Seng Yan Charcoal Traditional Toast @ Sin Ming Road : 传统炭烤面包 MUST TRY

Ya Kun, Wangz Toast, Good Morning Nanyang. These are probably familiar names for your kopi and roti fix. Few would have heard of Seng Yan Charcoal Traditional Toast @ Sin Ming Road. It's been around since the times when my maternal grandparents started their tailor shop and my parents started their stone shop in the old Lakeview shophouses at Upp Thomson Road. That place was where my aunts, mother and I grew up in and also where Seng Yan used to be located.



There was no signboard in the past and my family members would refer to this kopi stall 江泉(Jiang Quan). The adults knew the uncle who and the uncle knew us. I am not familiar with traditional kopi but my family swears by the kopi here as it is aromatic, well-Brewer and tasty. That's why you should never mention Starbucks or Coffee Bean in front of my family or buy those coffee to my house.

Following the demolishment of Lakeview shophouses in year 2000, the old neighbours from hawker centers went separate ways. Majority like the Hakka shun kueh, prawn Mee stall shifted to Shunfu Mart while the Teochew porridge and Seng Yan Kopi moved to Sin Min Road. It sells the usual traditional toast but my family favourite here is the baguette toast or what we call Jian Tao Roti (尖头面包) I guess no one knew they were called (Asian) French Baguette so they identified it from its pointed-head shape.  It doesn't matter that both Kaya and bread are supplied because the standards are there (must be from a very good supplier)

There is 2 servings per order and they are grilled over the charcoal toast long enough till the crust turns extra crispy and fragrant. Some parts are even slightly charred. Of course, other kopitiam still sells it but we felt those were often not toasted long or the heat wasn't strong enough. The 火候 here is strong and the butter melts quickly, fusing with the Kaya and softening the interior. It's crunchy and chewy at the same time; the more I chow, the tastier it gets. Amazing how such a simple toast contains so much 学问. And to think that the French never knew that  their baguette could be served in such a delicious way.

Do note that Jian Tao roti is usually delivered to the shop after 3pm. Sometimes you may get it in the morning but I heard those are leftover from the previous day. If you are a fan of this kind of old-school bread, this is a hidden gem that you should know.

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Bossi Ban Mian @ Serangoon Gardens

Discovered a relatively new Ban Mian stall at Serangoon Gardens recently and I learnt later that this is run by a young hawker. There are 5 options (dry/soup) and the most expensive one does not hit more than $5.50 for the prawn ban mian.

Since customers are allowed to change their noodles, we chose Ee-mian for the soup and the combination, to us, was better than having ban Mee soup. Ikan billis is served separately in a small dish to retain its crispness.

I had most of the dry Ban Mian ($4), served in a pretty special blend of dark soy sauce that stood out from the usual dry noodles. The noodles were slightly firmer than Mee Pok with nice chewy bites. The sweet-savory taste was strong and I was pleasantly surprised to see chye por (dried radish) in the bowl. Even the minced meat are well-marinated into a dark reddish brown with a delectably dry crispness to them. That said, I was expecting sunny-side egg as shown on the menu but it was a semi-boiled egg served in the side bowl of soup. Nonetheless, it is still quite different from the usual ban mian we have elsewhere and I think it is one of the stalls worth trying if you are in Serangoon gardens market.

Bossi Ban Mian

49A Serangoon Garden Way 01-18

Thurs-Mon 9am-9pm
Tues 9am-3pm
Closed on Wed

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A Noodle Story @ Amoy : Must Try Singapore-style Ramen

Let me tell you a story. A story about a bowl of delicious noodles that has rewritten Singapore's hawker history. 

This is no longer a closely held secret. I am sure many people have tried this Singapore-style ramen and raved about it. But I would still like to chronicle it on my humble site because it is worthy of the price, the calories, the long queuing time and the Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition (or even more than that)


Everything is handmade, fresh and artisanal. Just the wantons alone are enough to impress you on first taste. Made with 100% fresh Indonesian pork with shrimps, the wantons are bigger than average; unbelievably plump and springy. Then, I hit up on the Crispy Potato Wrapped Prawn that easily surpassed the standards of dimsum served in local Chinese Restaurants.

With these promising signs of a good bowl, I fast forwarded enthusiastically to savour the Mee Kia, cooked just al dente and shaken free of excess water. Ooh, surprisingly robust. We noticed that some seasoning were scattered on the noodles before it was draped in charsiu and that could explain why the noodles itself were flavorful on its own already.

