Xin Mei Xiang Zheng Zong Lor Mee

Looking for the best Lor Mee in Singapore? Besides Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee in Amoy Street Food Centre, I will say Xin Mei Xiang is one of the notable Lor Mee stalls in Singapore too. Xin Mei Xiang has never failed to let its customers wait in the queue as they are always pack full of snaky queues line up in front of their stall.

Xin Mei Xiang Zheng Zong Lor Mee

As we all know, the trademark of a bowl of traditional Lor Mee comprises of rich, semi translucent sticky gravy poured over the flat yellow noodles, Kway Teow or even Bee Hoon. What makes them stand up among the rest and the reason of the persistent patrons even knowing they have to stand for 30 to 45 minutes in the queue? Let's try to find out more.

Toppings include slices of tender Lor Bak (Braised Pork), Ngoh Hiang, half braised egg and with the bowls filled geneously with fried fish chunks allowing a filling and satisfying meal.

Lor Mee - $4 (Medium)

I'm not too much a fan of yellow noodles as the Alkaline content can be too much at times but for Xin Mei Xiang, their noodles do not have too much of that smell and were cooked to al dente perfection.

Close up on the Medium portion

If you notice, there is only Medium and Big portion, leaving the small portion no where to be seen. The bigger portion to me is more exaggerating as it almost covered the whole bowl with the shredded fish meat.

Lor Mee - $5 (Large)

Adding vinegar and chilli to the bowl of traditional hokkien dish sure elevates the taste. What I like best besides the loads of shredded fish will be its consistency of the starch used in its gravy which makes the taste pleasant.

Big Bowl Close Up

On a side note, after having their Lor Mee a couple of times, there is no urge of thirstiness. If you asked if they are worth the queue. I would say, Yes!


Rating: 4 / 5

Xin Mei Xiang Zheng Zhong Lor Mee
Location: 51 Old Airport Road Food Centre & Shopping Mall, 51 Old Airport Road #01-116 Singapore 390051
Operating Hours: Mon to Sun: 0930 - 1500

Xiang Mei Roasted Meat

Most of the time as I pass by S-11's Xiang Mei Roasted Meat, I will notice many hungry goers queuing up for their roasted meat. There is absolutely no surprise on its length of queue be it rain or shine. S-11 is conveniently located within a minute or 2 from the Bus Interchange as well as MRT station thus there should be no issue locating this stall.

Xiang Mei Roasted Meat

Roasted Duck came with beautiful roasted crackling skin, the sweet juicy punches from its meat was far than more I can say. Scrumptious! The down side of the meal may be that the meat and aromatic gravy had been given sparingly. Personally, I felt that if the can increase the amount of meat by a little it will be better but it seems like majority dont mind its portion, thus the queue.

Roasted Duck Rice - $4

Duck Rice

The meal is completed with this complimentary big bowl of soup with Sze Chuan Vegetables. On the contrary as compared to the meat portion, they were indeed very generous especially when you see the number of vegetables available in the bowl. It was not oily, instead it tasted rather pleasant together with the roasted meal.

Soup

Having seen people order their takeaways in large quantities always, be prepared to wait a little while more at times.

Seeing so many patrons ordering their Duck Leg rice, I guess it tempts me and gave me another reason to visit them again. 

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Xiang Mei Roasted Meat
Location: S-11 Food House, Blk 640 Bukit Batok Central Singapore 650640

Old School Delights

Got to know Old School Delights (OSD) from a pal who has been here in Upper Thomson. While I'm still figuring out what's the reason behind its business name, everything was reviewed from my first step into the Cafe.

Old School Delights

No, this is not an exercise book from the school. Instead, its the ordering menu. Let's flip them and reminisce the old school thoughts.

Old School Delights

Orders were made by having patrons indicate the items on a portable whiteboard and then send to the counter.

Ordering White Board

 Dont worry if you can't get much from the menu. You get closer to them when you look at the walls.

Counter

It was quite an experience to get in touch with such childhood items like Old Maid Cards, 5 stones, magnetic snake & ladders, erasers with flags and even the Archie comics. Wouldn't it be nice to feel nostalgic once in a while.

Old School Stuff that We Missed

Half level up and you will get to see the busy kitchen helpers at their best preparing food to their customers. Beside the nostalgic games and books we all read in the 80's, you will get to see old electronic items like the small yet fat size TV in the screen below.

The kitchen

OSD had me at Kueh Pie Tie! This classic Nonya favourite which consist of little cups of crispy shells filled with juicy braised turnip was a total turn on! Topped with egg bits, parsley and their homemade chilli sauce, ordering this is highly recommended.

