Now that I am on my own, I have been trying to practise four-day week, turning Thursday as the new Friday. It is not easy as there are always so many things to be done. But guess what, Xing Yun Kway Chap opens only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday – THREE DAYS PER WEEK! #ultimatewin

We visited last Sunday after hearing about it. Since they are only open for 3 days a week, expect long queues forming at the stall as foodies satisfy their kway chap craving. I knew standing 45 minutes in queue is all worthwhile when I was served with a glorious plate of perfectly braised kway chap.

The braised pork belly, pig’s intestines and tau pok are well flavoured with the savoury braising sauce. Balanced in flavour, the braising sauce has got a good consistency and is not too thick nor watery. The ingredients are stewed long enough for the spices to penetrate into them.

Don’t worry about the interestines as they are tender and absorbed the sauce without any odour. Since we are in the queue for so long, we ordered a portion of pig’s tongue which makes the aunty brimming with joy. They also have huge pig trotters. Dip the morsels into a tangy spicy chilli sauce for oomph.

The translucent kway is slippery smooth and do not break easily in the broth. Pork rib’s broth is first added into the bowl of noodles before flavouring it with just a little of their rich gravy for braised meats. It has got a very mild sweetness and very aromatic.

Go early because they are usually sold out about 1pm.

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Yesterday, we travelled all the way to Holland Drive Market & Food Centre to have claypot rice. Sadly, it was past the lunch time and they were already closed. When we were about to leave, we passed by this new stall called Rojak Line and decided to give it a try.

Newly opened for a month, 31-year-old Debbie has been a crazy rojak fan for years but she didn’t like hae ko (shrimp paste). So she created her own vegetarian rojak sauce using quality ingredients.

Hae ko (shrimp paste) is an important sauce for making rojak. When replaced with a vegetarian version, I was skeptical at first but it turns out to be outstanding. The sauce is rich and sticky, but tasted surprisingly light and zesty. With a hint of tamarind and ginger flower, the well-rounded flavours binds the ingredients perfectly.

Rojak Line Rojak ($4 / $5 / $6) has got prominent ingredients such as pineapple, turnip, you tiao and cucumber which gave a refreshing dimension. They are all lathered in the evenly. My only grip is the you tiao (dough fritters) were not crispy enough hence it lacked the crunch.

Using the same rojak sauce, they created Toast You Tian Popiah ($2) which basically wraps the you tiao in popiah skin and sprinkled with crushed peanuts. Again, sauce is outstanding but I think you tiao is a little too doughy and not crispy enough. Otherwise, this would have been perfect.

Another popular item in the menu is Vegetarian Popiah ($1.80) made with braised turnip, carrot, shitake, homemade sweet sauce, peanut, chilli and garlic. For vegans, they can request for no garlic. Service wise, honestly it was a little slow but I guess Debbie is still new, so she needs some time to speed up.

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CRAVE recently opened its fourth outlet in ION Orchard, bringing the popular Selera Rasa nasi lemak from Adam Road Hawker Centre and Rafee’s Corner teh tarik formerly from Amoy Street Hawker Centre all under one roof.

Operated by Pezzo Group which has Pezzo Pizza kiosks all over Singapore, this also marks CRAVE’s first venture into the city area, after setting up shop in the heartland malls of Hougang, Bedok and Punggol.

The award-winning Selera Rasa nasi lemak counts the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, as one of their fans, who requests it for breakfast every time he visits Singapore.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo also had the chance to savour this dish when he was in Singapore for his youngest son’s graduation ceremony in November 2014, when he had breakfast with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana.

So how did the partnership between Selera Rasa, Rafee’s Corner and Pezzo come about? According to this Straits Times article, the co-founder of Pezzo Pizza, who is also a regular Selera Rasa customer, broached the idea of a joint venture to owner Abdul Malik bin Hassan. In this arrangement, Pezzo takes care of the outlets while Selera Rasa ensures the quality of food.

On the other hand, Mr Abdul Malik, who was around at the tasting session, told me that he is a good friend with Rafee’s Corner’s owner Mohamed Rabeek. They got to know each other when they previously participated in Singapore Day, where they brought their beloved classics to Singaporeans based overseas together with other top hawkers and restauranteurs.

CRAVE’s mouthwatering nasi lemak is prepared using a family recipe that has been passed down over generations, with a winning combination of basmati rice, fried chicken wing, signature sambal chilli and fresh otah-otah. Almost everything is prepared in-store. The nasi lemak come in various combinations with sides of ikan bilis, sliced cucumber and sambal chilli, and are priced very affordably between $4.90 and $6.90. Try everything at one go with the Royal Rumble ($6.90), which comes with chicken wing, egg, fried ikan kuning, begedil (Malay-style spiced potato patties), and top up $1 for the otah.

The piping hot basmati rice is light and fluffy with a whiff of coconut milk fragrance. Usually found in biryani, the long basmati grains are a welcome change from the typical short grain rice found in other nasi lemak, as they absorb water well but do not become overly wet and clumpy. The chicken wings make use of a secret recipe that involves overnight marination, and are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. 

Meanwhile, the sambal chilli is made with a combination of Indian and Japanese chillies and is cooked for five hours, resulting in a sweet-spicy-savoury concoction that goes well with the other ingredients. The otah-otah are made every morning with ground quality mackerel fish and wrapped with banana leaves – so moist and good that other diners have ordered a few of them separately at $1.80 each!

But for me, the winning side dish was the begedil ($1.20). Good begedil are hard to come by and I asked for even more to munch on, though Mr Abdul Malik was meek about the preparation details. He only shared that the potato patties were mixed with a bit of pepper and other spices, and covered with a layer of egg before frying.

Rafee’s Corner’s Mr Mohamed Rabeek was around too and I got to see him in action, preparing the fragrant and smooth teh tarik in perfect motion. Making use of a blend of tea dust, his teh tarik has a nice flavour that makes a good pairing with the nasi lemak. 

Besides teh tarik, other drinks like kopi tarik, teh c and kopi o are available at $1.80 (hot) and $2.20 (iced). Two other non-coffee/non-tea options in the form of bandung and calamansi are available too at $2.50 (iced).

Other outlets are at Hougang Mall #B1-11, Bedok Mall #B2-22, Waterway Point #B1-K7 and Parkway Parade B1 (Food Republic Stall 18).

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Having western food in a coffee shop evokes some nostalgia for me. That’s because I often order chicken chop or spring chicken with my family when I was a kid. Now, the quality of western food in coffeeshop has been taken to the next level as they serve better meats at affordable prices. In Dover Crescent, there is a new western food stall “Grill Werkz” that seems to attract good crowd. Best thing is, you can get a pretty decent steak for less than $20!

