Song Kee Fishball Noodles – Generous Portions & A Neighbourhood Favourite Noodle Lover (NL), 26/09/202405/10/2024 It’s about time I visit fishball noodle stores outside of the east, and Song Kee answers my call in this review. I’m sure some of you must have heard of Song Kee being a staple for late-night suppers after a long day, and like Jalan Tua Kong Lau Lim, the store also faced issues with its derivatives that spawned out of the Song Kee name which I will not dive into too much in the next section. Brief History Known for their tasty and tantalizing handmade herh keow (fish dumplings) and bouncy fishballs, Song Kee was the brainchild of Mr Chua Poh Seng, who is one of the five sons of the late Mr Chua Keok Sip who has been in the business since 1966. The store at Yio Chu Kang Road opened its doors on 18th May 2020 after much delays due to the pandemic. Prior to their shift to their current base of operation, Song Kee was situated at Joo Chiat in 2017, and before that, the store was originally located at Serangoon which was run by a cousin of Song Kee’s owners1. Experience Contrary to its location at Yio Chu Kang Road, it is nowhere situated in Yio Chu Kang, but is actually located in Serangoon. Talk about misleading with a capital ‘M’. Located close to the Serangoon Sports Complex, it’s a great place to relax and recharge after a long day of training for folks around the area. Finding the place wasn’t too difficult, as the store front was recognizable enough from afar. Stepping into the store made me felt like I was at a shophouse situated in Malaysia, or the olden days of Singapore when kampungs were still a thing. You don’t see many fishball noodles shops with their own stores around in Singapore so that came as a culture shock that didn’t take me too much time to adjust. By the time I arrived after lunch hours, there was barely any people around, so ordering and collecting my bowl was quick and easy. Like Jalan Tua Kong Lau Lim in the previous post, I was given a buzzer to signal me that my order’s ready for collection. Having an entire table to myself felt like a luxury in this day and age, so I got to enjoy the space for myself while I can. Taste Test: Fishball Noodles Soup ($5.50) + Coke ($1.60) One look at the bowl, and there’s plenty of interesting sights to deconstruct. While I appreciate the store handing three fishballs compared to JTKLL, the fishballs could be bouncier as it was on the hard side upon my first bite. Something tells me that the fishballs were not cooked long enough, hence the lukewarm end product. That said, I would rank their fishballs in B+ tier; not terrible to dismiss them, but not good enough to ask for a second helping. On the bright side, I was satisfied with the noodles, or kway teow in my case. It felt just right without feeling too soggy or under-cooked, and one sign of high quality kway teow used is making sure that the noodles are easy to separate if they stick together. As a bonus, the noodles were glossy and slightly oily, so aesthetic-wise it looks perfect on camera. Comparable to JTKLL, the amount of lard and fried shallots given by Song Kee were generous. Maybe a sprinkle of spring onions and cilantro to balance things out would be nice to freshen the dish. But I respect them going for a more earthy profile and are confident in standing out from the crowd. It’s rare seeing tau pok in a bowl of fishball noodles, but Song Kee was careful not to make the tau pok dominate too strongly here. The tau pok was puffy, and the fish paste had the right amount of bounce and juiciness compared to the fishballs offered in my bowl. In all honesty, I wasn’t looking forward to trying the herh keow, with previous experiences scarred me with their excessive dryness, the extreme rubbery texture, and their mere existence of being a glorified miserable piece of leftover fish paste/skin that chefs couldn’t find any other use of. But Song Kee’s herh keow lives up to its reputation and made me reconsider my opinion towards this hard-to-do-well topping. Upon taking my first bite, the fish dumpling turned out to be surprisingly tasty. The meat within was mildly spicy in a good way, and thankfully isn’t overly dry with the right amount of ‘sliminess’ that made it taste somewhat edible. Service was efficient, so there’s no need to wait too long upon order. It helps that there wasn’t any customers other than myself and a couple by the time I got my order at around five to ten minutes later. Final Thoughts The fried shallots and fried lard made this dish heavier than it actually is, but not in a bad way. Perhaps I find lighter bowls of fishball noodles hard to do well without making the soup taste like hot water mixed with MSG. The reliance of other ingredients like garlic, vegetables and lard tries to remedy this problem which works until you hit a ceiling where you need a key ingredient to heighten the bowl of fishball noodles into something more well-rounded. Sure, the fishball problem can be fixed rather easily once you portion the right amounts of fish, salt and water (and tapioca flour to some degree), but the soup ties everything together even if you’re having dry fishball noodles. As a lifelong fan of fishball noodles, making a perfect bowl of fishball noodles is like making scrambled eggs; it’s a seemingly simple dish that is hard to nail all the crucial elements down perfectly. As I seek for the Noodle Lover Gold Standard™ fishball noodles, my search for it will never cease and it’s a journey I embark on till the end of time (sounds cheesy, I know). For now, I’ll be taking a short break from fishball noodles but I’ll be back for more fishball noodles soon. Next time, back to ramen. A refreshing drink after a long and hot day out. (Note: Not sponsored by the Coca Cola Company) Address & Opening Hours 100 Yio Chu Kang Road, Singapore 545576Opening Hours:Fri to Wed: 11.30am to 8.45pmThu: 11.30am to 3pm https://www.todayonline.com/8days/eatanddrink/newsandopening/song-kee-fishball-noodle-reopens-tomorrow-new-yio-chu-kang-road ↩︎ Fishball Noodles Reviews Fishball NoodlesNortheast SingaporeSingaporeSong Kee