In true #nylonsgeats style, we don’t just settle for the high-end restaurants, quirky cafes, or fad-of-the-month snacks (but do still send them our way!) — we always have room for everything. Yep, our stomachs can’t be satiated, which explains the dangerous 4pm snack hour… In any case, sometimes, what we’re craving for is down-to-earth, honest-to-goodness hawker fare, which thankfully, is in abundance around our office. Consider us experts of the Toa Payoh North area; we do have our meals here practically every day, you know, and since we’re feeling a little generous this Friday, here’s a look at what we ate this week — at some of the best food haunts in our area. Enjoy.
Fish Soup, $4.80, Zion 91 Ah Shun Fish Soup
The soup honestly doesn’t “wow” on its first impression, but the more you dig into it, the tastier it gets. Maybe because the flavour is settling, but who cares! This is one dish that you can eat till the last drop! The white beehoon noodles are thick, but not too thick, and importantly, are springy. The vegetables are fresh, and the generous slices of boneless fish are delicious. Dip them into soy sauce with red cut chilli to really bring out their flavour. Be warned though, the queue is long and you can forget about eating this if it’s raining. Because everyone loves hot fish soup on a cold, rainy day. True story: NYLON’s Editor can eat this 5 days a week.
206 Toa Payoh North, Singapore 310206
Tom Yum You Mian with Sliced Pork, $4, Uno 1 Ban Mian
Uno 1 Ban Mian is our ultimate choice of comfort food – we’re even willing to queue for this tom yum version on blazing afternoons. Uno offers a choice of noodles that includes the usual ban mian and you mian and Koka noodles; you also get to choose your soup base: regular soup, sweet and sour, or tom yum. If you want, add a topping of mushrooms, sliced pork or prawns. The noodles are springy and cooked just right, but it’s the soup that’s the winner here, as it’s flavourful and made extra shiok with an egg added in. Or have the noodles dry with the soup on the side. We’re partial to the tom yum soup base as it’s rich enough yet without being too spicy, so we can slurp it down easily enough.
203 Toa Payoh North, Singapore 310203
Roast Pork / Charsiew Rice, $4, Roasted Master
We call this the stall with the good meats. You can’t go wrong with any of the roast meats here, but it’s the roast pork (shao rou) that truly stands out. As you bite into the entire piece of meat, you can really feel the different textures of crispy skin and soft, succulent fats melt in the mouth. Look, we didn’t even stop to take a proper picture before tucking into the meal. The rice is also just right — not clumpy, and not mushy… both nightmares that we come across in our takeaway packs far too often. Is this worth the extra distance down the road in the hot, hot sun? For the roast pork, yes it is.
203 Toa Payoh North, Singapore 310203
Laksa, $4, Soon Yan Carrot Cake & Laksa
Being such sticklers for good laksa, it’s almost impossible for us to find a great bowl these days, which is why we were over the moon when we stumbled upon this. Initially, our eyes were watering with excitement as we saw slick, white noodles being drenched in creamy, coconut gravy. And as toppings of fish cakes, cockles and fried tau pok skin were added to our bowls, our stomach’s exploded with hunger and we just couldn’t wait to eat. After trying it out though, we received a more accurate view of things. Taste-wise, the dish fell a little flat. We expected the gravy to have more of that lemak flavour, but it was still potent enough to keep us slurping down the noodles. Also, ingredients were plentiful, and that was a major plus in our books. Bonus points go to them for also whipping up a decent plates of carrot cake too!
111 Lor 1 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310111
Nasi Lemak, $2.30, Hup Lee Fried Beehoon
We all love a solid plate of nasi lemak, with the requisite fluffy rice bursting with coconut flavour, along with chicken wings/crunchy sides and that runny egg yolk. This has all of that. What’s even better? Its price. $2.30. In 2016 Singapore. And outside of your school/company canteen too. We can’t emphasise how value-for-money this meal is — there are two sets, either this with the sausage and fishcake, flavourful and with a good crispy un-soggy exterior on first bite, or, with your standard chicken wing. Either way, you’ll love how enjoyable the rice is as you’re wolfing it down, thinking about how much money you can save for your next major holiday. The store also doles out some yummy beehoon too, in very generous portions though, so watch out for that after-lunch food coma.
111 Lor 1 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310111
Bonus: Thai-Style Wanton Noodles, $6, Wang Thai Kitchen
Okay, so we didn’t actually try it this week, but here’s a shoutout to the thai restaurant that’s a bit of a walk from our place, but so damn worth it. They’ve garnered quite a few positive reviews, with bloggers raving about dishes like the green curry, tom yum, fish cakes and pandan chicken, but on any afternoon, this perennial “special”, the thai-style wanton noodles, hits the spot. The wantons were the star obviously, being fresh, succulent and generous with the meat fillings, while the springy noodles came with just the right amount of sauce and chilli to make every bite a truly mesmerising one. As for the choice of toppings, seriously, crispy wanton skin and fried salmon skin? It’s a total treat, and you don’t even need to dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant for that.
#01-274, 92 Toa Payoh Lor 4, 310092
