Hai Xian Zhu Zhou - Ke Kou Mian @ Blk 233 Yishun Street 21

After having the ke kou mian from Bon Appetit at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, I kept thinking about the one near me at Blk 163A Gangsa Road (Bukit Panjang) and how the two actually compares.

To my surprise, I discovered that they have a stall at Yishun which is managed by relatives and its location is actually along the route to Yishun Park Hawker Centre from the bus interchange.

After I am done with Yishun Park Hawker Centre, I decided to check out this Hai Xian Zhu Zhou outlet at Blk 233 Yishun Street 21.

The coffee shop is located across the street from the bus stop where I got off. It is a quiet neighborhood however, all that changed once I stepped into the busy coffee shop. The premise was full of people with lots of chattering and hardly an empty table available.

I quickly joined the queue to place my order for a bowl of pork ke kou mian and was given a number tag to collect my food when the corresponding number flashed on the digital screen. I know a lot of customers were there for the exact same reason as I do because everyone were craning their necks towards the direction of the stall, waiting for their number to come up.

It took about twenty minutes for my number to appear on the screen.

Ah Tan Wings - Har Cheong Gai Cutlet @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

After hearing so much raves about Ah Tan Wings, I finally had the chance to give them a try at Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

This stall specializes in one of Singaporean's favorite tze char dish - the prawn paste chicken, or better known as har cheong gai which is essentially deep fried chicken marinated in fermented prawn paste.

The menu here is simple.

You can buy the chicken wings ala carte at $1.80 each (minimum two pieces), or as a meal with either two wings (Set A $5.20) or chicken cutlet (Set B $6.80). Both meals come with rice and a sunny side up with cucumbers and half a wedge of lemon.

There is also the basic meal (Set C $3.50) which is similar to Set A but only come with one wing and no fried egg.

51 Noodle House - Japanese Fusion Bak Chor Mee @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

During my previous visit to Yishun Park Hawker Centre, I went to the wrong bak chor mee stall therefore, I am back again to look for the correct one called 51 Noodle House.

51 Noodle House is the collaboration between two young hawkers who already have their own respective food stalls at the food centre.

Rather than being business rivals, the two - Henry Yap from Ipoh Curry Noodle (#01-36) and Darren  Teo from Seafood Pirates (#01-35) - teamed up to open another stall offering fusion bak chor mee with a Japanese element to it.

Da San Yuan - Bak Chor Mee @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

The purpose of this trip to Yishun Park Hawker Centre is to check out the bak chor mee.

Upon my arrival, I realized that I had forgotten the unit number and name of the stall. I began looking around at the signboards, searching for one that offers the dish. It did not take me long to find it and I promptly ordered a bowl.

After taking a few pictures, I began to dig in eagerly. However, a few mouthfuls later, I started questioning myself the reason for including this stall on my list. Do not get me wrong; the taste is decent but the ingredients are hardly rave-worthy for me.

I took out my list to verify only to discover that... I had actually gone to the wrong stall!

I am supposed to go to 51 Minced Meat Noodle but I had mistaken Da San Yuan for it instead. Well, my bad. I had not expected that there would be more than one bak chor mee stall at the food centre.

Apart from bak chor mee, Da San Yuan also sell fish ball noodle, mini pot noodle and laksa.

Seafood Pirates - $3 Oyster Omelette Rice @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

Seafood Pirates is a seafood soup stall run by Darren Teo and a partner. It is one of the more well-known stalls at Yishun Park Hawker Centre with a celebrity status of sorts, having appeared in various news media as well as covered by major food blogs.

In tune with their stall's pirate themed name, their soups are cleverly named as Pirate's Ultimate, Pirate's Signature, Pirate's Treasure and Pirate's Catch.

Each of these are served with a different combination of seafood such as crayfish, prawns, fish, clams, oysters and fish roe ball in a soup base made with fish bones and chicken bones.

As I am having the Ipoh curry noodle from next door, I decided to leave the soup for another visit. Instead, I will have the oyster omelette rice which I decided to takeaway in case I could not finish it (after having the curry noodle).

Yap's Noodle - Ipoh Curry Seafood & Roasted Pork Noodle @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

Henry Yap, the owner of Yap's Noodle at Yishun Park Hawker Centre hails from the Malaysian town of Ipoh. His stall specializes in dishes from his hometown, particularly curry noodle.

There is quite a variety of curry noodle available on the menu: curry seafood & roasted pork noodle, curry seafood & abalone noodle, curry shredded chicken & roasted pork noodle, curry chicken noodle, curry fish ball noodle and curry noodle (no meat).

I was actually undecided between the curry shredded chicken noodle and the curry seafood & roasted pork noodle. The former is my personal favorite while the latter, I heard, is limited to only fifty bowls per day.

Furthermore, I supposed the one with seafood would appear better on photos therefore, the choice is made.

Nasi Lemak Cabe Ijo @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

Singaporean Mohammed Noorman and his Indonesian wife, Puti Andam Dewi Henry are the owners of Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang at Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

Just like the marriage of the stall owners, their signature dish - the nasi lemak ayam taliwang which the stall is named after - is a cross-cultural union between nasi lemak and ayam taliwang, an Indonesian spicy grilled chicken dish.

The couple had tried ayam taliwang while on honeymoon at Puti's hometown and they liked it so much that they decided to introduce it to Singapore and paired it with Noorman's nasi lemak recipe.

