Such long queues.... the food must be good right?
It was only 6.30pm on a Sunday evening but yet, the stores were sprouting snaking long queues. Where could I be? Was I at the popular tourist hunt called Newton hawker centre? Or was I at the famous Chomp Chomp food centre? I was in fact at neither. Instead, I was spending my Sunday evening at a quiet neighbourhood.
This neighbourhood was brought to life by this one hawker centre. It was beaming with food activity. Despite only having two parallel rows of stores, the huge variety of food allowed the centre to compete with her bigger siblings, Chomp Chomp and Newton.
It had your usual bbq seafood store and famous local delights such as Char Kway Teow and Fish soup beehoon. Not to be outdone, it had speciality stores serving claypot rice and even a store boasting Thai traditional food. Perhaps, the wide variety served as one of the many reasons why this place was so crowded.
However, foodies will tell you that variety alone will not buy the crowds. When you see a queue in front of a food store in Singapore, the food has either got to be really good or people are just (sadly) following the herd mentality of queuing. Having eaten numerous times here before, I can testify that the queues here formed, are due to the tasty food the store owners serve. So the next time you need to satisfy your hawker craving, blk 75 Toa Payoh Lorong 5 is the 'go to' place to get your wide variety of good hawker food!
What's the name of this fruit?
While many flock here to fulfill their restless tastebuds, I was actually here to get my antioxidant fix from a special fruit (green fruit above). This special fruit was once highly popular in Singapore but is sadly now, an extremely rare breed. It's my secret to curing that niggling flu bug of mine. Any guesses what this fruit is called?
It's actually called 'balonglong' by most hawkers and also known as ambarella. A quick google search shows you how powerful this cheap yet effective fruit is
+ used to treat mouth sores
+ used to ease discomfort in diarrhoea
+ seeds are proven to lower high blood pressure
+ antibiotic content able to treat respiratory symptoms
+ used to treat headaches, constipation and diabetes
Why is this fruit so powerful?
That's because it is loaded with niacin, Vitamin A, ascorbic acid and carotene which boosts the immune system and fights against cancer.
On drinking the juice, there is this powerful wakeup call to your brain and it refreshes you instantly, allowing you to feel more energize. I wish there were more drink stalls in Singapore that sells this healthy refreshing drink. But for now, I shall be contented with the stall in Toa Payoh that serve this drink.
