Ah Mah Lee's Food Stall • Li Ji Xiao Chi 📍 Holland Village Hawker Centre 李記小吃

Li Ji Xiao Chi 李記小吃 📍 1 Lor Mambong, Singapore 277700 (stall #01-23 in Holland Village Market & Food Centre) 🚅 3 minute walk from Holland Village station ⏰ 10 am - 3 pm | 6:30pm - 9:30 pm

Ah Mah (grandma) Lee's food stall Li Ji Xiao Chi at Holland Village Hawker Centre recently got a lot of attention on social media. Buddy Kristen wanted to support Ah Mah Lee's stall.

Li Ji Xiao Chi is a one woman show and Ah Mah boss is 76 years old (in 2025). Ah Mah wasn't sure how long she had been running the stall, only that it was "还没有装修之前 before the upgrading".

The menu was an assortment of rice, porridge and noodle dishes all at affordable prices.

Ah Mah has a steady stream of supporters who waited patiently, respectfully for their dinner.

Ah Mah though frail prepares her dishes with a quiet determination at a slow but steady, practiced pace. 

We had fried Hokkien mee and fried bee hoon.

The fried Hokkien mee was a mix of yellow noodles and slender bee hoon stir fried in light savoury sweet stock and soy sauce with egg, shelled prawns and vegetables.

Umami was very slightly, mainly savoury tasting. Not the usual umami rich prawn, squid and pork Hokkien mee. More like... Ah Mah's cooking at home. Comforting and homely 很贴心, 有家的味道.

The fried bee hoon had prawn, egg, mushroom, vegetable as well as pork with the same light savoury sweet stock but no dark sauce. I prefer this over the fried Hokkien mee as the flavours of the ingredients and stock were well infused into the rice vermicelli. It's actually a winner with balanced, if somewhat mild flavours. I will come back for the fried bee hoon.

In my writing about food, I try to go beyond tasty or not, and delve a bit into history, culture, heritage, personal stories, location, etc.

From Kristen, I learned to also take a (what I term for now till I can think of a better word) humanistic, empathetic approach to food writing. She asked me if I had considered that the food was from Ah Mah's heart? How often do we have Ah Kung or Ah Mah personally prepare food for us? Why not we appreciate the food as a gift of love from Ah Mah or Ah Kung, and enjoy it as it is, instead of judging / rating it?

I am not sure I fully understood Kristen but I am beginning to look at the food served with a greater dose of gratitude, smaller dose of judgement. It's an approach I need to hone from now on.

Ah Mah Lee is one of the dwindling number of sole proprietor hawkers left in Singapore. She is still going strong - Ah Mah intends to work as long as she is able. She values the financial independence her little stall gives her. Do say hello to Ah Mah, the warrior flying the Singapore hawker culture flag with pride and dignity.

Stall name: Li Ji Xiao Chi 李記小吃

Address: 1 Lor Mambong, Singapore 277700 (stall #01-23 in Holland Village Market & Food Centre)

Nearest MRT: 3 minute walk from Holland Village station

Hours: 10 am - 3 pm | 6:30pm - 9:30 pm 

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Written by Tony Boey on 6 Nov 2025

Who is Tony Johor Kaki?