“What is a Preserved Vegetable Hor Fun?” I asked myself when I chanced upon this stall simply named as “Poh” while hunting for food in Empress Road Market and Food Centre.
After looking at the signboard for sometime, it slowly came to mind that I had eaten this dish before when I was a kid. After more pondering, Lao Beng finally realized that this is none other than the Teochew dish “Chye Poh Hor Fun” (Chye poh – preserved radish , Hor Fun/Kway Teow – thick flat rice noodles).
Poh also sells other stir fry dishes like moonlight hor fun, shrimp fried rice, prawn paste chicken and other variations of hor fun. To me this is like a mini tze char stall that sells rice, noodle dishes and a simple but popular side dish in the form of prawn paste chicken.
The half Teochew in me decided to relive the taste of the chye poh hor fun which I had honestly forgotten how it tasted like. The last time I had it when I was a kid was probably in a Teochew restaurant celebrating a birthday or anniversary of a relative from my predominantly Teochew maternal side.
I placed an order for the chye poh hor fun at the standard price of $5. Within minutes, it was ready.
To the unsuspecting person, they would have thought that I had just ordered a prawn omelette.
Lo and behold, I “slit” open the middle and it reveals the hor fun/kway teow.
I scooped up a bit of everything, put into my mouth and chewed mercilessly. The taste was wonderful with generous bits of chye poh, eggs, fresh prawns, spring onions, crunchy lard and the semi-wet and greasy rice noodles which had a nice peppery taste and wok hei smell to it.
From the perspective of the half Teochew in me, it almost felt like eating dry hor fun with chye poh “neng” (egg) which is a very common home cooked Teochew dish.
Lao Beng’s Verdict
This is one rare Teochew dish that is not commonly found in hawker centres, you probably have to find the exact dish in Teochew Restaurants. At $5, there is no harm in trying out this dish as compared to paying double or more at a proper Teochew restaurant.
Do also check out my review on Ah Wing’s Wanton Mee stall that is also located within the same Food Centre.
Address
Poh
Empress Road Market and Food Centre
#01-89
Singapore 268819
Nearest MRT: Farrer Road