Guan Hoe Soon

Joo Chiat is one of Singapore's first heritage towns known for having some best Peranakan food and this is one of the reasons that we were here. With the iconic and historical shophouses that are preserved under Singapore's conservation rule, you can grab some Instagram-worthy shots there.

Restaurant Guan Hoe Soon Since 1953

Guan Hoe Soon has a long history and is considered Singapore's oldest Peranakan Restaurant since 1953. For people who are looking for Peranakan cuisine, especially in Joo Chiat can never miss out on this. Just recently, they have relocated to another location in Joo Chiat.

Menu of Guan Hoe Soon

The place was spacious and newly renovated. With traditional Peranakan tiles and some rustic Chinese furnishings, it did give patrons a modernized traditional feel of the environment. 

As the place was relatively new, the aircon was quite strong and the attentive staff saw us shivering in cold and offered to have one of the Aircon cassette units turned off. We thought it was a very thoughtful gesture.

Traditionally Chinese & Peranakan Furnishing

The appetiser gave us a great start and as it was quite special. Initially, we thought it was achar. Nonetheless, the taste was quite close. It comprised of chicken gizzard, cucumber, and pineapple topped with shaved cuttlefish. 

Appetiser aka Pickle - $4

We had their cold homemade barley and while waiting for the food to be served. We had already finished them up. The drink was quite thick and chalky in taste but it all tasted well with the ice had diluting it.

Homemade Barley - $2.80 Each

Guan Hoe Soon serves free-flow blue pea rice to pair with our Peranakan dishes ordered. 

Blue Pea Rice - $1.50 (Per Pax)

The texture of Beef Rendang was tender and very well coated in the Rendang sauce. The sauce was tasty and was not too salty.

Beef Rendang - $16.80

The fillings of the Nogh Hiang were too loose and were not tightly wrapped under the fried beancurd skin. However, the taste was decent but still lacked the oomph of what Nogh Hiang was supposed to have. 

Nogh Hiang - $15.80

Lets's dip the Nogh Hiang into the sweet dipping sauce and chilli.

Part of the Nogh Hiang

We ordered the Otak Otak and shared it among ourselves. It tasted quite ordinary.

Otak Otak - $9.80

The Ikan Bawal Asam Nanas Pedas was delectable. The tangy and spicy sauce was a perfect gravy for the rice to pair with. 

Ikan Bawal Asam Nanas Pedas - $38

Simply loves this inviting dish as this white Promfret fish meat was fresh and tender.

Promfet Fish

The curry gravy was on a watery side coupled with cabbages, long beans and a mixture of other vegetables. 

Sayor Lodeh (Curry Vegetables) - $14.80 (Small)

The Ayam Buah Keluak fell below my expectation. The gravy was on a watery side and while we expected such a dish to have an all-around blended taste from the spices, this was a far cry from it. 

Ayam Buah Keluak - $18.80 (Small)

Our icy desserts come in a ball of ice in a bowl. The bowls were small and portion adequate.

Our Desserts

The shaved ice was on the coarse side and the water chestnut with coconut milk was actually Red Ruby. 

Water Chestnut with Coconut Milk - $4.50

The use of Gula Melaka on the ice ball with some little sago balls immersed in the fragrant coconut milk. 

Sago Gula Melaka - $4.50

Chen Dol was refreshing and with the generous use of gula Melaka on the ice ball as well as coconut jelly and red beans.

Chen Dol - $4.50

Here's a spoonful of their Chen Dol. The taste was decent.

A spoonful of Chen Dol

Near the end of our meal, these complimentary kuehs were served.

Complimentary Kuehs

With a long history in Peranakan food, I was expecting more from them. Overall, I find that the food was quite ordinary and there are better ones out there I have tried.

Rating: 3 / 5

Guan Hoe Soon
Location: 200 Joo Chiat Road #01-01 Singapore 427471

Restoran Tauge Ayam Lou Wong 老黄芽菜鸡沙河粉

One of the Tourist Must Eat Itineraries in Ipoh will be none other than their Tauge Ayam. I was kind of flabbergasted by the amount of people queuing up at Lou Wong throughout my visit there and was asking myself if I should have a try too.

Crowd of Restoran Tauge Ayam Lou Wong

Being a foodie, its hard to resist a popular eatery especially when the place was just a stone throw away. No doubt that there were alot of patrons, I must admit that the turn over was quick fast and we had our seats quickly after a short queue.

Let's Queue Up

While passing through the corridors of Lou Wong, I saw this blue plastic barrel filled of chicken to its brim. It seems like this method of poaching chicken is common everywhere. 

How the Poached Chickens were prepared

These chickens were then drained and placed on the table top waiting to be chopped.

Preparing the Chickens

2 staff were in charge of chopping up the chicken. With the peak hours, these guys were going through a non-stop motion.

Chopping up

They were so focus and busy in the preparation of chicken.

Busy during Peak Hours

 
While queueing up, we got to decide what to order as majority of their dishes were all displayed on their signboard.

What do you want to order?

The menu was limited and varieties were quite fix. They even had their beverages printed too.

On the Wall

If you cannot get enough of the menu, you can take a look at their printed menu too. We made a quick decision upon looking into the menu and immediately order as we settled down for our seats.

