Lost & Found! Whitley Road Fishball Noodles

After an 11-month hiatus following the closure and demolition of Lavender Food Square, Whitley Road Fishball Noodles has resurfaced at a food court close to its old location.   When the news broke about the impending closure of Lavender Food Square, I visited Whitley Road Fishball Noodles weekly - just so I could ask the stallkeeper where they would be moving to and when they would start operations. I'd pretty much given up on ever finding Whitley Road Fishball Noodles again till I received a text message informing me that they're reopening on 1 August 2015. I could barely contain my excitement and hurried down on the first day only to find the stall closed. Apparently, there was some delay with regulatory approvals.  Well, they're open now but due to lack of manpower, they will be operating for much shorter hours than they used to. The current operating hours are from 8 am to 7 pm daily. The stall was manned by only one person when I visited. I asked Mdm Song where her dad was (he used to cook the noodles) and was told that he's still recovering from surgery. Hope he feels better soon.  

I was a little apprehensive about how the noodles would taste as it has been a year and the stall is manned by one person instead of three to four people in the past. I was relieved that the fishball noodles (S$3.50) were springy and retained the old school flavour that I loved so much - spicy chili, nutty browned garlic, tasty rendered pork lard and a savoury seasoning that was enlivened with some tangy black vinegar. Unfortunately, the deep-fried pork lard cubes and fried fishcake (S$1.50) were a little overdone today and so the smoky flavour of browned crust was obscured by a slight bitterness. I hope the pork lard cubes and fishcake are less overdone when I next visit.

Even though the fried fishcake was a little disappointing today, the tasty fishballs and meatballs (S$4) were bouncy with a generous amount of fish paste used in their preparation. I hope they find some helpers soon so they can extend their operating hours as Whitley Road Fishball Noodles used to be one of my favourite late night dining options.  The Fishball Noodles and Fishballs here are a Must-Try!  

Located within Lavender Food Hub @ Zhuge Liang (not sure why the food court is named after the famous strategist), Whitley Road Fishball Noodles occupies the stall next to the famous Kok Kee Wanton Noodles stall that I've never been particularly fond of.

Whitley Road Fishball Noodles 27 Foch Road, #01-02 Hoa Nam Building, Singapore 209624 Operating Hours: Daily from 8 am to 7 pm