I rarely eat fried ngoh hiang nowadays because of the grease. When I can no longer resist it, I get my ngoh hiang fix at 老中中餐室五香酥虾饼 Lao Zhong Zhong at Tai Thong Crescent in Singapore.
My favourite ngoh hiang is fried prawn crackers and I like it that they make it fresh at Lao Zhong Zhong.
Ngoh hiang 五香 or five spice refer to the classic Chinese spice blend of cinnamon, clove, star anise, pepper, and fennel seed which is use to flavour the fried goodies. Ngoh hiang hawkers are usually Teochew or Hokkien. Lao Zhong Zhong is Teochew.
Owner Tan Kee Kwang in his 70s now, has been making ngoh hiang 五香 since he joined his father at his road side stall outside the old Thong Chai Medical Hall when he was 11 years old.
Lao Zhong Zhong stall was founded in the mid-50s, making it older than Singapore 😱 But, the good thing is Mr Tan has not changed anything - all his fried goodies are still handmade at the stall - a true heritage hawker.
After several moves through the decades, Lao Zhong Zhong settled in their own coffee shop at Tai Thong Crescent in 2008.
Lao Zhong Zhong has 14 items on their ngo hiang menu. Prices are very reasonable. There're water chestnut cake, Teochew pork sausage (guang chang), squid, tofu cube, fish ball, fish nugget, prawn cracker with egg, spring roll, ngo hiang roll, prawn cracker with tofu, century egg, octopus etc.
You just pick anything you fancy from the display like at a buffet. Pile them in a plate and hand it over to the staff who will re-fry and cut them into bait size.
First round about $9.
Second round, another $9 plus.
Lao Zhong Zhong's chili sauce is topped with crushed toasted peanuts and chopped onion. It tasted savoury spicy tangy with sweetness and nuttiness.
(Lao Zhong Zhong doesn't serve that warm pinkish colour starchy sweet sauce which I like most with my fried prawn crackers 😂 Do you where I can still get this in Singapore?)
Lao Zhong Zhong's sauce works perfectly with fried prawn crackers, my favourite ngoh hiang.
Lao Zhong Zhong's fried crackers were snappy brittlely crisp yet they were not greasy at all.
Fried prawn and tofu combination cracker 豆干虾. Nice. The best of both worlds in texture and flavour.
Round three. The guang chang sausage which Mr Tan just made, came out of the kitchen, so we just had to get some.
灌肠 guang chang is another must have for at ngo hiang shops. It's chunks of lean meat, well marinated, stuffed in sausage skins, and cooked by steaming. Nice tender juiciness with natural sweet flavours.
Ate so many different things, can't remember anything which I didn't like - in other words, I liked everything 😋 Can't go wrong at Lao Zhong Zhong 😄
👍 If you want to indulge in fried crackers but don't want to waste your calories and cholesterol quota, you can count on Lao Zhong Zhong's freshly made fried goodies to deliver on taste and crispiness. It is reasonably priced and also not overly greasy.
Restaurant name: Lao Zhong Zhong Fine Spice Stall 老中中餐室五香酥虾饼
Address: 29 Tai Thong Crescent, Singapore 347858
GPS: 1°19'44.1"N 103°52'11.0"E 🌐 1.328926, 103.869725
Nearest MRT: Potong Pasir (10 minutes walk)
Tel: 9693 2103
Hours: 11:30am - 11:30pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 20 Nov 2018
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