"Sunday" Brunch - Lam's Abalone Noodles

Met with the Sunday Brunch Club again but this time on Christmas morning. We were wondering around pointlessly in the Balestier area when I recalled driving pass Lam’s Abalone Noodles (阿南鲍鱼面) all the time and being intrigued by their prominent soup urn or vat, if you find the former expression inappropriate.


First up was a neatly presented plate of perfectly golden roast pork belly. I thought the skin was a wee bit soggy but still a competent offering overall.


Fishcake was, well, fishcake.


And then the true star of the day was this little crock of abalone soup made from double boiling chicken, pork, abalone, dried scallops and fish maw and then topping off with a few ladles white Chinese stock (白汤) when ready to serve. The secret of the urn was finally revealed when the soup was brought to us. It is charcoal fired from the bottom and within the urn there are shelves where individual soup crocks, filled with the ingredients and a little water, are stacked.


Anyone who says abalone is tasteless will be silenced by the umami that dominate the broth. The milky stock, already very tasty on its own, was able to stand its own ground against the abalone, resulting in a harmonious overlap. The scant abalone cubes in the soup were quite good, tasting almost sweet.



Their noodles was no slouch too, especially their zingy chilli sauce and a liberal sprinkling of lard. The whole piece of dried fish was a unique touch.


Ah Lam certainly warrants repeated visits.

Sunday Brunch – Hoe Nam Prawn Noodles and Lao Zhong Zhong Ngoh Hiang

Sunday brunch last week was the celebrated prawn noodles at Hoe Nam. One wonders what drives Hoe Nam to operate their long hours. Dedication to customers? Profit? Insomnia? Either way, the customers still throng in so I suppose it works for everyone.

In what is almost a ritual when eating at Hoe Nam, I went across the street to get some Ngoh Hiang from Lao Zhong Zhong – there will be plenty of time to make the purchase and finish it before the noodles arrive. To quote a HGWer, Lao Zhong Zhong is an institution for Ngoh Hiang. Rightly so, I felt. Arriving in the late morning, we perhaps even had the luxury of fresh oil in the wok and every item turned out light, crisp and not greasy at all. The prawn cracker is my perennial favourite – airy and crunchy. What could be a better starter before a prawn noodle? I also love a prawn cracker when having Hokkien Mee but that’s another story. Special mention also goes out to the Tau Kwa which tasted richly and properly of beans. Their chilli sauce was spot on too.


Now the prawn noodles. Where do I start? The stock, silly! I thought that day’s soup was perfect. It’s not the strongest tasting prawn stock but it contained purely the sweet essence of prawns without its negative elements (i.e. bitter and muddy notes). The silky mouthfeel and big umami was definitely a result of the rapid boiling of gelatinous pork bones – giving the prawns a solid canvas on which to express themselves. A dash of chilli powder and some fresh chilli takes it lofty heights. My friends thought it was too subtle - different strokes. Noodles were excellent too. I always have Kuay Teow Mee as I find the yellow noodles itself to be too cloying. The prawns were a little better than average but still nothing to shout home about but I quite liked the tender pork ribs. Of course, no prawn noodle could go wrong with a sprinkling of fried onions and little flavour bombs of crispy lard on top.


The Sunday Brunch club:

Alexis


Weixun


Victor



And Your's Truly

Yan Kee Bak Chor Mee

This unassuming store within BK Eating House at Boat Quay is one of my favourite supper spots. Usually we think of Bak Chor Mee with Mee Pok but this place is unique as they do a Mee Sua version as well and that’s what I always order. Mee Sua is a rice noodle that is easy to overcook into a lumpy mess but this place manages to time to cooking so precisely the noodles retains a slight bite while turning just tender enough to absorb the sauce. I find the lighter Mee Sua a welcome deviation from the eggy Mee Pok. The highlight of the sauce is the strong vinegary hit from Chinese black vinegar mixed with a savoury chilli paste and wonderfully aromatic pork lard. The addition of crunchy deep fried ikan bilis (tiny anchovies) is another genius touch.