On the menu are the usual salads, pastas, soups, burgers, steak and various meats from the grill. Served with Cream of Mushroom ($3.50) for the start, I thought it was a little too starchy and weak for our liking. Norway Grill Salmon ($12.80) served in a slab had contrasting textures. While I complained about the dryness from one part of the salmon, my dining partners who ate from the other side of the slab were praising about how soft the meat was.

If you are here with your friends, Combo Mixed Grill ($15.80) is good to share as there are many different meats for you to savour – pork chop, steak, ham, sausages, egg and potato wedges.

Seafood Spaghetti with Arrabbiata Sauce ($6.90) will be another star if the pasta was not overcooked. The seafood such as mussels, prawns and fish were fresh and huge; plus the price is very very reasonable. Unfortunately, while striving for al dente, the chef has accidentally overcooked it leaving it with a gummy and mushy texture. But I am sure the chef will be able to fix that easily. Still, I wouldn’t come here for pasta because the steak has already won my heart.

The Air Flown New Zealand Ribeye Steak ($19.80) is a treat for me because they boast the good flavour. Cooked to perfection, the meat is tender and flavourful with a lovely char. It was a bit chewy but these are already a bit more tender than ordinary beef. It comes with a black pepper sauce which compliments the juicy meat totally. And on the side, you get a plate of greens. For the price, I am already impressed. I think you can skip Aston and give this a try.

If you are living in Dover Crescent, Grill Werkz is definitely a great option to get your western food fix. Yes there are hits and misses, but we seem to be able to find a clear winner here. And maybe I will be back to try their burgers next time!

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Text & Photos by Jinhua & Maureen

As one of the oldest satellite towns in Singapore, Toa Payoh has a wide range of dining options spread across the estate, ranging from iconic food stalls and hidden gems in hawker centres and coffeeshops, to restaurants and cafes carving out niches for themselves.

I grew up in this estate and saw the transformation of the food scene here. Gen X-ers may remember a Toa Payoh Garden Restaurant at the town park  (which used to be a popular wedding photo spot in the 1970’s and 1980’s), while 90’s kids like me could find cheap bubble tea shops (first gen) opening up almost everywhere. At one point, McDonald’s even had five outlets in this relatively small town – almost one for each neighbourhood!

So besides the dragon playground, do check out these 31 cafes, hawker stalls and restaurants the next time you swing by Toa Payoh. Why did I pick 31, you may ask? Hint: take a look at the postal code. Also, find out how you can learn more about Toa Payoh at the end of this post!

West cluster (Lorongs 1 and 2)

Trendy cafes and bakeries have set up shop in Toa Payoh in recent years, giving the quaint parts of the estate a new lease of life. To me, Creamier is one of the “pioneers” here when they opened in 2011, attracting people from all over Singapore to enjoy their handcrafted ice cream and waffles. This outlet is almost always crowded! Personally, I would always go for their classic Plain Ole Chocolate Ice Cream for its smooth, rich and creamy textures.

Located right next to Creamier, Niche Savoureuse began as a boulangerie in June 2014, serving up intricately handcrafted cakes, scones and savoury dishes. They pride themselves in ensuring quality by a process of refining their original recipes and taking no shortcuts. Do try the Truffle Cabonara ($14.90) while you are here – while the portion may be a little small, the flavour and fragrance makes up for it. 

Niche also makes a good rendition of the Niche Mont Blanc ($7.50) chestnut Swiss roll. Pureed chestnuts, Ferrero Rocher wafer and chocolate are used in the making of this dessert, and the end-product is mildly sweet and comforting to the palette.

Uggli Muffins caught my attention a few years ago when I was having lunch at the hawker centre – firstly, it was churning out angmoh muffins when the signboard above clearly shows a Chinese zi char stall, and secondly, true to its name, their muffins looked a little unusual, different from those with perfectly rounded crowns. Then I found out that the owner used to help his parents to run this zi char stall, which he inherited, and later began to make muffins in the day. Muffins eventually became the main product, but he respected their wishes and kept the zi char signboard.

The muffins come in various flavours such as banana and walnut ($1.40) and sweet potato ($1.10), and you can buy 10 and get 2 for free. They may look unphotogenic and appear to be a little burnt, but the slightly moist texture and distinct fragrance are what keeps the crowds coming back for more.

Two friendly sisters, Grace and Shirley, run this stall, and they took over the business from their parents from more than 20 years ago. They are perhaps among the few who insist on making their own carrot cake to ensure its consistency, then pan-fried to crispy yet soft perfection. It is no wonder that they have been invited to participate in various food events overseas, such as the recent World Street Food Conference.

Started since 1993, second generation hawker Richard gave up his mechanical engineering job to continue this family business. The winning formula has to be its delicate skin as it puffs up nicely to a wonderful fluffy and soft finish. A lot of work goes into hand making such beautiful and smooth paus. Richard and his dad are very particular with the balanced proportion of flour, water and sugar. Their big bao (pork filling) makes a good snack. The meat inside is juicy and the dark sauce coats the interior of the bao perfectly so you do not get the feeling of dryness at all. Read more about it here.

Located at the other HDB block flanking the hawker centre and market, The Daily Press serves an extensive range of gourmet handcrafted sandwiches, pastas and specialty coffee. Apple, Bacon and Cheese Sandwich is among their customers’ top choices, while I enjoyed another crowd favourite, the mushroom sandwich. Within the bread contained caramelised onion, mushroom and cheese, and the entire package is a good balance of flavours. Alternatively, grab a pasta set which comes with a soup of the day and a drink. Try the seafood Port Pasta, which is available right now for a limited period only.

At the end of the same HDB block is a self-service frozen yogurt brand from Melbourne, Frozen by a Thousand Blessings. This outlet is their very first venture in Singapore. Six froyo flavours – soy and strawberry, mango and soy, lemon and ginger, natural, passionfruit and pomegranate – are available here at $3.80 per 100 grams, and you will be spoilt for choice with the wide range of toppings here!

Hua Fong Kee Roasted Duck has two outlets in Toa Payoh itself and both stalls sell a wide range of roasted meat dishes. If you are spoilt for choice, just go straight for their duck rice. The duck is roasted to perfection with pleasuring fattiness to it, and the rice served with a flavourful bowl of soup on the side. Their chilli is good too!

North cluster (Lorong 3 and Toa Payoh North)

Just a few minutes’ walk from Braddell MRT station, Shrove Tuesday serves up really light, crispy and fluffy waffles with homemade gelato ice cream in various flavours. They also have a small selection of hot dishes. Dig into their creations in their cosy cafe setting! 

Nepali chef-owner Tom Shrestha came to Singapore nearly 20 years ago and opened this restaurant in 2006. Named after his son, Tims Restaurant and Cafe serves Western dishes and a small selection of Nepali dishes such as momos (which look like xiao long bao, but are drier and have more texture) and Nepali chicken salad. Nepalese herbs are used but the spiciness levels have been adjusted to suit the local palette. 

