Top 1 Home Made Noodle

The odds of finding two delicious home made noodle within a month must be very low. Yet, soon after featuring Poon Nah City Home Made Noodle in City Plaza, I came across Top 1 home made noodle in Chinatown.


I ordered a bowl of prawn ban mian which costs $3. Topped with prawn, minced meat, mushroom, vegetable and fried anchovy, the homemade noodle is smooth and tasty. Filled with delightful seafood broth, the soup is remarkably sweet and flavorful.

Certainly better than the home made noodle from Poon Nah City, what Top 1 lacked is a special chilli paste to go along with the noodle. Nevertheless it impresses with its outstanding seafood broth. Come down and try it for yourself.

7.5/10

Top 1 Home Made Noodle
Chinatown Branch
? Address
Bukit Timah Branch
Beauty World Centre
144 Upper Bukit Timah Road
#04-44

Zhong Hua Mian Zhuang Stewed Beef Noodle

I recently discovered that People's Park Food Center in Chinatown has a number of stalls selling traditional cuisine from Mainland China. After much hesitation, I decided to try the stall with the longest queue - Zhong Hua Mian Zhuang which has cuisine from the Henan province.


I ordered a bowl of stewed beef noodle which costs $4. What immediately impressed me was the huge chunks of stewed beef which are fleshy and tasty. Filled with the delightful sweetness of meat and spices, the flavorful soup goes very well with the handmade noodle which is soft and silky.

Zhong Hua Mian Zhuang certainly has one of the more impressive Chinese beef noodle in Singapore, comparable in terms of standard to those in restaurants like Crystal Jade yet available at coffee shop prices.

7.5/10

Zhong Hua Mian Zhuang
People's Park Food Centre
32 New Market Road
#01-1052

Ah Tat Kitchen Mini Hotpot

After Marina Square and Marine Parade, my new-found fascination with mini steamboat led me to Chinatown where I discovered Ah Tat Kitchen at Smith Street Food Centre. Here I found the cheapest mini hotpot set meals (inclusive of rice at $3.80) for chicken or pork and $4.20 for seafood.


What impressed me most about Ah Tat Kitchen mini hotpot is the superior quality of the soup base. With a subtle fragrance of ginseng, the mouthwatering soup is irresistably flavorful that you can have it on its own. The chicken mini hotpot set comes with slices of chicken, hotdog, beancurd, mushrooms and vegetables.

If you are a fan of mini steamboat like me, do come down to Smith Street Food Centre to try Ah Tat Kitchen mini hotpot today.

7.5/10

Ah Tat Kitchen
Smith Street Food Centre
#02-054
335 Smith Street Singapore 050335


Update 1/8/2010 - This stall has closed down.

Ji Xiang Ang Ku Kueh

Ang ku kueh, literally translated as red tortoise cake in Hokkien, is a Chinese pastry of steamed rice flour filled with green bean paste or roasted peanut. When I was at Everton Park recently to buy pineapple tarts for Chinese New Year, I came across Ji Xiang Confectionery which I read on the Internet has one of the best ang ku kueh in Singapore.


With a fabulous variety of ang ku kueh ranging from sweet bean paste to savory bean paste, peanut, corn, coconut, sesame and durian, I decided to try the traditional sweet bean paste ang ku kueh which costs $0.60. The special rice flour skin is amazingly smooth and chewy yet does not stick onto the teeth at all. Just right in terms of sweetness, the fragrant bean paste filling is delightfully soft and melts gently in the mouth.

Although I am not a fan of ang ku kueh, I was certainly impressed by that from Ji Xiang Confectionery. Do also try its highly recommended pineapple tarts which make an excellent gift for Chinese New Year.

7.5/10

Ji Xiang Confectionery
Blk 1 Everton Park
#01-33
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays

Leung Sang Egg Tart

Located in the heart of Chinatown, the delicious egg tarts from Leung Sang Hong Kong Pastries go for only $0.70 instead of the usual $0.90 after 6pm. Compared with the pricey $1.30 egg tarts from the famous Tong Heng Confectionery across the road, one may think that the Leung Sang egg tarts are inferior in quality but I beg to differ. After trying the egg tarts from both Leung Sang and Tong Heng on several occasions, I still feel that Leung Sang's egg tarts taste much better.


The special crust of Leung Sang's egg tart is thick and crispy and exudes a delightful butter fragrance with every bite. The flavorful egg custard is soft and smooth and just right in terms of sweetness.

