Famous Lor Mee??? - Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee

After Maxwell Ham Jin Pang, it time to move to the next destination in the Foodie Trek is Amoy Food Centre that is located behind Maxwell Market. There are quite a few notable hawkers in Amoy Food Centre. I already set my target on the Amoy Street Lor Mee that was widely reported in the papers and TV. As it is our first time going to Amoy Food Centre, it took quite a while to reach there as we got lost when we took a wrong turn.

When we reached Amoy Food Centre at 2pm, a lot of stalls had already closed. However, lady luck is smiling in my favor as Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee is still open for business. As I notice they are about to close judging there is not much Lor Mee toppings left on the counter, I quickly proceed to order a small bowl of Lor Mee ($2.50).

Yuan Chun's Lor Mee is traditional style Lor Mee served with stewed pork belly, steam fish and fried crispy flour. However, it didn't hit me as the ideal Lor Mee I used to have when I was just a kid as the noodle isn't cook thoroughly as I can still taste the rawness. The stew pork belly and steam fish is rather dry maybe due to long exposure to atmosphere. Overall, it is a major disappointment (partly maybe because I came late during their closing) if compared to the Lor Mee I had previously in Tiong Bahru Market(Link). However, I will give the benefit of doubt to foodies that swear by Yuan Chun Lor Mee and reassess Yuan Chun Lor Mee at a later date.    

DIY Salty Fried Bun - China Street Hum Jin Pang

After having chicken rice, we still have some void left in our stomach. We decide to have Hum Jin Pang (literally translate as Salty Fried Bun) instead. Ham Jin Pang is a traditional bun that is cooked by frying. It is available either salty or sweet with red bean fillings inside. 

China Street Hum Jin Pang is one of the oldest resident hawker in Maxwell Market as far as I know. I have been eating their Hum Jin Pang since I was a kid and their Hum Jin Pang is simple down to earth without frills that capture heart of locals with price affordable ($1 for 6 buns) for all levels of life be it rich or poor.

The Hum Jin Pang is able to priced cheaply is due to the owner do not hire any extra helper and her belief Hum Jin Pang should be affordable to all walks of life. This belief really touch me as so far there isn't much hawker or restaurant dare lay claim on such belief.   

To keep cost low, everyone who ordered Hum Jin Pang will have to assist the owner to fry the Ham Jin Pang. Once you just place your order with the owner, pick up the long wooden chopstick and you ready to go. As my friend is not so adept in frying Ham Jin Pang, I took his place and fry our share. The main trick is to fry the Ham Jin Pang till golden brown then take out and drain on the colander. After that, you dip the Ham Jin Pang in caster sugar and pack it into paper bag. Ham Jin Pang is best consume when it newly fried as you can feel the outer crispy El Dente bun texture with traces of red filling spilling out that compliment with it. For those who never had freshly fried Ham Jin Pang to give it a try as it will be memorable to eat your own fried Ham Jin Pang.

El Dente Rice - Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

I met up with my dead beat friend (just complete his 10km Nike Run in the morning) at Outram MRT station. He wanted to tag along as I planning to go and feast on a few well known hawkers that lies along Chinatown. The first foodie trek stop of the day is Maxwell Market that lies along Maxwell Road. Maxwell Market house a lot of famous hawker foods that appeared in lot newspaper, magazine as well TV.

We decide to settle for hainanese chicken rice at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice as we are both famished from the long wait for him at the MRT and his 10km run. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken rice have gain a lot of accolades from newspapers & TV naming it one of  the top chicken rice stall in Singapore. I persevere on even though the queue for Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice is snake-like long. My perseverance is finally rewarded when the auntie asked for my order.

I ordered 2 small plates of Hainanese Chicken Rice ($2.80) as I plan to save my stomach for others along my foodie trek. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken rice is very generous as they don't skimp on the meat even if it is just for $2.80. First bite on the rice, bring you nice aroma of pandan leaf chicken infused rice. The rice is very El Dente like risotto but not dry which is very nice, so far not much chicken rice I ate can match Tian Tian on El Dente department. Tian Tian's rice is oilier than normal chicken rice, if you are counting calories you might want to reduce intake.