93 Wu Xiang Xia Bing is located in the hawker centre (which has a beautiful wall mural, by the way). It is one of my childhood favourites and I enjoy having the wide range of ngoh hiang here every now and then. Besides dipping these pieces of fried delicacies into the slightly spicy chilli sauce, you can also enjoy the pink, slightly-sweet dip that is not as often seen nowadays.

Mr Lee Eng Keat has been in and out of prison countless times for the past 20 years. He turned over a new leaf and opened his Toa Payoh stall last year. His Claypot Hokkien Mee ($10/$15/$20/$25/$30) was cooked twice – first stir fried, then cooked over fire. The noodles absorbed the superior broth, resulting in a gooey pot of goodness. Each claypot comes with a few pieces of sio bak, prawns and squid.

Visible from the main road, Lee Fun Nam Kee is famous for its soya sauce chicken rice ever since it opened in 1968. The tender and fresh chicken is prepared with a secret formula that has been perfected over the years, which also includes a blend of herbal ingredients. Go for the whole chicken and enjoy it with the fragrant rice!

Bernie Utchenik, who previously founded the Botak Jones chain of western food in coffeeshops (he later sold his shares), has made a comeback last year with Big Bern’s American Grill. Located in an industrial estate food court (just next to SPH), Big Bern’s serves up signatures such as Fish & Chips ($7.90) that makes use of higher grade fish and served with a milder tartar sauce, satisfying juicy sirloin steaks and cajun chicken.

And I must say, after several years of disappointing Botak Jones fare in their later days, I’m glad to enjoy the good ol’ quality taste I remembered from Bernie again.

Central cluster (Lorong 4, Toa Payoh Central and HDB Hub)

Fans of traditional Cantonese style dishes will definitely be familiar with Gen Shu Mei Shi Shi Jia (根叔美食世家). Having retired as the head chef of Mouth Restaurant, Gen Shu was bored stiff at home. That was why he opened a hawker stall to sell his brand of Hong Kong cuisine. My favourite at Gen Shu is definitely the yam cake. It wins hands down. Making it can be tedious, but it’s worth the effort. The yam paste is made freshly daily at 4am, so the result is a smooth and melt in your mouth yam cake. You won’t find the commercial variety of cake packed with this much yam. Gen Shu’s Lor Mai Gai is also impressive. Steamed in a rectangular shape, the steamed glutinous rice is very flavoursome and has a al dente texture. Take a spoonful of it, you get the delicious fillings of well seasoned chicken and Chinese sausages, the rice is cooked till perfection. Such a humble stall, but produces extraordinary flavours! Read more about it here.

Established in 2010, Swatow Seafood Restaurant offers handmade Hong Kong dim sum in the day and Teochew style seafood delicacies in the evening. Don’t miss their Teochew cold crab, crispy oyster omelette with plump and juicy oysters, and their chilled jelly pork knuckles.

Classic fish dish is one of the best representations of Teochew cuisine. At Swatow, the silver pomfret is huge with shiny white flesh, decorated with plum, tomatoes and pickled vegetables. The saltiness of the pickled vegetable subtly plays up the savoury notes of the ginger, and acts as a layer of protection to seal the moistness and sweetness of the fish.

Crispy Oyster Omelette uses more eggs than flour, they are deep fried to a crisp exterior and served as an accompanying sweet and sour sauce with juicy oysters. Because of the sauce, I would reach for Blue Lion which can cut through that richness while grabbing onto the savoriness and matching the touch of sweetness.

A recent entrant to the food scene here, Oppa! Choo Choo brings together two brands – Oppa! Bingsu and Choo Choo Chicken – in one comfy restaurant space. Now Toa Payoh residents don’t have to head to the city for their Korean fried chicken and bingsu fix! I usually go for their garlic and spicy fried chicken flavours, all eight pieces on my own. They are well-marinated, crispy and flavourful. Meanwhile, their bingsu is served in a takeaway bowl with a cup base at the bottom. Be sure to dig all the way to the bottom to enjoy the shaven ice!

Located in a coffeeshop near the library, Toa Payoh Lucky Pisang Raja is another of my childhood favourites. Their goreng pisang and sweet potato balls are the must-try items here – thick and fresh bananas are used for their goreng pisang, which is crunchy and comfortingly sweet to the palate. Their sweet potato balls come in three different fillings, with a good balance of flavours – the fragrance from sesame seeds coated on the outside, the mild sweet potato and the rich filling of red bean, mung bean or yam paste. 

Mention “Yellow Submarine” and perhaps the tune from the Beatles will come to mind, but that’s how Yellow Submarines Cheesesteaks calls their Philadelphia cheesesteaks. Their classic submarines make use of thinly sliced beef sirloin, melted blended cheese and caramelised onions in a bread roll. My personal favourite here is their Mala cheese steaks, which has peppercorn added to the beef to give a mildly spicy kick. I usually order it as a set with a soft drink and Torpedo fries, thick-cut fries served with a generous dollop of their blended cheese. For non-beef eaters, Yellow Submarines also has other options like tuna and chicken.

Located at a comparatively quieter stretch of Toa Payoh Central shophouses (in the direction towards Courts), JQ Chef Cafe is the brainchild of chef-owner John Quek, formerly the executive chef of the Singapore Flyer’s Sky Dining experience. This cafe serves a good selection of brunch items such as Big Breakfast, Eggs Benedict and Eggs Royale. If you love waffles with your brunch, go for the ultimate indulgence in Wicked Waffles ($14.90) – eggs Benedict and smoked salmon served on top of fluffy waffles, served with hash browns, cheese sausages and a mixed fruit and veg salad on the side.

Expect to queue for at least 20 minutes before you can sink your teeth into the flavourful rojak here! Available in $3 to $6 portions, the rojak contains crispy you tiao, crunchy cucumber, turnip, pineapple, bean sprouts tossed in a very sweet sauce. The chef then finishes off this snack with generous dollops of crushed peanuts.

Also located in the basement food court, Hougang 6 Miles Famous Muah Chee has two types of muah chee, coated in peanuts (white) and black sesame. The muah chee here ($2.50/#2.50/$5.50) are all made on the spot, with the stall owner constantly twirling the delicate dough and proportioning the dough into small balls by hand.

Oasis Bay Taiwan Porridge used to be at the old National Stadium area before it shifted to Toa Payoh in 2008. The restaurant serves unlimited porridge in small tumblers and has a wide selection of dishes such as chilli crab and herbal kampong chicken. Diners can enjoy the picturesque scenery of the Toa Payoh Town Park through its glass panels while dining.

