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Growing up, Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon at Dover has become a quintessential part of my life and has been the place I would visit frequently on the weekends.
Located just a street away from Star Vista, Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon is run by a husband-and-wife duo. They first started the stall in the heart of Holland Village but then relocated to Dover in 2010.
Nestled in the corner of the coffeeshop downstairs of a HDB block, Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon is easily spotted with its bright yellow signboard. They’re also really crowded even on the weekdays.
I started off with one of my familiar dishes, the San Loh Hor Fun (S$6). The thick hor fun is wok-fried with oil first before tossing it in a gooey fish sauce. Fish slices are added too and they top it off with crunchy beansprouts.
The owner even customises his hor fun to be thicker than those elsewhere, as he felt that this would give a pleasant chewy texture in the mouth.
Tossed in the wok with oil at high heat, the hor fun becomes infused with smoky wok hei. The fish sauce that they add in is a concentrated fish soup reduced down to a gooey sauce, containing all the sweetness and brininess of the fish. They then add in loads of beansprouts for extra crunch.
I really enjoyed the fish slices in the dish as it was sweet and cooked perfectly. It flaked off in my mouth and wasn’t overly fishy.
Aside from the different flavours in this dish, the fragrant garlic bits also added their unique savoury nutty taste.
The next dish is their signature, the XO Fish Head Bee Hoon (S$7) which consists of thick bee hoon in a milky broth alongside fish chunks.
The milky fish soup was cooked with ground black and white pepper, and XO brandy was added with rice wine. The slight bitterness of the XO and rice wine helped to cut out any fishy smell from the soup.
Boiled with fish bone and other unwanted parts of the fish, the soup is simmered until they disintegrate to form the thick milky soup. The soup was very rich in flavour and went well with the thick bee hoon.
In addition, the fish chunks absorbed the fish soup, so biting into it gave a nice burst of fish soup in my mouth.
I liked that this fish soup was a warm and comforting dish and eating it reminded me of home.
Another staple I would always order is the Prawn Balls (S$9). This mixture of shrimp paste and water-chestnut is wrapped in a crispy golden-brown beancurd skin.
I really liked the combination of creamy shrimp paste mixed with the crunchy bits of water chestnut.
The sweet sauce provided elevates the sweetness of the prawns and rounds off every bite. I’m a huge fan of these prawn balls and sometimes I would buy some home, as they make really good snacks.
I would also recommend their popular Har Cheong Gai (S$9). Even though this dish is usually available at most zi char stalls, a good rendition of har cheong gai is hard to find.
Fortunately, the prawn paste chicken here was exceptionally good, with a strong fragrance. Despite looking slightly paler, it still has that satisfying crunch in every bite.
Biting into the crispy crust, I could hear an audible crunch. I liked how the prawn paste aroma lingered on my palate as I chewed on the well-marinated and tender chicken.
The Har Cheong Gai is my go-to order every time I visit this stall, for something meaty to go with my San Loh Hor Fun.
Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon always has a place in my heart with its simple yet amazing food. Despite the effort and time that goes into preparing each dish, the food arrived quickly after we have placed our orders.
To me, this has to be the best zi char stall serving fish head bee hoon. Of course, I might be biased because I grew up with this stall.
With old age catching up and the owner planning to retire soon, I highly recommend you to go down before this becomes another hawker that is lost in tradition.
Expected Damage: S$20 – S$35 per pax
