Rickshaw noodles? 🍜 Errr… What is that?
Years ago, when I began working near the outskirts of the business district 🏢, a good friend of mine told 💬 me I had to go to this place for breakfast. She said that if I’m not ready to deal with what’s ahead of me for the day, I should start it right with a breakfast at this stall that sells rickshaw noodles at Maxwell Food Centre.
So what are rickshaw noodles? Also known as 拉车面, it was apparently a type of dish that was popular among the rickshaw pullers. Although the profession no longer exists, this dish has stood the test of time.
I still remember my first visit. Arriving at the stall, I saw a bustle of people working in perfect synchronisation within the small booth. They seem to have a system in place that looks to be an ideal model of efficiency. As the orders were placed and delivered without interruption, you sense waves of confidence flowing out like a river into the vast ocean. Instructions were sometimes barked by the auntie (stern, but not rude), who I assumed to be the owner, and the rest just react accordingly without batting an eyelid. Impressive! 👏🏻
Not knowing how and what to order, I fumbled and stumbled my way through like a child on his first day of school. 😆 Being a non-adventurous type, I thought I’ll just have their economic bee hoon, noodles and kway teow first. When I named the three items in my order, I got a “stern” lesson from the auntie.
“下次说你要三合一就好了”, which means, “Next time, just say you want 3 in 1”, she chided me sternly with a cheeky grin. 😏 Yes. Lesson learned. I still chuckle whenever I think of that.
So what do I think of the meal?
Well, I would put them as one of the top choices for my list of “meals to start your day right”. 👍🏻
I can’t put my finger to it, but the 3 in 1 combination tastes really delicious! 🤤 Have them together with the freshly fried food items, they complement each other very well. I liked the 3 in 1 combo so much that I found myself ordering it by instinct during each visit even though I told myself I had to try their rickshaw noodles. Eventually, after numerous visits, I caught myself and ordered the rickshaw noodles.
After I cleaned my first bowl of rickshaw noodles, I must say that they really made this stall complete for me. 👌🏻 I now have a good selection of things that I can vary in combinations across different visits. The noodles swimming in the savoury soup base are cooked until they’re very soft, some might say soggy, but in the right way. The flavours are fantastic with every spoonful, perfectly paired with the fried food items of your choice. And the portions are just right, enough to give you an absolutely satisfying start to the day but not too much that you’ll sink into a food coma.
Of course, I don’t have these for breakfast every day, too much of a good thing can be wrong. But their food is definitely one of the things I missed after I moved to another job elsewhere. I still visit their stall once in a while, especially if I know it’s going to be a tough day ahead. Yes, it’s weird, but everyone’s got their own routine or preferences, and I’m glad that this is mine. 😎
