The Exciting Return of Geylang Bahru Hawker Centre!

Upon hearing that Geylang Bahru Hawker Centre has reopened its doors on 1st January 2018 (after a hiatus of more than one year), we cleared our schedule for the next day immediately. On the afternoon of 2 January 2018, a mere day after the hawker centre reopened, throngs of hungry Singaporeans had already gathered at said hawker centre. While a few stalls were still closed, a few of those that were open attracted long snaking queues. In fact, stalls such as Cheok Kee Boneless Braised Duck received such brisk business that everything was sold out by 2pm.

Here are 6 dishes that we tried from the newly renovated Geylang Bahru Hawker Centre.

Red Stove Fried Prawn Mee

This stall has been at Geylang Bahru for more than 40 over years. According to Lady Boss, Mrs Cai, “the fry of the noodles is crucial”. The plate of fried hokkien prawn mee arrived glistening and wet, which definitely whetted our appetites. The noodles were a tad garlicky, and would be a hit with garlic lovers! In terms of texture, the noodles were definitely well-cooked with a slight bounce, even though it had only a subtle wok hei.

Everyone Prawn Noodle

After queueing for about 8 minutes, we reached the front of the queue only to discover that all soup items were sold out. So were the pork ribs. And Laksa. Ditto for the Lor Mee. As such, we settled on the only option available — Dry prawn noodles. Expectations for this stall were high, considering almost everything had been sold out, and the stall owner had also mentioned that business had been really good. However, the prawn noodles leave much to be desired The dry prawn mee came with yellow noodles, and contained a few pieces of prawns and pork slices. Tastewise, it was slightly bland. Perhaps the more popular prawn noodle soup that had been sold out tasted better!

Caleb Chicken Rice

By far the best dish we ordered at our table, the chicken rice was fragrant and soft. The individual rice grains were perfectly coated with chicken oil, and were neither clumpy nor sticky. The roasted chicken was tender and soft, while the roasted chicken skin had a tantalising sesame oil aroma. Furthermore, the chicken was bathed in a pleasant and well-seasoned sauce, which had just the perfect amount of saltiness. Caleb Chicken rice definitely warrants a return visit. 

Bang Bang Mushroom Bak Chor Mee

The bak chor mee was well coated with the sauces, and contained ingredients such as pork slices, minced pork and of course, mushroom. However, it, in my opinion, was a tad bland.

Hui Wei Chilli Ban Mian

We tried both the soup and dry versions of ban mian from Hui Wei. The dry version was coated with a special dark sauce, and contained handmade meatballs and generous chunks of minced meat. This dish was a little spicy, which provided a kick of flavour to the noodles, making it enjoyable and easy to eat. A little spice is always nice.

Additionally, we ordered the soup ban mian with mee hoon kueh. Ingredients such as prawn, minced pork and ikan bilis complemented the thick noodles. It was warm and comforting, especially on a rainy day.

Geylang Bahru Hawker Centre’s re-entry into Singapore’s hawker scene is one that should be warmly welcomed. There is a plethora of food available, and while some stalls have yet to open, there’s so much potential here. Welcome back, Geylang Bahru Hawker Centre!