Wok A.I

As AI continues to gain popularity and make its way into various aspects of our lives, from media to everyday conveniences, I was quite surprised to stumble upon a Hokkien Mee stall utilizing AI for frying. It’s fascinating to see how this technology is being adopted in such a traditional culinary craft!

With the signboard proudly proclaiming "Traditional Taste Perfected by Technology," it piqued my curiosity. Let’s give it a try!

Wok A.I

While ordering the regular portion to give it a try, I couldn’t help but observe how this AI Wok operates. The hawkers carefully input the stock, ingredients, and noodles at different stages, and the machine takes over, producing the final dish, which they then collect from a tray at the bottom. It reminded me of a "Thermomix machine," where food is effortlessly prepared by following a programmed recipe.

Hokkien Mee Regular - $5.50

To be honest, the plate of Hokkien Mee exceeded my expectations and tasted better than some hawker stalls I’ve tried. Perhaps the secret lies in their stock, which gave the dish its rich flavor. I loved the unique combination of three types of noodles—thick and thin white bee hoon along with yellow noodles—that added an interesting texture.

This was the so-called “wet” version of Hokkien Mee, generously coated with a robust stock and complemented by chives, eggs, prawns, pork belly, and squid. To top it all off, the presentation was elevated by a generous sprinkling of crispy pork lard cubes, which sealed the deal for me.

Prawn

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Wok A.I
Location: Margaret Drive Hawker Centre, 38A Margaret Dr, #01-34, Singapore 142038

Fish Noodle

 An impromptu meet-up for grocery shopping at the huge super market nearby and we ended ourselves with a quick fix meal in Koufu Food Court with bowls of Chinese Noodle from the Stall of Fish Noodle.

Fish Noodle

The stall name was quite misleading till the extent that I had mistaken that the noodles were made from fish. Nonetheless, we went ahead to order our preferred options from their menu.

What would you like to have?

For the safest choice, we went ahead with a bowl of Orignal Broth base, their Signature Fat Beef Fish Noodles. Every serving of noodles was big and stomach-filling. The original soup base was non-spicy as well, packed full of flavours with thin slices of Beef. Ingredients include lettuce and  Fried Chick Pea was added. 

Signature Fat Beef Fish Noodle + Braised Intesstines - $8.50 + $4

Topping up the bowl of noodles with their Braised Fat Intestine at an additional $4. As it described, the intestines were fat and braised. It did not carry any gamey taste.

Braised Fat Intestine

Another non-spicy option would be the Tomato Broth Base. We had The Tomato Fat Beef Fish Noodles. The broth was tangy and on a sweet side. Most importantly, its flavourful and addictive.

Tomato Fat Beef Fish Noodles - $8.50

Every bowl of noodles comprised a mixture of 3 types of noodles comprising Black noodles, White Noodle and Corn Noodles as indicated on their signage. 

Noodles

Those who can take spiciness can go for their Golden Soup which is of little spiciness or their sour & spicy soup with 1 level chilli as the indicator of the spicy level. If you are more adventurous, you can try their mala soup base illustrated by 2 chilli on the menu.

Golden Soup Meat Ball Fish Noodle - $6.50

All in all, there are 5 types of soup bases:

(1) Signature / Original

(2) Tomato

(3) Golden Soup 

(4) Sour & Spicy🌶️
(5) Mala 🌶️🌶️

with Permutations of 

(1) Luncheon Meat

(2) Meat Ball

(4) Sliced Fish

(5) Dory Fish

(6) Fat Beef

(7) Beef Shank

(8) Prawn Paste

However, if you do not prefer noodles dishes, they have rice dishes with soup for single as well as double set meals. 

Sour & Spicy Fat Beef Fish Noodle - $8.50

We also ordered their crispy pork as a side dish to share among ourselves. The deep-fried pieces of pork are deep fried to its golden brown colour and then sprinkled with chilli powder.

Crispy Pork - $6

The bowl of noodles soup is stomach-filling and comforting. I would not mind going back again for more.

Rating: 3 / 5

Fish Noodle @ Koufu
Location: 88 Tanglin Halt Road #01-08 Singapore 141088
Nearest Station: Commonwealth (EW20)

No. 1 Western Food

I have been wanting to visit Margaret Drive Hawker Center ever since I heard the news about it. There were not many choices during our visit at the Weekends for a number of stalls were closed. Spotted this old school Western Food and decided to give it a try.

