Our humble beginnings (Stop I - Whampoa Food Centre)

Prologue
In the year of 2009, sometime around May, at the secret headquarters of Tampines (A.K.A 'Area 92'), the Skalions (pronounced 'scallions' - that's who we are) were introduced to the very definition of a food Utopia in which no taste buds has ever step 'foot' on. The light had shone, and the time had come to recognise our Chef Almighty (whom we are only at liberty to call Her Holy-Schmoly-ness). SHE had the prowess to whip up supreme food dishes that brought nothing short of ecstacy. HER connections were far and wide, and at her command, dishes from various food utopias were summoned at unearthly hours. The Skalions looked at one another, astonished at the delicacies placed in front of their very eyes. One bravely took a bite, then the other, and the rest followed suit. In no time, they were all engrossed in the very act of food consumption, and became increasingly oblivious to what was happening to one particular member of their own. She was starting to take the form of the very food she was consuming, and was in near-completion of the curse "YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT". Fortunately, the Skalions, with numbers at the upper hand, prevented the curse from taking place through the display of unity, dispersing the curse within. Scarred by the memory of that event till this very day, they vow to hunt down every single food utopia within the nation, and to absorb all of its essence, thus eliminating any chance of getting taken by surprise ever again. And so begins their journey onward...



Stop 1 - Whampoa Food Centre

In the days/nights before officiating the embarkation of this journey, we had already been to other "food utopias", but as we did not have the necessary equipment at the time, no such record could be made. As such, Whampoa Food Centre symbolises the ribbon to our opening ceremony, and is officially our very first stop.


Famous dishes that are supposedly well known at this location include Rojak, Duck Rice, Hokkien Mee, Oyster dishes, and Fish Soup. As we arrived at that location a tad late, our options were pretty limited, so a
2nd visit to this place might be due in the near future. Regardless, let's proceed to the review proper.


First contender: Oyster Omelette

Price options: $8/$10/$12

Editor's Rating: 7.5/10 (Recommended)

Short Review: Price rather steep, taste is above average, egg to oyster ratio is decent.

In-depth review: As in reviews of most things, price always comes into consideration, and unless you're one who does not give a hoot about cost of items (in which case, PLEASE contact me), I'm sure you would agree. So in the opinion of this editor, the cost of this dish (we ordered the $10 option) is a little on the steep side, taking into consideration of its serving portion. I would also like to point out that the dish was a little too oily. I know that oyster omelettes ARE oily, but I felt they could have been slightly less 'generous' in preparing it, to achieve that otherwise fine balance. The dish is not without its merits though. It has the "wow" factor (simply define: going "wow, this taste good" upon tasting a particular food dish), as it's well prepared with the oysters not too raw, and the inside of the omelette soft and watery enough, the way it should be. On top of that, the egg to oyster ratio is decent. By that, I mean there's an appropriate number of oysters to the amount of egg there is. Still don't get it? Have you ever eaten an oyster omelette (or any other kind for that matter) and go "WTH! I might as well just have ordered fried egg!". That's the negative idea. To sum it up, its a recommended dish to have if you're an oyster lover, and isn't very much bothered with the price.


Second Contender: Hokkien Mee

Price options: $3/$4/$5

Editor's rating: 6.5-7.5/10 (Recommended)

Short review: Price is standard, taste not bad, but felt like it could have been better.

In-depth review: This time round, this particular dish did not have the "wow" factor. It was the kind where one would say "Yea, its quite good", or "Yep, its not bad". I should also state that my all-time favourite hokkien mee is the one at Chomp Chomp, and since there are various factors in deciding if a hokkien mee is nice, my judgement may vary with others. Once again, a good portion of the different ingredients in the dish. I did not feel anything was lacking. Also, the preparation was good (e.g. of lousy preparation would be if the hokkien mee taste too dry, or if the noodles too hard/soft). Reason why I gave 2 different ratings was because we had limes that tasted weird, which jeopardize the taste of the whole dish really. Therefore, I shall give it the benefit of a doubt, and say that the dish could have tasted better than what we had.

Final Contender: Fish Soup (Recommendation of the day)

Price options: $4/$5/$6

Editors rating: 8.5/10 (Highly recommended)

Short review: Sweet tasting soup, very well prepared, fish was fresh.

In-depth review: The best fish soup I've had so far from a food stall. 'Nuff said. Nah, but seriously, the STAR of the day as well as the Recommendation of the day. If you must know why, first off, the soup tastes very sweet (NOT diabetes sweet, sweet as in the taste oozing out from the ingredients used to boil the soup), which means it was very well prepared. As a cantonese, I know ALOT about how to make good soup (in theory, unfortunately), and for a soup to taste sweet, it must be boiled well. Also, the soup stood out among others of its kind as there was no sign of excessive MSG, and yet still taste well (i.e TRUE taste). In addition to all that goodness, the fish was very fresh and very smooth and literally "slid down the throat". This is truly a dish that would leave you wanting for more. So if you happen to be at this particular place and have not yet tried this dish, please do yourself a favour and do so quickly!

At the end of the day, the five Skalions present had a hearty supper and I thereby award our first Stop at Whampoa Food Centre a "Thumbs Up", so food lovers, do check it out!