The company I work for has shifted its office from Haw Par Villa to Lorong 23 Geylang for three weeks now, and one thing I’ve really enjoyed thus far is the food near the office. Within walking distance is Sims Vista Market & Food Centre, an old market and hawker centre that has a surfeit of good and cheap food:
Here’s what I go for (in no particular order):
1. Chicken cutlet rice
2. Char kway teow, with a generous serving of cockles
3. Laksa
4. Fried fish soup
5. Chicken biryani (the chicken is buried inside the rice)
6. Duck noodles
7. For breakfast, here’s one of the best youtiao (fried dough sticks) I’ve tasted. It’s made by a sulky young man who has never smiled at me in all the years I’ve patronised his stall, despite my best efforts to be polite and civil to him. But all is forgiven, because he makes damn bloody good youtiao.
8. Custard puff
9. The same stall, Jia Confectionery, makes really good pineapple tarts too.
10. Ice kacang, from the dessert stall closer to the entrance. I really like their version, because the ice is shaved very finely - you can consume the ice without teeth. It makes your lips and mouth cold, but does not hurt them.
These hawkers are national treasures. Because of them, I’ll have to watch my diet!