No. 1 Western Food

Nothing on the presentation and items on the plate has changed. The portion was still little with price increases due to inflation. Nonetheless, the unique taste of the chicken shop is said to be served with the thick luscious, tomato-based barbecue gravy which is also one of the reasons for having so many supporters.

Chicken Chop - $7 

The chicken chop is juicy and tender. The charred edges of the chicken chop were fragrant.

Charred Chicken Chop

The chicken cutlet is very well fried. Love its crusty exterior that envelopes the thick juicy tender chicken.

Chicken Cutlet - $7

No.1 Western Food
Location: Margaret Drive Hawker Centre, 38A Margaret Dr, #02-30, Singapore 140238

---

Last Posted on 14th July 2015

Getting bored with many western food from the hipster cafes nowadays? Be glad when you visit No. 1 Western Food in Tanglin Halt as they still have the traditional kind of Western Food to make you feel nostalgic.

Stall of No. 1 Western Food

Chicken Cutlet was served uniquely in a metal plate which I dont remember having such presentation from any other Western Food Stall. The slab of chicken cutlet was deep fried to golden brown perfection with crispy texture on its exterior by the breadcrumbs. As we bite that down, the meat was very tender and extremely juicy without retaining any excessive grease. Beside the presentation, it was all in the sauce that make this Western Food No.1. Ingredients of the sauce was a trade secret, home made by themselves. It tasted tangy filled of tomatoes  with a good mix of BBQ Sauce, slightly on a sweet side but a great compliment to all items on plate including the ubiquitous baked beans, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and frozen cut fries.

Chicken Cutlet - $5.50

Chicken Chop on the other hand was served on a usual blue plate with similar sides. The special Sauce used here were the same and the only difference was that the chicken was served grilled. For all that taste was pretty standard, there were no slightest taste of frozen meat which I got from other Western Food Stall. Likewise, the meat was fork tender without being too greasy.

Chicken Chop - $5.50

Having seen lesser and lesser of such Western Food Stalls around, I began to appreciate such traditional food that comes close to my heart. They may not have the fanciful presentation like what we had in cafes nowadays but deep down I know such food is still greatly missed once in a while.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

No.1 Western Food
Location: Tanglin Halt Food Centre, Blk 1A Commonwealth Drive #01-13 Singapore 141001

Liang Liang Fried Carrot Cake

If you are looking for the stalls to try out in Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Center, Liang Liang Fried Carrot Cake is one of the recommended stalls. You will never go wrong with their plate of Fried Carrot Cake.

Stall of Liang Liang Fried Carrot Cake

The black version of Fried Carrot Cake has a nostalgic taste. The charred taste couple with bits of radish as well as the sweet dark sauce reminds me of that flavours and taste that I used to have.

Fried Carrot Cake (Black) - $4

The carrot cake was topped with spring onions and texture was soft. I love the moist, strong garlicky, sweet egg taste with Chai Poh flavours.

Black Carrot Cake 

The familiar taste and the sweet Black Carrot Cake style has fit my liking. Although its a one man show, the orders were quick to serve. I will be back again.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Liang Liang Fried Carrot Cake

Location: Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Center, 31 Commonwealth Crescent #02-69 Singapore 149644

Hong Kee Porridge 鸿记粥

The location of Hong Kee porridge stall is special as it is quite spacious and has side access. If you are looking for traditional Porridge as comfort food, Hong Kee Porridge could be the one that you are looking for.

Unique Location

Besides Pork Porridge, they have Sliced Fish, Century Egg, Fish Head and cuttlefish porridge.

Stall of Hong Kee Porridge

Look at the articles and certificates that were plastered onto the fridge. They have gained attention from the media over the years 

Side Door

Every porridge serving was cooked individually. I opted for the pork porridge and no doubt that the porridge was rather watery, the taste still remain flavourful. 

Pork Porridge - $4

The ingredients were fresh, especially the pig livers were still bloody in the porridge. The texture of the pig livers was perfect too.

Pig's Liver

The lean meat was quite generous in its size, however, I will prefer that the meat can be cut into smaller pieces.

Lean Meat

Besides the lean meat and liver, the pork porridge comprises handmade minced meatballs.

