Lai Yuan Gourmet (Toa Payoh): 24-hour hawker stall serving fishball noodles, laksa & bak chor mee with phenomenal liver

Occasionally, our team takes a walk to  Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Market & Hawker Centre to dabao lunch. That is— if we don’t melt under the blazing sun first. More than once, Lai Yuan Gourmet has proven to be a hot favourite among our interns, who frequently patronise the stall for its noodles and laksa.

So naturally, the idea of featuring this stall was always lingering in the back of my mind— and guess what? I finally went ahead and did it. I also found out that this establishment has several other outlets scattered across Singapore.

The 24-hour stall is manned by 2 friendly aunties who entertained my annoying questions. One of them commented, “I’ve been at this stall for around 10 years. I remember we were selling our noodles for just S$2, but now the minimum we offer is S$3.90.”

What I tried at Lai Yuan Gourmet

I started off with the Signature Dry Noodle (S$4.20). I mean, if a dish has ‘signature’ in its name, it’s got to be good, right?

Even after the bowl of noodles had been sitting there for a good 5 minutes, I could still toss the pale-yellow strands of mee pok without that awful, lumpy situation where the noodles stubbornly clump together.

The texture of the noods was al dente and thankfully, there wasn’t any off-putting alkaline taste that would leave that weird ‘siap siap‘ sensation lingering on my tongue. That said, while the seasonings were decent, I found myself wishing for a bit more punch. It needed something bolder to really bring it to life.

One ingredient that deserved the gold medal of compliments was the pig’s liver. Both pieces were cooked to a spot-on medium without any bloody traces in the centre. The minced pork clusters and meatballs were also great.

Bang Bang Mushroom Bak Chor Mee: 27-year-old stall dishing out bowls of minced meat, fishball & pig trotter noodles

The Laksa (S$3.90) looked promising, with 2 small prawns, fishcake slices, and tau pok. It bathed in a light orange gravy with tiny specks of chilli oil on its surface.

It was a bit of a pity that the Laksa had the potential to be great, but the gravy just wasn’t lemak or robust enough for me. It felt a little watered down, missing that rich, full-bodied, almost sinful kick I was yearning for.

The prawns were sweet, firm and fresh. Each piece of tau pok acted like a supercharged sponge, soaking up the rich gravy and releasing a flavourful burst with every bite.

We then moved on to our final dish, the Fishball Noodle (S$3.90) with kway teow as my noodle of choice. The ingredients were simple, just 5 fishballs, slices of fishcake, and a few pieces of lettuce.

The silky and slightly QQ strands of kway teow clung to the sauces and seasonings, soaking up every drop of flavour like they were made for each other. I was surprised (in a good way) that there was vinegar added.

It’s possible the aunty forgot, or perhaps there was a mix-up, but my bowl of Signature Dry Noodles came without the usual dash of vinegar. In my opinion, that was the missing piece of the puzzle— the one thing that would have tied the first dish together.

When asked if the fishballs were made in-house, she replied that they source it from a factory. Perhaps that explains why they lacked the signature bounce and spring. These were, quite honestly, some of the worst I’ve ever had— tough, bland and utterly forgettable.

Final thoughts

Lai Yuan Gourmet at Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Market & Hawker Centre serves as an ideal supper spot option for hungry residents who are looking for a quick bite. Each dish has its hits and misses.

I’ll definitely return for a bowl of their Signature Dry Noodle— with added vinegar this time, of course! And with liver that good, the Signature Pig’s Liver (S$3.90) might just make it onto my tray, too.

Expected damage: S$3.90 – S$6.20 per pax

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