But there lies the danger. The sambal chilli, which was very salty without any fiery kick.

I stopped mixing the sambal chilli with the noodles because it could potentially ruin the bowl. In other words, the sambal was slightly redundant because it didn't add value to the dish. That's a pity because I could imagine how kick-ass shiok this bowl would be if the chilli was good. Even chilli padi or dry chilli flakes could work. But I am not a noodle professional. So some may argue that making the chilli too outstanding might just rob the limelight from the noodles.

Slurping on, I reached the piece of fat-flecked charsiu that require little effort to chew. And as we always save the best thing to the last, the molten egg. The perfect version with luscious orangey yolk, achieved not only by precise execution but also choice of superior eggs.

$9 bowl (noodles portion same as $7 bowl but with more toppings)

In short, it tasted like a bowl of delicious Wanton Mee with all the necessary components of a ramen. I read somewhere about how tedious and time-consuming it took for the folks behind this stall to prepare everything daily. And I can ascertain now that this ain't no media hype. Every cent and effort invested has bore fruits on the taste. I'm so proud of this Singapore-style ramen which I thought was even better than Japanese ramen, tsukemen or mazesoba.

Wonderland dream of noodly bliss. It's a happily ever after ending for my noodle story.

A Noodle Story
01-39 Amoy St Food Centre
7 Maxwell Rd Singapore 069111
Mon-Fri 11.15am-2.30pm, 5.30pm-7.30pm
Sat 10.30am-1.30pm
Closed on Sun and PH

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Fishball Khin : More than just delicious handmade fish balls

It's neither bouncy nor springy, but the handmade fishballs here have a pleasant chewy texture that are good telling signs of more fish than flour. Fishball Khin is an all-day eatery in Ang Mo Kio that probably needs no introduction for regular fans of fishball noodles. In fact, it's the place that my family would go when we get bored of the food at the hawker center across my house since it is in the same area. 

Another aspect of the fishballs here is the saltiness. If you have come across those health promotion board ads often, you may have known that fishballs are one of the local food that is high in sodium. 

But the fishballs here are just mildly salty and we never remembered encountering any MSG thirst syndrome after our meal. The fishballs are good but everyone loved the He Kiao so much that we would usually order just an extra bowl of he Kiao to share. 

 If the fishballs can win the best star award, the meepok noodles ($4) can earn the best supporting role. Tossed in vinegar and chilli, the noodles were satisfyingly punchy and cooked to the right degree.  

Other dishes that we tried are equally competent too. The Hokkien Mee ($5) was drenched in stock but not overly wet. It ain't a bad thing to see more bee hoon here as they absorbed the flavors of the stock very well, pairing perfectly with the side of sambal. 

The fish head soup ($6) is also highly recommended especially if you prefer something light and wholesome. The fresh batang fish bathed in a pool of opaque white broth that was boosted with ginger and pepper.  

Recently we decided to try the fried rice as we noticed that almost every table ordered it. And boy, it was so delicious! The fried rice was full of wok-hei and flavorfully tossed with crispy silvered fish, sweet dried sausages and some chewy fish cakes. Each grain was distinct (粒粒分明）and not greasy at all. You can even say it's better than many of the Chinese restaurants in Singapore. 

The place may be fully seated during lunch or dinner hours but the turnover rate is quite fast. So chances are you don't have to wait or queue hours for something good and affordable. 

Fishball Khin
Block 574 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, 01-1825 
Tel: 8198-6868 
Open: 11.30am - 11.30pm (Wed - Mon), closed on Tue

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Lian Kee Bak Chor Mee @ Alexandra Hawker Center

The Uncle was preparing his noodles in all too-dramatic movements that seemed like watching a dance choreography. From all the tossing, lifting the noodles drainer way high up above his head before emptying the noodles into the bowl, all these resulted in an average of at least 3 minutes preparation time for just a bowl of noodles. As a result, the queue barely moved after 45 minutes even though there was no more than 8 pax in front of us. 


Unfortunately, this seems to reflect a Chinese saying of "事倍功半” because the noodles turned out very ordinary. We couldn't taste much of the black vinegar and neither was there any hints of spice even though chilli was added. (If I didn't say that this was added with chilli, my family would still be thinking that this was a non-chilli version). Will not queue again.

Lian Kee Bak Chor Mee
Alexandra Hawker Center Unit #01-50
7.30am-1.30pm (Closed on Monday)

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