This place is a little off the radar but once you find it you'll be hooked! Was introduced to the place yesterday evening - was skeptical but went along since Ade picked it for her bday.

The lady who brought us the menu was quick and no-nonsense but Ade seemed happy with her recommendations so we went for it. Food came and it was SO worth the wait. Of particular mention is the 3-storey fried bee hoon, fried fish skins that came with mango slices and a sweet, tangy sauce, pepper crabs, and 'snake beans' (I think that's what they're called) with dried shrimp.

The 3-storey bee hoon isn't 3 stories high but flat and kinda like a pancake. Didn't look like much but the taste was fantastic. The fried fish skins were very thin and crispy (no fishy smell at all) and goes perfectly well with the dipping sauce provided. For those who like pepper and don't mind getting your fingers dirty, the crabs are a must. Not the jumbo seafood prices but fresh and delicious! Not a fan of vegetables but the snake beans were light and crunchy. Not overcooked and the dried shrimp complemented the dish nicely, adding some 'salt' to the dish.

Will definitely head back there again if we can find parking!

The first dish to be served was the Snake Beans & Lotus Root (蛇豆炒莲藕) ($10, small portion). This was a dish I would never have ordered had it not come highly recommended on HGW – snake beans are not my favorite veggies. Yet I was glad I had heeded the advice of the reviewers, because the lotus root chips were excellent. They were sliced into thin flakes and coated with a small amount of batter, then fried to the point where they were crispy but still retained their mild, natural sweetness. I would totally buy a packet of these to snack on at home.

Another dish I was reluctant to order was the Deep Fried Fish Skin (香炸鱼皮) ($10, small portion), this time because it sounded gross. Terribly unadventurous, I know. I ended up polishing off half the dish because these babies tasted nothing like the gloopiness and slime that I’d imagined fish skin to be. They were crisp (and stayed that way 2 hours after they were served), not too greasy and had the fragrance of fish keropok. Paired with the raw mango slices and dipped into the accompanying chilli sauce, each was a crunchy and tangy slice of heaven.

Went off the tried and tested route to order the King Pork Ribs (排骨大王) ($10, small portion) because it sounded delish. We were on the fence for this one: My friends, S and L thought it was average – S said you could find this at any zhap chai bng stall and L was nitpicky about how the meat wasn’t fall-off-the-bone tender. On the other hand, B and I liked it because… I guess we just like to eat pigs lor. The sauce was defo a bit too sweet for my liking though. It’s still an above average dish la, just looked a bit lacklustre beside the rest of its outstanding peers.

I have no idea what breed these crabs are, but the White Pepper Crabs are d*** meaty (market rate; aunty charged us $32 for 2 crabs that day). I was picking out meat from every nook and cranny of the crab’s body and the flesh was sweet and firm. I don’t know if we simply got lucky, but something tells me these folks have a stringent criteria for selecting the crabs to use in their dishes. Crab aside, the creamy white pepper sauce was outstanding. It packed a punch without being too spicy – my nose runs whenever I eat something too spicy for me, and my nose remained where it was throughout the course of this dish.

You know how there’s a genre of rom-coms where there’s a super handsome dude who pretends to be a servant/low-level salaried employee/beggar but is actually the heir to a multi-million dollar conglomerate? The JB Sanlou Meehoon (新山三楼米粉), ladies and gents, is the food equivalent of that dude. The nondescript appearance of this plain-looking beehoon ($8, medium portion) belies the fragrance and flavor that it packs. I still think they could be more generous with the squid, eggs and prawns, but the conspicuous absence of these ingredients might actually highlight the taste of the beehoon. The minute it touches your tongue, a flavor burst of unadulterated wok hei explodes in your mouth. I’m quite sure this is the best beehoon I’ve tasted.

The last dish to be served ($18, small portion) was also the undisputed star dish of the night. The Salted Egg Prawn Balls (咸蛋黄炒虾球) have received a number of mixed reviews - but for us, it was a hit. All four of us did that eye-widening thing the minute we bit into one of them juicy prawns… who doesn’t love the lethal combination of salted egg + crustacean? The little balls of fried salted egg bits that crowded the bottom of the dish pan tasted sooo good we kept shovelling them into our mouths. Only gripe I have is that the batter could be crispier, although admittedly that could require more flour which would affect the taste of the batter. Also the name prawn ball is a bit misleading – the prawns are not minced, they’re whole. And so d*** good.

I actually thought the tense atmosphere created by the large numbers of dodgy looking uncles enhanced the entire experience. It’s one of the most memorable meals I’ve ever had. If you’re looking for some excitement in SG, I suggest you head to Geylang Lorong 23 on a weekend night. Just remember to bring some pepper spray (or a bodybuilder friend) along.

For a more detailed review (and more pictures!), please visit nomstersinc.wordpress:)

for photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow.

We five, the Ex, ChioBu, ChioButch, Mao Mao and I go to Geylang, the underbelly of Singapore for makan. I tell you, although I am an Beng, it’s really quite scary here, like any time, a gang fight will break out and people carrying parangs will run down the street. JB Ah Meng has seats along the alleys and there are many Mao Mao’s fellow countrymen around but they look rather shady. They were there mostly for duck’s neck from other shops.

The service there was like… no service. There was only 1 woman clearing tables and taking orders and there were so many people dying of starvation, waiting to eat. We waited and waited and waited.

We ordered all the dishes recommended by Makansutra. The deep fried salted egg yolk prawn (pictured above) is average–not the best one I’ve eaten, and no enough sauce–but it comes with fried corn kernels, went very well with salted egg yolk sauce, delicious! The deep fried lotus roots with stringbeans (pictured above) was ordinary and the deep-fried roots tasted like chips. So was the stir-fried beef. The fried fish skin (pictured above) with a tangy spicy dip should compliment beer extremely well. Not at all oily. Crisp and tasted like fish crackers. But they forgot this order, and we had to remind them, so instead of being an appetizer, it became a dessert. Spicy eggplant with potatoes was excellent. The eggplant didn’t have the gluey texture but was rather firm. What is most memorable is the 3-storey fried beehoon, which is fried in flatten pancake style. It was bursting with flavors and lard, I didn’t know beehoon can taste like that. For such ugly looking beehoon, like a bad hair day, it was marvelous.

We spent about $15 each for 5 people, 6 dishes. Love the Gangster ambience–not for the faint-hearted though–and awesome food. But hate the waiting and service. I can’t stand waiting.