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I was intrigued by a stall at Old Airport Road Food Centre called Cho Kee Noodle. What was so special about it? Well, they actually craft their own noodles (6 varieties) from their central kitchen with unique flavours like beetroot, spinach, and whole grain.
Cho Kee Noodle has been around since 1965, and is currently run by the 3rd generation. I learnt that besides making their own noodles, they also produce their own char siew, wanton and dumplings— how impressive!
What I tried from Cho Kee Noodle
I got the ball rolling with the Fried Wanton Noodle (S$5.50 for small) with my choice of the Spinach Noodles (+S$0.50). FYI, all their veggie noodles contain real vegetables, not just colouring.
The bowl contained a bed of spinach mee kia topped with slices of char siew, 3 pieces of fried wanton, a couple of steamed wanton, green veggies and a serving of pickled green chilli.
Even before mixing everything up, I succumbed to temptation and had a go with the fried wanton first. It was delightfully crispy and was stuffed with flavourful minced pork— what a good start!
I gave the noodles a good mix. Immediately, my taste buds were seduced by the aromatic lard oil and crispy golden nuggets of pork lard, sneakily hiding like ninjas underneath the ingredients.
The noodles were not only cooked to perfection, but I also loved how it absorbed all the flavours of the sauce like a sponge. The heat from the chilli wasn’t overpowering, allowing me to taste all the ingredients as it is.
Although the pieces of char siew were lean and tender, the flavour wasn’t compromised. The bits of char on the surface also helped enhance its smokiness.
The steamed wanton was as light as a cloud and slithered down my throat like butter. Similar to the fried version, the meat was impeccable.
The next dish I had was the Chicken Feet Noodle (S$4 for small). I decided to try the Whole Grain Noodles (+S$0.50) for this. It came with 2 gigantic pieces of chicken feet, white shimeiji mushrooms, green vegetables, and green chilli.
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I took a closer look at the Whole Grain Noodles and they had tiny black speckles on it. The texture of it reminded me of eating wholemeal bread.
Believe me when I say that the chicken feet were hugeeeeee! They literally filled the entire circumference of the bowl— dang, they were even longer than my puny hands.
I loved how the braised gravy had strong dominant flavours of star anise, which managed to penetrate every inch of the chicken feet. The gelatinous meat fell off the bone with ease, and was remarkably soft.
For my third and final dish, I tried the Mushroom Noodle (S$4.50). It had a mixture of the Beetroot Noodles (+S$0.50) which I had chosen, enoki mushrooms, shimeiji mushrooms, green veggies, and green chilli.
I loved how the mushrooms added varied textures to the noodles.
I was slightly surprised that the colour of the beetroot noodles leaned more towards the orange side instead of purple.
Other than tasting the fragrant lard oil, and experiencing a subtle spicy kick from the chilli, I couldn’t detect any earthy beetroot flavour in the mee.
I also appreciated the generous portion of green vegetables. They were blanched just right, maintaining their natural greenness and crunch.
Final thoughts
Cho Kee Noodle has received several awards in the past such as the Singapore Hawker Master 2012, and The Green Book Best Food Award 2014.
Although these awards were from some time back, they have maintained their standards till this day.
I guess I’ll be back to savour their seaweed and tomato noodles— hopefully they’ll be available then (keeping my fingers crossed).
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