days). it had the burnt wok taste (essential!) and the prawn stock used to cook the noodles with was very flavourful.
as mentioned in the Sunday Times a few weeks back, hawker food seems to have gone down in quality, with many old favourites closing/disappearing from the food scene. i really hope that they will not be lost forever.
and if you know where that lor mee stall has gone to, PLEASE CONTACT ME!
unfortunately, things dont usually always go according to plan. like that fact that it ended up with only two of us plus my mom who was free and game for the adventure. and also that my appetite has shrunk (sacred bleu!) and after one stop was feeling pretty full already. not good if one wants to undertake such a task.
we met at Raffles Place MRT station and walked to the first food outlet. but to our disappointment, we couldnt find the lor mee stall! instead, the little coffee shop seems to have been replaced by a whole slew of new hawkers. so we sadly trooped off to Amoy to try the lor mee there instead.
moon had earlier recommended the char kway teow sold at the unassuming stall #01-01, simply names Char Kway Teow. i really liked the char kway teow because it was not overly sweet (the lime gave it some kick) and the noodles had a lovely burnt wok aroma to them. rather generous with the ingredients and the beansprouts were nice and crunchy while not undercooked. i was rather surprised that the stall didnt have any foodie awards despite the long queue - or perhaps the owner did not want to display any awards? whatever it is, i definitely give it 2 thumbs up!
we also tried the famous fish soup/porridge stall on the upper floor (right in the middle - you'll find it by its long queue) which was delicious. though it was more expensive than other fish soup stalls, the $5 bowl (smallest) definitely had loads of fish slices. the soup is packed with flavour and having porridge instead of the rice and soup separate really makes a difference as the rice soaks up the stong flavour of the soup. and they use lard in their soup. mmmm...
on the other hand, the lor mee was quite a let-down. moon had told me that when she was working in SGX there had been a debate among the staff about which lor mee was nicer - the one across the road from them or the one at Amoy Food Centre. while moon was more inclined to the one opposite the office, a few felt that the Amoy Food Centre one was superior. when we tried it however, i found it lacking in flavour, and instead tasting rather bland and merely starchy. there was not enough vinegar nor minced garlic and no chilli sauce added by the side of the bowl. perhaps we should have added more vinegar to taste but that would still have not really given it much body, only one dimension of taste.
i was significantly full after downing the meal with some soy milk and by the time we got to Maxwell Food Centre (which is just 2 mins away) i could not imagine myself eating the famous wanton mee so we settled on just ordering the China Street wu xiang as planned. i enjoyed the chilli sauce for the wu xiang and the ingredients were hot and crispy, having been fried-to-order.
feeling terribly demoralised at how little we could eat, we threw in the towel and went straight for dessert at Mei Heong Yun in Chinatown. which is apparently rather famous (according to both my mom and rachel though moon had never heard of it despite living near Chinatown her whole life - though she isnt good with street or restaurant names). moon and i each had a bowl of mango, pomelo and sago dessert while my mom had peanut paste.
i loved the mango dessert because it was very refreshing and i could the sweetness of the mango puree yet enjoy the hint of sourness from the cubed mango and the bitterness of the pomelo. the peanut paste was nice and thick and was not overly sweet nor powdery.
we took a break from food by venturing to People's Park to look at the new shops that had sprung up selling "trendy" clothes but after a while, the heat got the better of us and we made a beeline to People's Park Centre for more dessert. this time moon and my mom had longan ice while i had almond jelly with longans.
the drink was not impressive but nonetheless very refreshing and not overly sweet. the finely shaved ice was a redeeming aspect of the drink. on the other hand, the almond jelly fascinated us because it was very chewy, rather like konnyaku instead of the usual agar-agar style almond jelly.
we called it a day and decided to go shopping instead. and while looking at Bossini in Chinatown, we figured that the Orchard Rd branch might have a bigger range so we made our way (moon and i) to Takashimaya where we discovered, to our disappointment that the downtown outlet did not have the 50% discount that the Chinatown one was offering. on the other hand, the trip to Orchard Rd allowed me to visit the Food Republic on the top floor of Wisma Atria for the first time. moon suggested i try the fried Hokkien prawn noodles which was rather steeply priced at $4 (smallest) but surprisingly good (it seems hard to find good fried hokkien prawn noodles these days). it had the burnt wok taste (essential!) and the prawn stock used to cook the noodles with was very flavourful.
as mentioned in the Sunday Times a few weeks back, hawker food seems to have gone down in quality, with many old favourites closing/disappearing from the food scene. i really hope that they will not be lost forever.and if you know where that lor mee stall has gone to, PLEASE CONTACT ME!
posted by ade at
4:12 pm
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