East cluster (Lorongs 5 to 8)

I have been eating ban mian from He Jia Huan Ban Mian Mee Hoon Kuay for many years, usually ordering the soup version with clams added. The springy noodles come in good hearty portions with minced meat and vegetables, while a dark soya suace is added to the dry version. Try mixing in the light soya sauce with chopped chilli to enhance the flavour. This stall almost always has queues, and sells other items such as u-mee and mee hoon kuay, mixed and matched with various seafood items.

Song Kee Fishball Noodles is not a stranger to many. Having been around for 16 years, many food lovers will come by this stall in Toa Payoh for their fish noodles. Most of the time, I preferred to have mee kia but for Song Kee, the mee pok tastes so much better without the strong alkaline taste. I ordered a spicy version, with every strand of mee pok coated with their homemade spicy sauce. The generous amount of fried shallots and chili paste make every mouthful of noodles drool-worthy. Priced at $3 a bowl, the noodles come with a generous serving of fishballs and tau pok. Using fresh yellow tail fish (番薯鱼), the handmade fishballs are firm, springy and very fresh with a nice mild fish flavour. Read about it here.

Uno Beef House is one of my go-to places for coffeeshop style Western food, such as crispy fish and chips, fried chicken cutlet and chicken wings. Do try their black pepper sirloin steak ($13). The steak is served smoking hot on a hotplate, but don’t tuck into it immediately – while you take photos to post on your social media, the hot plate allows the steak to be cooked to required perfection, and the steak goes well with the slightly sweet and spicy pepper sauce that is drizzled on top. Unlike other dishes, the steak is served with a potato ball that has a buttery fragrance.

Many people head to the coffeeshop next to Uno Beef House for the Lai Heng bak chor mee, but I prefer the old school Hong Shan Ang Ku Kueh located at the front of the coffeeshop. The ang ku kueh here are made fresh onsite, with traditional flavours such as sweet tau sar (red bean paste), salty tau sar and peanut, and more modern flavours – mango, durian and green tea – to choose from.

The soon kueh and png kueh here ticks all the right boxes for the half-Teochew in me – often I had disappointing, tough-to-chew png kueh, but Hong Shan’s has a soft skin and a rice filling that is close to perfect to me. The soon kueh has a turnip filling that is not too wet and still had the satisfying crunchiness.

Used to be in South bridge Road, this zi char stall has now moved to Toa Payoh (they have another branch in Joo Seng Road). Although the signboard shows that it’s known for their fish head steamboat, they are more famous for their claypot mee tak bak. With a brilliant wok hei, it is a clear winner on hands with slippery mouse-tail noodles full of smokey aroma, thick umami gravy spiked with raw egg, prawns, minced meat and crunchy vegetables. It makes for a great comfort food this rainy season. Guess what, it’s only $5 per claypot, seriously worth every penny.

Century egg is a delicacy of acquired taste. I used to offer it to my overseas friends but the idea of having black egg that has smells like ammonia turn them off. Here, the chef deep fried the century egg to give it a mild crisp. Sweet & spicy sauce is drizzled over the century eggs which helps to cover up the ammonia odor and perfectly balances the rich, unctuous egg. It’s interesting to see century eggs ($8) being deep-fried, you can the subtle crunch with creamy yolk. This is great for those who do not have the guts to savour it plain. Read more about it here.

The Little Prince Creamery pays tribute to the classic Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and has a comfy interior with hand-drawn paintings on its walls and floors. Their gelato items are said to contain 8% fat and eggless, and are milky and creamy. Waffles wise, give the ham and cheese waffles a try – actual ham and cheese bits are added into the batter, then more ham and cheese are sandwiched in the waffles. Feels a little sinful but just so good.

Uncle Tan has been selling Fried Oysters in this hawker centre for more than 40 years and is was featured as one of the Hawker Legends in Makansutra in 2005. The difference between this stall and the rest is the batter. It has got the right mixture of flour to get the perfect texture of chewy and crispy starchy bits. The plate I ate here is moist and a little touch of crispiness. Not too oily nor dry, which makes me feel less guilty for eating such a sinful dish (ok, I’m just consoling myself). The plump and succulent oysters here came from Korea, not as big as I expected but definitely juicy and fresh. Each plate is topped with loads of coriander leaves, dipping it into the watery chilli sauce, shiok! If you don’t fancy oysters, the boss also has prawn omelette. Each plate of fried oysters starts from $4 onwards. Read about it here.

Guan Kee Kway Chap has been invited to participate in Singapore Days previously, bringing their flavourful kway chap to Singaporeans based overseas. The intestines are thoroughly cleaned and do not have an odour and goes well with the smooth kway. They also serve pig trotters here.

*****

Besides the wide range of dining options, Toa Payoh also has a rich history hidden in various spots around the town. In fact, this satellite town is celebrating its 50th anniversary in May this year, but its story go all the way back.

As part of Jane’s Walk 2016, I will be co-leading a walk – Dragons, Temples and Queens: Toa Payoh Past and Present on 8 May 2016. Jane’s Walk is a global movement of citizen-led walking tours inspired by urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs. While the walk will not cover the 31 dining spots featured in this post, we will drop by landmarks such as the famous Dragon playground and the VIP Block that was graced by Queen Elizabeth II herself. Learn more about Toa Payoh’s evolution through the decades and see how it correlates with the larger Singapore context.

Sign up for the morning session here (the afternoon session is fully booked).

The post The Really Local Food Guide in Toa Payoh appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Fried carrot cake, or chai tow kway, is a dish that I will definitely introduce to my overseas visitors whenever I do food tours with them. That’s because the savoury radish cubes are so different from their carrot cake which is usually eaten as dessert.

I have a soft spot for carrot cake because my grandfather would always buy it back for supper or tea break when I was still a child. Till now, I still eat it very frequently. Especially the black version, it’s so irresistible. Guan Hin Homemade Carrot Cake (元兴自制菜头粿) has been under the radar for too long. I have been seeing it on my friends’ feed for a few months but every time I went to the hawker centre, it’s closed. No luck.

When I went there last week, I am so happy that they are opened and I finally get to try it! Run by a old couple, they still make their own radish cake in the shop. If you visit them at the right time, you will see the 83-year-old uncle busy making them in the stall. That’s the reason why you get to eat thick and chunky rectangular radish cake instead of the thinly sliced ones which are mostly factory made.

We tried both black and white version. I prefer the former because the addition of black sweet sauce makes the soft carrot cake moist, sticky, sweet, and savoury. When it is done well like this, it is super addictive with aromatic charred edges! They are very generous with eggs too! My friend says it tastes much better when you do take away, give it a try and let me know. The white version is not bad too, you get the mild crunch from the preserved radish.

The quest to find good black carrot cake continues… So far, I have Song Zhou Luo Bo Gao in Bedok and Fu Ming Cooked Food in Redhill in my favourite list. Guan Hin is my new favourite for now and if you have any recommendations, leave a comment for me!

