Fatty Ipoh Noodles 肥仔怡保炒粉

Fatty Ipoh Noodles is located just beside Chong Jia Food in Pasir Panjang Food Centre. The Stall is easily located with their signage illustrated by a cartoon Fatty with his mouth full of noodles. 

Stall of Fatty Ipoh Noodles

Patrons will be given an electronic buzzer when their order is ready to pick up. The buzzer, too has the Fatty Cartoon indicating Fatty Ipoh Noodles's Stall.

Buzzer

The first mouthful of noodles brought us a surprise with the noodles packed with "Wok Hei" fragrant. The taste of noodles is consistent and  

及第炒粉面 - $4

Not many places sell KL Braised Noodles in Singapore and thought this is one of the rare orders. KL Noodles are generally thicker in size and cooked to their savoury taste with dark sauce. The ingredients are similar to the Kway Teow Noodle with pork lean meat, vegetables and fishcakes.

KL Braised Noodles KL 大禄面 - $6

Noodles were moist with a substantial amount of gravy. The plate of KL Braised Noodles was flavourful with a strong scent of "Wok Hei" Taste, furthermore with the fried pork lards adding to the authenticity of how such Malaysian Noodles should be dished out.

Do they looking tempting to you?

It is good to see the younger generation taking over the Hawker Stall and whipping up interesting dishes like this. The consistency of taste is there and we will be back again for more dishes.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Fatty Ipoh Noodles
Location:  Pasir Panjang Food Centre, 121 Pasir Panjang Rd, #01-09, Singapore 118543

6th Avenue Wanton Mee 第六道云吞面

A recent revisit to the old school 6th Avenue Wanton Mee and noticed there is refreshed signage. However, despite the inflation these days, the prices of the Wanton Mee and other dishes still remain unchanged.

Stall of 6th Avenue Wanton Mee

The taste still remains as consistent as in the past. There is no doubt about this plate of traditional old school Wanton Mee that has a distinct taste of Ikan Billis and chilli is of the right amount.

Wanton Mee - $4 (Upsized)

The Char Siew still remains lean and moist.

Char Siew Slice

I love the soup as it still tasted quite different from the other Wanton Mee Stall.

Wantons

Salute to the diligent hunched back Ah Ma who still takes orders despite the old age and overcoming the crowd. 

Perhaps the taste may be quite ordinary for some but take a closer look into the springy noodle and its sauce. The 6th Avenue Wanton Mee is well-liked by the crowd and you can see that many of the patrons who are in the coffee shop are enjoying noodles from this stall. Have you tried this yet?

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Posted 13 March 2018

Most of us should have heard of this old school Wanton Char Siew Noodle in 6th Avenue but not for me until recently I saw one of my friends commenting on it.

It was an early Sunday morning that we visited the place and I was amazed by the number of orders in front of me. The lady has a unique way of taking down orders by writing them on the glass panel of the stall using a marker, making sure no orders are missed out.

Stall of Wanton Mee

It is just not a usual plate of Wanton Mee but packs full of old school taste from its springy noodle to tossing them in the hint of deeply flavoured chilli but not very spicy.

Wanton Mee - $3.50

Char Siew are lean and moist without being too oily. As for the Wanton, I would say that the minced pork was pretty well seasoned.

Wanton Mee - $3.50

Every Wanton Mee order is accompanied by 3 Wantons in the soup. The minced pork meat was well seasoned and wrap nicely in the dumpling skin. Not only the noodles taste old school, the soup that comes along in a small bowl had given me a good reminiscent of my childhood.

Wanton in Soup

Only 4 dumplings in a bowl and biting on these dumplings gave a refreshing crunch with the diced water chestnut as ingredients as well as the springy shrimp that was wrapped within.

Shrimp Dumpling Soup - $4

Although we are early on a Sunday morning, we had a good wait of about 20- 30 minutes, thus to avoid disappointment or long waiting time, it will be best to go there early. I have not tried their mushroom noodle as well as chicken feet noodle, thus I will be back again for more!

Rating: 3.5 / 5

6th Avenue Wanton Mee
Location: Good Good Eating House, 24 Sixth Ave 276481 Singapore

The Original Vadai

Vadai is a savoury snack or fried fritters from India. These underrated snacks in Singapore are often not noticed. Whenever I come to think of Vadai, it will link me up to those Pasar Malam (Night Markets in Singapore) we used to have before the pandemic hits us.

The Original Vadai

If you are not familiar with The Original Vadai, they started out in the annual Hari Raya Bazaars in Geylang Serial back in the 90s. Their first outlet is located in Golden Mile Food Center. Traditionally, Vadai is made up of fermented lentils pounded into paste and in the shape of doughnuts.

Shop Front of The Vadai Shop

The Original Vadai is known for its tender and chewy Vadai in Singapore and there is no surprise that the place was surrounded by lots of customers and boxes of packed Vadai were already stacked up in front of the shop waiting for collection. 

