This was a nice find! Good al dente noodles with a surprise highlight - a kick-ass sambal chili sauce that lifted it beyond the plane of ordinary fishball noodles! The fishballs themselves are not as large and bouncy as I had hoped for but they sufficed. For S$2.50, you also get a piece of stuffed fried tofu that was quite tasty too.
The best part? Generous large pieces of fried pork lard! Enough to grace every other mouthful, just nice. Oh I wanted another bowl even before I finished this one. My only grouse is that the noodles had so much oil in it that it makes char kway teow look like a Weight Watcher's option.
SONG KEE FISHBALL NOODLES
Blk 75 Toa Payoh Lorong 5 (Food Centre)
Open 10am to midnight, closed on alternate Wednesdays
I kinda like this fishball noodle stall at People's Park Food centre. They have very big fishballs that is soft, not the springy crunchy ones. Didn't take note of the stall unit no. But I think it's not hard to find. There should be some q during peak hours.
ReplyDeleteMORE OIL MORE DELICIOUS!
ReplyDeletei love food with lard
Hee...my favourite fishball noodles stall! Try the other stalls from the same hawker centre, they're delicious too.
ReplyDeleteI know it's a little late for me to comment on this post. It was put up way back in 2007 and it is now 2010.
ReplyDeleteBut I just wanted to let everyone know that this store is still in operation. One of the reasons that it has enjoyed such great success in this neighbourhood (yes, I live in the vicinity), is that it is the ONLY fishball noodle store in the entire hawker centre.
I have eaten at Song Kee many times. And I dare say that it was not because they have the best fishball noodle (my opinion) but because there was no other choice for fishball noodles here.
There is also something that not many people know about this place.
There is only one row of shops to this hawker centre. And the row has two sides of shops. One side operates both in the day and night time and the other side only in the night. Song Kee is on the 'night time' side.
Another reason that Song Kee has been so popular is because it goes against the 'night time' side's normal tendency. Instead it operates both night and day. And because it’s the only shop open on its side, the customers have a lot of seating to choose from. Therefore, workers from the nearby factories and HDB Hub eat there during lunch time (to avoid the crowd) and add to its reputation.
I never thought that their fishballs were any special. Yes, they are made at the shop manually but apart from the extra effort in this respect, I do not see how they set themselves apart from the rest. And honestly, making stuff in-house doesn't necessarily mean they taste better. By the way, I have never seen them prepare the fish meat from real fish before. The fish paste just appears out of nowhere and gets thrown into a machine which then churns out the balls. Makes me think that they could have bought the fish paste off a supplier. But whatever it is, their fishballs and that fish dumpling thing with coriander and pepper, are a little too fishy.
The second thing is the noodles. They seldom have 'mee kia', the stringier brother of the 'mee pok'. So customers almost always have no choice but to have 'mee pok'. To me, it is okay to be like that. Check out the latest ramen joints. I think they would be offended if you asked them for fettucini style ramen. If you do a dish well, you are entitled to how it is to be done.
But this is were Song Kee fails. The 'mee pok' again is almost always overcooked. Hence losing that QQ texture that we generally look for in noodles. Actually, I also suspect that the noodle supplier they use is making a very starchy and non-QQ type of 'mee pok' that comes out mushy any way they cook it. Then again who knows. Bottomline is, the noodle is not among the best there is out there.
Yet another reason why Song Kee appears to draw the crowds is that they do not serve you your noodles at the table. You have to remain in queue until your noodles are cooked and then bring it on a tray to the table yourself. As such, they build a very impressive queue during meal times. I have always had a suspicion of hawkers who do this. Singaporeans are known to be very into this queuing thing. If there is a queue, the food must be good. So it is a very good marketing strategy.
ReplyDeleteAt any time of the day, they have a guy that cooks the noodles, 2 uncles who take orders, add condiments and pack the noodles, and an auntie that barks orders to maintain queue discipline. I do not see how they are short of manpower to serve to the table.
You must be wondering what is motivating me to write such a long comment. Well, I am just a nearby resident who is rather tired of the poor quality of fishball noodles this store is serving and the equally poor attitude of the store owners and helpers. Many times I have been barked at just because I have stood too close to their queue without ordering. Food Nazis, they are.
But why comment only now?
Because there is a new fishball noodle store that has opened only two doors away from Song Kee on the same side!! I only managed to taste their noodles two nights ago and I immediately sensed that salvation was here for all fishball noodle fans in the neighbourhood. Yes, they are using commercially produced fishballs but they are definitely better than Song Kee's. The fishballs have a good bite to them and you can taste that a good fish was used to make them. There is also a wide selection of noodles which include 'mee kia' and 'mee sua'!! In fact their signature dish is a dry 'mee sua' tossed in chilli, 'tee po' and lard bits served up with fishballs and minced meat. And they give a braised mushroom to boot! All for just $3.
And talk about price war. Their ample portioned fishball noodle is only $2!! Where do you find that kind of price in Singapore these days?
If you happen to be in the neighbourhood, I do ask you to give these new guys a try. A bunch of very honest and hard working young boys who are starting out a business by themselves. And the best part is, they are operating 24hr!! Please also try their 'bar chor mee'. It's very good!