Fish Soup (Part 2): Mei Xiang Black & White

I love fish soup. My usual haunt is Han Kee at Amoy but B and I have been trying to check out alternative places for our fish soup fix. I was on leave that afternoon, so with time (minus stress) in my favor, we decided to check at Mei Xiang Black & White fish soup at Jalan Besar market. They are only open from Mon to Fri and closed weekends and public holidays, so..

We got there at 11.50am, just before the snaking queue formed - scores!

This fish soup stall is quite quirky. There's a huge clock hung up to show that they are open at EXACTLY 11.12am everyday. Interesting how there were these huge black fans against the otherwise white stall decor too. They are famous for the mix of fresh ("white") and fried ("black") fish slices soup mix. I asked if I could only have "white" and they flatly said no. Hmph.

Food nazist aside, the fish soup was indeed good! Fish and prawns were fresh and the soup was very flavorful. A tad oily and not the most healthy around but we slurped our bowls dry. Yummy!

Would I return? Yes, probably. But it's a bit out of the way though, so perhaps on the next day off.   

Piao-Ji Fish Soup

I am saving up for my pilgramage to Sushi Jiro in Tokyo next month
(~SGD500 per head for omakase!) and have been sustaining on hawker centre lunches and home-cooked dinner at my Sis' house. I have also successfully NOT been taking cabs to/from work either - rain or shine, 7am or 11pm. *Pat on own back*


This bowl of prawn/fish soup at $10 a fix, was admitedly, an indulgence. I love Amoy hawker centre on weekends - (relatively) empty and there's this chill vibe you'll never get on a busy weekday. The prawns that day were exceptionally fresh and the soup was very tasty. Add lots of chili padi and tada - the perfect hangover meal! (Yes, Yar's birthday and our heads were kinda throbbing from Royal Room the night before).


It was a good meal but I still prefer my Han Kee fish soup. $5 for generous thick slices of fish - yums. The queue is (a lot) more efficient too. We waited 30 min in line for Piao-Ji with only 6 people in front of us. Oh vell, it was a lazy Saturday and nobody needed to rush back to the office.

Fish Soup (Part I)

"Food is the most primitive form of comfort."

I heart Han Kee fish soup at Amoy Food Centre. The queue is long but do not be intimidated, it moves fairly quickly. Service is brisk and efficient. The auntry has an elephant memory and lighting fast mental math abilities. $5 (medium size) for generous thick slices of batang fish, best!

On a cool rainy day like today, it was absolute heaven slurping my piping hot fish soup.


Another option at the same food centre is Piao Ji Fish Soup. Queue is comparable to Han Kee but moves at half the speed so I've never had the patience to wait. I finally managed to try it one Saturday I was in the area.


I splurged and ordered the $10 bowl with pomfret and prawns. Yum, the sweet freshness of the seafood was amazing. Only complaint: MSG made me really thirsty afterwards.