original old hokkien @ pahang street


the area around the malay heritage centre - the former istana kampong glam - teems with good food outlets. there is the popular foochow fishball noodles - which was once at beach road. it is now along sultan gate. also along sultan gate is tepak sireh which serves very good beef rendang and sambal dishes. in the vicinity, along kandahar street is the famous nasi padang restaurant sabar menanti. at bussorah street is the sultan cafe, which is located near the main entrance of the sultan mosque. another very popular cafe is the cafe le caire at 39 arab street. this cafe serves both arabian and egyptian food.

i decided to check out the food at the original old hokkien. i remember reading a report in the papers that the owner of lau hock kian @ amoy street sued the original old hokkien for using its name to mislead customers. i reasoned that if the use of a name could lead to litigation, then the food had to be worth trying. should have read the report in the sunday times again before doing so.

it turned out that the food was quite ordinary. tried the chef's recommendations like hae cho, fish maw soup, kong bak pau and sambal kangkong. have eaten better hae cho at the bukit panjang khek community guild building near my place, better sambal kangkong at different taste at frankel avenue and i prefer the kong bak pau we make on our own. rather prefer the version of fish maw soup served at different taste at 10th mile junction.