STI: Colourful kids on the block

Nov 21, 2004
Colourful kids on the block
by Teo Pau Lin

IT HAS only 36 stalls and is tucked deep in the sleepy heartland but Block 75 in Toa Payoh Lorong 5 has become quite a dream hawker destination.

Renovated three years ago, it is clean, breezy, has lots of parking space and boasts some of the best hawker food gathered under one roof.

Visit on weekends and you will find long queues at the stalls selling fishball noodles, claypot chicken rice and Hokkien prawn mee.

Unless you don't mind waiting for up to an hour for a meal, the better option is to visit on weekday evenings, since only about half the stalls are open for weekday lunch.

Built in the 1960s to house pushcart hawkers making a living in the nearby areas, the revamped hawker centre is home to a few colourful characters.

There is the white-haired fishball noodles cook, Mr Neo Joo Yong, 54, who whips up bowl after bowl before a huge stove like a charismatic star.

There are the two char kway teow hawkers who, despite having side-by-side stalls, insist there is no animosity between them.

And there is Mr Nelson Lee, 39, the claypot chicken rice stallowner, who boasts one of the clearest, rosiest complexions around, from toiling over his sauna-like charcoal stoves day in, day out.

LifeStyle recommends that you try the eight dishes on this page.

EIGHT DISHES YOU MUST TRY

BARBECUE STINGRAY
$8 to $12
The grilled stingray comes in a sizzling hotplate so expect some sparks to fly when you tuck in. The meat is tender while the sambal sauce is of the drier type with a robust belacan taste. As much as 60kg of stingray is served each day.

Toa Payoh Hot Plate BBQ Fish, #01-342M
Opens: 4.45pm to midnight daily

CHAR KWAY TEOW
$2, $3
There are two stalls here, located side by side. But owners Tham Buk Beng, 44, of Soon Lee Cooked Food and Goh Poh Kwe, 54, of Fried Cockles Kway Teow Stall insist they are not competitive and are on friendly terms. Each has his fare share of customers. We found the former's food tastier and the latter's less grimy.

Soon Lee Cooked Food, #01-338N
Opens: 3pm to midnight, closed on Sundays

Fried Cockles Kway Teow Stall, #01-336N
Opens: 5pm to midnight, closed on Mondays

CLAYPOT CHICKEN RICE
$5, $8, $12, $15
Be ready to wait for at least 20 minutes because each claypot is cooked individually over a charcoal flame upon order. Found in the rice are chunks of salted fish, Chinese sausage and liver sausage, and you mix a good dose of thick soya sauce and lard into it. The chicken pieces are amazingly tender.

Sha Guo Ji Fan, #01-330M
Opens: 5.30 to 11pm, closed on alternate Wednesdays

FISHBALL NOODLES
$2.50, $3
There is always a queue at this corner stall. What sells are the huge, bouncy fishballs, juicy pork balls and noodles that are firm and slightly chewy. The cook throws health-consciousness to the wind as he adds loads of lard bits. But the taste is so good it's worth the occasional risk.

Song Kee Fishball Noodles, #01-354M
Opens: 10am to midnight, closed on alternate Wednesdays

HOKKIEN PRAWN NOODLES
$3, $5, $8, $10
In business for close to 40 years, this stall miraculously whips up Hokkien mee that is neither too oily nor mushy. Owner Yap Sow Tee, 61, says there is nothing special about his recipe. But his customers, who wait for as long as an hour on weekends, would disagree.

Huat Heng Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee, #01-336M
Opens: 5pm to midnight, closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays

MINCED PORK NOODLES
$3
The secret is all in the sauce. When you order the dry noodles, they come covered with a yummy dark soya sauce gravy which was stewed over charcoal flame for at least two hours. If you order the soup noodles, the soup is a rich, cloudy concoction made from boiling pork bones, garlic and ginger. Truly delicious.

Toa Payoh Lorong 5 Minced Meat Noodles, #01-328M
Opens: 11.30am to 12.30am daily

ROJAK
$3, $5
Fresh taupok (fried beancurd) and youtiao (dough fritters) are grilled on order so expect a nice crispiness in every bite. Slivers of chewy jellyfish are thrown in too. What is unusual is that the stall also offers vegetarian rojak, using a vegetarian sauce instead of prawn paste.

Mei Ji Rojak, #01-328N
Opens: Noon to 12.30am, closed on Mondays

OYSTER OMELETTE
$3, $5, $8
The stall also sells carrot cake and fried oysters but its oyster omelette is the winner. It is not oily, has big, juicy oysters, and the egg is fried till slightly crispy. Neatly presented without any charred bits, it also comes with a tangy chilli sauce.

Xing Xing, #01-326N
Opens: 3pm to 2am daily