Hong Ji Yun Tun Mian

After church yesterday, was headed to parkway with my parents. They needed to do some grocery shopping and I needed to fix my watch, and most importantly, we needed lunch. Popped by to the Marine Parade Food Centre just next to parkway to get some chow. This food centre is home of the famous Apollo Char Kway Teow, though I must say it's a matter of personal preference because some people swear by it and others hate it. Well today wasn't about char kway teow, it was about wantan mee. Located further in the food centre is Hong Ji Yun Tun Mian. It's not everyday you can have cheap meals anymore and this is one such place. A plate of wantan mee only costs $2, or you can have an upsized version for $2.50.

You will be surprised that even for a mere $2 you still get a decent amount of ingredients! The amount of noodles is substantial enough, and there were quite a few pieces of char siew. The char siew is quite lean but thankfully not dry and flaky like some horrible ones I've eaten before. Not the juiciest but still decent and pretty yummy. It's only $2 after all! Noodles are not bad either, chilli has got kick and the noodles are quite springy.

I must say the wantans were good though! Tasty and a generous amount of meat in each wantan. And for $2 you get 3 wantans, which is pretty generous. Soup is not super tasty but at least you don't feel thirsty like some others which put a lot of salt or MSG.

Another worthy mention is their home made barley. You get a real big cup for only $0.70. Wah yesterday really was a budget meal man. Total damage only $2.70! Budget meal but pretty satisfied. =)

Hong Ji Yun Tun Mian
Marine Parade Food Centre #01-142
Opening Hours: Not sure (I think they cater more to the morning crowd though, probably not open for dinner)

Hwa Kee Barbeque Pork Noodle

At east coast park you can find quite a number of good food stalls at the lagoon hawker centre. One such stall is Hwa Kee Barbeque Pork Noodle. They're pretty popular and have been around for a long time. They've won numerous awards too and have been interviewed by newspapers and tv programmes like Makansutra, Coffee Talk & Hawker Woks etc. They normally open for business around 1200-1230. If you were to go around that time it shouldn't be so crowded. But normally you will find a queue waiting to buy their wantan noodles at most times of the day.

Though most people will eat the normal wantan mee, I always order the shui jiao char shao mee. More shiok to eat the shui jiao than wantan la, its bigger and has prawns in it! Haha. The thing about Hwa Kee's noodles is that they add a sweet sauce on their noodles. Something like e char siew sauce you have with your char siew rice. You can ask for less sauce or no sauce if you don't like a sweetish tinge to your noodles.

Overall their noodles are quite nice. It's not overcooked or soft, and their chilli is good. Not that spicy so I normally ask for more chilli. Other than the noodles, the two other important elements which is the char siew and wantan are also good. The char siew is juicy and sometimes when you can get ends with the slightly burnt bits its a treat. Very tasty! The wantan skin is not thick or doughy like some others I've eaten before, and there is a decent amount of tasty pork inside. But I still prefer shui jiao to wantans.

It's $3 for a regular plate of wantan mee and $4 for the shui jiao char shao mee. They have other things on their menu too but I always have the usual. Definitely a must try if your at East Coast Park!

Hwa Kee Barbeque Pork Noodle
Lagoon Food Village Stall no. 45
East Coast Park
Opening hours: 1200-2200(I think)
Closed on Wednesdays

Seng's Wantan Mee

On my next adventure with Terence to explore the supper delights of Singapore ended up in us landing up here:


Dunman Food Centre! It's located opposite Joo Chiat Neighbourhood Police Post. It's a small hawker centre, not much opened at night except the wantan mee, char kway teow and tau huay stalls. Oh and they had Tekong drink stall! Nostalgic for the men who have served NS and been to tekong for training, although I don't know if they actually relocated from Tekong Island or not. So decided to have Seng's Wantan Noodles. Actually wanted to eat the shui jiao but they were out so no choice had to have wantans instead.

I couldn't really get good shots as I was just using my handphone camera. Anyway you can see they proudly place their food hygiene standards cert on their display. This means food should be very safe and clean I suppose? Haha.

Food arrived shortly and I started to tuck into my supper. The texture of the noodles is quite good. Not soft or soggy, so it didn't clump together. A bit more bite in it which I kinda like, sorta springy. Chilli was also very good. Quite spicy and not sweetish like some of the wantan noodles I've eaten before. The big disappointment was the char siew though. It was dry, flaky and not very tasty. Have tasted better char siew before. The wantans were decent thankfully, they gave 4 wantans! At least you can taste the pork inside the skin, rather than some wantans where u only taste flour. The soup was also very tasty, not sure if it's because of a lot of MSG though, but it didn't make me feel thirsty. Washed it all down with a cup of "teh" from Tekong Drink Stall, the tea was a bit too weak though. Next time if I'm back here should ask for "Teh Gao" i guess.

Overall the wantan mee was decent, if they improve on their char siew I'm sure it will be much better. For $3 it's not bad value for money. Decent amount of noodles and ingredients. Quite satisfied after supper. If only they have better char siew.....

Ok I'm still having my cravings for turtle soup which hasn't been satisfied. I've already listed out a few turtle soup stalls which I'd like to try on top of the few I always patronize. Why don't they have any turtle soup stalls near home??? =( Hopefully I can satisfy this craving soon. Haha ciaoz!