The Vadai Shop & Menu

There are a lot of varieties of Vadai and we have chosen a few. The Ikan Billis are one of their signatures with Ikan Billis Sticking onto the Vadai while the chilli Vadai is made obvious with fragments of chilli on it. 

On the Plate: Ikan Billis, Prawn and Chili Vadai - $1 Each while Chilli Vadai is 3 at $2.50

The prawn Vadai Snack is uniquely Singapore and has also been my all-time favourite since young. I still can remember the days when my mum taught me to eat them along with biting the green chilli raw.

Prawn Vadai - $1

Initially, I was wondering if the Cheese Vadai is Vadai encased with cheese but I heard the commotion in the kitchen of The Original Vadai Shop asking if there is any cheese. I kind of guess that the Vadai and cheese are separated.

Cheese Vadai - $4.50

In actuality, the plain Vadai came in smaller portions and Nachos Cheese was generously drenched onto them. Despite eating them hours after purchase, I find that the Vadai did not turn overly greasy and still remain as delicious in its spice and texture. If you are both a Nachos Cheese and Vadai Lover, these treats sure go well in your mouth.

Nachos Cheese & Vadai

Rating: 3.5 / 5

The Original Vadai

Location: 82 Joo Chiat Road Singapore 427379

Shang Hai Chee Cheong Fen

While in the search for breakfast in Chinatown Complex Food Centre, we took notice of Shang Hai Chee Cheong Fen as its business signage was rather prominent.

Shang Hai Chee Cheong Fun

The steamed rice rolls aka Chee Cheong Fun is surprisingly good. The sweet sauce tasted good and had a traditional taste that I'm seeking. The rice rolls are sprinkled with sesame seeds and the fillings were generous considering the amount paid. Not forgetting the unsparring scoop of chilli given, it did compliment the Chee Cheong Fun well.

Mushroom Chee Cheong Fun - $1.40

Fillings were adequately stuffed in the rice rolls and were yummy.

Fillings 

Rating: 3.25 / 5 

Shang Hai Chee Cheong Fen
Location: Chinatown Complex Food Centre 335 Smith St, #02-174, Singapore 050335

Original Chew Kee Eating House 钊记面家

While everyone was rushing down to Chinatown in the search for the Michelin Star Soya Chicken ever since 2016, Chew Kee Soy Sauce Chicken has already made the dish "Soy Sauce Chicken" known to most Singaporeans.

There are 2 Soy Sauce Chicken along the road that is run by the descendants of the founder who started selling Soy Sauce Chicken in the 1940s. I have visited Chiew Kee Noodle House years back and since I passed by the Original Chew Kee Eating House recently, we decided on a meal that day.

It seems common to have disputes in the family business and each go separate ways opening their own similar business but at the end of the day, as a customer, what we care about most is their food and services more than their dispute history.

The sauce is savoury and generously given with the tender chicken. The sauce permeates into the meat and darkens the skin. We ordered additional braised eggs to pair with our set rice.

Portion for 2 with Braised Egg - $15.60

On top of the portion for 2, we added a bowl of dumplings soup. 

Dumplings Soup - $2

Each dumpling was plump and filled with shrimps, minced meat with chestnuts bites in between.

Fillings

While the other Soy Sauce Chicken in the vicinity has been awarded Michelin Star sometimes back, I still find that I enjoy traditional food like this in the coffee shop environment. It is good to remain the food taste as well as the environment as I find that the other was way too commercialized, losing its main focus on the taste of food. 

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Original Chew Kee Eating House
Location: 6 & 8 Upper Cross Street Singapore 058327

Lai Fa Ba 来發吧

Updated September 2021 and January 2022

Marching into Phase 2 of the Heightened Alert, we were not allowed to dine in at the eating places and there we are ordering food to our doorsteps. Upon receiving the orders, I'm quite pleased that they are actually using disposable bio-degradable bowls.

Disposable Bowl

If not for the attractive discount on food panda, I would have probably taken away the food on my own. The order comprised of Wanton Noodle and 3 Meat Rice.

My Order

There is solely Wanton and Noodles if you choose this option. This is an Hong Kong style order, if you are looking for Char Siew in the noodles, we have to be specific and order their Char Siew Wanton Noodles. The sauce and the chilli were packed separately and I poured it in to toss together with my noodles.

Wanton Noodles (云吞面) - $4.50 (Small)

The 3 Wantons were packed together in the bowl of soup. The soup was topped with spring onions and tasted decent.

Wantons In Soup

Besides the 3 dumplings in the soup given, the noodle comes with a piece of fried wanton too.

Fried Dumpling

To my surprise the 3 kinds of meat rice were commendable. As they pride themselves on their homemade roasted pork, I would say that they did it well. The layers of meat, skin and fats are significant. The Thin crackling skin and the underlying juicy meat with the smoky flavours were quite different.  On the other hand, the soy chicken was tender and consist of robust flavours. Char Siew meat was lean. The set comes with half a braised egg and chopped cucumbers. The difference in price between the large and the small portion is $2.

