Monday, July 31, 2006

Newton Circus Hawker Centre

Seems like all the well-known hawker centres in Singapore have just been renovated or are currently under going renovations. Newton Circus Hawker Centre recently re-opened for business, so I was quite happy to come here to check it out.

The layout is quite different now - the tables are in the centre with the stalls in a huge circle surrounding them. The tables right in the middle are probably the best seats in the house - they have a nice resort feel about them, and you feel like you're eating right under the stars... but beware when it rains as these seats are not sheltered.

I normally order Sambal Sting Ray $10 from Guan Kee Seafood (Stall no. 53). Been ordering from them for the last 4 years... I go back to them purely out of habit but their sting ray is really not too bad.

Coincidentally enough, we ended up sitting really near the stall so I didn't have trouble finding them. In any case, I already recognise the people who work at that stall... the easiest to spot is the Indian guy - rare for an Indian to work at a 'Chinese' stall and so he quite stands out.

As for the food itself, the sting ray is always fresh and the sambal is spicy without being overwhelming. It's grilled really nicely - so that the meat is still juicy... and with the right amount of sambal on top of it and a pinch of the onion/cincalok sauce, it's a taste of heaven :)

The other dish I always order from the same stall (Guan Kee Seafood Stall No. 53) is the Sambal Kang Kong $6. The smallest size is already a pretty big portion so don't ever try ordering a medium. I love it so much that I normally end up eating *most* of it :)


This plate of Fried Carrot Cake $3 was ordered from a random stall. Decent but then it's kinda hard to do bad carrot cake. This is one of the very few things that vegetarians can eat at a hawker centre... We also ordered a plate of Fried Hokkien Mee but I forgot to take a photo of it :P

One complaint about the new Newton Circus Hawker Centre - seems like all the stalls are selling the same things! Here's an example - just around where we were sitting, there was at least 6 stalls selling BBQ Seafood. Definitely a lack of variety... but pretty good ambience. Still quite crowded from people checking it out so be prepared to wait for a parking lot.

4 comments:

Joe Yap said...

Here's an irony for ya. My mouth started watering at the picture of the stingray. But I know that I'd die of dehydration after sweating from the inherent 'hiamness'.

Guess my tastebuds are suckers for punishment.

Esther said...

That's what the sugar cane drink is for - to douse the "hiam"ness! :)

I always found it so bizarre how we Singaporeans love to torture ourselves with food...

Anonymous said...

oh boy i miss singapore food (already!) - watering mouth too!

Esther said...

charm! you're only there for a week! bet you'll be at gluttons bay eating or luak within days of coming back :D