The mere mention of Serangoon Gardens will make Singaporeans picture in their mind the iconic Serangoon Garden Circus as well as the delicious food over at Chomp Chomp Food Centre.
Lao Beng still remembers that as a young boy who lived in Toa Payoh in the 80s/90s, my mother would sometimes bring me to Serangoon Gardens taking Bus no. 73. When it was time to go home, we were always confused over the white and green colour plates of the bus service as they plied different routes. We had to make sure that we board the right bus home as Serangoon Garden Circus only has one bus stop that serve all buses. (Nowadays, you just have to look at the electronic display of the buses to determine the destination)
Lao Beng, together with his ex-colleague recently paid a visit to the well known Chomp Chomp Food Centre to try out some of his favourite hawker dishes.
First stop: Good Luck BBQ Chicken Wings and Satay
The lovely BBQ chicken wings cost $1.30 each and is very addictive.
Addictive in the sense that you just keep chomping wing after wing until you lick your fingers and ask for more. The meat was very tender and the skin had the right crisp making you down them in double quick time.
Lucy BBQ Seafood
We were recommended to choose the $12 portion (medium) for the BBQ stingray as it had more meat.
The flesh was soft and tasted exceptionally great with its smokiness and the spicy sambal made it even more delectable. Dipping the flesh into the “cincalok” (condiment of fermented tiny shrimps ) gives this dish an additional unique taste.
Chia Keng Fried Hokkien Mee
We ordered the $5 portion and servings were more than enough for two. This is easily my favourite dish over here as the wet hokkien mee had all the rich goodness from the delicious stock.
I started to squeeze the limes and mixing the sambal chilli into the sea of yellow and white noodles together with fresh prawns, sotong (squid), sliced pork belly, bean sprouts, eggs and the most wanted of them all pork lard!
This is a simple but delicious hawker dish as you can truly taste the work/wok of hawker art given to this plate of soggy goodness.
AMK Fried Carrot Cake
This stall sells a variety of fried stuff including carrot cake and “orh luak” (oyster omelette). A big orh luak fan myself, I decided to order a $5 portion for this artery clogging dish.
It was oily but extremely tasty with fresh oysters and eggs. The chilli sauce also enhanced the overall flavour of this unique but unhealthy hawker dish.
Last but not least is the sugarcane juice, I was so thirsty that I totally forgot to take a picture :p There are many drinks stalls over here and one can just order the thirst-quenching sugarcane juice from any stall. Add lemon for a zesty flavour!
Lao Beng’s Verdict
It does not matter where you live, it is a must to visit Chomp Chomp Food Centre whenever you can to enjoy its wonderful food offerings. But, be warned that it is especially crowded at night and it is recommended to go in the early evening. Enjoy!
Address
Chomp Chomp Food Centre
20 Kensington Park Road
Singapore 557269