Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Although I often joke that I am motivated by food, it’s got a lot more truth in it than some might think. After all, what else could possibly motivate me to get out of bed before dawn? Seng Heng Braised Duck Noodles, apparently. Said to be one of the best stalls for braised duck, it’s also incredibly lowkey – probably because it’s only open in the wee hours of the morning, and sells out by 9.30am.
Guess who crawled out of a warm bed at 5.30am to trek to Redhill Food Centre for a taste? (It was me.)
When I arrived at Redhill Food Centre, it was just after 7am. To my surprise, Seng Heng Braised Duck Noodles was already serving a few customers. There was no line yet, so I decided to hop into the queue before it got long.
I later learned from a bubbly and friendly auntie whose table I shared that the line only really starts forming after 7.30am. By 9am, they begin to close up shop. “They’ve been selling for over 50 years here. They only prepare about 20 ducks each time,” she told me in Mandarin. “It sells out very, very fast. They make everything themselves, too.”
The prices were printed on a piece of paper taped to the stall front. There’s a choice of either rice or noodles, as well as options to buy spare parts like feet, heads, liver and gizzards.
What I tried at Seng Heng Braised Duck Noodles
When the stall names itself after a dish, you try said dish. In this case, I got Duck Noodle (S$5.50) with an addition of Duck Liver (S$1). You can choose between kway teow or yellow noodles, and I went with yellow noodles. While not my favourite noodle, I prefer it over kway teow if it’s to be served dry with a sauce.
In no time at all, my noodles were ready.
They didn’t look like much, but we don’t judge books (or dishes) by their cover here.
The noodles were your standard yellow noodles, not overcooked, slightly alkaline. The chilli sauce has a good amount of heat that doesn’t overwhelm everything, and is adequately savoury. It helped to mask the aftertaste of the yellow noodles.
I must say, I wasn’t really impressed with the duck initially. I asked for breast meat, and the pieces were chopped up so haphazardly that they were all of different shapes and widths. It also looked incredibly dry.
And yet, it somehow turned out to be some of the most tender duck I’ve ever had. While not super moist, it was very melt-in-your-mouth quality, with zero trace of any “duckiness”. Just tender, soft goodness. I did feel it could do with a bit more saltiness.
The Houson Duck: Award-winning Teochew duck rice from my childhood
The liver also looked very underwhelming, but it turned out to be cooked to the right consistency. The insides were creamy and mellow tasting, with the distinctive liver taste, but not overly metallic. I also got a decent serving of it for S$1, so no complaints there.
The soup was savoury and tasted similar to the duck, but with a subtle sweetness. It was refreshing to take sips of it between the spicy noodles as a palate cleanser.
Final thoughts
So, I guess you’re wondering if it was worth getting up this early for. I don’t think it was a wasted trip – it was an enjoyable bowl of duck noodles, but to do this regularly when I don’t live near Redhill? That’s a bit of a tall ask. I might do it again, if I had a serious craving.
If you live nearby, I daresay it’s worth trying Seng Heng Braised Duck Noodles at least once.
Expected damage: S$5.50 – S$8 per pax
