New Hawker Stall Sells Legit HK-Style Cart Noodles With 20 Customisable Toppings
Cart noodles is a uniquely Hong Kong traditional dish that originated there in the ’50s. Designed as a cheap and quick soupy meal, its name came about as it was sold from wooden carts pushed by hawkers, who would fill up bowls with steaming hot broth, noodles and their customers’ choice of meat and veggie toppings.
Due to government regulations, the wooden carts began disappearing from street corners - the modern-day cart noodles are now usually found in smaller restaurants in Hong Kong. It’s even harder to find this humble dish in Singapore, as cart noodles is not as popular as its other more famous Hong Kong food counterparts like bolo buns and dim sum.
New cart noodle hawker stall
One of the few places that sell cart noodles here is Legendary Hong Kong at Jurong Point, and the short-lived Nerdy Noodles at Bugis+, which has closed down. But you can now savour the noodles in a kopitiam at the new hawker stall Fei Gong Cart Noodle. The stall occupies a corner unit in a Marine Parade Central kopitiam (nicknamed the “octopus coffee shop” as there’s a playground with a giant octopus in front of it).
Innards sold here
If you like innards, the stall also serves Pig Intestine ($2), Honeycomb Tripe ($2.50), Pork Stomach ($2), Pork Rind ($1.50) and Pork Ears ($1.50). You can also get non-meat toppings here like Kang Kong ($1), braised Radish ($1) and Shiitake Mushroom ($1.50), Tau Pok ($1) and Fried Egg ($1). And finally, pick a house-made sauce like chilli, curry or beef brisket to spike the light, clear broth.
Order chit
You just need to fill in your order on a laminated order chit and pass it to the stall assistant who will assemble your bowl.
Customisable cart noodles
The concept
Ordering cart noodles is like getting cai fan – choose a noodle base from four types (vermicelli, thick yellow Hokkien noodles, kway teow and thin egg noodles) plus your desired a la carte toppings. There are 20 toppings offered here, all faithful old-school picks like braised Chicken Mid-Joint Wings ($1.50), Beef Brisket ($2.50), Pork Belly ($1.50) and Curry Squid ($1) and Curry Fish Ball ($1).
The radish
The radish here deserves a special mention of its own. Cut into big chunks, the sweet root vegetable is boiled to a perfectly soft consistency with just a bit of bite. You can order toppings as side dishes – we got our radish with springy, moreish pork rind and a serving of curry mini fishballs. While the house-made curry is decent, we find the fried fishball skin too thick and unwieldy.
Chicken Wing Tips, $1.50 per portion (8 Days Pick!)
The full range of toppings is not available at all times, so we recommend preordering certain toppings in advance, like the curry squid and this delish Chicken Wing Tip, which is a similar version of the popular “B-zai chicken wing tip” dish served at famed HK eatery Kei Kee Dessert in Yuen Long. While they are not meaty, the chicken wing tips are steamed till the skin is gelatinous, and drizzled with a spicy, garlicky chilli sauce. Very tasty, if you like gnawing on chicken wing tips.
The broth
The sweet, delicate broth here is cooked the traditional way, simmered with radish chunks. We skip the heavier curry sauce for our bowl with braised toppings, which we dunk into the broth to give it robust flavour.
The braised toppings
The braised stuff here is excellent, from the succulent pork belly and tender beef brisket to the meaty chicken wings and plump Shiitake mushrooms. Slurp ’em up with al-dente noodles and hot broth for a soul-lifting meal.
The innards
While we are not a big fan of innards, the pig’s big and small intestines here are well-cleaned without any funkiness. The soft, chewy intestines are best paired with a chilli-spiked broth and a heap of salty pickled vegetables.
Address and opening hours
Address: #01-770, 80 Marine Parade Central, S440080
Opening hours: Open daily 10am-9pm
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Photos: Yip Jieying
