Your weekend dining and entertainment guide

Friyay!: What to eat

The yam ring. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
The prawn paste chicken. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
Huluruk Myeon House's Signature 3 Treasure kalguksu. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

SATISFYING ZICHAR DISHES

TECK EE SEAFOOD

My favourite dish from Teck Ee Seafood is fish head curry ($23 for small, $26 for large). Sadly, it is not available for the time being as the stall is unable to get its usual daily supply of crimson snapper head.

But do order it when it becomes available again. The gravy of housemade rempah, with a good balance of evaporated milk and coconut milk, is flavoursome and not overly cloying.

In the meantime, there are other noteworthy dishes to try. The prawn paste chicken ($10.80 for small, $14.80 for medium, $18.80 for large) is easily one of the better ones I have tasted.

Even via delivery, the mid-joint wings arrive hot and crispy. A hole in the container lid lets the hot steam escape, preventing the wings from going soggy.

The wings are double-fried for maximum crispness. The crust is light and powdery and the juicy meat is fully infused with the flavours of the prawn paste without any overpowering fishy odour.

The yam ring ($18) is also impressive. For delivery, the filling of prawn, chicken meat, broccoli, sweet pea and onion in gravy is packed separately from the yam ring, which comes hot and crispy.

The signature tofu ($10 for small, $14 for medium, $18 for large) tastes better than it looks. The tofu is made in-house daily using soya bean milk and egg, then deep-fried and topped with minced pork and preserved cai xin. The gravy, red with the use of sambal chilli, packs a punch.

The stall takes pride in its three cup chicken ($12 for small, $16 for medium). Do not expect the Taiwanese-style dish, though, as lettuce, instead of Thai basil leaves, is used.

Drenched in a dark and slightly spicy savoury sauce, the dish goes well with rice. Those who do not like eating bone-in meat will appreciate the boneless thigh meat.

Instead of beehoon, fried mung bean noodles is used in the dry fried vermicelli ($5.50). It comes with a generous portion of beansprouts, fish cake and two prawns.

I would prefer if the noodles did not come in such short strands. While the dish has a smoky wok aroma, the noodles are a tad under-seasoned.

WHERE: 01-13, 277C Compassvale Link MRT: Buangkok OPEN: 12.30to 11pm (weekdays); noon to 11pm (weekends and public holidays) TEL: 6481-1132 HOW TO ORDER: GrabFood, Foodpanda and Deliveroo. Prices and delivery charges differ across platforms

SPRINGY KNIFE-CUT NOODLES

HULURUK MYEON HOUSE

I visited the South Korean noodle house in Bishan after seeing pictures of its food and interior posted by a colleague on social media. The outlet, which opened in July last year, is Huluruk Myeon House's second. Its first is at Velocity@Novena Square.

It is a shame dining in is not allowed now as the eatery's homey wooden decor, including signs with Korean characters, will transport you to South Korea.

Still, you can get a taste of the country via takeaway or delivery orders.

I have never been a big fan of soup noodles, but I am won over by Huluruk Myeon House's Signature 3 Treasure kalguksu ($15.80++), which is knife-cut noodle soup.

The thick and cloudy soup is rich with a prawn flavour. Cabbage and seaweed add texture. The dish comes with two prawns, two pork dumplings and two prawn balls.

The knife-cut noodles, which are machine-made, resemble long curly strands of mee pok and are exceptionally springy.

The japchae with pork ($9.80++, below background) is another winning dish. The stir-fried noodles are sweet and crunchy from shredded carrot and red and yellow bell peppers. They come with a generous serving of tender, well-marinated pork slices.

Order the grilled pork jowl ($8.80++), which is coated in a sticky savoury sweet glaze. The meat has a slight crunchiness that is so pleasurable to bite into.

The Original Dumplings ($6.50++ for six pieces, $9.50++ for 10 pieces) come in a steamer basket. They resemble xiao long bao (soup dumplings), but are not soupy on the inside. The pork is tasty, but the delicate skin breaks easily.

Get your Korean fried chicken fix with the Original Chicken Wing ($7.80++). I find it a tad pricey for two chicken wings, but the crust is crispy and the meat well-marinated.

One flaw is a slight "freezer" taste in the interior of the meat. You probably will not notice it if you down the wings with beer.

Chicken is not the eatery's strong point. Avoid the Signature Jeju Ginseng Chicken ($19.80++), which I ordered as the menu indicates that only 20 portions are prepared daily. But it was a let-down as the chicken had an overwhelming meaty odour that permeated through my mask.

I am also not inclined to order the kimchi pancake ($10.80++) again. It is thin and looks crispy, but tastes more of bland batter than kimchi.

But I will definitely head back for more of the knife-cut noodle soup.

WHERE: 01-40, 9 Bishan Place MRT: Bishan OPEN: 11.30am to 10pm (Sundays to Thursdays); 11.30am to 10.30pm (Fridays and Saturdays) TEL: 8488-9622 HOW TO ORDER: GrabFood, Foodpanda, Deliveroo and inline.app/order/hulurukmyeonhouse. Prices and delivery charges differ across platforms. There is no service charge for self-pick-up orders

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 23, 2021, with the headline Friyay!: What to eat. Subscribe