Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon

March 15, 2010 | 40 Comments

Sweet & Sour Pork

I am determined to find the best sweet and sour pork in Singapore, and it may seem strange that I’m looking for it at Holland Village Fish Head Bee Hoon – the zi char place famous for their XO Fish Head Bee Hoon and San Lou Hor Fun.

Having grown up in Holland Drive, my family always ate at the coffee shop whenever my mother did not cook. There used to be a Western food stall which had very good chicken chop, but it had since relocated to somewhere else a couple of years ago. Other than that, everyone else came for the famous Holland Village Fish Head Bee Hoon.

I’m not quite sure when, but in my memories, I remember having a very good sweet & sour pork when I was young. But the problem was: I couldn’t recall where. I thought I’d go back to my old fling and perhaps I could find the answer. Once we found a table, I ordered the sweet and sour pork right away.

Please, please let this be good.

I wanted it to be good. My hands trembled as I picked up a piece of the reddish-brown coated pork. The rush of adrenaline saw me putting it into my mouth – crunch.

Oh. I took another bite. Oh.

It was not bad, but not to the extent of being awesome. Definitely not the Sweet and Sour Pork that I’m looking for. And so the search continues.

prawn paste chicken

Besides Fish Head Bee Hoon, they are renowned for the Prawn Paste Chicken. I’d go as far to say that this is the best Har Cheong Kai in Singapore. Amazingly crispy, yet impossibly moist inside – every bite of the succulent chicken was so good! Squeeze a drop of lime onto the chicken, Oh-oh-oh, one plate is never enough.

I repeat: the best Prawn paste chicken in Singapore. Far and away.

Singapore Food Blog

Ironically, we did not order the XO fish head bee hoon. According to some, it’s supposed to be really good and you know, there’s like XO inside the fish head bee hoon? Anyway, I tried it on previous occasions, and since I’m neither a fan of XO nor fish head bee hoon, I’d rather order one more plate of the har cheong kai.

Ngo Hiang

Ngo Hiang, or prawn roll is one of my favorite dishes. The one here had a strong peppery taste, but everything was forgiven when I dipped it into the sweet sauce. I know the question on your mind: is this the best Ngo Hiang in Singapore? Maybe not. But then again, I’m biased because of the strong pepper hint, so go try it and let me know.

* * *

When it comes to Fish head bee hoon, I’m probably not the right person to talk to. If you also do not like fish head bee hoon, come here for the best prawn paste chicken, and there’s always Big D Grill in the same coffee shop to keep you occupied.

My search for the best Sweet & Sour pork continues – tell me where and I will be there.

Hawker Food Review
Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon
Jumbo Coffee Hub at Blk 19A, Dover Crescent
Blk 46 Holland Drive
#01-359 Holland Village
Tel: +65 6778 3691

Category: # Restaurant Review, * South Singapore, Dining Guide Singapore, Food Photography, Singapore Food Blog
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Comments

40 Responses to “Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon”

  1. Angeline
    March 15th, 2010 @ 9:17 am

    I can see “crispiness” in that har cheong kai lo! Looks real good. I’ve been wanting to try out this stall since ages ago but I never make it there somehow. Just like spruce and you! :P

  2. Ju (The Little Teochew)
    March 15th, 2010 @ 10:03 am

    Coffee shop food is still da best! I’m gonna cook ngoh hiang today. :)

  3. ciki
    March 15th, 2010 @ 11:23 am

    ooo, my aunty also live in Holland park. nice place! so this is the XO noodles hairy talks about. I may be in sing or bkk next month depending on where my boss tells me..see you if it’s sing okies? go MAKAN!

  4. lotsofcravings
    March 15th, 2010 @ 11:40 am

    i was expecting fish head bee hoon until i read ur last bit of the post!

    so much for looking for some fish head..

  5. Life for Beginners
    March 15th, 2010 @ 4:14 pm

    Beautiful March header, mate… makes me wanna go outside… ‘Tis spring after all… :)

  6. SamuelGoh
    March 15th, 2010 @ 4:35 pm

    that new header image is amazing.

    u go holland v but nv order the XO fish head beehoon!!

    i can say ive tried both holland v and chinatown’s and I think chinatown’s is better, especially the dry XO hor fun.

  7. Joe
    March 15th, 2010 @ 5:03 pm

    Try the prawn paste chicken at Hong Kong Street Chun Kee along Tanjong Katong road. That my fav. one, wings seem a tad bigger than those in the picture too.

  8. Ivy Tiong
    March 15th, 2010 @ 5:39 pm

    if its Sweet & Sour Pork maybe can try Changi Village Tekong Seafood Restaurant. Last year I ate there once, can’t really remember other dishes but we order 2nd for the sweet & sour pork.

  9. Jasmine
    March 15th, 2010 @ 8:21 pm

    There’s a really good XO Fish Head Bee Hoon stall at Block 713 Clementi West Street 2 #01-115 !

