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Zhong Xing Foochow Fishball Noodle & Lor Mee @ Silat Ave Nan Heong Ho Kee Coffeeshop • Closed Since Aug 2024

✍ 28 Aug 2024. Sadly, this heritage fishball noodle stall founded in 1942 has just shut down due to monthly rental doubling to more to $6000.


✍ 19 Feb 2023. Was feeling a little famished after a three hour guided history tour of Telok Blangah (more about that in a future post). So, I went to look for lunch at the Silat Ave area. Stumbled upon the quiet Nan Heong Ho Kee kopitiam and Zhong Xing Foochow Fishball & Lor Mee stall.

A quick peek at the stall and it ticked all the boxes for me - handmade fishball, sambal, and pork lard (furthermore it was Foochow style fishball, which is not so common in Singapore).

Stall name: Zhong Xing Foochow Fish Balls & Lor Mee


Address: 148 Silat Ave, Singapore 160148 (stall inside Nan Heong Ho Kee Coffeeshop)


Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Outram Park station


Hours: 9:00am - 3:00pm (Tues off)



I like the local, neighbourhood feel of this coffeeshop. Quiet (even on a Sunday) and very clean. It was quite cool inside even though it was a hot sunny day, thanks to electric fans and lush greenery around it. Old school marble top kopitiam tables added to the charm.

There was no queue at the stall but the words Foo Chow Fish Balls got me.

I got the basic $4.50 set which was a bowl noodles with a bowl of Foochow fishballs and soup.

I like the soft tender doneness of the mee kia noodles. The sauce was a little on the flat tasting side despite its savoury lardy flavours and spicy heat. Maybe a little vinegar might bring it alive (remember to add that next time).

I like this stall because of the Foochow style of fishballs. It was good enough to bring me back again.

Fishball peekaboo. 

The 王 family hand make Foochow fishballs since the 1940s. They used to be at China Street before moving here.

Foochow fishballs are like Cantonese wantons but the minced pork core is wrapped in fish meat instead dough skin.

Wooh..., Zhong Xing's fish wrap is as good as those at the top band of Singapore fishball stalls. The fish meat was soft tender with a bit of savouriness and fish taste.

The little knob of minced pork compared well with those at wanton mee stalls. Soft, porcine sweet but sans pepper and sesame oil taste and smell. Okay..., it also didn't have porky broth gushing out like a xiao long bao but I still enjoyed Zhong Xing's "fish wrap wanton".

The cloudy soup, however, was flat salty tasting.

Another customer's lor mee.

Next time I am here, I shall try a lor mee plus Foochow fishball soup combo. Next time shall also go for their popular hand made meat balls and yan pi qiao 燕皮餃子 (pork skin wrap wanton). Lots of Foochow things to try, lots of reasons to come back 😄
                  


Written by Tony Boey on 19 Feb 2023

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