The post Guan Hin Homemade Carrot Cake @ Geylang Bahru Food Centre appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Text & Images by Maureen & Mu Qin

The Lavender district covers areas such as the up-and-coming hipster Jalan Besar, all the way till the heritage and cultural roots of Indians at Little India. It’s a mix of traditional and modern, with Jalan Besar being an official conservation area which resulted in hawkers and restaurateurs being able to hone their craft without disruption for many decades. Its status as a foodie heaven draws tourists and locals alike to explore this interesting area on foot. Here’s 35 Best Restaurants, Cafes & Hawker in the district.

RESTAURANTS

Good Chance Popiah is founded by Mr. Hou Shen Hu in 1977. Since then, it established a reputable brand for itself which is highly recommended by both local and overseas patrons. After his retirement, second generation Mr Boon Kaichun (also known as Ah Boy) began running Good Chance Popiah Eating House. The restaurant brings back the joy of wrapping Popiah yourself. With condiments such as including ribbons of omelette, beansprouts, lettuce, coriander, chopped peanuts, sweet soy sauce, and garlic and chilli paste, wrapping popiah in brings back much nostalgia. The traditional Hokkien Fish Head Yam Soup s simmered over slow fire to extract the natural essence. Fresh napa cabbage and sweet yam are added in as well, which is a comforting and hearty soup especially during rainy days.

Housed within the Vagabond Salon of the newly launched Hôtel Vagabond, 5th Quarter serves up a marvel of house-cured charcuterie and grill favourites. Leading the culinary direction at 5th Quarter is award-winning Executive Chef Drew Nocente, whose Italian-Australian background has greatly influenced the menu – as shown with his forte in his traditional curing methods fueled together with his passion for fire, coal and showcasing quality produce on the grill. The 5th Quarter Free Flow brunch will be kept to a simple, laidback and casual affair, allowing diners the chance to comfortably kick back and enjoy some satisfying dishes in the company of family and friends. Yes, you can order as many dishes as you want!

Having served mainly members of the Singapore Maritime Officers Union since 2003, Lighthouse Bistro has gone through a near-complete overhaul with fresh faces, updated interior, and newly styled menu selections. A dish that speaks the most about the restaurant’s maritime identity is the Fishermen’s Board ($18), a seafood platter of Atlantic prawns, calamari, black mussels and deep-fried chunks of dory accompanied with a light-whipped Orange Mayonnaise and a House Salad. My favourite is Malaysian Angel Hair ($17). Done in the Malaysian style, the western angel hair pasta is stir-fried with tiger prawns, squid & black mussels and finished off with spicy sambal. There is a rich wok hei in the noodles and the spicy sambal brings a delicious umami flavour.

With the recent salted egg croissants and cheese tarts craze, we’re pretty sure everyone has familiarized themselves with Antoinette, especially this outlet at Penhas Road. You’ll be transported into a “world” of Parisian-inspired ambience. Imagine rose velvet and dark wood seats, marble tables with liberal splashes of gold while French music is playing in the background. There is a great selection of savories and sweets, as well as, all-day dining menu and you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Helmed by Chef Lau who had won a gold award in a 2006 International Culinary Competition, Wan He Lou serves a wide range of dishes at wallet friendly prices. Lobster Porridge (招牌龙虾粥, $29.90 for 2 pax) is cooked in teochew style with very good soup stock that leaves an umami flavour. Fresh lobster is added in during the cooking process and the meat is cooked just right – firm and juicy. For a 2 pax bowl, you get two halves lobsters and the sea flavors of the lobster blended in well with the simple porridge.

CAFES

Cakes and pastries here are all Halal-certified and recipes have been adapted from the owner’s grandmother. Butter Studio has a good variety of bakes with one of the signatures being the Ispahan (Lychee Rose Cake). The cake is tender and moist, complemented by sweetness of lychee, with a lingering aroma of rose. Their salted Gula Melaka cupcake is also very popular among locals as it consists of a pandan cupcake stuffed with Gula Melaka filling and infused with salted Gula Melaka cream cheese. Other items which are available are the Nutella Tart and Speculoos Cookie Butter Tart just to name a few. Butter Studio also does amazing dessert tables for weddings and events.

It’s very easy to miss this café, given its unattractive exterior. However, the interior of The Bravery Café is so sparsely furnished with uneven surface of walls, tables, strings of bulbs extended from the ceiling and their centerpiece – a golden horse. The menu offers an array of brunch favourites, ranging from toasts, sandwiches, to poached eggs and pancakes. They also serve up some really unique flavours of drinks and coffee such as their Lavender Latte – a cuppa latte with hints of floral notes. Great place to pass time with great company of friends.

Located in a private residential building off Jalan Besar, Ollella is a brand new café-bakery that offers seven choux – vanilla, apple cinnamon, raspberry, lemon meringue, matcha azuki, dark chocolate and tiramisu – all reasonably priced between $4 and $5 each. For the undecided (like us), go for the mini choux platter ($21) which serves up all seven flavours. The choux pastries are light and has a little crunch, and the flavours are well balanced. I loved each of the little surprises that was presented as we went down the line, from vanilla all the way to tiramisu (in the order above). You can also top up a few dollars to enjoy the platter with a choice of two blended teas by A.Muse Projects ($27), or with two Ethiopia Tchembe N2 Mixed Heirloom coffees ($34) by The Pourover Bar. Ollella also carries a range of their Ethiopian and Panama flavoured coffees on their beverage menu.

This café features a roastery, an island coffee bar, a coffee school and a private coffee tasting room. Upon entering into the café, coffee bean smell lingers around. The interior is dimly lit and exudes a warm feeling, perfect for lounging around with friends over a cuppa good hot coffee. The barista on duty that day will determine the quality of the coffee you have. Generally, coffee here is strong and fragrant. It enters the throat with a punch and a slight bitterness. If you’re looking for something to cool under the heat, try their cold brew coffee, served with milk and syrup on the side for you to doctor it to your taste. This iced coffee is uniquely presented in a medicine bottle. This café serves food items too but their coffee is the highlight.

This is not for the light-eaters and dieters! If you’re a meat lover and a huge fan of superheroes, this is the perfect place for you! Upon entering the café, be prepared to be wow-ed by hundreds of superhero memorabilia, print, sculptures and collectibles. It’s best to dine here with a big group so you get to feast on their Hungry Heroes Platters. For a group of 3-4 pax, you can opt for their Nice to Meat You Platter ($62) which consists of half rack pork ribs, 200g sirloin, 250g de-boned chicken leg, pulled pork, served with choice of roasted potatoes or fries. For a larger group, you can select the Steak-out Platter ($118) which includes 200g ribeye, full rack pork ribs, pulled pork, sausage trio, 250g de-boned chicken leg, beef stew, veal osso bucco, served with choice of roasted potatoes or fries. Besides meats, they also have a huge selection of craft beers and a well-stocked bar for anything else.

