An Ji

Was running some cny errands at chinatown with the folks and decided to pop by chinatown hawker centre for dinner. Chance upon this zhichar stall that was well known was popular for their steam fishhead. Their steam fishhead comes in two version, hk steam or bean paste steam. We didnt order the fishhead but 4 dishes instead. We ordered salted fish minced pork potty with tofu, sambal cuttlefish kangkong, sweet and sour pork and an omelette. Today bill came up to less than SGD$34, average dish is about $SGD8 each. Dishes were quite average to be honest. Egg and kangkong was quite bland. The stand out dish has to be the tofu. Overall can eat, might pop by next time to try their steam fishhead.

Had dinner there on Friday evening. Ordered fish meat beehoon, beef horfun and sweet & sour pork ribs 排骨王. Pork ribs were excellent! Tender, juicy and well balanced seasoning. We totally enjoyed that dish. Fish slices beehoon and horfun were underwhelming though. Flat. Not as exciting as the ribs.

Blue Zone #02-193/194 An Ji 安記 An Ji specialises in Zhi Char dishes at Chinatown Complex Hawker Centre. They are known for their range of Cantonese dishes and especially their steamed fish. Based off an online food review, their Fish Head Bee Hoon and Beef Hor Fun comes highly recommended. Decided to try these 2 dishes to see if they are any good. When the dish was ordered, the price was a little shocking as it was higher than most Zhi Char places. While consuming the dish, it was felt that the sauces used were a little heavy handed and the dishes had a tendency to be a little too salty. Sigh. Another place where the online food bloggers are not truthful with their reviews. General Verdict: Cantonese Zhi Char stall that is popular with patrons but is a little too heavy handed with their use of sauces and dishes has a tendency to be a tad salty Opening Hours: Daily 10:30am-2:30pm and 4:30pm-10:30pm (Closes on Wednesdays) (Closes early if sold out. Last order usually around 8:30pm-8:45pm) Queue Situation: Next to none but expect to wait 10mins to 20mins for your order to be served Prices: SG$8-SG$20 per person, depending on what is ordered Payment Mode: Cash, Local Internet Banking by QR code or AMEX (Singapore) Pay Items Ordered: 1) Item: Beef Hor Fun - Stir Fried Hor Fun with Beef Slices Description: Sauce, though thin, was a little heavy handed in flavour and a tad salty Verdict: Acceptable, Order only if you want to try Price: SG$8 2) Item: Fish Head Bee Hoon - Stir fried fish head chunks cooked in a broth with thick bee hoon and a touch of rice wine Description: Broth was tasty but again a tad salty Verdict: Acceptable, Order only if you want to try Price: SG$10

Missus craved steamed fish head. So headed down to steamed fish head capital of Singapore, Chinatown Smith Street Hawker Centre to Tabao. Usual stall Seng Kee closed on a wet Tuesday evening, decided to go with An Ji. On ordering, was warned it will be a 40 minutes wait. Went for the Taucheo King Steamed Snake head or Song Fish head. True to that. Exactly 40 minutes before I get my food. While waiting seated in front of the stalls, I can see all kind of middle aged customers walking in to order meals, especially the steamed fish head. Should be good then. 15 minutes later, we tucked in. The sauce and the steamed fish head was packed separately, that's quite good, the fish head was not over cooked by the hot sauce. The sauce is rich and savoury, yet not overpowering. The fish is fresh and does not come with the muddy taste of usual fresh water song fish. Nicely executed. The only gripe is the lard bits were tasting and smelling of over used oil. Overall we slurp up the whole fish head, sauce and all, except the fried lard bits.

Was craving for crispy noodles so I did a quick Google search and found this. Ordered one of their signatures which is the beef crispy noodles. The aunty taking orders was rude & unapproachable but I thought it doesn’t matter so long as the food is good. It turned out that my beef slices were all cold on the inside especially the thicker ones. It seemed like they were refrigerated and not heated up enough. Totally lost my appetite when I sunk my teeth into those beef. The gravy for the crispy noodles was wayyyy too salty for my liking. Verdict: will not visit again.