Ever sat at a hawker centre in the sweltering heat thinking, I wish there was air-con?
Hidden in the basement of GR.iD at Dhoby Ghaut is Heritage & Taste, where you can savour various local delights in the comfort of furnished seats, cool air-conditioning and old-school mandopop hits.
Although this place has only been open for slightly over a month, the owner has been making Hokkien mee for over 10 years now. He used to run He Ji Hokkien Fried Prawn Noodles down by Crawford Lane but decided that he wanted to open in a mall instead as hawker centres were simply too hot.
The restaurant only has a communal table and high table, and can only seat about 9 diners. However, customers can also enjoy their meal at the open seating area just outside, in the central area of the level.
What I tried at Heritage & Taste:
Of course, the main dish on my agenda was their Heritage Fried Hokkien Mee which caught my eye on social media. I got it in its Regular (S$6.80) size but it is also available in Large (S$8.80). You can even add on S$1 for a Set with Drink.
On first impression, the portion was pretty standard but their plates and utensils were what caught my eye. They looked just like the purple melamine ones you see in hawker centres!
The Hokkien mee came with the standard fare—a mix of thin bee hoon and yellow noodles, together with a good amount of fried egg.
I’m not sure if this is their usual, but the ratio of thin bee hoon to yellow noodles seemed to be higher than the usual Hokkien mee. The thin bee hoon in particular absorbed quite a bit of the stock, but not to the point of sogginess. In fact, it just made the noodles more slippery which made them oddly satisfying to eat.
Flavour-wise, there wasn’t much of the wok hei taste that many Hokkien mee lovers look out for. There was, however, a light umami taste that was easy on the palate.
The star of the show for me has to be the chilli– fragrant, savoury and with a hint of tartness that cut through the noodles. It had quite a bit of fire that tied the whole dish together very well.
The Hokkien mee also came with 2 prawns and a few pieces of sotong. Both were pretty fresh but taste-wise, didn’t stand out much. There was also a bunch of pork lard which I wish had been just a tad bit crispier to contrast the soft noodles.
The Four-Eyes Zai Fried Hokkien Mee: Hyped-up old-school wet HKM that’s only open for 4 hours
When I saw one of my favourite hawker dishes on the menu, I instantly knew I had to get it. Heritage & Taste’s Char Kway Teow combines the usual kway teow and yellow noodles, wok-fried in a sweet dark sauce that has a slight smokiness to it.
As with the Hokkien Mee, it comes in Regular (S$6.80) and Large (S$8.80) sizes, with an additional S$1 top-up for a drink.
The char kway teow came with thinly sliced lap cheong (Chinese sausage) that added a nice sweetness and tau geh (mung bean sprouts) with a nice crunch that complimented the noodles.
They were generous with the pork lard and hum (cockles) in this one, which I’m sure many will be excited about. However, I did think that the hum wasn’t the freshest, as there was a strong briny aftertaste that had me picking them out by the third bite.
That being said, the kway teow itself was addictive and I almost neglected my Hokkien mee to wolf down these sweet and savoury smooth noodles. It also had a slight spice from the chilli that was fried into the dish, making for a full-bodied, indulgent meal.
As a bread enthusiast, I had to try their Heritage Kaya Toast (S$3.80), which came with 2 pieces of bread and 2 soft-boiled eggs.
I’m unsure if this is the bread they usually serve, but I got what seemed to be slices of a baguette, which were extremely crisp yet somehow disintegrated the moment I put them in my mouth.
The thinly spread layer of kaya was on the sweeter side and didn’t have the pandan-y taste I’m used to. However, paired with the thick slabs of butter in the middle, it didn’t make too much of a difference. It was especially shiok when dipped into the runny and creamy soft-boiled eggs!
Final Thoughts
Noodles and bread are 2 of my favourite foods in the world, so I must say this meal at Heritage & Taste left me deeply satisfied despite certain gripes I had about it. The Hokkien Mee and Char Kway Teow are addictive and make for a simple and quick meal, especially if you are working or studying around the Dhoby Ghaut/Bencoolen area.
Although the pricing is slightly steeper than what you would usually find in a hawker centre, I think it’s reasonable for the location and environment you get to enjoy it in.
Expected damage: S$7 – S$10 per pax
Quan Ji Cooked Food: Wok hei-laden plates of char kway teow & Hokkien mee with crispy pork lard
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