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Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lai Yuan Gourmet (Toa Payoh): 24-hour hawker stall serving fishball noodles, laksa & bak chor mee with phenomenal liver
Occasionally, our team takes a walk to Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Market & Hawker Centre to dabao lunch. That is— if we don't melt under the blazing sun first. More than once, Lai Yuan Gourmet has proven to be a hot favourite among our interns, who frequently patronise the stall for its noodles and laksa. So naturally, the idea of featuring this stall was always lingering in the back of my mind— and guess what? I finally went ahead and did it. I also found out that this establishment has several other outlets scattered across Singapore. The 24-hour stall is manned by 2 friendly aunties who entertained my annoying questions. One of them commented, 'I've been at this stall for around 10 years. I remember we were selling our noodles for just S$2, but now the minimum we offer is S$3.90.' As she said that, it got me thinking about what hawker prices might look like a decade from now. Will the cheapest dish cost S$6? And mind you, the prices at this hawker centre are far more budget-friendly than those at many other mainstream spots across Singapore. I started off with the Signature Dry Noodle (S$4.20). I mean, if a dish has 'signature' in its name, it's got to be good, right? Even after the bowl of noodles had been sitting there for a good 5 minutes, I could still toss the pale-yellow strands of mee pok without that awful, lumpy situation where the noodles stubbornly clump together. The texture of the noods was al dente and thankfully, there wasn't any off-putting alkaline taste that would leave that weird 'siap siap' sensation lingering on my tongue. That said, while the seasonings were decent, I found myself wishing for a bit more punch. It needed something bolder to really bring it to life. One ingredient that deserved the gold medal of compliments was the pig's liver. Both pieces were cooked to a spot-on medium without any bloody traces in the centre. The minced pork clusters and meatballs were also great. Bang Bang Mushroom Bak Chor Mee: 27-year-old stall dishing out bowls of minced meat, fishball & pig trotter noodles The (S$3.90) looked promising, with 2 small prawns, fishcake slices, and tau pok. It bathed in a light orange gravy with tiny specks of chilli oil on its surface. It was a bit of a pity that the Laksa had the potential to be great, but the gravy just wasn't lemak or robust enough for me. It felt a little watered down, missing that rich, full-bodied, almost sinful kick i was yearning for. The prawns were sweet, firm and fresh. Each piece of tau pok acted like a supercharged sponge, soaking up the rich gravy and releasing a flavourful burst with every bite. We then moved on to our final dish, the Fishball Noodle (S$3.90) with kway teow as my noodle of choice. The ingredients were simple, just 5 fishballs, slices of fishcake, and a few pieces of lettuce. The silky and slightly QQ strands of kway teow clung to the sauces and seasonings, soaking up every drop of flavour like they were made for each other. I was surprised (in a good way) that there was vinegar added. It's possible the aunty forgot, or perhaps there was a mix-up, but my bowl of Signature Dry Noodles came without the usual dash of vinegar. In my opinion, that was the missing piece of the puzzle— the one thing that would have tied the first dish together. When asked if the fishballs were made in-house, she replied that they source it from a factory. Perhaps that explains why they lacked the signature bounce and spring. These were, quite honestly, some of the worst I've ever had— tough, bland and utterly forgettable. Lai Yuan Gourmet at Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Market & Hawker Centre serves as an ideal supper spot option for hungry residents who are looking for a quick bite. Each dish has its hits and misses. I'll definitely return for a bowl of their Signature Dry Noodle— with added vinegar this time, of course! And with liver that good, the Signature Pig's Liver (S$3.90) might just make it onto my tray, too. Expected damage: S$3.90 – S$6.20 per pax Just love bread 就是爱面包: $1.30 old-school breads & cakes with 30+ varieties by 4th-gen hawker The post Lai Yuan Gourmet (Toa Payoh): 24-hour hawker stall serving fishball noodles, laksa & bak chor mee with phenomenal liver appeared first on
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Wang Jiao Handmade Noodle: Big hearty bowls of tom yum ban mian, red fermented rice chicken & dumplings
