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2013-03-22
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I probably should give a bit of a background to the "love affair" I had with Hock Lam Beef. I first fell in love with it when I chanced upon the outlet at 949 Upper Serangoon Rd, near Kovan mrt. Then, a bowl was charged at $5. I could have went for other cheaper hawker fare but I was more than willing to pay $5 (still considered cheap for beef) for a really good bowl of beef noodles - the broth was fantastic, you could taste the generous amount of herbs used in the brew. It was my favorite place
Sometime ago, probably within the last 2 years, the price of the noodles went up to $6 or $6.50. Yes, there's rising costs due to inflation, I can understand the hike in price. However, I could detect a decrease in flavor in the broth - it seemed that the herb flavor was no longer as strong as before. Has my love started to wane? The relationship went downhill as subsequent trips proved that my taste buds were not wrong. We broke up. Not long after, the outlet there closed down.
Recently, I started to frequent Alexandra Retail Centre and realized that there's a hock lam beef outlet there! Old feelings were stirred and hope welled up within my heart. Perhaps our love can be rekindled? As I sat down twiddling my thumbs in anticipation, I anxiously waited for my food to come.
The outlet is simply furnished and there were a few patrons inside during a Saturday night. The cost of a bowl of noodles is now at least $7+. I think the one I ordered for a mixture of hand-sliced beef and braised beef was $7.80. Pricey compared to my last experience but well, this is a restaurant-like setting, so that price was kinda expected.
Something felt not quite right when the dry bowl of beef noodles came. Ahhhhh...there's no more chopped peanuts and salted vegetables given as toppings! Previously, these toppings served to complement the dish and gave a more complex depth to the dish's taste. Trying to push aside my disappointment, I think the beef sauce, noodles and chili sauce still tasted as good as before.
But moving on to the all-important beef broth....there's a change in the taste I believe. Somehow, there's more of a underlying sweet taste to the broth which I did not really like. I guess the taste of old is still stuck within me. Granted, if this is the first time you're tasting Hock Lam's beef noodles, you might still like it as the standard in general is still above-average compared to other beef noodles outside. For me personally, the taste has changed and price has increased so it seems there is not much of a reason for me to revisit the place.
From an ex-lover's point of view, there is no more turning back. Things are no longer the same as before...
- Stallfront
- Soup beef noodles with hand-sliced & braised beef
- Dry beef noodles with sliced beefPost