    The stall’s called Bao Gong XO Fish Head Bee Hoon!

  10. aku
    March 15th, 2010 @ 9:26 pm

    best sweet and sour pork (in singapore) is at sek wai sin in geylang.

    I am not very sure abt the exact address, but if a foreigner can dine there I bet you can find it too ;)

  11. bernice
    March 15th, 2010 @ 9:32 pm

    try the sweet and sour pork from Dulukala Peranakan Restaurant in Beauty World!!!!

  12. JunieMunie
    March 16th, 2010 @ 12:47 am

    HV XO Bee Hoon…haven been there in years. Think i need to revisit it. =)

    HongKong Street Chun Kee at AMK Ave 5′s got pretty good Har Cheong Kai too. Tasty, super crispy and juicy. The Ngo Hiang is also awesome. It’s not jus wrapped in the beancurd skin, it’s also coated with batter and deep fried to a nice crisp. There’s an abundance of mince prawn & meat and water chestnuts ingredients in them.

    I soooo love Sweet & sour pork too… Hmmm. can’t think off my head of any particularly fantastic one. Will be sure to look out for one now.
    I do miss the one i use to cook myself whilst studying overseas though. It was the only sweet & sour pork my then anti-pork gf ate. Hurhur. Been a lonnng time since i’ve cooked that now. It’s a cleaning hazard frying the pork.

  13. Shirin
    March 16th, 2010 @ 5:57 am

    Brad, I’m missing SG so much now because of this! (By the way, your header is beautiful! (:) My bookmark bar that says “To Try in SG!” is completely full of your links already! (:

  14. Joyce
    March 16th, 2010 @ 2:57 pm

    Try this cze char stall at Toa Payoh North (opp SPH). It’s at the corner, blk 215 if I’m not wrong. Basically only one stall operating during dinner time, ie the cze char stall.

  15. BB
    March 16th, 2010 @ 3:29 pm

    the pic of the sweet and sour pork really brighten my groomy day… :D
    but i dun really want to go back there for the fish soup… they added MSG and i dun like the after effect… very full aready still need to filled myself with water :( really dun like that feeling

  16. Virtousity
    March 16th, 2010 @ 5:19 pm

    LIC, try the Har Jeong Gai at the coffeeshop opposite Boon Tong Kee along Balestier Road. The chicken is juicy inside and their own dip for the dish is fabulous. At least IMHO =D. Think its also called HK Zhen Bao Ji.

    One question, aint that Hay Zho in the picture instead of Ngo Hiang?

  17. Estelle
    March 16th, 2010 @ 8:26 pm

    Hi! After reading your post, I went down with my boyfriend last Sunday, craving for the XO Bee Hoon, but the coffee shop has since closed down. There is a banner stating that the shop has moved to dover though. ;)

  18. Red
    March 16th, 2010 @ 10:03 pm

    Hi LIC

    Their business have since shifted to Jumbo Coffee Hub at Blk 19A, Dover Crescent. (:

  19. cleartear
    March 16th, 2010 @ 10:44 pm

    i only tried the chinatown branch before.

    Sweet and sour pork.. yum!!!! ok if i find one tat super good, i email u.

  20. dC
    March 16th, 2010 @ 11:26 pm

    i thought they shifted? to somewhere in dover? i went there 2 wks ago n the coffeeshop was under reno

  21. ladyironchef
    March 17th, 2010 @ 8:02 am

    Angeline: You need to try it, they have the best har cheong kai ever!

    Ju: Eek! why you cook then never share with me? If only you are my neighbour : (

    Ciki: Yeah i think Nic blog about this place before, let us know if you are coming – big feast time!

    lotsofcravings: oops, sorry for the disappointment. haha i had their fish head bee hoon before so we din try it this time round

    LFB: well, what are you waiting for my friend? Go and play and have fun!

    Samuel: i saw it at Chinatown before, the exact same signboard right? but the thing is it makes me feel that, that branch is there to earn the tourist money. lol

    Joe: I heard Hong Kong Street has very good har cheong kai before, i used to frequent the one at Commonwealth last time, but the problem is there’s so many hong kong street zichar – we don’t know which is the real deal!

    ivy: OH REALLY? second helpings? can you see my eyes lighting up? haha I take it that it’s in Changi? very far! ok for the love of sweet and sour pork, thanks for the recommendation

    Jasmine: Clementi West? that’s west coast area yeah? interesting never heard of it before. thanks for the heads-up, it’s very near me shall try it soon

    aku: sek wai sin in geylang? ok looks like i need to check out more zi-char places, losing contact with them. haha thanks dude

  22. ladyironchef
    March 17th, 2010 @ 8:11 am

    Bernice: Pernakan restaurant has good sweet & sour pork? really? hahaha that’s something new! but you know what, i like beauty world, it’s only 10 minutes away. hee

    june: you see that’s precisely the problem! there’s so many Hong Kong street, so which one? which one? haha help me keep a lookout for sweet & sour pork yeah? report back here after you found it :p

    Shirin: Aww.. to-try-in-sg-bookmark sounds awesome! how many places already? HAHA

    Joyce: Okie dokie, they have good sweet and sour pork? or fish head bee hoon?