Inspired by indie cafés in Japan, L’etoile Café is a lifestyle shop cum café with Japanese-French influences. The interior is furnished with an eclectic mix of clean modern furniture and vintage pieces. This café roasts its own coffee bean and makes decent coffee. That’s nothing impressive to shout-out about their food but they do serve wonderful chiffon cakes which are so light, soft and moist. If you don’t know what to do on a lazy afternoon, you might probably want to drop by this lovely place to snuggle with a cup of coffee while watching the world go by.

This is a cozy little café in boutique establishment Kam Leng Hotel, serving up American fare. Well well, it’s tough to look for a really sinful yet scrumptious burger in Singapore but the Suprette burger (from $19) manages to hit all the right spots. The hand-chopped patty was done to medium well, which was flavourful and juicy, with bits of fats for texture. There were generous portions of mushrooms, crisp bacon strips and a layer of gruyere cheese stacked between two buttery, crisp buns. This is simply the ultimate burger indulgence! Don’t forget the mountain of crisp shoestring fries – it’s free flow if you visit during dinner time but trust us, a single serving is more than enough. They also serve side dishes and offer a comprehensive drinks list to wash your food down.

Do you remember learning alphabets and vowels when you were young? Aligning their theme to these vowels, A.E.I.O.U, this café is returning to the basics, emphasizing in a lifestyle of green conscious living. The café has a rustic feel and it offers plenty of delectable food on its menu. Their specialty is serving drinks in Vodka bottles that are reshaped into drinking glasses. We highly recommend their Avocado Coffee ($8). Sounds weird? Fret not! It was surprisingly a match-made in heaven between the sweetness of the avocado and the bitterness of the espresso. Dessert-goers can go for their Brioche French Toast ($14.90) which includes fresh bananas, strawberries, crème patisserie and drizzled with salted caramel sauce. You have the option of adding a scoop of ice cream for $3.50.

The Bao Makaers boasts a minimalist design, with a touch of industrial. As the name suggests, the specialties here are their fusion “bao” concepts revolving around Mantou buns with various fillings. There are a total of six flavours offered here, which are the Classic (pork belly), Bulgogi (pork), Salted Egg Shrimp, Chili Crab, Teriyaki Chicken and Roasted Veggie. Each of these buns comes in sets of two. However, you are able to get a Bao Platter ($28), consisting of Classic, Bulgogi, Chili Crab and Teriyaki if you want to savour different flavours. There are two types of bao – the steamed and the fried. We prefer the latter as the former was a tad too dry for our liking. As for the fillings, although it seemed sufficient, we wouldn’t mind having more!

Being a hipster Japanese yakitori beer bar is what makes this café stands out. The Refinery is a part casual dining restaurant, part mixology bar and part designer workspace. With an interior boasting high ceilings and white walls, this café seems very inviting and is definitely ideal for large groups to wind down after your hectic work day. The menu has a decent selection of skewers, light bites and small bowls, evidently adopting the tapas-style dining culture. Big eaters take note – dining here will leave you burning a huge hole in your pockets. So, it’s more ideal to head here for a couple of drinks and chillax after work.

Tiramisu Hero’s mascot, Sir Antonio, is a hit among café-goers and instagrammers. With a lovely and brightly-lit interior, it makes you want to spend your entire afternoon just relaxing in the café and thinking of nothing. Besides their signature tiramisu, there are savoury offerings on their menu too. Tiramisu Hero serves decent coffee, wraps, baked rice and sweet desserts such as their waffles.

It’s hard to find a café that does both its food and desserts really well. The three creative minds behind Two Bakers have succeeded! This café is casual and unpretentious, with a mixture of communal and long wooden tables. The comfortable setting allows you to enjoy your dining experience with friends and family. Desserts here are freshly baked and include éclairs, strawberry shortcake and mousse cakes. Sounds a little more “atas” than your usual café desserts right? The elegant bakes that boast intricate techniques are really worth trying. Sandwiches and pastas form part of their food offerings and you should have a go at it too.

HAWKER

Sungei Road got its name because it runs along the banks of the Rochor River, hence its Malay name, ‘sungei’ means ‘river’. This road was also known as ‘kek sng kio’ in Hokkien dialet or ‘结霜桥’ in Chinese, which was made in reference to the Singapore Ice Works which used to exist in the precinct. Sungei Road Laksa is always crowded so don’t be surprised by its snaking queues, especially on weekends. There is a system where one lady is busy filling the bowls with ingredients, another one who’s busy taking orders while the last lady fills each bowl with the superb Laksa broth, fueled by a charcoal burner. Topped with generous amount of cockles and green Laksa leaves, this Laksa is light yet flavourful. It is sweet yet mild spicy and infused with coconut flavours and hae-bi in it. The crunchy bean sprouts add to the texture!

Heap Seng Leong is one of my regular breakfast spot whenever my foreigner friends are in Singapore for a visit. Honestly, the kaya is not outstanding but having a cup of coffee with butter (kopi gu you) in a 1950s kopitiam setting is quite an interesting experience. Nothing much changes here since the 1950s. The signboard, the cabinets and the tiles remain, only the chairs are newcomer (well not that new too). You will get to see kopitiam uncles sipping a cup of coffee while reading their newspaper, or some of them will be taking a quick nap. It is interesting to see the boss wearing striped pajamas bottom and a white sleeveless shirt making kopi. Usually when I am here, I will request for kopi gu you. My friends didn’t quite like the sight of a piece of butter melting in her coffee, but it really makes the full-bodies coffee much more fragrant with caramelised note (like toffee) and all of them finished their cup of kopi clean!

This Claypot Chicken Rice arrived covered in black sauce and cabbages. It has abundant ingredients such as ‘lup cheong’ (Taiwanese sausages) and salted fish added in. After mixing it, you’ll get to experience a burst of textures and flavours in your mouth. The cabbage was fresh and crunchy while the lup cheong and salted fish gave the dish an overall fragrant and savoury taste. The star of this dish is its boneless chicken thigh meat which was very juicy, tender and boneless (hassle-free). We love the charred rice (usually at the sides and bottom of the claypot) but do try cutting down on your charred rice intake as it isn’t very healthy.

This is one of the rarest delicacies found in Jalan Besar. Used to be famous but now, it’s a vanishing dish of white shark meat. There is no reason to go for expensive shark fin soup when you can have shark meat at an affordable price here. The fresh white shark meat is boiled to perfection. The resulting meat is naturally sweet and tender but with a much firmer texture than the fish slices that you get in your regular bowl of fish soup. This meat is served with a sweet plum dip swimming with peanuts chunks, made from preserved plums by the old couple of the stall.

