Passed by Lor 5 Toa Payoh Food Centre, and recalled that there is a Song Kee fishball noodle stall here which I haven't tried so far.
Decided to give it a try as I like Song Kee stalls because they still make their own fishballs at the stalls.
I know this hawker centre well as I grew up here when this was still a row of street side hawker stalls that sprouted in the evenings. Some of our favourite stalls still operated at the fringes after the hawker centre opened in the 1970s.
Our family lived in Blk 65, steps away from the hawker centre, and would come down here occasionally for dinner. Those were special occasions.
I can remember the wanton mee by two sisters, zhu chao (cook & fry) with a beautiful fish tank and awesome hor fun, the greatest fried kway teow of all time (thanks to the lard), prawn noodle (like this), etc. I miss the char kway teow stall the most - brought our own egg, a sweetish lard aroma from the greasy wok, the air all around it was smoky like my hazy but fond memories of it now.
None of these stalls are here anymore. None of the stalls here today are from that time, and what a time.... .
On a July night in 1970, from Blk 65, I saw policemen scaled a fireman ladder to enter a flat in Blk 64 and fired tear gas into the unit. It was the night they got Tan Chiang Lai, an armed robber who shot and killed a watch dealer. Tan and his gang were also involved in several armed robberies.
Blk 64 is still here, while our Blk 65 was demolished and turned into a "sensory park" 🤷 It's like a memoriam of my childhood memories (so many things happened). All I can say here is, it was interesting times in 1960s / 70s Toa Payoh, known then as "Chicago of Singapore" while Singapore itself was known as "Chicago of the East". Toa Payoh Lor 5 was ground zero.
Back to food (this is a food blog mah..... .) 😬
I got the $5 serving but without more noodles.
The mee pok noodles were a tad overdone and could be firmer.
But, there was lots of sauce - lard, sambal, vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce. Robust, lardy, savoury, spicy, tangy, smear your lips greasy the uniquely Singaporean way. I mean, sauced noodles are plenty in the Chinese world but none like the Singapore style like this.
Love it.
Fishballs made at the stall were tender firm but not very springy. Tasted savoury briny and missing a bit of sweetness.
The soft tender pork and fish ball is my favourite thing here, besides the flavour packed sauce. The pork & fish ball was briny, salty and the pork brought in the sweetness missing in the pure fish ball. Bits of preserved vegetables embedded inside added more savoury sweet flavours.
Soon Kee is well known for their her kiao fish dumplings which was tenderly chewy outside with juicy savoury pork filling but were relatively small. I prefer my her kiao to be big like those at Chao Yang in Eunos.
Lesser known but still nice, Song Kee fishball without the long queues. Just remember to ask them to cook it a little firmer if you prefer al dente texture for noodles.
Written by Tony Boey on 4 May 2023
🎗 Opinions in this blog are all my own as no restaurant or stall paid money to be featured
Thanks for the side story. Used to live at blk 64 in the 80s. Not only enjoyed the food but the frequent gangster fights at night from the safety of the trusted 12th floor corridor. Just step out of the flat when you hear a fight. That's how convenient it is :p
ReplyDeleteHello!! so you overlook the hawker centre. what do you remember of the food there? do you know where the road side char kway teow has went? do they have any descendants?
DeleteSame here. I stayed at Blk 64 for 20 years before I moved to amk. Two weeks ago I just went back to eat this fish ball noodles. I missed the Zichar stall hor fun in banana leave, the fried oysters stall with beautiful sisters, vegetarian stall with nice fried cauliflower, fried Hokkien mee and many more. 😬
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