Review of Cai Ji Fish Soup 财记

Block 209, Hougang Street 21, Kovan Market and Food Centre, #01-29

Nearest Mass Transit Rapid Station: Kovan MRT

Buses to Kovan Market and Food Centre: 80, 81, 82, 101, 107, 107M, 112, 113, 115, 119, 136, 153

Opening Hours: 09:00 to 20:00 (Daily)

Queue: 1 to 3 people (Waiting Time: Less than 5 minutes)

Service: Fast but unfriendly

Environment: Clean but crowded hawker centre

Reputation: Traditional Singapore Fish Soup and Seafood

Thoughts after eating: Shiok fish meat but average tasting rice

Value for money: 80/100

Will I come back again in 6 months' time? Yes

My opinion:

Cai means "wealth" in Chinese. This Kovan food stall sells traditional Singapore fish soup and seafood. For this food review, I have tried their sliced fish soup with rice for lunch. There were 8 fish slices, 1 bowl of soup and 1 bowl of rice in my food portion.

The fish slices were fresh, huge and thick. In fact, this was the first time my stomach was totally satisfied at a fish soup stall! As I ate more of the fish slices, they did not break apart too easily and had no signs of being overcooked (major plus points).

Besides fish meat, the soup had doufu and enormous amount of lettuce in it. Although the veggies were addictive, crunchy and juicy, the lettuce taste was so overwhelming that there was zero fish or seafood taste. Rice was sticky and did not mix well with the other food ingredients.

In conclusion, the fish meat and lettuce slices of this stop were shiok while the rice totally pulled down the stall's overall rating. Therefore, I will advise seafood fans to buy their fish soup and leave their rice meals alone ($0.50 cheaper).

Ways for the owners to improve their food ratings:

First, add some seaweed and reduce the amount of lettuce in the soup. Second, check the rice ingredients and reduce the amount of water in the rice's cooking process.