Kueh Pie Tie - $6.50

 A rich, home style meal made of mushroom based sauce was oured over their lightly blanched hor-fun. Ingredients like shredded chicken, mushroom slices and leafy greens were served with their home made sambal belachan. Note that its only available from Friday to Sunday.

Hor Fun with Mushroom Stock - $8.80

 Old School Mocha-Cinno was classified as one of their Signature Traditional Brew.  Made up of a combination of roasted black coffee with malted chocolate and thick frothy milk. It tasted a tad bitter and dont really suit a non coffee person like me.

Mocha-Cino - $4.90

Another recommendation from pal was this Bandung-Dinosauress. Giant size rose milk filled with homemade chendol and sago goodness. If you like bandung, this just wont go wrong.

Bandung Dinosauress - $4.90

 Highly raved by my close pals, these are not to be missed since I had came all over from the West Side of Singapore.  It's really an old school canteen favourite. The wings were perfectly done up at the right texture without being too oily. The slight garlic taste permeates the chicken meat, giving a special taste to the tender chicken. What I like best was the crispy light layer of golden brown skin!

Tuckshop Wings - $5.80 + $2.80

 A reinvention of the Hainanese Pork Chop. Instead of a full flavoured pork, they had it done with chicken instead. Chicken chunks were delicious and crispy, smothered with their homemade sweet-sour sauce, bringing out a tangy taste. These Hainanese Favourite was paired with a bed of garlic fried rice, a perfect match made without being too greasy.

Hainanese Chicken Cutlet - $9.80

Visiting this place had stirred the old memories in me, my childhood days back then. It feels so good once in a while to "travel back in time". Besides that, there are food in OSD worth going back for.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Old School Delights
Location: 215M Upper Thomson Road Singapore 574349
Website

Teochew Cuisine Restaurant

Looking for some authentic Teochew Flavours in your meals? You dont have to travel far to China nor you have to worry about the timing as this hidden gem in Bukit Batok is opened 24 hours daily which allows you and your family to pop by anytime for meal. If not for my friend who recommended this place, I would never have knew their existence for they are located at a secluded corner under among the HDB estate.

 Teochew Cuisine Restaurant

Braised Ducks, anyone?

I thought its quite unbelievable or rather unusual to see specific cuisine restaurant located under the flats. In fact, to my surprise the crowd on a weekday night is relatively higher than my expectation. Just like any Chinese restaurant, they have big round tables suitable for 10 pax family dining and even gathering.

Environment

Usually we would have such appetizers skipped but instead of the usual braised peanuts, they had stirred fried long beans and salted peanuts. Thus we accepted both and began digging in for we were quite hungry at the point of time.

Appetizer - $1.30 Each

Appetizer - $1.30 Each

Teochew fish and Teochew duck was the signature's from the restaurant. If you notice another side near the entrance, you can see the open concept kitchen where chefs are preparing these two staples. What's more, you can see beautifully braised duck hanging high up at the glass shelves.

Braised duck was decent and this Teochew Lo-Shui Combo consists of braised intestines, Tau Gua & pork belly. Yummy!

Braised Duck Platter

As a substitute to the white rice that keeps a filling stomach, we had Mee Sua instead. It was served in an elegant heavy bowl with ingredients like minced pork, mushrooms, lettuce, dried shrimps, red chilli skin and spring onions. Simply love this delectable main for its not too soupy yet not too dry taste. Recommended!

Dry Scallop Noodle - $12

Another View

We all heard about Teochew Fish Soup and looks like every table was practically having a bowl. With such quantity and taste, even though it was from an air conditioned restaurant, their prices are of a good fight to what most hawker centers stall offered. There was no doubt of the freshness of fish and servings were generous with plump slices of Batang fish. While the slices of fish were smooth and thin slices of crunchy bittergourd were added giving another texture to the dish. On top of that, fried shallots and chopped corriander were included to reduce the nature of seafood smell. On a side note, I saw patrons taking away fish soup and these food were stored in disposables containers with the popular fish soup stall name "Li Guang Ji" on it and then I suddenly recalled why the taste of their fish soup was so familiar. Are they affiliated, I wonder.

Fish Soup - $8

Value for Money

Yummy!

Reasonably priced may be another point that attracts diners and since its embedded in the middle of the heartlands with its 24 hours walk in dining or even take away, it's hard not to give them a try, moreover the standard of food was above the usual ratings.

