As many who brave traffic conditions and high petty crime rates to cross the causeway would attest, food in JB is generally cheap and good. But when it comes to fishball noodles, they are nowhere near local standards.
Even the famous Ah Koong fishball noodles is not the fishball noodles that Singaporeans know and love so well- pork, liver and 'brown fishballs', that's not the fishball noddles we grew up with!
Furthermore, when it comes to meepok, well, it's not even close.
I used to have a bowl meepok noodles virtually everyday, sometimes twice a day. Morning in the school canteen- when I was in JC- and afternoon if I reach before the neighborhood stall closed.
The curious thing is that I'm not all that hot about fishballs either but it was the sum of the vinegar/chilli combo, the springy meepok, the fragrance from the fried lard bits and a bouncy 'mouth feel' from the fishball that comes together in an epic pinnacle that epitomizes the best of Singapore hawker food.
Even today when I eat out lesser- having a kid can do that you- meepok dry is a staple of my diet. Nary a fortnight passes when I don't succumb to my meepok cravings.
It is like an old friend, who stood with me through the years, from the meepok opposite my grandma's house, near my home, in my JC, Jurong West extension- just outside NTU, my first job, my wife's workplace, it was like an old friend that watched me grow. Even now, I found a new meepok stall just next to my daughter's nursery which she would join next year so it's like a meepok for every stage of my life.
Meepok for all seasons.
Even today when I eat out lesser- having a kid can do that you- meepok dry is a staple of my diet. Nary a fortnight passes when I don't succumb to my meepok cravings.
It is like an old friend, who stood with me through the years, from the meepok opposite my grandma's house, near my home, in my JC, Jurong West extension- just outside NTU, my first job, my wife's workplace, it was like an old friend that watched me grow. Even now, I found a new meepok stall just next to my daughter's nursery which she would join next year so it's like a meepok for every stage of my life.
Meepok for all seasons.
