Zhu Jiao Shu Shi - Affordable Old School Breakfast Offerings @ Tekka Market & Food Centre

Zhu Jiao Shu Shi (竹脚熟食) at Tekka Market & Food Centre is managed by a pair of elderly couple with a younger man whom I assumed to be their son.

The stall offers simple breakfast options such as white bee hoon ($1.70), fried bee hoon ($1.20), chee cheong fun ($1), glutinous rice ($1.50) and peanut porridge ($1). There are also some ala carte side dishes which you can add-on to complement your meal.

I ordered a plate of fried bee hoon and added a slice of luncheon meat and cabbage. I also had a bowl of peanut porridge. 

The total cost of my meal came up to just $3.30.

Grandma Mee Siam @ Tekka Market & Food Centre

The Chinese and English names of this signboard at Tekka Market & Food Centre tells of two very different things.

The English part says Grandma Mee Siam while the Chinese part says 燻鲨鱼五香虾饼. It translates as "smoked shark five spiced prawn fritter" or what we normally called ngor hiang.

But neither one is wrong because mee siam and ngor hiang are the very two things on the menu. 

The stall is run by Madam Lim whom I believed to be the grandma in question here. I wanted to give her special mee siam a try after seeing multiple postings about it on social media. 

So, what is so special about her mee siam? Basically, what you can find here is literally MEE siam that is served with yellow noodle.

Have you ever wonder why mee siam is not called bee hoon siam when it is served with bee hoon (rice vermicelli) and not mee (noodle)? I know I have.

What makes this MEE siam even more intriguing is its association with terms like "best mee siam", "old school", "traditional", etc in reviews.

545 Whampoa Prawn Noodle @ Tekka Market & Food Centre

545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles at Tekka Market & Food Centre needs no further introduction.

I will spare you the story of how this third gen University Finance graduate, Li Ruifang gave up her cushy corporate job to don the apron or how her grandfather began peddling his prawn noodle in the streets during the 1950s. These information can easily be obtained from the numerous blogs sharing them.

 

A perpetual queue can always be seen as it is one of the more popular stalls here. Fortunately for me, there were no more than five people when I arrived at about ten in the morning. When it was almost my turn, the stall helper came down the line to ask for my order.

I have bookmarked this stall on my to-eat list for the longest time and I am glad I am finally able to do a food trail in this food centre at Little India.

When it comes to prawn noodle, I am always in a dilemma because it is tough choosing between having it dry or in soup.

 

However, I wanted to have it dry this time, opting for a mix of bee hoon and mee (yellow noodle).

Yakader Dum Briyani @ Tekka Centre

 Dum Briyani SGD4.50 with an added hard-boil egg for SGD0.50

All my life, I thought Nasi Briyani is simply Nasi Briyani - a spice-infused rice dish drizzled over with curried meat. The only difference is having either chicken, mutton or fish to go along with your meal.

My first trip to Tekka Centre recently taught me otherwise, as I soon found out that there is another kind called the Dum Briyani where the meat and rice (placed in alternating layers in a pot) are cooked together where the rice stews in the meat juices, absorbing the delicate flavors of the spices and herbs as opposed to Nasi Briyani where the rice and meat were cooked separately.