Many people know of Soon Heng rojak at the basement of Toa Payoh hub and willingly queue for it. It's famous for its good prawn paste, which the stall uncle claims is imported from Penang, and the extra crispy "you tiao" (Chinese crullers/fried dough sticks). It's even got "jiu he" (cured cuttlefish), although personally, I have never fully understood or appreciated the presence of this ingredient in rojak, so it's not really a bonus for me.
As I happened to be in Toa Payoh last week, I decided to see just how good it really is. Yes, I was initially skeptical, afraid of the Curse of Overhype that strikes so many famous stalls. But having tasted it, I do have to say it's not too bad. Good quality, fresh ingredients and they are very generous with the peanuts and prawn paste.Look at the avalanche of crushed peanuts! Once you dig past the dry and powdery peanuts, you will find a salad of beautifully balanced flavours. Savoury, tangy, sweet and spicy.
We happily thought there was no queue. But the "take a number" system merely disperses all the people waiting onto nearby benches. Well, at least you get to sit down while you wait. Even on a weekday afternoon, I had 20 queue numbers ahead of mine but the uncle works fast (about one minute per order). Do take note that on Sundays and public holidays, you won't need to take a number. Why? They aren't open. I can't imagine the amount of business they must be missing!
SOON HENG ROJAK
480 Toa Payoh Central
HDB Hub #B1-23 (Gourmet Paradise food court)
Open Mon - Fri 11am - 8pm
Sat 11am - 4pm
Closed Sundays & public holidays
Wow, they must very good to have such long queues AND afford to skip Sundays and holidays!
ReplyDeleteTry the Brother's Rojak in Clementi. It is worth queuing up too :-)
ReplyDeleteyeah! ditta on brother's rojak. i quite like the thaksin beef noodles there as well.
ReplyDeletei have been eating these for years.. really very yummy! i have tried several others, but i still like this the most! :)
ReplyDeleteKenny: yeah. Wonder if they rest on Sundays for religious reasons too...
ReplyDeleteK-man and S-noise: oh yes, I've tried the Brother's Rojak! Is not bad. That was before I started blogging though. It's on my "to blog" list, but dunno when I can come over to Clementi!
FoodieGymmie: yeah, it's not bad. I used to have a really good one in my neighbourhood that could challenge this one but quality dropped when son took over. Sigh.
halo, ur blog very nice and completed about sgp food.i am glad that i am blog walker and found ur blog. i just back from Soon heng Rojak.and i forgot to took some pics of the shop.would u like to share some pics with me.may i copy some of ur pic.and may i link ur blog to mine?thanksssss
ReplyDeletelin_cashew, thanks. As for photos, yes if you acknowledge where you took them from and link back to my blog.
ReplyDeletethe basement hub FC was like a canteen for the HDB Hub workers there. so if sunday no work. FC close. Saturday was from 6am-12pm? my mom use to sell thai food over there so its been awhile since i went there.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought it was odd they follow the office-style working hours. Where's your mom's Thai food stall now, if she's still selling? :)
ReplyDelete