Apart from this, the stall also have nasi lemak ayam balado and nasi lemak ayam cabe ijo.

They are basically the same thing - good old nasi lemak served with grilled chicken leg but are smothered in different types of rempah.

I had the nasi lemak ayam cabe ijo, which is served with grilled chicken leg in green chili rempah.

Bon Appetit - Ke Kou Mian @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

Update: Bon Appetit has permanently closed.

What is ke kou mian (可口面)?

I first heard of this dish from a stall named Hai Xian Zhu Zhou (海鲜煮粥) at Blk 163A Gangsa Road (Bukit Panjang) which is pretty close by my place.

Ke kou mian translates to "delicious noodle", or it could simply be referring to the Koka brand of instant noodle that the stall used in the making of this dish. Basically, the stall cook instant noodle with your choice of broth flavor (pork, seafood, spicy, tom yum) and added ingredients like meat and vegetables to it.

I am not too sure if paying a couple of dollars for a bowl of instant noodle which I could easily whip up at home myself is such a good idea therefore, even though this Hai Xian Zhu Zhou is near me, I have not paid them a visit yet.

I think partly, it is also due to their ungodly operating hours from 4am to 2.30pm.

I doubt this ke kou mian stall named Bon Appetit at Yishun Park Hawker Centre is related to Hai Xian Zhu Zhou but since it have a much more normal operating hours, I decided to give them a try.

One Mouth Noodle - Char Siew Wanton Noodle @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre

From far, you would have thought that this stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre sells ban mian as the words 手工面 (handmade noodle) took centrestage on the signboard in a very large font size.

However, as soon as you come nearer, you will realize that the stall's real name is the one on the left-hand side in a smaller font that reads 一口麵 (One Mouth Noodle).

But, the biggest surprise is, the stall does not sell ban mian at all. Instead, they sell Hong Kong-styled wanton noodle.

And the best part? The stall owner actually makes his own egg noodle, a skill which he picked up from his father and that is what the "手工面" on the signboard refers to.

Qi Le Chicken Rice @ Blk 744 Yishun Street 72

Mention chicken rice in Yishun and 925 Chicken Rice near the old bus interchange would come to mind. I had it before but did not find it inspiring enough to want to write about it.

It has been years since then and now I am back on a food trail around Yishun. I thought of looking for another chicken rice stall to try and my search brought me to this chicken rice stall called Qi Le Chicken Rice located inside the S-11 coffee shop near the MRT station.

It is easy to get here: simply exit the MRT station and follow the footpath to the coffee shop. The stall is right in the middle of the coffee shop, partially hidden behind a pillar.

Pak Mandor Nasi Lemak @ Blk 645 Yishun Street 61

Just a slight distance away from 618 Sim Carrot Cake at blk 645 Yishun Street 61, is a coffeeshop with a very popular Malay Muslim stall named Pak Mandor & Family.

The stall sells mee rebus, lontong and nasi lemak however, most customers are there mainly for their coconut rice from what I observed.

The queue was not long but it is very slow-moving as some of the customers in front are buying multiple packs to take away.

You can pick your favorite ingredients ala carte but I simply pointed to the photo on the signboard and told the kak kak that I wanted the same combination which came with coconut rice, a fried chicken wing, a fried kuning fish, an omelette and the usual condiments like peanuts, ikan bilis, cucumber and sambal chili.

I thought a combo like this with both fried fish and fried chicken would have cost at least $4 but no, all these cost a mere $3!

618 Sim Carrot Cake @ Blk 618 Yishun Ring Road

618 Sim Carrot Cake is located in a quiet neighborhood at Yishun near Khatib MRT Station. The stall sells white carrot cake ($3/$4) while giving customers the option to add prawns ($4.50/$6). They used to sell the black version as well but not anymore.

I ordered the smallest $3 plate and was given a buzzer after I paid up. According to online reviews, I was mentally prepared to wait for up to an hour but all it took was about ten minutes for my buzzer to start vibrating.

I was astonished to see the portion of my $3 carrot cake on the counter, ready for collection. I thought the auntie has made a mistake and had given me the $4 plate instead. I double checked with her and she assured me that it is indeed my order.

The generous portion can actually be shared among two persons which is totally value for money!

Arnold's Fried Chicken @ Yishun 10 Cinema Cineplex

I heard that Arnold's Fried Chicken have been around for 30 odd years. Online reviews have touted it as one of the best fried chicken around and with such raving reviews, I guess it is time for me to try it for myself.

Although they have four outlets island-wide, none are located near me. The nearest outlet would have to be the one at Yishun but then, I hardly ever go there. Perhaps, that is the reason why I have not heard of them before.

I planned a visit to the outlet at Yishun, which is located inside Yishun 10, the mega Cineplex that Jackie Chan and Carina Lau came to officiate its opening during the 1990s. (I remember it was such a big sensation then with many star-struck fans turning up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the superstars)

928 Yishun Laksa

Hidden in a small eatery behind Yishun Bus Interchange is a well-known Laksa stall that has many accreditation and awards plastered on its glass panel.

Despite their fame, this Laksa stall has no name and is affectionately known as the "928 Laksa" by its customers because the eatery is located right at the foot of Yishun Block 928.

You can tell how immensely popular their Laksa is with those staying staying in the neighborhood when it is the only thing they sell and yet able to command a perpetual queue that never seem to end for the last fifteen years of business.