Haig Road Market & Food Centre
J'adore le plus la cuisine des hawker centres. C'est ce qui distingue uniquement la cuisine Singapourienne. Bien qu'il puisse parfois sembler que je ne mange pas souvent dans les hawker centres (parce que ce blog ne présente pas souvent les hawker centres, et en fait, beaucoup de mes collègues me demandent si je mange jamais dans les hawker centres), la cuisine des hawker centres constitue une grande partie de mes repas.
C'est la cuisine qui me manque le plus quand je suis à l'étranger. Pas de la haute gastronomie. C'est "le soul food" de Singapour: rustique, authentique, super bon et pas du tout cher. Nulle part ailleurs dans le monde on pourrait manger aussi délicieusement, dans un environnement relativement propre, pour moins de 10 dollars, sauf dans mon bien-aimé Singapour.
Cependant, le fait est, même si je mange souvent de la cuisine des hawker centres, je ne mange pas souvent dans les hawker centres. Au lieu, j'emporte fréquemment de la cuisine des hawker centres pour dîner dans le confort de ma maison climatisée: Singapour est tout simplement trop chaud, pour moi au moins, pour tolérer de manger en plein air. Demandez à mes amis, ils confirmeront que je transpire trop dès que je suis dans la chaleur humide de Singapour pendant plus de 5 minutes.
Et parce que les plats à emporter ne semblent pas bons, j'essaie de ne pas les photographier pour ce blog. Mais de temps en temps, je vais braver la chaleur pour dîner dans les hawker centres, pour le bien de ce blog.
========================================
We stayed away from visiting the hawker centres all throughout the Circuit Breaker, opting instead to hunker down at home and ordering takeout. Even after Phase Two allowed for a new normal of dining-in, we've been cautious AF, limiting our interactions with our favourite people (in this regard, have u noticed how, because of social distancing, we've taken to weeding the superficial associations from our genuine friendships? Well, I have. Acquaintances I merely tolerated before, veritably to maintain some obligation of social niceties, I now can't be bothered with to keep in touch. I think, when social connections have to be restricted against the backdrop of a global health crisis, u find yourself only meeting up with honest-to-goodness people you actually wanna keep in your life. It becomes immediately apparent, who your "first-tier" friends are, and consequently, who are, well, "disposable".) and only recently started revisiting some of our favourite hawker centres.
It doesn't help that the hawker centres are often-times teeming with boomers, whose idea of social distancing is standing so close behind you, they can smell the durian you had last night emanating from your pores. Also, can anyone tell me why do so many of the boomer generation pull down their face masks to only cover their mouths????? A face mask is meant to cover BOTH your noses and mouths, innit?? So its efficacy is halved when one wears the mask half-cocked like that innit hmm?? Ooh well, at least their mouths are covered, and so they're protecting me by keeping their germy spittle to themselves.
For the foregoing reasons, we've mostly stayed away from the hawker centres, even if it's for a brisk in-and-out to takeaway food.
BUT, cravings being what they are, I couldn't quite delay gratification any more after 3 months of abstinence (and this is why I can never migrate out of my beloved homeland Singapore). And so, we've started satisfying said cravings for various hawker foods. Like for mee rebus at Haig Road Food Centre.
This was a little jaunt to the East sometime earlier this year, when I was on the hunt for the best mee rebus in Singapore, and I had heard that there was excellent mee rebus to be had at Haig Road Market. Purportedly the largest food hub in Geylang Serai, the hawker centre is a veritable trove of culinary gems. And while the mee rebus is indeed solid stuff, there were a couple of unexpected discoveries made during that little expedition to the lovely heritage neighbourhood named after my favourite aromatherapy scent, lemongrass.
Afandi Hawa is The Name to note if ever one has a hankering Mee Rebus ($3). Thick and robust but nuanced, the gravy is redolent with the sweetness of flower crabs and shrimp, underscored with the heft of mutton.Yellow egg noodles are blanched (it's how the dish is named), and served alongside a hard boiled egg and lashings of bawang goreng. Save for the occasional pokey shards of blitzed seafood that I would have preferred strained out thoroughly (so be careful if feeding young'uns), best mee rebus ever.
The illustrious hawker, now run by the second generation, also serves up a pretty rad bowl of Bihun Mee Soto ($3), the Malay version of chicken noodle soup. Spiked with a black soy and chilli mix, this was comforting and fortifying all at once.
In case u miss the perpetual queue marking said stall, this is the frontage for reference. Another plus point: Afandi Hawa opens till about 7-ish at night, which already sets it apart from most other mee rebus purveyors who hawk their wares for breakfast only.
Afandi Hawa & Family
#01-21
Open 10.30am to 8pm Thursdays to Tuesdays, Closed on Wednesdays
====================================================
There's a smattering of Chinese food stalls in Haig Road Food Center too, and regulars will know to hit up the Wantan Mee ($3) at Zhen Guang, which used to be at the old Hollywood Canteen opposite Haig Road Market. This is done Malaysian-style, with copious use of dark soy sauce. Old-school, simple, homespun fare.
The Dumpling Soup ($4) is a worthwhile order, juicy and loaded with leafy greens.
The stall front for reference. Go early, this stall sells out by mid-afternoon.
Hollywood Canteen Zhenguang Wantan Noodles
#01-67
Open from 6am to 3pm Wednesdays to Mondays, Closed on Tuesdays
====================================================
Cheng Tng ($1.50) is possibly my favourite tian2 tang1 (sweet soup); it's light and refreshing, and a wonderful palate cleanser for carb-heavy hawker foods. So whenever I see a dessert stall serving it, I will order it.
Chin Heng Dessert does an outstanding version of it. Sweet but just so, herbal but balanced just so, this was a delightful panacea to the crazy sweltering heat of our tropical climate.
