Hong Lim market

C says:

We went to Hong Lim market on Saturday afternoon, thinking it’ll be considerably less crowded than it is on weekdays with the office crowds. Boy, were we wrong. But I was having a serious craving for good hawker food, so we decided to be patient and wait as long as it took.

Which turned out to be about 20 minutes or so, not that bad in the circumstances. We ordered a $3 plate from the famous Outram Park char kuay teow stall. To me, this is the best char kuay teow in Singapore – it’s deliciously moist without feeling or tasting oily, had loads of garlic, and it’s peppered with lovely morsels of la pork (lard) that add a lovely crunch.

We also tried the Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee, which was recently featured on “Our Makan Places: Lost and Found” on Channel 5. $3 yielded a very generous bowl, and the blend of chilli and vinegar was just right. However, my one grouse about it is the noodle consistency – it’s a tad too mushy for my liking. I like my mee pok springy and chewy, with a firm bite to it. Almost al dente, if you can describe mee pok as al dente.

(Lest you think we’re complete pigs, we shared one order of each!)

Washed everything down with a glass of sugar cane juice. An extremely unhealthy lunch that left us with a garlic aftertaste for the rest of the afternoon, but thoroughly satisfying nonetheless.

A says:

I’ve been having lots of Char Kway Teow lately and this one, with its generous servings of cockles, was really worth it for $3. But factor in the long, long, longggg wait and I think I’d rather go for the one at Beach Road/Army Market. Bak Chor Mee was pretty good, but again, not worth the crowds and the wait.