SINGAPORE: East Coast Lagoon Hawker Centre should be the only hawker centre built by the beach in Singapore. Completed in late 1978, it has always been a popular dinner spot for our grandparents, parents and us alike. It is also a rest stop for cyclists and runners. Whenever we talked about East Coast Lagoon, satay always comes to mind, but I am not going to cover that in this post. There are many other local delights, and these are all the default stalls I will go for on every visit.
Cheok Kee Duck Rice, Duck Porridge
This should be the most popular non-satay stall around. I had to wait 45 mins before I could get my food. Cheok Kee's braised duck is simply out of this world, and of course, the secret to their success is their braised sauce (滷水汁). Tender braised duck with duck liver, duck heart, and braised eggs on the side look like a masterpiece. I couldn’t decide whether I should have rice, porridge or noodles, so I got all three. Problem solved.
Check the opening hours before you head down to the hawker centre and be prepared to queue.
Hwa Kee Barbeque Pork Noodle 华记云吞面
Hwa Kee has been selling wanton mee for a long time. I have been visiting this stall for the past 30 years. Their forte is barbeque pork (Char Siew), as the name implies. They make it in-house, nicely charred and smoky. You can get Char Siew rice, but everyone is there for their unique wanton mee. Instead of the usual soya sauce or lard, they use the same sauce from the barbeque pork resulting in a plate of the noodles with a sweet tone. It might not be for everyone, but it is nostalgic for me.
Lagoon Leng Kee Beef Kway Teow
This place sells Teochew Style Beef Noodles. It is a simple stall with only one dish on the menu, and that is Beef Noodle Soup. If you are someone who goes for dry beef noodle, you will be disappointed. To order, pick your noodles and choose between the S$5 or S$7 bowl. The only difference is, with or without beef tendon. In each bowl, you will get beef brisket, beef tripe and sliced raw beef. Like Pho, hot soup is poured over the raw beef to blanch it, resulting in very tender beef slices. Don't be deceived by how light and clear the soup looked; it is packed with beefy flavour. This refreshing noodle soup will leave you hot and sweaty yet fully satisfied. I love the soup so much that I finished every last drop.
StingRay Forever BBQ Seafood
With a good belacan chilli, fresh stingray, and pan-grilled over banana leaf, this goes best with a bowl of rice. The star for this dish is really the chilli. Once I found a stall that suits my taste, I tend to stick to it. I don't usually stop at stingray too. With a plate of Gong Gong and fried Kang Kong, the meal is complete. Do note: If you cannot take chilli, don't try this.
Chong Pang Huat Chicken Wings
This stall needs no introduction. They have branches all over the East/North East side of Singapore. Simple charcoal-grilled chicken wings and fatty pork satay. The chicken wings are pretty standard, soy-based marination. Skillfully BBQed over hot charcoal, the skin is crisp on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside. Since I always have to have pork satay with my chicken wings, I had to get some. The best part of the pork satay is the piece of pork fat in between 2 lean meat. It is blackening charred yet irresistible. They are very unhealthy good.
Special shoutout
1) Lagoon Chicken Curry Puff
They are an institution at East Coast Lagoon Food Village. Since the 1980s, they have been selling one item and one item only, and that is Chicken Curry Puff. If they have been around selling only one thing, they must be doing something right. It is the best way to end the meal at East Coast Lagoon, and it is the cherry on the cake.
2) Lagoon Famous Fried Carrot Cake
It is one of a few stall selling the same dish. I have not tried the rest, and I have no intention to. This stall is good enough for me. Please check out my post on Fried Carrot Cake too. Local Delight: Top 5 picks Fried Carrot Cake, either Black or White
3) 3rd-Gen Geylang 29 Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee
Many people have their own opinion about this stall. Some said it is not as good as the one on East Coast Road, and some even said that it is not worth the wait. I agree that this is not as good as Swee Guan Hokkien Mee at Geylang Lorong 29. However, I think they are definitely above average from most Hokkien Mee stalls you can find in other hawker centres. It is a good plate of Fried Hokkien Mee. Helmed by the 3rd generation from the original Geylang Lorong 29 Hokkien Mee Stall, they still need to perfect the dish. Be prepared to wait as they do get busy during dinner time.
All the stalls on this post, except for StingRay Forever BBQ Seafood and Chong Pang Huat Chicken Wings.
Address: 1220 East Coast Parkway, Singapore 468960