Sun Lok Noodle House (321 Clementi)

I love this place! Like Miss XS's friend said, Sun Lok's food is Crystal Jade at half price. 

This place serves up some darn good wok hei. I've had only three dishes, but I'm a full-fledged convert. 

There's loads of zichar places boasting good online reviews of their wok hei poweress, but usually, wok hei eludes me on my visit. But it shouldn't be a fluffy concept, and the (angmoh) team at Serious Eats had tackled the concept of wok hei and broke it down into an exact science. The takeaway lesson: you need a big fire. A fire-from-the-depths-of-hell, roaring flames. So hot, Kenji from Serious Eats warned that attempting to reach such wok hei temperature at home isn't the safest cooking method (He almost set his wok's wooden handle aflame from the heat.) One restaurant in Melbourne churns out Chinese cooking with dependable wok hei presence, and they have a constant stream of water running from a tap over the metal stoves as cooks frantically stir-fries the orders, singed eyebrows be damned. Por Kee Eating House is my favourite zichar haunt, solely for their Beef Hor Fun with Black Bean Sauce that singes with wok hei. (Ha get it?) But Por Kee aside, every other zichar place has been a bust. Darn those fire safety regulations! 

Anyho, I digress. Now, Sun Lok Noodle House has joined my short list of Places With Wok Hei column. Don't leave this place without trying the Fried Hor Fun with Egg (滑蛋河粉 - see above), with wok hei imbibing every bite. At the price point, they were generous with the seafood portions, and we enjoyed large scallops and prawns that were indulgently mixed in.  

Congee with Century Egg and Lean Meat is really impressive: it's smooth, thick, and like the generosity with the hor fun, the century eggs are in cut into huge chunks and liberally strewn into the porridge. For $6, the quality of the porridge and quantity of the ingredients is admirable. I also enjoyed the You Tiao, which were crunchy all the way through 

Har Gao is another hit, with huge chunks of juicy, succulent prawns seasoned lightly with salt. 

The one thing we don't dig are the desserts - we had the Black Sesame Seed Cream and the Red Bean Cream ($2.50 each). The portion size is unimpressive straight off the bat, with a runny, watery consistency and lacked the richness found in traditional Chinese desserts. Come here for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but go for desserts elsewhere perhaps. 

Update!
Barely a week from my first visit, I returned with my family. A return visit in a larger group lets me sample more of their wares, and sort out how I feel about prior dishes that I may have *ahem* self-hyped in the intervening days between visits. The porridge and hor fun was both just as good as I remembered, and my memory was also sufficiently intact to remember to avoid the desserts.  

We like the Cheong Fun; the thick-cut rice noodles imparts an almost-chewy texture, yet soft enough so as to not overwhelm the inner filling in the mouth.  

The Fried Carrot Cake doesn't feature heavily in my memories when I think of this place, but it was decent enough: soft in the middle, crisp in the outer edges. 

I'll avoid the Siew Mai on my next visit though. The meat was oversalted, and overwhelmed all other nuances of the dish. Maybe it's bad luck, and someone didn't stir the salt in as well as they should have during prep time.  

We still didn't manage to try their renowned Beef Brisket Noodles, so perhaps third time's the charm?

Sun Lok Noodle House (321 Clementi)
321 Clementi Ave 3, #02-10, Singapore 129905
11 - 10pm daily