The stall front for reference.
Chin Heng Dessert
#01-46
Open daily from 11am to 7.30pm
====================================================
Haig Road Cooked Food Centre
14 Haig Road
C'est la cuisine qui me manque le plus quand je suis à l'étranger. Pas de la haute gastronomie. C'est "le soul food" de Singapour: rustique, authentique, super bon et pas du tout cher. Nulle part ailleurs dans le monde on pourrait manger aussi délicieusement, dans un environnement relativement propre, pour moins de 10 dollars, sauf dans mon bien-aimé Singapour.
Cependant, le fait est, même si je mange souvent de la cuisine des hawker centres, je ne mange pas souvent dans les hawker centres. Au lieu, j'emporte fréquemment de la cuisine des hawker centres pour dîner dans le confort de ma maison climatisée: Singapour est tout simplement trop chaud, pour moi au moins, pour tolérer de manger en plein air. Demandez à mes amis, ils confirmeront que je transpire trop dès que je suis dans la chaleur humide de Singapour pendant plus de 5 minutes.
Et parce que les plats à emporter ne semblent pas bons, j'essaie de ne pas les photographier pour ce blog. Mais de temps en temps, je vais braver la chaleur pour dîner dans les hawker centres, pour le bien de ce blog.
========================================
We stayed away from visiting the hawker centres all throughout the Circuit Breaker, opting instead to hunker down at home and ordering takeout. Even after Phase Two allowed for a new normal of dining-in, we've been cautious AF, limiting our interactions with our favourite people (in this regard, have u noticed how, because of social distancing, we've taken to weeding the superficial associations from our genuine friendships? Well, I have. Acquaintances I merely tolerated before, veritably to maintain some obligation of social niceties, I now can't be bothered with to keep in touch. I think, when social connections have to be restricted against the backdrop of a global health crisis, u find yourself only meeting up with honest-to-goodness people you actually wanna keep in your life. It becomes immediately apparent, who your "first-tier" friends are, and consequently, who are, well, "disposable".) and only recently started revisiting some of our favourite hawker centres.
It doesn't help that the hawker centres are often-times teeming with boomers, whose idea of social distancing is standing so close behind you, they can smell the durian you had last night emanating from your pores. Also, can anyone tell me why do so many of the boomer generation pull down their face masks to only cover their mouths????? A face mask is meant to cover BOTH your noses and mouths, innit?? So its efficacy is halved when one wears the mask half-cocked like that innit hmm?? Ooh well, at least their mouths are covered, and so they're protecting me by keeping their germy spittle to themselves.
For the foregoing reasons, we've mostly stayed away from the hawker centres, even if it's for a brisk in-and-out to takeaway food.
BUT, cravings being what they are, I couldn't quite delay gratification any more after 3 months of abstinence (and this is why I can never migrate out of my beloved homeland Singapore). And so, we've started satisfying said cravings for various hawker foods. Like for mee rebus at Haig Road Food Centre.
This was a little jaunt to the East sometime earlier this year, when I was on the hunt for the best mee rebus in Singapore, and I had heard that there was excellent mee rebus to be had at Haig Road Market. Purportedly the largest food hub in Geylang Serai, the hawker centre is a veritable trove of culinary gems. And while the mee rebus is indeed solid stuff, there were a couple of unexpected discoveries made during that little expedition to the lovely heritage neighbourhood named after my favourite aromatherapy scent, lemongrass.
Afandi Hawa is The Name to note if ever one has a hankering Mee Rebus ($3). Thick and robust but nuanced, the gravy is redolent with the sweetness of flower crabs and shrimp, underscored with the heft of mutton.Yellow egg noodles are blanched (it's how the dish is named), and served alongside a hard boiled egg and lashings of bawang goreng. Save for the occasional pokey shards of blitzed seafood that I would have preferred strained out thoroughly (so be careful if feeding young'uns), best mee rebus ever.
The illustrious hawker, now run by the second generation, also serves up a pretty rad bowl of Bihun Mee Soto ($3), the Malay version of chicken noodle soup. Spiked with a black soy and chilli mix, this was comforting and fortifying all at once.
In case u miss the perpetual queue marking said stall, this is the frontage for reference. Another plus point: Afandi Hawa opens till about 7-ish at night, which already sets it apart from most other mee rebus purveyors who hawk their wares for breakfast only.
Afandi Hawa & Family
#01-21
Open 10.30am to 8pm Thursdays to Tuesdays, Closed on Wednesdays
====================================================
There's a smattering of Chinese food stalls in Haig Road Food Center too, and regulars will know to hit up the Wantan Mee ($3) at Zhen Guang, which used to be at the old Hollywood Canteen opposite Haig Road Market. This is done Malaysian-style, with copious use of dark soy sauce. Old-school, simple, homespun fare.
The Dumpling Soup ($4) is a worthwhile order, juicy and loaded with leafy greens.
The stall front for reference. Go early, this stall sells out by mid-afternoon.
Hollywood Canteen Zhenguang Wantan Noodles
#01-67
Open from 6am to 3pm Wednesdays to Mondays, Closed on Tuesdays
====================================================
Cheng Tng ($1.50) is possibly my favourite tian2 tang1 (sweet soup); it's light and refreshing, and a wonderful palate cleanser for carb-heavy hawker foods. So whenever I see a dessert stall serving it, I will order it.
Chin Heng Dessert does an outstanding version of it. Sweet but just so, herbal but balanced just so, this was a delightful panacea to the crazy sweltering heat of our tropical climate.
The stall front for reference.
Chin Heng Dessert
#01-46
Open daily from 11am to 7.30pm
====================================================
Haig Road Cooked Food Centre
14 Haig Road
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