Smith Street Food Center (Chinatown)

I just figured out where my dad always disappear to during lunch time: this place. It's about 10 minutes walk from Hong Lim, and has an over-abundance of renowned stores - if you can navigate your way through the maze-like interior. It's a bit of work to get around to the stall that you're looking for, but the food here are some of the best you can find around Singapore. And the presence of all the tourists that appear by the bus-loads are here to prove this. 

Protip!: To get to this wonderland, find the CK department store along Smith Street. Next to CK, there's a kinda dodgy looking elevator, which you should totally get on. The hawker centre is one floor up from ground floor.

(Liao Fan) Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodles 
#02-126

I was first clued in on Smith Street Food Centre when my dad brought home the biggest, juiciest slabs of char siew (BBQ pork) I have ever eaten in my life. Yes, slabs. Who knew? They're so juicy, spurts of delicious delicious fats burst into my mouth with every bite. 

The store doesn't give out packets of char siew sauce with their meat because they know you don't need it. And they're right. As we feasted, I thought that slathering sauce on their heavenly roasted meat will be a sin. Hands down, the best char siew I have ever eaten in my life. Yet I didn't even had it fresh from the store. My dad bought it during lunch, and left it in the office fridge until he brought it home for dinner. 

They open at 1030, but you don't want to come at 1030, because there will be a long snaking queue of about 20 people by then. I waited for 15 minutes, and I advanced by not more than three steps. The good news is that if all you want is to takeaway char siew, you can skip the long queue. If a queue has already formed, I suggest eating elsewhere, and then drop by after to takeaway char siew. Char siew is sold around $2.50/100g. 

Ieatishootipost wrote a glowing review about this store, but he was raving about their soya sauce chicken and didn't mention the char siew at all. Shame. Looks like I'm still missing out and have to come back... 

As we stand in the queue, we watched the chef briskly slice up the different cuts of roast meat in his white chef jacket. His pride in his work is obvious.

Update!
On my return visit, we struck a conversation with the customers waiting in line around us, who are weekly patrons of this store from years back. They said that the owner-chef is extremely generous with his servings. And he was even more generous towards senior citizens, who he would ply with even more meat.) They gave a thumbs up to the Soya Sauce Chicken, and also recommended the roasted pork. 

So we got both.

We ordered $3 worth of roast pork. The portion size was incredible (a mountain of roast pork for $3!), and each slice was thickly-cut. The skin was extremely crispy, but the meat was a little dry. Good choice, but not heads-above the competition. 

Half a chicken goes for $7, and the meat is smooth. Even the breast tastes almost like the thigh meat, and they are drizzled in a fragrant herbal sauce. Pretty good, but I've had better (see below). The rice isn't particular note-worthy: a standard bowl of steamed rice drizzled in dark sauce. 

Update 2! This stall has recently (as of 2016) been awarded 1 Michelin star for the soya sauce chicken and BBQ Pork, making it the cheapest Michelin-awarded food in the world. 
The stall in the market now sells exclusively soya sauce chicken, and they set up a new branch (air-conditioned, thank you very much) across the street from the market, where they continue to sell the full menu. Queues at both stalls are incredible at all time of the day. If you want to eat, bring a fully-charged phone. And maybe a sleeping bag.

Fatty Ox HK Kitchen

#02-84

Efficient service that makes quick work of the queue. It was my turn to order in no time flat, and I went at 12pm on a weekday. For the four of us, I ordered 3 bowls of rice with Half a Chicken, and the final price was ... wait for it ... $12.50. Holy. 

The Soya Sauce chicken was so smooth and tender, the chicken breast tastes like thigh meat. One of the best Soya Sauce chicken I had. It also came garnished with a palmful of chopped spring onions and ginger, which added a nostalgic aroma to the dish. They go so well together with the soya sauce, I picked the garnish off with my chopsticks at the end of the meal before I left. Instead of plastic bowls, our rice was served in traditional porcelain bowls. You know that you're at a  老字号 (old establishment) when this happens. I was expecting the oily fragrant rice found in chicken rice, but this is just plain rice. Healthy what. They also have a noodles option.

The owner-cook wears gloves when he handles the food, which is nice to see. Less nice to see: he collects money and gives change with the same glove. He has several other store assistants, so perhaps he could let them handle the money instead. Sigh. I wiped down the change before putting it back into my wallet. And try not to think of the next piece of meat he touches. 

Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu
#02-87, 88.

How nice can clear soup Yong Tau Foo be, was my first thought. The answer: pretty darn amazing. I never liked Yong Tau Foo until I had this. Does this revelation qualify as life-changing? Sh*t it does. I'm totes a Singaporean blogger now; everything and anything I put into my mouth has changed my life. The next thing you know, some food is going to make my eyes literally pop out of my head*. 