Meatball

Hong Kee Porridge is a good reminiscent of home-cooked porridge that brings back the old taste.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Hong Kee Porridge
Location: Commonwealth Crescent Market and Food Centre, 31 Commonwealth Cres, #02-89, Singapore 149644

Eng Kee 榮記

We chanced by this place the last round while we were on our way to 2 Chefs Eating Place. We were caught by the pleasant surprise with a good long queue line up in front of Eng Kee. Where curiosity kills the cat, we walked forward to the old school coffeeshop and checked that it was actually selling some economical fried bee hoon with the standard sides / finger food that we can get from the supermarket.

Eng Kee

Lauded for its delicious and tasty chicken wings that was classified as one of the best 20 in Singapore, we find it hard to resist without ordering more than one portion for each of us. While many of us will think that economical Bee Hoon is best eaten in the morning but for Eng Kee, there are only operating from 12pm in Weekdays and 12.30pm to about 10 pm in the evening.

We had some plates with bee hoon and some plates with Bee Hoon Mee and the staples food items like fried eggs, cabbages, Otah, Ngoh Hiang, Taiwan Sausages, Fish cakes and Tau Kwa.

Fried Egg

Cabbages

The chicken wings were not ready at the point of our order due to high demands from the diner. It was quite amazing that the kitchen was actually frying chicken wings non stop as I could see the continuous batches of wings coming out of the kitchen during my queue for food.

Otah and Assortment

As I sink my teeth into the piping hot golden brown wings, I fell in love with its crispy thin crunching skin. As I sink my teeth further in, I realized the juiciness of it. However, if you are talking about the Chicken Wing's taste, it was not complicated as the marinate was simple. You do not expect something you can get from Prawn Paste Chicken's fragrance. However, its more like home cooked dishes that includes, pepper, soy sauce and some MSG for its marinate.

Chicken Wings - $1.20 Each

If you are talking about the plates of Bee Hoon, I would say that they did really have the old school plain taste with QQ texture.

Bee Hoon Mee

Beats me regarding the long queue but if you are looking for some simple and old school economical bee hoon, do not forget about Eng Kee. Where car parking lots are good enough, the only thing that turns one off may be the hot humid heat trap in the coffeeshop space after the afternoon sun shone so hard onto it.

Blk 117 Commonwealth Drive

Rating: 3 / 5

Eng Kee
Location: Blk 117 Commonwealth Drive #01-711 Singapore 140117

Guang Zhou Mian Shi

We all heard about the legendary Wanton Mee from Tanglin Halt Market that only opens in the evening and decided to give a try. The first visit to Tanglin Halt Market turned out to be a disappointment as no stalls were opened during then - I guess it fell on the Market Washing date on the calendar.

The stall is easily located as it is located at one corner, anyway, there are not many stalls there and it should be very obvious of where they are.

Wanton Noodle

Wanton Noodles was springy enough, coated with dark sauce and come with vegetables as well as slices of Char Siew Meat. I had quite some expectation before having Guang Zhou Mian Shi's Wanton Mee but later on was kind of disappointed as it was something run of the mill, no robust taste or giving any wow factor. Wantons on the other hand were separated and placed in a small bowl containing soup. Soup was not bad though and I felt that the taste of the wanton can be improved if the marinate were done better.

Wanton Mee - $3.50 (Big)

Wanton

 At least the Shrimp Dumplings were better than the average ones in the market. In a bowl of soup with blanched vegetables, the dumplings fillings were more generous. The presence of chestnuts crunch and marinate were hits more than misses.

Shrimp Dumplings Soup - $3.50

Individual Shrimp Dumpling

Overall, I felt that there was nothing to rave about on their Wanton Noodles and having said so, if you are going to Tanglin Half Market at night, please bear in mind that there aren't much stall open at that hours.


Rating: 3 / 5

Guang Zhou Mian Shi
Location: Tanglin Halt Market, 48A Tanglin Halt Road #01-04 Singapore 148813
Operating Hours: 1730 - 0300

Guan Guan Seafood

We spotted Yuan Yuan (Guan Guan Seafood) housed in Guan Kim Restaurant sometimes back when we were exploring hawker centre food in the old school estate and decided that we should give the local Zi Char a try when we were back in Commonwealth again.

We were back again and coincidentally the late night supper stalls in the Hawker Centre were not in operations on a public holiday and we decided to try out the Zi Char.