Moving on to another disappearing rare delicacy – Pork trotter jelly, served cold, is translucently brown and has an interestingly chewy texture brought about by the coagulation of gelatin and meat at low temperatures. A blend of tangy sourness and tongue-tingling spiciness makes it more appetizing. This dish is delightful and we would say, ‘an acquired taste’. You need to be adventurous and daring enough to try but we promise you a worthy experience.

This has become a favourite supper-spot for night owls. Swee Choon is well-known for delicacies such as their ‘liu sha bao’, ‘xiao long bao’, Shanghai and Hong Kong dim sum. There are hits and misses so here’s five favourites of ours we would like to recommend. The famous Swee Choon Mee-Suah Kueh is a deep-fried vermicelli cake with brown and crispy skin and its interior filled with soft mee-suah packed together. The Swee Choon Big Pau has a thick yet fluffy skin and was generously filled with juicy ingredients such as minced pork, a piece of chicken, eggs and half a shitake mushroom. We also like their steamed salted egg yolk custard buns with super flowy custard oozing out non-stop, as well as, their xiao long bao with a moderately thick skin. The soup inside was definitely the highlight! Last but not least, we really enjoyed their century egg porridge. It’s such a comforting bowl, especially on raining days.

This is one of the pioneers of Scissors Cut Curry Rice in Singapore. We promise it tastes better than it looks. It’s hard to miss this coffee shop as there’s bound to be queues of people, especially during dinner and supper time. The orangey-brown colour of the rice comes from the combination of Hainanese curry and braised dark sauce, concocted with over 20 secret ingredients. This sweet-and-spicy curry makes the drenched rice good enough to be eaten on its own. If you’re wondering what dishes to select to complement your curry rice, we suggest their braised pork, fried cabbage, crispy pork chop and prawn roll. Of course, you can also pick and choose your desired items according to your food preference.

What drew us to return to Founder’s Bak Kut Teh is its air-conditioning. Our weather is hot enough and no one wants to perspire while savouring their piping hot bowl of Bak Kut Teh soup right? This restaurant has numerous photographs of singers, actors and famous personalities plastered all over its walls. The clear piping hot bowl of spare ribs soup was moderately peppery and balanced with garlic to give it more body. Using only fresh pork that brings a natural sweetness to the broth, each spare rib comes with thick chunky piece of meat wrapped around each bone. Don’t forget to soak your you tiao into the delicious broth! Besides Bak Kut Teh, the restaurant also offers many other cooked dishes such as pig trotters, braised innards, salted vegetables and many other dishes.

This is our favourite place to go to whenever there’s a heavy downpour. We love slurping their savoury soup while watching the rain falls. The soup, brewed from large intestines and kiam chye (salted mustard vegetables), is the Teochew-style clear broth. You can taste a gentle tanginess from the kiam chye. The pig liver’s soup fared better as it is tastier. A portion is packed with an abundance of ingredients such as kiam chye, slices of liver, lean pork, stomach, intestines, pork belly and two meat balls. The pig’s stomach here is cut in smaller strips and don’t have the overcooked, rubbery texture unlike other stalls.

Hong Kong actress Amy Yip has always been known for her busty figure. And we often create jokes out of it, including this Ye Zhi Mei Handmade Dim Sum (叶子楣手工包点) at Jalan Besar. This jumbo-sized pau became popular in Malaysia during the 1990s and it has attracted many fans (especially the male ones haha). We went there for supper with the foodies after a delicious plate of fried oyster at Jalan Besar Food Centre. Supper was eating such a huge pau? There goes my diet plan again.

The boss, Martin, does one of the best sio bak in town! It’s a place that’s worth going back to multiple times. The skin of Martin’s Sio Bak is crispy brittle to the point that it is almost breaking. Listen attentively to the crackling sound when you bite the skin. It is dry and tastes like biscuit, with the first bite producing a noisy crunch from the skin before it gives way to the juicy layers of well-seasoned tender and moist meat under it. Check out the fatty layers of pork belly which gives out so much juice when you sink your teeth into them. The sio bak here is so good on its own that it doesn’t even need any sauce and it’s impossible to stop at one!

This plate of wantoon noodles, some people love it, some people don’t. But you will definitely see the crowd queueing during dinner. I guess the magic of Kok Kee wanton mee lies in the special soup that is poured on top of the cooked noodles. It complemented the noodles very well and is light and gives a sweet taste. If you are wondering, they don’t make their own noodles.

There is a growing number of Vietnamese restaurants in Singapore. As the buzz increased, there are more new and interesting food concepts coming up. One of them is Vietnamese BBQ. Làng Nuöng Việt Nam is the first traditional Vietnamese BBQ restaurant located along Jalan Besar. You get to experience first-hand the famous Vietnamese “street-food” charcoal-barbequed gourmet meat that can only be found in Vietnam. The real magic happens when you cook the meat on the charcoal grill at your table. It’s the smoky hiss of charcoal and the tantalising aroma of slowly barbecuing prawns and chicken on the grill, giving passersby a bird’s eye view of all the action.

Besides their Signature Fried Porridge, there is a whole range of different zichar items offered at Royal J’s Seafood. Originated from Ipoh, owner-chef, John, Ng, brings multiple ingredients, styles and flavours together to their new menu. The fried porridge ($6 small, for 2 pax) has rice that is ‘fried’ with lots of savoury ingredients like yam cubes, pork lard fritters, dried cuttlefish, dried shrimps, chives and shredded crab. Using superior broth, Japanese pearl grains and his homemade brown sauce, the chef fries the rice with gruel such that it’s thicker and starchier. Two of the zichar items we recommend would be the Kam Heong Chicken ($12) and the Tasty Fried Pork ($22 large). The former is a dish with a fusion of Chinese, Malay and Indian flavours while the latter is well caramelized and coated with special sauce and has a really tender and tasty meat.

Having quit his job as an insurance agent, Nick Soon decided to open a hawker stall “One Kueh at a Time” and he painstakingly makes Teochew kuehs filled with your choice of glutinous rice, chives, or sweet bean paste – all by hand. The recipes are from his old parents who have been making kuehs and sharing with friends and relatives, but have never set up their own stall. The selection of kuehs here is not huge because Nick does everything within his small little stall. He sells soon kueh and koo chye kueh on weekdays while on weekends, his parents will come and help him, hence, they will have png kueh and orh ku kueh as well. All of Nick’s kuehs are selling at $1 each except the koo chye (chives) version, which is at $1.20 each. If you are ordering in bulk, better call him up early to reserve.

The coffee here is one of the best around Singapore – very thick and the aroma of coffee beans was evident. Will you believe it if we told you that the owner of Coffee Hut was retrenched a few years back? So, he decided to pay $3,000 to a Hainan coffee master to learn how to make kopi. The kind of toast bread they serve is very similar to big names like Toast Box and Yakun but at a much cheaper price. They also make their own kaya and peanut butter spread that we love buying home. If you’re someone who loves starting your day with traditional breakfast of kopi, soft-boiled eggs and toasts, this is definitely a place to come!

