Recently, my distant relatives from Malaysia came over to visit my family, as well as to take the opportunity to tour around our little island. Being their "tour guide" for the entire trip, food - especially traditional Singapore cuisine is something not to be missed on the itinerary. The first places that come to mind for good, yet affordable food are hawker centres and food courts, such as Food Republic - an upscale food court by Bread Talk, which offers popular international cuisine.
Besides the usual scrumptious foodfare like Hainan chicken rice, laksa, satay, roti prata (and the list goes indefinitely), Singapore's version of Hokkien Mee, or prawn noodles is also a must-try for any tourists, and the straw-hat chefs at Thye Hong Hokkien Mee definitely know how to whip out a plate of oh-so-good Hokkien Mee, set upon a dried banana leaf.
The white/yellow-paired noodles were nicely cooked, being just al dente with the right firmness and texture, and is drenched in plenty of flavourful stock, which makes licking the plate so irresistable. It is then topped up with fresh juicy prawns and squid, as well as the usual add-ons of lime juice and homemade chilli. Prior to online research, most diners had mixed reactions towards the chilli, some complained that it does not pair with the noodles, some complained that it is not spicy enough, but for me, I thought that it was alright - nothing to be make a fuss about.
What amaze me the most is the chef's ability to cook a big wok's amount of Hokkien Mee (S$4/6/8). It is definitely not simple to control the quality especially at such huge portions, but I'd say that they did it quite well (although the last plate of the batch might be softer.) Therefore, if you missed the batch, you would have to wait up to 15 minutes. But again, peak hours might be an ideal time to visit Thye Hong to ensure that there is a fresh batch of piping hot noodles every time.
Thye Hong Fried Hokkien Mee
Opening Hours
Daily: 10am - 10pm
Food Republic
1 Harbourfront Walk
Vivocity