    BB: wow nice, i’m glad to know it helps to brighten up your day! oh yea, from what I can remember, it’s kind of salty. but then, i’m not fish head bee hoon person so lets leave it to the fans to judge

    Virtousity: Okay opposite boon tong kee, got it! wait a minute, hay zuo and Ngo Hiang are the same thing right? i think maybe they belong to different dialect group, but both taste the same to me! lol

    Estelle: Oh dear, i’m so sorry to hear that you all went down all the way and missed it. I was there eh, about a month ago? lol they were still opened back then. so did you go to dover and have it? just a couple of bus stops away

    Red: Hello there! thanks for the heads-up on the new address! i didn’t know they shifted (was there a month ago)

    Cleartear: I’m not very sure, but is the chinatown branch the same owner? i think i saw it before and it says Holland V XO Fish head bee hoon too right? okay let me know if u find any good sweet & sour pork : )

    dc: Oh yes i didn’t know because i was there like a month ago, thanks for letting me know. Did you try it at the new location?

  23. Joyce
    March 17th, 2010 @ 1:43 pm

    Ladyironchef, it’s actually pai kuat wong (pork rib king) which I like but the sweet and sour not bad too. Har cheong gai also good. Go early otherwise wait and wait and wait and wait and wait… They open their doors at 5pm (if I’m not mistaken).

  24. Esther Au Yong
    March 17th, 2010 @ 11:46 pm

    For sweet and sour pork, try the one at the basement coffeeshop at Golden Mile. The one that serves steamboat and chicken rice.

    I’ve not eaten it but I saw the other table’s dish, it looked really good. And two of my aunties-in-law said it’s really good too cos they had it before.

  25. tk
    March 18th, 2010 @ 1:11 am

    talking about holland V… nv go to 3 monkey!!!! it is really horrible. i am dead serious.

  26. Ben
    March 18th, 2010 @ 4:57 pm

    I’m a huge lover of sweet and sour pork, let us know when you find the best one!

  27. Life for Beginners
    March 18th, 2010 @ 10:04 pm

    Go play and have fun? I went outside. It rained. LOL

  28. ladyironchef
    March 18th, 2010 @ 11:18 pm

    Joyce: Ooh, now you are making me really hungry! haha

    esther: Basement coffee shop of Golden Mile, ok got it! thanks

    tk: had a bad experience there?

    Ben: Oh yeah sure, i will definitely blog about it once i find it : )

    lfb: hahahaha dance in the rain dude

  29. Esther Au Yong
    March 19th, 2010 @ 12:42 am

    Actually hor, I am beginning to like sweet sour fish. Done exactly like sweet sour pork, but it’s fish meat!

  30. alkanphel
    March 22nd, 2010 @ 9:38 pm

    My favourite place for XO fish meat bee hoon!! I totally agree with you on their har cheong kai. Love it much too :D

  31. Serene
    March 26th, 2010 @ 8:04 am

    Can email the contact number & website for reserved for holland village xo fish head bee hoon @ jumbo coffee hub, 19a, dover crescent

  32. Gordon
    April 6th, 2010 @ 12:48 am

    Hey, I noticed that you typed in the address

    Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon
    Jumbo Coffee Hub at Blk 19A, Dover Crescent

    is that the new address for the XO beehoon? Because I cant find it at block 46 anymore.

  33. ladyironchef - Singapore Food Blog
    April 6th, 2010 @ 8:28 am

    Hello Gordon, yes they have since shifted to 19A dover crescent, which is around 5 minutes drive away from their original location.

  34. Gordon
    April 7th, 2010 @ 10:35 pm

    I just visited them just now! thanks so much!

  35. ladyironchef - Singapore Food Blog
    April 9th, 2010 @ 6:45 pm

    Gordon: How was it? did you have a good dinner? : )

  36. Linda@eatshowandtell
    April 12th, 2010 @ 7:33 am

    hey brad, how far is this hawker centre from the east coast lagoon?

  37. ladyironchef - Singapore Food Blog
    April 13th, 2010 @ 10:00 am

    linda, this is like in the west and east coast lagoon is in the east? lol! by car probably 20 minutes? : )

  38. mochachocolatarita
    April 14th, 2010 @ 4:15 pm

    ow…i haven’t tried har cheong kai in singapore. but i love love love the idea…i’ll give it a try here when i’m in the mood for deep frying again :D

  39. ladyironchef - Singapore Food Blog
    April 16th, 2010 @ 10:52 am

    mochachocolatarita: this is the best! so must give it a try next time : )

  40. Serene
    April 19th, 2010 @ 8:19 am

    We hope that you can have menu for the customer easy to order

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