Handmade(Pulled) Ban Mian. Seletar #01-05 @ Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Hawker Centre.

I think dad's probably the real foodie in the family. He decided that he -had- to go to Toa Payoh to check out the newly renovated Lorong 8 Market and Hawker Centre. I wasn't planning on eating since I just had my dental visit. But then, I got away unscathed. :p That's stories for another day. I decided to reward my bravery for making it through yet another dental visit. Not really. 

It's just that I saw a queue at this particular stall- Seletar Sheng Mian and Mee Hoon Kueh. So when I got here so I knew I had to queue too. -deadpans- So the real reason is...

I was just hungry. Not really that too. And this has gone far enough.

I spied this! This tray of dough that is gathered up, stretched it, slapped back down and a pair of scissors is used to cut up a small corner of it before it's torn into varying sizes and thrown into a pot of bubbling liquid. :) Oh and THAT has to be the real reason why I gave into this bowl of old school mee hoon kueh.

Let me offer you more reasons. Case in point -points at prawns- For $2.50, you get two prawns, not just minced pork but lean pork too, egg and the works of fried shallots and fried anchovies. And the best part? Spinach. And of course, the name itself is a misnomer. You order ban mian but you get mee hoon kueh anyway. :) These dough pieces come in characteristically torn pieces of varying sizes with a lot of bite! All that stretching, pulling and slapping translated it to a good jaw workout. The ones that came before me made orders for the sheng mian which looked good too. And of course there was a dried version. I saw the mix. It's dried chilli flakes in deep red oil and LARD oil. Topped off with a generous squeeze of thick dark soy sauce. I'm not sure if it's the sweet or savoury variety. It was an inviting mess when mixed up though. Hmm. Indulge a little. Sometimes.

I just wanted to try the original soup version that day. The soup was flavourful. Much too flavourful, it might've been seasoning though. Well, we'll be back for the other versions for sure.

And I love this. Not that I love to eat things that fail in the looks/ presentations department. But only at the heartland bakeries do you find these packets of cake ends. <3 There's durian, pandan, original and chocolate swiss roll ends in there.

It's always an assortment and always a yummy mess. Just eat up! A perfect ending for an old school day. 

No one said terrible looking food must taste terrible. It's not all about looks. Let's not be that shallow eh? I'm sure I can find someone who enjoys eating cake ends like I do? :) 

kopi @ changi terminal 3

In order of taste from left to right: Qiu Lian Braised pork dry ban mian (卤肉干捞面), Mini wok's pork in herbal broth- Set A3, Jin Yu fish soup

Sending Josh for his 3 week Brunei training so we did a late dinner at the airport. Everyone's ordered a soup item :)

Qiu Lian's latest offering was marred only by the braised pork. Fatty cuts of meat and yet they were still not braised for long enough to melt in one's mouth. It wasn't hard separating the fat from the meat since neither was tender. Is this the way braised pork china-style should be? That aside, the noodles were al dente as if eating chinese style fettucine. :) And the braising sauce was a crowning delight.

Mini wok's herbal soup broth was surprisingly tasty and the set comes with a selection of vegetables, some tunghoon, pork slices, sliced mushroom, crabstick and fishmeat items. We liked it that the soup was kept bubbling throughout and was still hot by the end of the meal. 

Jin Yu's fish soup was... to be subjective, the ample slices of fish meat were fresh but the soup, even with the addition of carnation milk was not saved. It lacked flavour. A terribly watered down version.

Fats is fatty no more, digger has no special interest in diggers anymore but pet names they are and pet names they'll stay. If only for me. And even though we fight, we quarrel, we yell and sometimes we absolutely hate each other's guts,

these are my sibs and I'm happy I've got them. :)

Have a safe trip fats and we'll have abalone miso hotpot when you get home!

Eating it at where it's at!

Where's your favourite Yu Kee Duck Rice Outlet? I had a hungry mummy so she went ahead and bought this and was sorely upset when we kindly informed her that her $4 dinner order of roast duck and honey barbequed pork is from the same stall that we usually eat back at Bishan. Otherwise, she thought it was good.

Now daddy likes to associate himself with the Teochew Ah Hias. He's definitely on par when talking about pride. :) So he tried out their handmade fish and meatball meepok. Handmade for sure when you look at their balls of various shapes and sizes. Some smaller than others. Some just plain ugly. It's a taste that grows on you. I liked the softness of the fish/meatballs. Some people would rather it be bouncy. To each his own.

And it was a simple decision for me. No need to trawl the food centre. I know exactly what I wanted. 

Eating it where it's at. Bedok Chwee Kueh. :) It's an oily mess and even if it's made with vegetable oil, it's probably not ranking high on the healthier food choices chart. But how can I resist? I'm a kueh everything person. Savoury. That is. We're talking pumpkin, carrot, yam, chwee KUEH. I love them all. But I digress. The chai poh (preserved radish) topping was sweeter than I last remembered. Fragrant with the addition of sesame seeds. The kueh was soft and meltingly tender. A perfect contrast to the crunchy taste bursts of its toppings. Yummydelicious!

Tonight's rendition of the handmade ban mian wasn't what I remembered. It's still got its queues but the soup stock lacked taste. It's been too long since I've been here.

Mummy's made mental notes to try the char kway teow. Daddy's probably going to have the curry noodles. I guess we'll be back here soon enough. :)

What do you recommend at the Bedok Interchange Food Centre?