An egg tart from Leung Sang, together with a cup of hot Lipton tea, makes the ideal afternoon tea that I would crave for. Come down and try it for yourself if you haven't.

8/10

Leung Sang Hong Kong Pastries
18 Sago Street

Shanghai Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun

Located in Chinatown Complex Food Centre, Shanghai Chee Cheong Fen has a variety of special chee cheong fun (steamed rice noodle roll) at very affordable prices.


I especially love its char siew chee cheong fun which costs only $1.20. Served with sweet black sauce, chilli and sesame seeds, the appetizing chee cheong fun is stuffed with abundant servings of fresh and tasty char siew (Chinese roasted pork).

Certainly value for money and comparable with the standards of famous dim sum restaurants, Shanghai char siew chee cheong fun is definitely one of the best that I have tasted in Singapore.

8/10

Shanghai Chee Cheong Fen
Chinatown Complex Food Centre
#02-174
335 Smith Street Singapore 050335

Da Lu Prawn Noodle

When I was taking photos at China Square last weekend, I walked past this air-conditioned eatery named Da Lu Xia Mian and was tempted by the irresistable aroma of prawn mee soup.


I ordered a bowl of prawn noodle soup which costs $5. Concentrated with the delightful sweetness of prawns and pork ribs, the flavorful soup complements the noodles very well. Although the halved prawns are nicely deshelled, they could have been more fresh and tasty.

With competition from two other famous prawn noodle stalls (The Old Stall Famous Hokkien Prawn Mee and Ah Hui Famous Hokkien Big Prawn Mee) located at Hong Lim Food Centre nearby, it is still worthwhile to pay $5 for Da Lu prawn noodle for its delicious soup and dining in an air-conditioned environment.

7/10

Da Lu Prawn Noodle
22 Cross Street
China Square Central
#01-54/55
Singapore 048421

Heng Ji Chicken Rice

Out of the several chicken rice stalls in Chinatown Food Centre, Heng Ji has the longest queue. I have read that it is because of their special chilli sauce and I decided to try it for myself.


I ordered a plate of Heng Ji chicken rice which costs $2.50. The sweet-and-spicy chilli sauce was indeed unique but failed to leave a lasting impression as I would prefer my chicken rice to go with the usual spicy garlic-flavored chilli sauce. What impressed me most was instead the unmatched aroma of the chicken rice. Coated with the desirable essence of chicken broth, every golden grain of rice is distinctively fragrant and flavorful. The steamed white chicken is tender and tasty and sprinkled with light soya sauce.

This is a traditional chicken rice which is outstanding in terms of the quality and fragrance of its rice. This explains why in spite of so many other delicious food at Chinatown Food Centre, people still return for more of Heng Ji chicken rice.

7.5/10

Heng Ji Chicken Rice
Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith Street
#02-131

Mount Faber Nasi Lemak

Located under a shophouse in Chinatown instead of where its name suggests, Mount Faber Nasi Lemak is one of the famous nasi lemak in Singapore, along with Punggol and Fong Seng.

Ready for a sumptuous lunch when I went there last week, I ordered a plate of nasi lemak with fried onion omelette, curry vegetables, curry potato and fried sotong balls which cost only $3.80.


Rich in the irresistable aroma and flavour of coconut milk, the nasi lemak is delicious, definitely comparable to that of Punggol. The sambal chilli is sufficiently sweet and spicy. The fantastic fried onion omelette is certainly one of the best I have tasted in Singapore. The curry vegetable is delightfully tasty, coated with thick and savory gravy that goes very well with the rice. The fried sotong balls are however rather mediocre, neither crispy nor juicy.

In terms of the quality and prices of the dishes, Mount Faber Nasi Lemak is certainly more impressive than Punggol. Furthermore Mount Faber is open the whole day, so you don't have to rush down in the evening just to join the long queue of Punggol.

7.5/10

Mount Faber Nasi Lemak
47 Kreta Ayer Rd
Singapore 089006

Kok Sen Seafood Hor Fun

Located at Keong Saik Road in Chinatown, Kok Sen is well-known for its cze char (Chinese cooked dishes). When I walked past it last weekend, I decided to try its seafood hor fun.


Reasonably priced at $3.50, the delicious hor fun is served with vegetables, meat, sotong and prawns. The flavorful gravy, topped with egg, complements the delicious hor fun very well. The sotong, meat and prawns are remarkably fresh and tasty.

Kok Sen is one of the must-try seafood hor fun if you are at Chinatown.

7/10

Kok Sen Seafood Hor Fun
30A Keong Saik Road
Singapore 089137