Google for the best of any hawker fare in the East and Fengshan Food Centre is bound to pop up. The taste of 85 Fengshan Market and Food Centre (more often known as Bedok 85) is heavenly. This hawker centre is best known for their wonderful Bak Chor Mee, but hey, there are plenty of glorious offerings from other note-worthy stalls that are really good as well (just that they’ve probably been unrealised)! Till date, I still get a hint of comfort and satisfaction when I revisit items on my childhood favourites’ list – like slurping down a piping hot bowl of Laksa at Swatow Wanton Noodle.
For the longest time, hawker food has served Singaporeans well, there is nothing quite like these cheap, hearty and delicious comfort local fare. Linda, second-generation owner of Swatow Wanton Noodle runs the stall with her mother. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Swatow, this noodle stall has occupied its unit in Fengshan Food Centre since 1970.
As the name suggests, Wanton Mee is the signature dish at Swatow. Unlike the usual ketchup or chili sauce, their springy al-dente wanton noodles are soaked in a refreshing dark sauce. Juicy and plump handmade wanton dumplings in the accompanying soup boast generous fillings of water chestnut, minced pork, shrimps and black fungus, giving that extra crunch and flavour in every bite.
However, the unexpected highlight of the show at Swatow turned out to be their Laksa. Swatow’s laksa broth took us by surprise with its magic richness in flavour. Thick and robust with just the right degree of spiciness! Swatow serves a diversity of other noodle options such as Ipoh Hor Fun, Mushroom Chicken Feet Noodle as well as Fried Ngoh Hiang.
With the current Covid-19 measures atop rising cost of ingredients to worry about, like most hawkers, Swatow faces immense pressure on several fronts as their livelihood has been threatened. Despite all, to keep time-honoured tradition alive, everyday life of Linda and her mother requires hard work and grit.
Show some love to support our often-overlooked hawker heroes even as you stay at home!
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