It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Yangzhou fried rice didn’t originate from Yangzhou and Singapore’s Hainanese chicken rice is also not found in Hainan. Having visited Ipoh many times when I was a child, I’m also quite familiar with Ipoh’s renown “sar hor fun”.

To be fair, Singapore’s version of Ipoh hor fun does taste a bit similar to the original (see top picture) but in terms of appearance and presentation, it is quite different (see bottom picture).

Here is the Ipoh hor fun I ordered at Blk 848 Yishun. The obvious difference is that the original sar hor fun is a lot more soupy than its Singaporean counterpart. The use of mushrooms is also somewhat restrained in the original. Sometimes even absent altogether. Another difference? The Ipoh sar hor fun is likely to be prepared by a Cantonese or Hakka. The Singaporean version you see above was prepared by a China woman!

To be honest, I almost felt like changing my mind when I heard her accent. But … the hor fun turned out to be quite edible. Do give them a try.

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