Claypot hor fun + san lau hor fun ($12)!
Bugis zi char: claypot hor fun with onsen egg, beancurd and napa cabbage in dark gravy, plus san lau hor fun style sliced fish soup with ginger. $6 each.
Lunch with BB at Bugis. Claypot hor fun + san lau style fish bowl, $12 total ($6 each). πππΌ
What was on the table:
- Claypot hor fun: flat rice noodles under a dark savoury gravy, topped with an onsen-style egg dead centre, silky beancurd slices, braised napa cabbage, shredded chicken and crab stick, served bubbling in the clay vessel
- Sliced fish bowl (back): white fish slices in a light broth piled with shredded ginger and scallion, a spoon of pickled green chilli riding on the rim, half an egg in the soup
Claypot hor fun earns its claypot: the vessel goes onto the flame, so the gravy keeps bubbling at the table and the noodles at the bottom edge catch a slight toasted crust, the claypot version of wok hei. The onsen egg on top is the modern upgrade over the old cracked-raw-egg trick; stir it through and the gravy turns silky.
San lau hor fun (δΈζζ²³η²) is the fish hor fun technique, made famous in Singapore by the Outram Park style: βsan lauβ describes the triple tossing of the noodles with the fish so everything cooks through contact heat without the fish breaking up. Fresh sliced fish (usually snakehead or batang), aggressive ginger, scallion, and the all-important pickled green chilli on the side. The bowl here ran the same flavour logic in soup form: clean fish sweetness against sharp ginger.
Why order both: one dark, starchy and rich; one light, gingery and clean. Eaten alternately, each resets the palate for the other. The classic two-person zi char noodle play.
The pickled green chilli matters in both bowls: its vinegar-heat is the traditional cut against hor fun gravy and fish broth alike. Never skip it.
At $6 a bowl this is honest zi char-stall pricing; the famous san lau specialists in town charge $10-$15 for the namesake plate.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. πππΌ Solid Bugis noodle double. The claypotβs toasted bottom edge was the standout detail, the ginger-loaded fish bowl the cleaner half. Would re-order.
