Ipoh-style dry minced pork udon & 16 styles of dim sum at Hougang

I visited the peaceable neighbourhood of Lorong Ah Soo in the hunt for Lao Foong Ji, a meals stall specialising in Ipoh-style noodles. After slicing by a number of void decks and automotive parks, I ultimately discovered BGAIN 121 Eating home, which is located subsequent to a basketball courtroom.

The 4-month-old enterprise is helmed by 31-year-old Mr. Jackus Foong, who’s a local Malaysian from Ipoh. He informed me that he missed these instances when his late grandfather was nonetheless round and cooked noodles for his household at house.

As Jackus’s mom can be a noodle hawker again in his hometown, he acquired impressed to arrange his personal stall.

Jackus defined, “I spent 3 months doing multiple cooking trials and recipe tweaks in order to concoct the perfect method to capture my ah gong’s noodle flavours.”

Over the previous decade, he has labored in a number of established dim sum eating places in Singapore. This explains the presence of a dim sum menu (16 varieties) at his stall along with his noodle choices.

What I attempted at Lao Foong Ji

My eating companions and I commenced our early lunch with the Signature Dry Minced Pork Udon Noodle (S$6). There was minced pork, tau geh, a few fried condiments, sesame seeds, and spring onions concealing a mattress of udon beneath.

After I mixed every part collectively to create a lovely messy combination, the udon broke out of its cocoon and was lastly seen to the bare eye. The plump strands of dough had been glistening like sun-kissed our bodies on the seaside.

The udon was remarkably aromatic and the style immediately jogged my memory of these yummy noodles that I normally eat again in Malaysia. Jackus stated that he added his secret seasoning combine to it, and I used to be dying to know the recipe.

The minced meat got here in various sizes. Some had been larger clusters whereas others had been tiny bits. This inconsistency supplied totally different textural parts to the dish. The sesame seeds additionally added a fragile nutty flavour to it.

What I initially thought had been large items of fried tofu pores and skin and ngoh hiang turned out to be fish paste merchandise as a substitute. They had been sinfully greasy however completely scrumptious when paired with the noodles.

I took a rain examine on the noodles and proceeded with the Black Gold Lava Custard Bao (S$3.60 for two items). The charcoal-like buns resembled large pebbles, and I knew that I needed to have these whereas they had been nonetheless heat.

The decadent and buttery umami-ness of the salted egg custard gushed out immediately as my tooth sunk into the bao. It contrasted very well with the bun’s gentle, sponge-like texture.

Next on our checklist was the Sweet & Sour Beancurd Roll (S$3.80 for 3 items). Unlike native renditions which utilise oyster sauce, the Ipoh model makes use of a tangy and candy sauce which is made predominantly with ketchup and different seasonings.

The bean curd roll was full of minced hen, black fungus and carrots. The candy and bitter sauce wreaked havoc on my style buds in a great way, resetting my palate in order that I used to be prepared for extra meals.

We then moved on to the Lava Durian Roll (S$3.60 for two items). These resembled spring rolls however with out all of the shredded turnip and greens. Instead, you’ll be rewarded with a flowy, aromatic durian paste after biting by the golden-brown crispy pores and skin.

Jackus stated that they combine real durian meat along with custard. That being stated, I felt that the Lava Durian Roll tasted a bit synthetic.

We introduced our lunch to an in depth with the Signature Scallion Dry Noodle (S$4.50). The bowl consisted of a bowl of thinner noodles which had a beneficiant sprinkling of sesame seeds and spring onions, a trio of balls, a fried fish dumpling, and inexperienced veggies.

The thinner noodles jogged my memory of la mian, they usually managed to soak up the piquant style of the sauce higher than the udon.

My 2 eating companions most popular this, however I felt that one thing was lacking. What was it? Pork lard! (The addition of this ingredient would have enhanced it much more).

Each of the three balls was distinctive— 1 manufactured from prawn, 1 of hen and 1 of fish paste. Besides the truth that they had been aesthetically pleasing to the attention, every of the balls supplied a barely totally different flavour profile to the bowl of noodles. They had been bouncy and weren’t laden with flour. Delicious!

Final ideas

Lao Foong Ji has one of the best of each worlds in a single spot: noodles and dim sum. The story of Jackus’s willpower to realize the nostalgic style of his late grandfather’s cooking touched me.

Do drop by his humble stall to present him some help.

Expected injury: S$4.50 – S$10 per pax

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