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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
28-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Thye Hong Handmade Fishball Noodle: An old-school fishball gem by a one-man show
Lately, I've been coming across hawkers who operate only in the wee hours of the morning – in order to sample their wares, I have to drag myself out of the warm comfort of my bed at 5am. I am once again sacrificing sleep for a taste of Thye Hong Handmade Fishball Noodle, said to be one of the best handmade fishball stalls still remaining in Singapore. Thye Hong Handmade Fishball Noodle is located at 20 Ghim Moh Road Market & Food Centre, and the owner, Mr Wee Pong Sai, starts work as early as 2am to make all his fishballs and fishcakes from scratch. Mr Wee isn't the only one who runs a fishball noodle stall, either – his younger brother, David, runs Ru Ji Kitchen at Holland Drive. His nephew operates Thye Hong Fishball Noodle at Bukit Batok. I arrived at the market slightly past 7am, and there was already a queue at least 5 people deep. It's a one-man show, and the solo uncle handles everything from the food prep to payment. Understandably, the queue moves a little slower, but the general vibe was rather relaxed. Despite his age, the stall owner moved with practiced efficiency, even though he did get distracted at one point and mistakenly gave one customer soup noodles instead of dry ones. Thye Hong Handmade Fishball Noodle only sells Fishball Noodle (S$4/S$5/S$6) – you can choose whether you want soup or dry, and which noodle you'd like. I opted for the S$4 portion with mee pok, and a S$1 top-up of fishballs. All in all, I waited about 15 minutes in line for my food. The presentation wasn't the neatest, to say the least. I had stray strands of kway teow in my bowl from a previous order, and the noodles weren't mixed like other stalls would tend to do. I started to mix the noodles, which were surprisingly clumpy. That was usually not a good sign, in my experience. Once the chilli and lard were thoroughly distributed in the noodles, I took a bite. The chilli was incredibly savoury and full of lard deliciousness, but the texture of the noodles was terrible. They were quite sticky, mushy and overcooked. Truly a pity, because the chilli sauce was superb. I suspect my noodles were overcooked as the stall owner was talking to a cleaner who had come to deliver clean bowls to his stall, and the noodles were left in longer than they should have been. I would have chalked it up to a fluke, but several Google reviews of Thye Hong also mention receiving overcooked noodles. Putting aside the noodles, I turned to the star of the day – the handmade fishballs. They weren't the prettiest ones around; each one was irregularly shaped, and the sizing was a little uneven. They were surprisingly soft and tender while retaining a springy bite, and the natural sweetness of the fish shone through well. Chao Yang Fishball Noodle: 20-year-old stall with homemade fish dumplings from S$3.50 The fishcake was similarly cut up into irregular chunks and slices. Each one was also soft yet springy, but had a very sweet aftertaste that threw me off a little. They were much sweeter than the fishballs, almost unpleasantly so. The clear soup didn't seem like much either, but it was full of natural fish sweetness, no doubt from cooking all the fishballs and fishcakes. A bowl of kway teow with this comforting, delicious broth would have been bliss. Handmade fishcakes and fishballs are a true rarity in this day and age. It's laborious and most hawkers simply outsource theirs, but nothing beats making them from scratch. Stalls like Mr Wee's are a vanishing gem, and we should treasure them while they're still around. Expected damage: S$4 – S$6 per pax Malaysian Hup Kee Fishball Noodle: Stellar handmade yellowtail fishballs & must-try Malaysian-style noodles in AMK The post Thye Hong Handmade Fishball Noodle: An old-school fishball gem by a one-man show appeared first on
