The Place There have been quite a couple of new stalls at Maxwell Food Centre post covid pandemic. After trying Danlao, I stumbled upon Hock Lai Seng (福来成) Teochew Fishball Bak Chor Mee as I was craving for ‘Bak Chor Mee’ (‘Minced Pork Noodles) and being Singaporean enough, I joined the relatively long queue on a Sunday morning. Chatted with the staff a little and learnt that it was only opened a few months ago, which is welcoming for me as it gets boring if everyone’s impression of Maxwell Food Centre is limited to just chicken rice. 

For the uninitiated, this hawker centre is home to some of the most popular chicken rice stalls in Singapore, Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice and Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice. 

The Food Simple three options to choose with prices from S$4.50 for a basic bowl of fishball noodles, S$6 with slightly more ingredients like prawn and pork balls, and up to S$8 or S$10 with a bigger portion of the ingredients. 

I had the S$6 Mee Pok version, where the noodles and ingredients are served separately. 

Lovely and flavourful noodles and I also appreciate fact that the ingredients are served separately instead of being tossed in with the noodles. This resulted in a much bigger bowl of soup than the typical store, and it is a plus for me since I love soup soaked in ingredients like minced pork and pork liver. 

The noodle soaked up the sauce and chilli well, where the taste is very even which means it is well-tossed and cooked. It is not so much of a strong vinegar-style if that is what you prefer over at Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle. 

The soup itself is delicious, especially with the addition of pork liver. You get springy fishballs, pork meat balls, prawn, sliced fish cake and mixed pork. 

Rants Allocate at least 15 minutes of wait time, though I find that the stall is quite efficient where orders are taken you are in the queue. 

Will I Return Again? Hock Lai Seng (福来成) Teochew Fishball Bak Chor Mee is a good alternative in the popular food centre if you aren’t keen in the chicken rice war. 

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: N/A
Overall Experience: 4/5

Hock Lai Seng (福来成) Teochew Fishball Bak Chor Mee 
1 Kadayanallur Street 
Maxwell Food Centre, #01-26 
Singapore 069184 

Ranted by The Ranter