Tian Tian's Hainanese Chicken didn't leave me much of an impression as the chicken meat is pretty firm (for those who like firm chicken meat) but I prefer it to be tender like one of the notable one I had in Golden Mile Market. It might be due to the type of chicken use as different type of chickens - farm or kampong offers different meat texture when cooked. Tian Tian's chili sauce is standard kalamansi chili blend with garlic and ginger which is slightly spicier than others. Overall, it is quite a nice chicken rice as for whether it is worth the queue is highly depends on individual. As for me, I will probably give it a miss.

Tiong Bahru Reminisce Part 2

After morning course finished, I decided to walk down leisurely to Tiong Bahru Market. This time I remembered to capture the rustic post colonial building with my PSP cam. As you can see the place seem to untouched by the rapid urbanization brought forth by the Singapore government. However, urbanization signs already creeping in. Nevertheless, I enjoyed whatever that left as I walked down to Tiong Bahru Market.



This is one of the famous food stalls in Tiong Bahru that specialised in Roasted Pig (Roast Suckling Pig) and was showcased in many food variety show in Channel U and 8. I decided to give it a try since there isn't much of a queue.



Since Roast Suckling Pig price had jump due to shortage of supply from China, I decided to go for the cheaper alternative (Charsiew & Roast Pork rice) $5.00 SGD since Roast Suckling Pig price had jump due to shortage of supply from China. The Charsiew is rather lean but very tender unlike those comtemporary Charsiew rice stall out there whereby the pork was roasted too long result it being too tough. It is not sweet to extent of overpowering the pork . However, I prefer my Charsiew to have traces of pork fat adhere to the meat which those health conscious beings will shun. Charsiew tends to taste better with some pork fats as it protect the meat from being overcook and maintain its succulency.

Next, the Roasted Pork is pleasantly crispy at the skin and the fatty portion doesn't cover over 70% of it as compared to those Roasted Pork you find in others store. Unfortunately some of roasted pork skin is rather tough probably due to Singapore high humidity that result in the skin loses it crispiness and become tough. In conclusion, overall the charsiew roasted pork rice is pretty good but I believe there is a lot of room for improvement considering they had garnered so media recognition and awards.

Old Tiong Bahru Market Reminsce

I went early to Tiong Bahru Plaza to finalize my course payment. Since it has been 13 years since my last visit to Tiong Bahru Market, I decided to walk down to take a look at the new Tiong Bahru market that reopened in 13 November 2006. As I walk idly down Tiong Bahru Road enjoying the view of Tiong Bahru old building that lined up both side of Tiong Bahru.

I wondering those Tiong Bahru Market delicacies that I had enjoyed past 13 years whether they still be there after the major renovation. As it is a common that previous hawkers due to high rental after renovation, they will choose to move to other food centres. It took me about 15mins walk till I reached the new Tiong Bahru Market. I was suprised it is 2 storey and the food stalls is located at the second storey.


I always like the Tiong Bahru Lor Mee as I remembered correctly one particular Lor Mee store they serve steam fish as opposed to just with normal ngoh hiang and braised pork belly. I finally found the store Lor Mee 178, unfortunately they no longer serve Lor Mee with steam fish but Fried Shark Meat. I decided to give the evolved Lor Mee a try to see if it is better than the predecessor.

The Lor Mee thick soup is thick in the right constituency with hint of cinnamon that is missing in other Lor Mee that only taste of soy and nothing else. But the soup is not as robust in taste as compared to previous. Nevertheless, it is still superior to other Lor Mee soup base out there as other Lor Mee soup base become watery as you eat further. The usual Lor Mee condiment still there shred of pork belly and fried crispy flour bits. I decide to start on the fried shark meat and found it to be quite nice without the oily aftertaste. You can taste the shark meat is marinate well with ginger yet not too overpowering.

In conclusion, I still prefer if they still serve steam fish over fried shark meat as too much fried stuff don't really compliment the Lor Mee well and it is the steam fish that draw me to this Lor Mee. For those that like fried food, this is probably a welcome change they have been waiting to happen.