Ho Weng Kee wanton noodle stall - I have raved about his noodles on these pages before but, although Mr Ho has a good recipe, the hired hands at the stall could not accurately convert the recipe to the finished product. - K F Seetoh

Ipoh Chicken Rice($4.50). The rice was not oily but fluffy and grainy, but that chicken, although soft and flavourful, was a bit fibrous. The highlight was most certainly the Ipoh bean sprouts. These shorter, sweet and fatter wriggly little fellas came crunchy and perfectly blanched with soy sauce and sesame oil. The few slices of roast pork had crackling skin so soft yet crunchy, it can make you dream about it. - K F Seetoh

Kim Lian Kee fried Hokkien mee stall - like in the original stall, the chef tossed and tossed and then braised the Hokkien noodles with the thick soy sauce in the wok. The deliberate clanging and angling of the wok was part of the whole original act. The black noodle dish was palatable but lost out in one area – it did not spend enough time in the wok. The distinct flavour of the fire was absent.