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4 months ago, I made a beeline for Golden Chef SG (金师傅) at 256 Yishun Ring Road for the best-rated claypot rice. But if you’ve swung by recently only to find an empty stall — don’t panic just yet. Just look to your right and — ta-da! They’ve shifted a couple of units down into a bigger space with new offerings.
The JB-born trio — Yee Ann (pictured above right), an ex-chef who honed his skills at Jumbo Seafood for 2 years, and Marcus — have teamed up with fellow Johorean, Jing Xiang (pictured above left), to bring you a lineup of JB-style handmade noodles and cai fan.
Psst! Their signature JB Claypot Chicken Rice (S$7.80) that blew me away last time is still available!
Born into a mee hoon kueh hawker family, Jing Xiang spent 3 to 4 years learning the craft of making the noodles from scratch from his mum. Every morning, he spends time kneading the dough. The various noodles are only churned out on-the-spot when an order is received.
We started off with the dry JB Mee Hoon Kueh (S$5), accompanied by the classic entourage — ikan bilis, minced pork clusters, meatballs, money cai and a poached egg.
Mee hoon kueh often gets a bad rep for being too thick and doughy — a mistake that plenty of stalls struggle with. Fortunately, Golden Chef SG’s take struck a fine balance, staying soft yet retaining just the right amount of bite.
The generous amount of ikan bilis added a nice touch of umami.
The sauce was already flavourful, but if you’re craving an extra kick, don’t hold back — load up on their homemade chilli and chopped pickled green chilli for that next-level punch!
The chilli wasn’t overwhelmingly spicy like the KL ones, and possessed strong notes of dried shrimp, while the green chilli was tangy and appetising.
Next on my agenda was the dry JB You Mian (S$5) with Tom Yum (+S$1) flavour. After tossing all the ingredients up, the strands of noodles were coated with the runny yolk of the egg.
Though the tom yum spices didn’t overpower the dish, I could still detect subtle sour hints that sneaked their way through the flavour profile.
Can’t resist fried goodies? Then you mustn’t miss out on the Ban Mian with Chicken Cutlet (S$6). The pieces of chicken were so crispy and packed with juicy goodness.
The Mala Dumpling (S$6 for 6 pieces) was also a rather satisfying side dish to have. The meat filling had a generous amount of ku chye, and the gravy? Just the right amount of zing to hit the spot.
If you adore seafood, get the LALA Fresh Prawn Soup (S$10). It has 3 large prawns and a generous amount of clams doused in a sweet robust broth.
If noodles aren’t your jam, Golden Chef SG also offers cai fan with vegetables starting from S$0.90 each to meat dishes ranging from S$1.30 to S$3. There are also pricier options like grilled fish, starting from S$3.50, while steamed ones will cost you S$6 to S$7.
King Of Ban Mian: Delicious QQ ban mian & hand-torn mee hoon kueh that reign supreme