Coming from a Teochew family, I often learn that dishes are slightly more on a salty side thus there were no surprise their food tasted that way. Overall, they are still worth the visit and if you are residing in the West or even in Bukit Batok, you odd to know this place. No worry for those who are not too familar with the west, they have another outlet in Toa Payoh if that place is near your residence.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Teochew Cuisine Restaurant
Location: 132 Bukit Batok West Ave 6 #01-300 Singapore 650132
Website

Ah Gao Yun Tun Mian 如切著名亚九云吞面

Popular 1.90 Joo Chiat Yun Tun Mian was being featured in local programs sometimes back under the "Lost & Found" Hawkers and in case you are looking for them, they are actually in Whampoa Makan Place now. It used to be sold at $1.90 per bowl during the old times in Joo Chiat. Unfortunately due to economy inflation, its hard to make ends meet selling at such prices, instead prices were changed to $2.50 for small and $3.00 for the bigger bowl, following the market's practice.

 Ah Gao Yun Tun Mian 如切著名亚九云吞面

Chilli Version of Wanton Mee spelt out the differences between Ah Gao's and the usual bowls I had. The level of spiciness was good enough to give the kick and not overpowering, coating the strands of springy egg noodles.

Wanton Noodle - $3

Char Siew on the other hand was lean and easy to chew on, sliced into good cuts and not too fatty.

Pieces of Char Siew

Wantons were relatively decent with minced meat wrapped, however the skin gave the kind of soggy feel and was not too smooth as expected.

Wanton

Overall, the blend of chilli and the noodles may be the highlight but this style doesn't really fit me. 


Rating: 3 / 5

Ah Gao Yun Tun Mian 如切著名亚九云吞面
Location: Whampoa Makan Place, 90 Whampoa Drive #01-36 Singapore 320090

Ba Sheng Sha Po Ruo Gu Cha

This stall caught my attention as I read Ba Sheng Bak Kut Teh as it reminds me of my favourite Klang Bak Kut Teh. Being bias over the black version of such Chinese delicacy, this had urged me further to patronize them as I would like to explore the better black versions of Bak Kut Teh in Singapore, knowing there are less good versions around.

Stall of Ba Sheng Sha Po Ruo Gu Cha

Ba Sheng Bak Kut Teh was served in claypot with pieces of Tau Pok floating at the top. Flavour was decent but on a bland side, it would be better if they were more concentrated. Pork Innards and meat were chopped into fine sizes, though the volume may look appealing but in fact the ingredients they gave were not too much.

Bak Kut Teh - $11 (Medium)

Since they offer braised pork trotter, we decided to give them a try too. After we ordered, we realised that they have Pork Trotter Vinegar too but it seemed to late for us to change the order. Meat was braised to tenderness with good notes of flavors accentuating into the meat.

Pork Trotter - $5

What I like best was that they were not oily or fatty. The braised sauce came in perfectly when you pair them together with bowl of white rice at $0.50 per bowl.

Close up of Pork Trotter

Rating: 3 / 5

Ba Sheng Sha Po Ruo Gu Cha
Location: Blk 259 Bukit Panjang Ring Road Singapore 67125

Soup Master Chinatown

Unsure of what's there to eat from a food court? Perhaps try out the healthy yet without feeling guilty meal at Soup Master Chinatown as it not only ascertain you a nutritional meal but also helps in the healthly lifestyle that most of us are looking forward to.

Soup Master Chinatown

The sweet flavours of Chinese pear and red apple had given an appetising taste to the pork rib soup together with chinese apricot seeds. The soup, for instance is apparently good for cough and lungs.

Apple & Apple Pork Ribs Soup

Beating the heat, I had the bowl of Watercress with pork ribs. Soup was no doubt sweet with tender pieces of pork ribs and these meat was cooked to soften that they fell off from the bone easily effortlessly.

Watercress with Pork Ribs

If you love watercress like I do, you will be most happy to see this greens in your bowl of soup, generously given.

Watercress

What I like about Lao Huo Tang is that patrons get to have different selections of rice besides the usual plain bowl of white rice. For this instance, I had the pumpkin rice and the pumpkins were sweet and tasty, a bonus to the bowl of rice!

Pumpkin Rice

There are many other kinds of soup available from the same stall without the use of MSG in their food. With their assurance of not having MSG in their food, I bet most healthy patrons would not mind having them.

Rating: 3 / 5

Soup Master Chinatown
Location: West Mall, 1 Bukit Batok Central Link #04-01 Singapore 658713