3 Meat Rice (三拼饭) - $10.50 (Large)

I'm impressed by the quality of meat and I will make a return for their food.

Updated September 2021 & January 2022

While the covid measures had been changing frequently, from 5 to 2 pax dining in then to 2 pax to 5 pax dining in, these repetitive cycles made diners and restaurants/eateries adapt to the changes quickly.

Finally, I have visited Lai Fa Ba and the trip down was worth it. It's more of a personal touch than having food sent in my footsteps as we get to interact and understand from the shop owner their history to their preparation of food.

Entrance of Lai Fa Ba

The Interior looks simple with stools and foldable tables but the old school theme of the floor had caught my attention.

Eating Area

The display of old school Formica tables, milo tins, Ovaltine tins, metal plates, tinkat, saloon equipment and magazines had kind of make me time travel back into the past.

Decorations

The Coca Cola lovers will be interested in this corner. There was an assortment of Coca Cola bottles displayed in the old school cabinets.

Coca Cola

Even the signage of Ovaltine is in Mandarin and looks so old and rusty.

Ovaltine's Benefits in Mandarin

Though not all on the wall are familiar to me, I'm glad that these decorations do give the magic of a layback feel.

Does these look familiar to you?

Let's take a look at the rice and noodle dishes in a combination with their Wood-Fired Roasted meat.

Menu

Though we are using the buzzer to alert us when our orders are ready, their friendly crews had actually served their food up to our table.

Buzzer

Here are some of the orders during dining in.

Orders

With a variety of items on the item, what would you like to order?

Roasted Duck Noodles, anyone?

Sugar Cane Drinks are freshly squeezed on the spot and sealed. The colour of the drink looks bright and refreshing.

Sugar Cane Drink - $2 Each

With the combination of sauces tossed in the noodle, especially with the use of their secret sambal based sauce, I would comment that each strand of noodle coated has a tinge of spice in every bite. On top of that, the tiny bits of lard had complement the noodles well. The smoky rich flavours of the roasted meat were distinctively aromatic. The premium meat, "Bu Jian Tian 不见天 ” (Meat ) was said to be used in their Char Siew Meat. Upon ordering, customers get to decide if they want lean or fatty char siew meat. If you are adventurous and do not mind the additional calories, fatty meat is of good choice as the fats literally melt in your mouth. Not to forget about the onsen egg was part of the bowl too.

Char Siew Wanton Noodle 叉烧云吞面 - $9.90

If you just want to have Char Siew with noodles, they do provide this popular Char Siew Bu Jian Tian 不见天 ” option. You get to choose if you want a mixture of Lean & Fat meat, all fat meat or all lean meat.

Char Siew Noodles 叉烧面 - $6.90

Here's a mixture of lean and fat Char Siew in a bowl.

Char Siew Noodles 叉烧面 - $6.90

Yummy!

The distinct Layer of Lean and Fat Meat

Roasted Duck Noodle is one of their signatures too. Priding themselves for freshly homemade roasted meat, the roasted duck meat too has distinctive aromatic smoky flavours. The meat was not gamy and in fact, went very well with the combination of springy noodles too. As for the soup, it is not the usual clear soup but its colour was chalky and has hints of salted fish taste.

Roasted Duck Noodle 烧鸭面 - $7.90

Can't decide which noodle or rice to take while you have limited stomach space? You may want to order combos meat and enjoy the varieties.

Roasted Duck Rice adds Char Siew -  $7.90 + $4

These wings caught us by surprise for they are comparable to what we have personally rated the best Har Cheong Gai (Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hun). The outermost layer of wings was shattering thin and comes with a crispy crust. The juicy and bursting with the umami flavours in the mouth are to die for.

Har Cheong Gai 虾酱鸡 - $8.90

The taste of fresh ingredients is used constituting to this bowl of shrimp dumplings using ingredients such as black fungus, shrimp, minced meat, water chestnut and spring onions.

Shrimp Dumpling Soup 虾饺汤 - $9.90

The dumplings were plump and beautifully shaped, accompanied by some greens in the soup. 

Spot the ingredients

After understanding from the owner, Lai Fa Ba was previously located in Chinatown, The Scarlet Hotel. As the rental lease was due, they had recently shifted to Bukit Batok. Due to the covid situation with dining in affected, resulting in the increase of takeaway food, the team had actually brainstormed ways to keep the noodles and food fresh in the packaging. That explained their hard work had paid off as I was drawn to the freshness of theitr food when I first tried it during food delivery.

In conclusion, if you are keen on quality roasted meat and do not mind spending a bit more on food, Lai Fa Ba will be a good choice.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Lai Fa Ba 来發吧
Location: 71 Bukit Batok Crescent, #02-02 Prestige Centre, Singapore 658071
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