Guan Kim Restaurant 

I kind of like the old school style of coffee shop as it reminds me of the earlier days like what is shown on the TV. Perhaps such scene may be gone in a few years time whereby you see old iron metal grills, abit rundown interior of the coffeeshop that used to be in those earlier days.

Blk 47 Commonwealth

Since its an old estate, we get to see old folks more than teenagers loitering around the area late at night.

This neighbourhood Zi Char do have some Chef's special and one of it is their Marmite Chicken. Chicken was deep fried and well coated with Marmite paste and sesame seeds.

Marmite Chicken - $8 (Small)

 Omlette was fluffy and minced meat was well filled in between the layers of egg. The texture was excellent. It was not too oily and from a bite, you could even tell that the egg had the trace of being cooked by a good wok fire.

Omlette - $5

 Fried Rice was not really that good as it lacked the kind of burnt taste over the wok. It tasted rather bland and simple though eggs, peppers, Char Siew Meat and crab meat were added.

Fried Rice - $4 (Small)

 Braised Ee Fu Noodle on the other hand was not within my expectation. It tasted more like of an ordinary plate of noodles without the soft and QQ texture of what a Ee Fu Noodles supposed to be. The beansprouts at some parts may taste a little raw for some of us. Other than that, sweet sauce on the noodles were pretty consistent.

Braised Ee Fu Noodles - $4.50 (Small)

Guan Guan Seafood may not be a place where you expect food that will give you some WOW Factor but rather a place to ease your groaning tummy.

Rating: 3 / 5

Guan Guan Seafood
Location: 47 Tanglin Halt Road #01-311 Singapore 141047

Two Chefs Eating Place

Recently I had read an article about the Top Zi Char Places in the west and Two Chefs Eating Place was listed. Having published on the strait times in previous years had also contributed some fame to this eating place.

Two Chefs Eating Place

Located next to commonwealth Food Centre and in the middle of the Commonwealth Neighbourhood Estate, it seems like their die hard fans will just join the queue no matter how long it is even during on a Friday evening. The sitting place was somehow a little unusual to me as we are dying at low lying area where the level of my table was equivalent to the level of the road. It was rare to dine in such environment anymore I thought. There were ample of parking lots, thus drivers need not have to worry.

Queues of Two Chefs Eating Place

As my visit falls within the Chinese New Year Season, the given menu was rather compact with few items under each categories and we had the menu turned over, it shows the set meal for large table dining.

Menu

 We were told to place the order before getting our table. We were at an advantage as we were only dining as a pair and smaller tables were readily available.

Environment

The dishes came pretty fast in consistent mode. The first that came to our table was the sliced fish with ginger and spring onion.

Fried Sliced Fish with Ginger & Spring Onion - $10

It's kind of disappointing when we received the dried scallop bean-curd dish. Shreds of scallops can be found in the sauce but was given sparingly. The Toufu was nothing unusual but more towards those prepacked ones from the supermarkets. To make things worse, the green peas that were given tasted extremely raw as though it was uncooked. Though crunchy but it filled the mouth packed full of raw greens taste.

Dried Scallop Beancurd - $10 (Small)

Nothing beats this old school plate of braised Yee Mee. It was flavourful especially with the rich black gravy that coated each strands of the Yee Mee with consistency. If you like KL Hokkien Mee, the taste was pretty close to one. I bet this plate of noodles will beat any neighbourhood Zi Char Stall hands down.

Yee Mee - $4 (Small)

The visit of Two Chefs is never complete without having their Butter Ribs. These sweet fried pork ribs were all covered with milk powder dusts and such concoction had complimented the dish quite well. It's unique and a definite must try.

Butter Ribs - $10 (Small)

I felt that Two Chefs Eating place is over-hyped. Their dishes were pretty average except the Butter Ribs that had given me the Wow Factor. But on the contrary, they are doing well by the look of the snaky queues line up at the 2nd image. Perhaps their style doesn't seems to fit my bill.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Two Chefs Eating Place 双厨菜馆
Location: Blk 116 Commonwealth Crescent #01-129, Singapore 140116
Tel: 6472 5361
Operating Hours: Mon: 5pm – 11.30pm, Tue to Sun: 11.45am–2.30pm, 5pm–11.30pm