Cheng Ji (成记) – How Can Canned Pork Legs Taste So Good?

The owner of Cheng Ji (成记) at Adam Road Food Centre is a cheerful and bubbly 48 year-old woman named Ye Hongxia. Since she took over the stall from her mother-in-law in 2003, she has been operating the stall on her own in the day. Her son occasionally comes to help out in the evening.

First, I ordered the small portion($5) of her specialty Pork Leg Bee Hoon (猪脚米粉). It also comes in medium($8) and large portions($12).

It did not look like much at the beginning — I even thought she might have forgotten to add the meat in. But upon closer inspection, I found a decent amount of tender pork legs, vegetables, and beansprouts buried beneath the steamy pile of bee hoon!

I tried the bee hoon and meat without the lime and chilli sauce first. Absolutely delicious! The noodles, which had just the right amount of moisture, went really well with the pork, which was soft, savoury, and not too salty.

Next, I squeezed on some lime, and mixed in the chilli. I was told that this dish offers a taste of the 80s, back when the economy was bad, and all families could afford was a can of 猪脚 (Pork Leg), 米粉 (Rice Noodles), and 豆芽 (Beansprout). How nostalgic! If you were born in the 80s, do give it a try and let me know if this is true!

I wanted to try another dish so she recommended her Hokkien Mee! I ordered the medium serving($4). The lady boss was extremely generous with the ingredients. The noodles were coated in a layer of gravy that reminded me of a Hokkien mee that I tasted when I was a little boy. Similar to the Pork Leg Bee Hoon, both lime and chilli complemented each spoonful of noodles perfectly.

There were actually not 2, but 3 prawns! One of them was underneath the avalanche of noodles. I didn’t realise till I dug in and got a pleasant surprise!

It wasn’t till after the entire meal when I approached the lady boss for a chat. She told me that she had given me a slightly bigger portion of bee hoon for my Pork Leg Bee Hoon because I was a young and growing adult! No wonder I had trouble finding my ingredients…

I noticed that actual canned Pork Legs were used to make the dish. I enquired further to see if she uses any special ingredients in order to make it so delicious. She replied that apart from ensuring that the meat and noodles were neither too oily nor dry, the most important aspect was the soup.

The soup, which is a homemade specialty, is poured into the wok during the process of frying so that the noodles soak up the fragrance and taste of it.

Apart from Pork Leg Bee Hoon and Fried Hokkien Mee, a variety of Singapore’s favourite local delicacies such as Fried Kway Teow and Carrot Cake are also available! If you happen to be at Adam Road Food Centre for a meal, do show Cheng Ji (成记) some support!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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