Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodle at Kim Keat Palm Market and Food Centre
Having been around for more than 70 years, Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodle has been a favourite of both locals and tourists alike. The stall often sells out before their stipulated closing times, so it’s a wonder that they only started getting features on the Michelin Bib Gourmand just last year.
As a big fan of Hwa Heng Beef Noodle near our office in Boon Keng, I was curious to taste Hai Nan Xing Zhou’s take on this iconic dish.
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Food at Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodle
Apart from the usual dry and soup options here, there are also various beef cuts you can choose from, including beef balls, sliced beef, stomach, and tendon. What’s more, you can pick different combinations of cuts to order with your noodles.
We started with the soup version, which we got with Sliced Beef and Beef Ball ($5). One thing my colleagues and I noticed immediately was that the soup was unusually viscous—it had a consistency that was closer to gravy than broth.
Flavour wise, the soup was rather savoury but left a distinctly sweet aftertaste. It’s said to be a result of a special concoction of herbs and spices used by the stall owner, which might explain its unique consistency as well. Although it was certainly different from other beef noodle soups I’ve tasted, my palate leans more towards more savoury flavours, so I wasn’t a big fan of this one.
Thankfully, the thick bee hoon was delightfully springy, and the beef balls and slices were cooked to just the right tenderness. Overall, having a spoonful of all these ingredients helped to make the sweetness of the soup less pronounced.
I preferred the dry version, as it had a slightly acidic note that counteracted the sugary flavour. For this version, we got Sliced Beef, Beef Ball and Stomach ($6).
The sauce in the dry version took on an almost gelatinous texture. It took some effort to mix the sauce with the ingredients, as the jelly-like consistency made everything clump together.
The star of this dish was definitely the beef stomach, specifically the tripe. Each slice was delightfully chewy, with an overtly fatty mouthfeel that provided nice textural contrast to the rest of the ingredients.
Ambience at Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodle
When we were there on a Friday at about 2pm, it was raining pretty heavily, which made the hawker centre a little dark.
Since it was already late in the afternoon, there was no queue at the stall and we managed to get our food fairly quickly. If the Google reviews are anything to go by, though, there might be longer waiting times during peak lunch hours.
Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodle isn’t the most accessible stall—it’s located in Kim Keat Palm Market and Food Centre, which is nestled in the heartlands of Toa Payoh. While the nearest train stations are Braddell and Toa Payoh MRT Stations, it is still a 21-minute walk from each, with limited bus options to the hawker centre.
The verdict
Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodle would not be my go-to beef noodle stall as its soup and sauce are a little on the sweet side. That being said, many do seem to enjoy their rendition of beef noodles, so I’d recommend it to those with sweet-leaning palettes, or to anyone in the area wanting to try beef noodles that are slightly different from others on the market.
While you’re there, check out our Kim Keat Palm Market and Food Centre guide for more good eats! Otherwise, have a look at our list of best beef noodles in Singapore for more beef noodle recommendations.
Address: 22 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh, #01-06, Kim Keat Palm Market and Food Centre, Singapore 310022
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 8:30 am–3:30 pm
Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodle is not a halal-certified eatery.
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Photos taken by Melvin Mak and Kaedynce Chew
This was an independent review by Eatbook.
The post Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodle Review: Michelin Bib Gourmand Beef Noodles In Toa Payoh appeared first on EatBook.sg – Local Singapore Food Guide And Review Site.
