Hawker delight!

Hawker centres are so underrated. They serve up cheap and good food that all Singaporeans can identify with and when most of us return back to Singapore from a long trip abroad, the first dish that we want to eat is, more often than not, something from a hawker centre. Be it fried carrot cake, char kuey teow, fishball noodles (with more chilli and vinegar please!), satay or oyster omelette - and the list goes on - all of us have a favourite hawker dish that we are obsessed with. Therefore, it is only right that in honour of the wonderful food that our humble hawker centres have been dishing out thoughrout the years, that Eat East's very first food review shall be on hawker fare.

Two dishes that I am particularly partial to are bak chor mee (minced meat noodles) and oyster omelette, more commonly known as or luak. And I personally feel that some of best bak chor mee and oyster omelette on this island can be found in Fengshan Market & Food Centre in Bedok.


foreground: bak chor mee. background: oyster omelette

For starters, there are two bak chor mee stalls standing side by side in Fengshan Market. I usually go for the dried version ($2.50) which only Seng Hiang Food Stall serves. Tossed in a robust chilli mixture that has bits of dried shrimp added for extra flavour and bits of aromatic crispy lard, the egg noodles immediately take on a life of its own. The stall owner also cooks the noodles al dente so it is springy to the bite. Those who cannot take spiciness can go for Seng Hiang's soup version, though I think that if you want a real kick, the dried version is the way to go.


Seng Hiang Food Stall

The real star of the show however, is the soup. Pork balls and minced pork are added in the flavourful soup that has been lovingly brewed with pork bones and other spices. This results in the soup being wholesome and chock-full of porky goodness. Garnished with chopped spring onions and a dash of fried onion oil, it is difficult not to want to slurp the whole bowl of fragrant broth down. 4.2/5

Oyster omelette is also another dish that never fails to perk my olfactory senses up. There is just something about the scent of eggs, sweet potato starch and juicy oysters being fried together on a hot pan that makes this dish such a winner. In my opinion, a good or luak is one that is has nicely crisp bits and yet is moist enough (ie: not overcooked). There must also be a subtle oyster flavour (if there is an overwhelming oyster smell, it means that the oysters probably aren't fresh!) and the fragrant fish sauce must flavour the eggs and crispy sweet potato starch thoroughly.


Zhen Zong Wu Luo Bei Hao Jian (there isn't an English name) satisfies my criteria on all counts. Although they serve other dishes like fried Hokkien mee, char kuey teow and carrot cake, the oyster omelette (from $3) is the numero uno dish. The or luak is wonderfully savoury smelling while the oysters are just the right size - not too big. When dunked into the tangy chilli dip and eaten with the flavoursome fried egg and crispy starch, it is difficult not to feel like you are in hawker food heaven. 4/5



Zhen Zong Wu Luo Bei Hao Jian (too busy eating so I forgot to snap a shot of the stall. Picture from http://mrs-sheng.blogspot.com/, titled "suppers again" posted on August 26, 2007)

Address:
1. Seng Hiang Food Stall - Blk 85, Bedok North Rd, Feng Shan Market & Food Centre, #01-08
Open from 6pm-4am daily

2. Zhen Zong Wu Luo Bei Hao Jian Blk 85, Bedok North Rd, Feng Shan Market & Food Centre, #01-51
Open from 6pm till late daily