Each bowl comes with Ikan Bilis (anchovies) that's fried to a crisp and finished with salt. The unami in each bite is incredible. I half-suspect MSG. Just keep the ikan bilis away from the soup, or they'll get soggy in no time. The star of the bowl is their yong tau fu, which is hand-made. Being a second-generation hawker stall, the fish paste comes from an old family recipe. It's chewy, and salty and sweet at the same time. I never had fish paste as nice as this one before. It makes their hand-made fish balls an absolute joy to eat.

For $3 a bowl, it's a total bargain. Most Yong Tau Foo stores sell each bowl for about $4-6, and they ain't half as nice. 

*Blogging can be a really hazardous job y'know. Someone should pay me for doing this. 
   
Joe Pork Porridge - Raw Fish 
(Same row as Fatty Ox) #02-81,82

At first glance, their store has no queue. I was feeling quite bad for them. But as I watched, they turned off the signboard light at 11.15am, and it hits me. They are already closing shop. They rent two store-fronts, have a litany of awards AND don't need the lunch crowd to sell their food? They must be five shades of awesome. I have to come in the morning just to try their porridge.

Update!: They serve Cantonese-style porridge. There's a variety of meat available, prices range from $3-$4.50, and service is rapid. It's pretty good, but don't expect the porridge to be of fine dining standards. 

New Market Seafood Soup and Porridge
#02-028

I bought Singapore Fried Rice ($4) for my mom from this store chosen at random. (Okay, this makes me sound really bad. Let me clarify: I told her I'll bring her lunch from Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice (See above), but the queue was so long, I went to the front and just asked to takeaway a couple of slabs of char siew. Then I walked around the market trying to buy a bowl of rice from someone, and finally came across this fried rice stall.)

And goddamn, was it one of the best fried rice I had in Singapore. The wok hei is impressive, and the first bite I had sang of charcoal. I'm not even sure if they use charcoal, but I swear I could taste it. It's even more impressive considering they sell seafood noodles soup too, so it's not like they rely solely on their wok skills. I don't remember seeing any awards on their stall. Truly a hidden find. 

Ma Li Ya Virgin Chicken

We had half a soya sauce chicken ($7) and a tofu, based on IeatIshootIpost's recommendation. Unlike Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodles's (see above) plain rice, they serve the oily (but fragrant!) chicken-rice rice.  The soya sauce chicken was decent, but the breast meat was not as smooth as HK's. Thigh portions were delicious but had bits of bones here and there. The tofu was soft, silky and delicious. 

In a society full of sullen hawkers, the cheerful ladies behind the counter were a delight to talk to. Mad props!

Claypot and Cooked Food Kitchen
(Right beside Fatty Ox) - #02-83

I first went to this stall at 11.45am, but was told the waiting time would be an hour. I wasn't sure if she was joking or not, but I left anyway. As we ate from the famous Yong Tau Foo store (see above), the store lady brought out steaming hot claypots for the group of senior citizens seated beside our table. I leaned over and asked them how long they waited for their food. It really took an hour. Damn. 

The affable group of uncles sitting next to us also walked us through the menu (my Chinese standards ain't what it used to be), and recommended their Fried Rice ($3.50), the Fish Head, and the Fish Slice. They also confided that there's no stall in the entire hawker centre that cooks better vegetables than this one, and offered us a taste to prove it. My dad says that their Fish Slice is especially popular since they use 石斑鱼. He also recommended the Hor Fun and the Hong Shao Tofu (braised tofu). Now I really really want to try. 

Update! After almost a year, I finally did manage to return. I ordered at 11.30am, which was the magic moment just before the lunch crowd hits. My food arrived in 10 minutes. I had the 姜葱鱼片 (Ginger-Onion Stir-fry Fish), Seafood Hor Fun (Medium), 姜葱牛肉 (Ginger-Onion Stir-fry Beef), and Sambal Kangkong. $28 in total for 4 pax is a fair price. My favourite dish was the beef. The Sambal Kangkong sure is spicy, but the wok hei is formidable. Trust the uncles to know what they are talking about. 

Ginger-Onion Stir-fry Beef. LOOK at the sauce bubbling away merrily!

Ginger-Onion Stir-fry Fish

Seafood Hor Fun

Group picture!

Chinatown Fried Dough Stick
#02-163

The same ladies who I spoke to while queuing at HK Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodles stall also highly recommended this nondescript stall. $0.60 is a reasonable price, and we enjoyed the fluffy and chewy Salted Bun, Butterfly Fritters, Red Bean Buns and Lotus Buns. I'm a fan now too.