Kemlyn B.
Yelp
Five-star Food Centre! The hardest decision starving myself so I can pack all the delicious offerings and still lament over what else I want to eat.
Disclaimer: No air-conditioning, noisy, crowded, and expect long lines or queues. If you can put aside these dining conditions, Old Airport Road is AMAZING! It is a Must-Eat Stop for me in SG.
Top of my list:
Seafood Soup with Minced Pork Balls Yan Ji Seafood Soup): This cloudy soup is slowed cooked with layers of flavor. There is hint of wokhei. Fried flat fish ground and added to the minced pork elevates the flavor. It is salty and I don't like cooked seafood usually, but I cannot got enough of this broth. I dream about this soup in the USA. I usually get the soup with just the meatballs, but everyone else gets fish. I hear the prawns are cooked perfectly, firm, succulent and sweet. Hint: the cheap standard fish they offer is good enough. Don't be put off the price. It is worth it. Drink lots of water after that. $6 up per bowl.
Rojak or Salad with Shrimp Paste: Jicama, guava, cucumber, pineapple, bean sprouts, crispy ew char kuay or fried dough sticks, Century eggs (fermented black eggs buried underground with ammonia) mixed with a sweet, nutty haekor or shrimp paste that has the consistency of molasses.
Gong Gong or boiled sea snails: It is an art to eat these delectable bad boys. Gingerly skewer the flesh beyond the foot. Slowly ease the flesh until the whole animal is out. Hold the morsel by the foot, dip into sambal belacan or chili paste with fermented shrimp with a generous squeeze of lime, hold foot, bite and remove foot. It is chewy near the foot, creamy entrails at the end, spicy and delicate gift from the sea. $10 per plate.
Char siu pork and roast pork (sioh bak) from Roast Paradise: crispy deeply marinated char siu and salty, crunchy roast pork belly and crackling served with rice. Tasty dipping sauce and mustard for condiments. Ask for more cucumber.
Ice Kachang or shaved ice: Smooth shaved ice drizzled with colored stripes and sweet corn with syrup atop red beans, jellies and uptup chee, gelatinous sweetened seeds from a palm. They are generous, I found 4 yesterday!!! It is better when you share and fight for the uptup chee. Other delicious desserts are the green jellied Nonya Chendol shaved iced drizzled with gula Melaka palm sugar syrup , Cheng Tng dessert soup with lotus seeds, gingko nuts and dried longan.
There are so many other stalls I wanted to try, but I can't get past my favorites. I want to try at least one more dish each time but my stomach fails me.
If you are still peckish, try the Epok Epok or curry puff with egg, char kuay teow or rice noodles with black soy and cockles, plump oysters in a half shell (S$3 per oyster).