Look what I have had! Old Airport Road Market Revamped!

It was like yesterday, when I was dining in the aged and 'dark' hawker centre at Old Airport Road Market. Why have I used 'dark'? It is because the earlier market before being renovated, was poorly lit either due to the high ceiling or the stained lamp covers. The floors were also tiled using the oldies-styled green sqare tiles, where the crevices trapped a lot of dirt. The walls were badly stained from all the soot accumulated over many years, without any repainting. The used utensils collection points were all over and the lack of proper cleaning services, made the place uninviting. But despite all that complaints about the environment, people from around the island flocked there to enjoy the best hawker foodfare around.

However, all that was mentioned belonged to the past and now the revamped Old Airport Road Market is bright and clean! There is even a multi-storey carpark behind the market that solved the earlier severe parking problems. Note that there is no free parking even on a Sunday. Most importantly, can the quality of the food maintain its earlier standards? or have most of the stalls moved with new hawkers coming in? We can only try, review and gather more reviews!

Block 51 is where you should be looking for. In order to maximise space, seats are available behind the stalls. The developers are smart to make huge exhaust pipes to channel the fumes upwards instead of blowing into the diners.Like most revamped hawker centres, there is a lift now! It takes you to the second level where the wet market is. Anyone care for al fresco dining?Not all stalls are opened on this fine Sunday morning. However, a particular stall seems to be receiving quite a lot of attention. The endless queue at this lor mee and prawn noodle stall, never seemed to cease. Apparantly, most people ordered the lor mee. I had no intention to queue for it, so I make no comments. Anyone who have tried, can share their views.
Left shows cai tao kuey (fried carrot cake) which technically should be called 'radish cake'. Many tend to confuse the carrot cake with the Western dessert cake. The most important thing to good cai tao kuey is the kuey itself. There must be taste in the kuey, which many stalls that I've tried, failed. The one I had has passed, but not the best that I've had.Right shows a soon kuey, which means 'bamboo shoots dumpling'. These days, the bamboo shoots filling has been replaced by radish. The blend of radish and dried shrimps gives the soon kuey its unique taste. Nothing to shout about, for it just passed, despite the first serving being 'sour' and we had them changed. Sweet black sauce is drizzled over the soon kuey to enhance the taste, while most stalls decide to leave it at the sides.
A Gu Cai Kuey (dumpling with chives filling), one of the variant of a soon kuey. Some dislike chives while I love it! The chives are not to bitter which suited my taste.

Popiah (rice paper roll) is tasty with the right crunch attributed to the radish filling! The skill of making popiah is never easy, as many tends to have their fillings drop out when picked up. However, the one I had is perfect!

Left is an otah that is freshly made and freshly roasted. This is the regular type that cost 30c. The texture of the fish meat filling is present in tiny chunks. It is also not overly spicy. Right shows a piece of ngoh hiang.
My aunt who joins us for breakfast every weekend, ordered these fried ngoh hiang (which literally translates to 'five spices'). She saw people having them and thought they were good. They are not bad at all. Though they are deep fried, there is no stench of reused oil. It is nothing unique, but I guess it is popular for being different.
Sauteed vegetables, duodenum, small intestines, beancurd and taupok (dried beancurd) are my favourite choices for kway chap. It was the only kway chap stall available at that time, I thought it was good, but upon trying it, I was disappointed that the braised broth is not strong and tasty enough.
Other stalls that are not a common sight in most food centres.
Left shows the stall from which I ordered the otah. The stall makes a variety of otah using different seafood, and they come in different prices, from 40c to S$3!Right shows a Western food stall which serves a variety to pasta.
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Singapore Food Kallang Old Airport Road