Wang Jiao Handmade Noodle in Coast Market Square is a simple stall. It does however have many loyal regulars, especially in the evening. The stall also has an impressive 4.8-star rating on Google Maps, which convinced me it might be worth a visit. Wang Jiao serves your usual dry and soup ban mee, as well as mee sua and u mee. One of them, a fairly uncommon fermented rice residue noodle dish, caught my eye. My mom and I aren't big mee sua fans, but we like red glutinous rice wine chicken – it's a family favourite. Other dishes include Clam(Dry/Soup) (S$5.30/S$6.30) and Fuzhou Fishball (S$4.30/S$5.30). They all cost S$6.30 and below without any extra ingredients, which is still considered reasonable, especially if the portions are generous. My first pick was the (S$4.50/S$5.50) in the smaller size. Truth be told, I had not expected so large a portion before I came despite having seen the reviews before I came. The smell of the steaming hot soup was precisely like it tasted: zingy. A clear tomato tom yum broth, it was sweet and not exactly spicy for one traditionally containing chilli. Its impression was more of a watered-down and more acidic Haidilao tomato soup base. Admittedly, it was also addictive and had me gulping down more despite my not-so-impressed opinion. While Wang Jiao's name contains the term 'handmade noodle', the ban mee appeared to be commercially made. They were soft and slippery but not very chewy, to my slight disappointment. Most of the dish's protein came from the minced pork bits, a pleasantly large amount of which had been scattered into the soup. Their meaty flavour and chewiness were delectable, especially since they tasted fresh and not gamey. While the egg was slightly overcooked, I acknowledged that this was normal for most soup ban mee dishes. It must've been cooked with the soup and not cracked in right before serving. The ikan bilis garnish wasn't crunchy, but that made sense since it had been sitting on the noodles and absorbing the steam. Slightly salty and briny, the tiny fish topping was just alright and I didn't mind it at all. Boiled chye sim pieces balanced out the savoury meatiness of the other ingredients, and I liked that there was lots of it as well. Bang Bang Mushroom Bak Chor Mee: 27-year-old stall dishing out bowls of minced meat, fishball & pig trotter noodles Our second dish from Wang Jiao Handmade Noodle was the Fermented Rice Residue (S$4.50/S$5.50). Like the first, it contained a reasonable amount of meat and greens. As expected, the mee sua also seemed factory-made, and the thin noodles were so soft that they almost melted in my mouth. Like the ban mee, there wasn't any chewiness to the strands. You can probably see why this isn't my usual go-to, but I'm sure it may be for soft noodle fans. My mom remarked that my grandfather could cook a better red rice wine chicken than this. With all due respect, I can see why – it was nice, but not phenomenal. The fermented glutinous rice taste had been infused into the soup, which while hearty seemed more salty than flavourful. The chicken leg meat was normal, and its taste wasn't affected by the glutinous rice wine residue, the only noticeable effect being its maroon colour. Mom was craving crispy dumplings, so I ordered a plate of 8 Fried Dumplings (S$5.30 for 8pcs/S$6.30 for 10pcs). The cooking process took a while, and the auntie was still shallow frying the goods when I returned to wait for collection. They came served with julienned ginger and a pour of tangy black vinegar. We both had very different opinions on the dumpling skin. While I enjoyed the crisp exterior and thick skin, my mom felt it was too doughy and unnecessarily tough. The filling's upside was the jiu cai (garlic chives) and carrots mixed with the minced pork. Garlic chives have a juicy, oniony flavour, and it was no surprise that this went well with the fatty pork. However, both of us agreed that it still lacked some flavour depth. Not even the chives provided enough savouriness, and my mom suggested that it could use some ginger and less sugar. Like most Asian moms, mine found the dishes too sweet for her liking. I see where she's coming from, but it was overall not too bad for me. I had ordered small portions of all the dishes, but they were more than enough! While Wang Jiao Handmade Noodle isn't a stall I'd intentionally return for, I can see why many do. The inexpensive and big bowls of noodles are great for the locals to fill their bellies with after a long day of work. It's also quite hearty, and no doubt comfort food for them. Expected Damage: S$4.30 – S$6.30 per pax We tried Singapore's best-rated curry chicken noodles The post Wang Jiao Handmade Noodle: Big hearty bowls of tom yum ban mian, red fermented rice chicken & dumplings appeared first on
