Geylang Lor 9 Beef Kway Teow

I first ate this yummy Beef Kway Teow when I was in Primary 5.

I had always resisted eating beef as most cooked ones tasted like the beef platter in Mc Donald's Cheese Burger - beefy smell, hard, cardboardish.

My father coaxed me to try it. Since young, my father knew children's taste. Sometimes, what tastes good to adults may not taste great to kids. But my father is one unique man. Whenever he took my sisters and me to annual ghost festival dinners where biddings were shouted above your heads while you tucked into a ten-course dinner, he would 'recommend' us the tasty dishes and left us alone when he was sure we wouldn't like the dish.

The moment I tried the beef kway teow, it was no turning back for me.

From time to time, I crave for the beef kway teow. Even during my pregnancy, there was once I craved for it badly and William took a cab down to Geylang, spent a good $40 to and fro just on travelling, so that he could buy a $5 packet of Beef Kway Teow.

Last night, my sister was driving and she took my father and I, with the two kiddos, Coco and Eden, to Geylang Lor 9. The same big neon signboard of '牛河大王' (King of Beef Kway Teow) hung vertically to the coffeeshop so that commuters or motorists cannot miss it. I noticed that it had this '九巷牛河' (Lor 9 Beef Kway Teow) signboard hung above its tzi char stall this time round. I can only gather that it is better known as the latter and they put up an additional signboard so that scavengers for good food will know that both mean the same stall.

The parking is a nightmare. There is no parking lot as per se. We went at least 2 rounds around the coffeeshop just to find an available double yellow lines to park on. But we were looking for a spot where we could keep our eyes on so that we could run to the car should the carpark attendant appear!

We got lucky the second time round. Someone drove away and we got a spot right beside the coffeeshop.

Most people would associate the word 'kway teow' with the fried flat noodles, cooked with cockles and yellow rounded noodles. But at this stall, the 'kway teow' is more like 'hor fun'. It's sauce-based, cooked with black beans and red chilli.

Although the standard of the food has dipped compared to the time when I was young, I still find the beef kway teow delicious nonetheless. The beef is still as chewy, tender and juicy as ever. The sauce is still thick and flavourful, with a tinge of red chilli.

My only gripe is: the portion has shrunk too!

I remember it being really huge and we as individual early teenagers had problems finishing it.

Now the portion is really tiny, although the price remains the same. But I'll continue to frequent this stall because of its good taste and tender, juicy beef.

The next time I go there, I must remember my camera ...