Menu

No doubt that it was indicated that no fund-raising to enter the shop during business hours, there are still a number of paddlers walking into the shop bothering the customers, asking them to buy the goods.

Chilli Sauce Self Service

The interior seating were just as full as the exterior, bustling and filled with noises. 

Interior

While I was sitting near the back kitchen, I noticed their process of drinks preparation.

Where the drinks were mass produced

Shortly after our orders were made, the assistant brings the different kinds of chilli and soya sauce to our table.

Chilli & Soya Sauce

The speed of serving food was efficient and in no time, all the dishes were in order.

Our Orders

I'm quite a fan of poached chicken and we had ordered a slightly bigger portion, half chicken, which is enough for 3 pax. 

Half Chicken 半只鸡 - RM 36.00

While this standard of chicken was considered the best in Ipoh and a must try, personally I find that its a disappointment. These poached chicken was simply blanched, added with sauce and seasonings. The taste was mediocre. It lacked the savoury taste from the spice we had back at our place.  

Ayam 

These plump and juicy beansprouts are the speciality in Perak. Even though it was blanched and simply added with sauce then sprinkled by chopped spring onions and pepper, they are already consider delicious. However, if these juicy sprouts were prepared the way we had back home, they will be even better.

Bean Sprouts 芽菜 - RM 6.00

Popping my eyes into other dining tables, I noticed that most of the patrons ordered the dry Noodle and that led me to my decision too.  The noodle was arguably a kid's portion and its an addition to slurp them down for they were deliciously smooth with the tasty sauce. 

Noodle 粉 - RM 2.00

We ordered the smallest bowl of meatball soup with 5 pieces in the bowl. The meatballs were big and bouncy but there were some hard bits within the ball itself and might hurt your cavities if you bite them down without noticing. 

Meatball 肉丸 - RM 7.50 (5 pieces)

I tried as much not to think of how these drinks were prepared. We had the refreshing and cooling sour plum drinks washing down the chicken meal.   

Citrus 柑桔水 - RM 2.00 (Per Cup)

I personally will give this place a miss as chicken rice back home is one of our unofficial national dish and most stalls can beat this place hands down.

Rating: 3 / 5

Restoran Tauge Ayam Lou Wong 老黄芽菜鸡沙河粉

Location: 49, Jalan Yau Tet Shin, Taman Jubilee, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Yew Tee Feng Zhen Lor Mee

Yew Tee Feng Zhen Lor Mee has been setup since 1997 in a S-11 Coffeeshop. I have been wanting to visit Yew Tee Feng Zhen Lor Mee at Devir Nair for a long time during Weekdays but the thought of beating the lunch crowd during the peak hours had held me back.  Yew Tee Feng Zhen Lor Mee was helmed by the 2nd generation.

Stall of Yew Tee Feng Zhen Lor Mee at Devir Nair

There are various items on the Menu of Feng Zhen Lor Mee unlike the one at Taman Jurong. Besides the traditional Lor Mee, they have Yuan Yang Fish Lor Mee, Egg Beancurd Lor Mee, Fish Dumpling, etc. There are seven flavours in total.

Signboard of Yew Tee Feng Zhen Lor Mee

Over at the condiments area, patrons can help themselves and topped up to their liking.

Condiments Corner

Food was served using disposables bowls and cutleries.  Let's check out what is it in a bowl of Lor Mee Specialty.  The braised sauce was thick but not over gluey coupled with fried handmade pork balls, fried egg Tau Hu and Ngoh Hiang. On a side note, all ingredients and sauces were all made by themselves.

Lor Mee Specialty 特质卤面- $5.50 (Small)

I love my bowl of Lor Mee to have its basic condiments thus garlic, chilli, spring onions as well as vinegar were all added as my default.

Have a Mouth too

While patrons can have the choice of their noodles, I prefer to consume them with traditional flat yellow noodles instead of Kway Teow or yellow noodles. The braised gravy was decent and on a sweet side with traces of eggs used.

Lor Mee Specialty with Yellow Noodles 

While the fundamental traditional Lor Mee comprises of generous amount of crispy pork balls, braised eggs, fish cakes and pork belly.

Traditional Lor Mee 传统卤面 - $6 (Big)

Here's the traditional Bowl of Lor Mee

Here's the braised pork belly if you are looking for it in your bowl of traditional Lor Mee.

Pork Belly

We ordered additional sides like the crispy handmade pork balls, Ngoh Hiong and Prawn Roll. 

Sides

I think most of us remember Feng Zhen Lor Mee for its deep fried crispy brown meat balls and here you go! These meat balls were freshly handmade and generously provided in our bowls of Lor Mee.

Crispy Pork Balls

The fillings of the Ngoh Hiang were on the mashy side, perhaps the meat was overly minced. I do prefer the part where we can have some texture and bits of the fillings. 

Ngoh Hiang

The prawn roll fillings tasted similar to the Ngoh Hiang where the minced meat texture needs to be improved on. 

Prawn Roll

Considering the location, it's just a stone's throw away from Jurong East Interchange and for those who are looking for a bowl of Lor Mee, this Yew Tee Feng Zhen Lor Mee will be a good choice.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Yew Tee Feng Zhen Lor Mee
Location: Devan Nair Institute, 80 Jurong East St 21, #01-05, Singapore 609607
Nearest Station: Jurong East (EW24 / NS1)