There are two vegetarian stores in the food centre but I have been eating at this store for the better part of my life. The reason why this store beat the other one is because it is healthier and has a greater variety. This is especially important for strict vegetarians who are unable to cook their own meals on a daily basis.

Other than the typical vegetarian beehoon with the accompanying ingredients of mock cha siew, vegetables, mock intestines and mock crispy goose, they also have a whole range of dishes that you can eat with rice. These dishes are innovative and tasty, while retaining the idea that vegetarian food is healthier. I especially love their tofu here - just the right amount of salty and fried taste without the feeling that it has been over-fried in dirty oil. They also sell porridge and vegetarian kway chap, all of which taste pretty good. Price is very reasonable too - a plate of fried beehoon with a few typical side dishes cost only $2.

I LOVE KWAY CHAP. And the kway chap at Guang Liang Cooked Food is my favorite kway chap store in the world. I have been eating at this store since I was young and I have slowly graduated from eating only the taupok, tuakwa and egg to some of the innards (although I still balk at big intestines). In fact, the store is so good that many young people (like me) who have moved out of the neighbourhood actually come back on weekends/public holidays/off days just to eat the kway chap here.

They use a secret recipe to make the gravy and all the different innards/meat/eggs/tofu assortments are cooked in it until the taste seeps through it - even into the egg yolk. The chilli and kway chap itself is also amazingly good. If you come on weekends, be prepared to wait (like about 30mins to 1hour) and come early as they sell out really fast.

If you are looking for some comfort food, this is the stall to be at.

The Hainese porridge is flavorful and filled with lots of ingredients. You can choose from chicken/pork with/or sliced fish/cuttlefish. Often, the uncle will ask if you want to add egg (chicken egg or century egg). The serving is very generous. For a small eater like myself, a small potion often seems way too much for me to stomach. Do prepare to wait at least 20-30 minutes if you patronize the stall during breakfast and lunch.

Hahaha, if you are like my colleagues and I, we often go for the most sinful option which is to ask the uncle to add both egg and century egg.

While I will not dare to proclaim that this is the best bak kut teh store in the whole stretch of Balestier Road, this is definitely one of my favourite. The bak kut teh broth here is the clear, peppery kind so if you are looking for the Ng Ah Sio kind (herby and dark in colour), look elsewhere. The pepper taste is not too overpowering but one sip reminds me of the pig's stomach soup my grandfather used to cook over firewood. The pepper has been cooked long enough to crack and seep into the soup along with the sweetness of the pork bones.

At $7.50 a bowl with rice and fried youtiao, this is not the cheapest you can get. But as Japan Hour will like to say, "this is full of nostalgia". Remember to ask for a refill of the soup.

The stall is open 24hours a day except on Sundays where they close from around 3pm to Monday 3pm.

Meng Kitchen is one of the more famous bak chor mee stalls around, and being a huge bak chor mee fan, I knew that I had to give this place a spin to find out what all the fuss is about, despite the fact that I don't even live in the area.
I arrived during off peak hours and managed to get my bowl of noodles without having to wait for too long. I opted for mee pok since this is my preferred type of noodles. The noodles came fluffy and sufficiently chewy, and not at all soggy. I really enjoyed the noodles a lot. The base contained vinegar and of course chili sauce, and the combination of the two (with probably some secret ingredients) gave rise to one of the most satisfying bowls of bak chor mee I have ever eaten. The icing on the cake was the very generous portion of minced pork and liver; I have always felt that some stalls tried to make their food seem nicer by limiting the serving size, but apparently that is not the practice. Do come here if you want to taste what a really good bowl of bak chor mee should taste like.