Regulars who frequent Lai Huat will certainly go for Sambal Belachan Pomfret ($28 to $42), Black Pepper Crayfish ($18 to $36) and Special Delicacy (aka Fish Maw Soup, $15, $20, $30). The Sambal Belachan Pomfret is deep fried to a crisp, hence dry and crispy on the outside but very tender on the inside. We love that it is topped with homemade dry sambal which is spicy and fragrant enough. The Pepper Crayfish on the other hand, is first fried and then stir-fried with pepper and salt. The meat is firm and sweet. Special Delicacy has generous portions of fish maw, scallops, mushrooms, miched crab meat and cauliflower. Having a zi char dinner here is pleasant and enjoyable and it’s somewhere we would want to return to.

This stall is called the Beef House but the only beef they sell here are their ping-pong sized beef balls, which is served in a clear soup with thin bee hoon, kway teow or mee kia. The in-house made beef balls are really bouncy, juicy and have a nice beef flavour. Besides beef balls, they also serve other Hakka food such as Soon Kueh, Yong Tau Foo and Suan Pan Zi.

Tucked in a corner of Besar Food Centre is this fried oyster stall that has been around for about 40 years. It’s started by Lim’s father, who used to open a roadside stall along Jalan Berseh. When Besar Food Centre was built, they moved in and it is now managed by the second-generation Lim, who makes the batter by himself. Simple ingredients such as eggs, flour, oil, oysters and fish sauce are used but the secret lies in the batter and the hawker’s control of the fire. Lim’s fried oysters is very well executed as each bite was made up of crispy, charred and fragrant skin encasing a morsel of moist and gooey combination. You get the perfect texture of chewy and crispy starchy bits. It’s a must to dip it into the thick and tangy chilli sauce for an ultimate shiok-ness!

THINGS TO DO

Shops
If you’re looking at local and international brands, you can pop by City Square Mall. If you’re more into the eccentric and unusual stuffs, you might probably want to check out the General Company Crafts above Chye Seng Huat Hardware, the Crafts Workshop above The Refinery or do some retro shopping at AEIOU Café. Late-night shoppers would be interested in the 24 hours Mustafa Centre that sells everything from electronics to food to clothing and more. There is plenty of hardware and lighting shops around Lavender.

Activities To Do
Take a jog around Jalan Besar Stadium, also known as the birthplace of football.  Located within the same premises is Jalan Besar Swimming Complex. Given that Singapore is scorching hot all year round, this is a great place to cool off. It’s super affordable too, with admission prices at $1 on weekdays and $1.30 on weekends. Or visit the Thieves Market before it closes for good.

Feeling a little more adventurous? You might want to check out SG Darts Haven or Mystery Escape. Tourists who are curious about our ethnic culture and heritage can pop by Little India where there is the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple and the Temple of 1,000 lights (Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya).

Backpackers’ Hostels
There are many backpackers’ hostels available within the Lavender district and the following five are recommended – Green Kiwi Backpackers’ Hostel, Mercur Backpackers’ Hostel, Backpackers@SG, Rucksack Inn and The Hive Singapore Hostel.

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We’ve given you an entire list of foodie haunts and what to see and do in the vicinity of Lavender. Hope it’ll help your exploration!

The post The Ultimate Food Guide to Jalan Besar & Lavender – 35 Best Restaurants, Cafes & Hawker appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

With the closure of Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat and quality at Yet Con getting worse, there seem to be getting more difficult to have a good Hainanese meal.

When my friends from Hong Kong are here for a visit, they wanted to satisfy their craving for chicken rice so I brought them to Chin Chin Eating House at Purvis Street. Established since 1934, dishes offered here are very hainanese, including steamed chicken rice with chilli sauce and ginger dip, pork chop, chap chye, mutton soup and more.

The chicken rice at Chin Chin is drizzled with light fragrant soy sauce and sesame oil, enhancing the flavours of the tender and juicy chicken. Cooked just right, it has retained the moisture every bite. The rice looked less oily but still fragrant and tasty with aroma from the ginger and garlic. While there is nothing much to shout about for the ginger dip, the cilli sauce does have a little tanginess which I love.

I like to pair my chicken rice with Hainanese Pork Chop ($6). But I thought the lean pork cutlet that I had that day was a little on the dry side and the tomato sauce here doesn’t work for me. If my memory doesn’t fail me, Yet Con has better Hainanese Pork Chops. Nevertheless, it does bring some nostalgia while having it.

We also ordered Hainanese Mix Vegetable ($9) or chap chye, with well-stewed cabbage, black fungus and vermicelli in savoury bean sauce. Only available on weekends, the mutton soup has got herbal and meatier flavours. The aromatic soup has got mutton, dried dates and some wolfberries. Recommended if you are okay with mutton soup! There are also other favourites such as cereal prawns, sambal kangkong, prawn paste chicken etc.

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Rarely do I have the chance to visit the west but when I do, I make sure I chiak all the way. We were recommended to try Xiang Mei Roasted Meat (香美烧腊), a two-minutes walk from Bukit Batok MRT.

Still using charcoal to roast, I get a beautifully roasted duck thigh with that mild crackling skin and juicy meat. Even though it was not as meaty, you can still get the juiciness from the meat with a very slight herbal flavours. I can’t remember if there was gravy but I think it’s good on its own.

The soy chicken is decent with quite tender meat but char siew is not their forte lah. Roast meat didn’t crackle as much and didn’t impress. Unfortunately, the chilli here is a little weak, tangy and spicy but too watery. You can enjoy your meal for $3 with complimentary soup. They change their soup almost everyday, we had peanut soup that day.

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Wanton mee needs no introduction. When it comes to a great wanton mee, it’s hard to find one which gets all elements perfect – from the noodle texture to the wanton toppings. Located in a quaint coffee shop at Seletar Hills, I was recommended to try 36 M.S Homemade Yun Tun Noodle.

Their superb homemade egg noodles take centrestage, which is different from the usual mee-kia. The uncle will first blanch the noodles in boiling water, before ladling out for a cold water bath to give them a springy texture. They are then dipped into hot water again and quickly tossed in the sauce to give them a silky texture.

The next star is the huge and juicy dumplings (水饺) filled with pork mince wrapped in the stall. I recommend you to order dumplings noodles without chilli. Because the noodles are tossed in savory black sauce that gives it the glistening look.

Wanton mee with chilli sauce was decent. The red char siew was ordinary, but it doesn’t have a hard texture like some other stalls. The only disappointment is small wantons. Oh ya, the portions are little small as well. So for guys, you probably got to upsize it!

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Chef Benny Se Teo of Eighteen Chefs has opened a new kopitiam in Bugis Junction – Seng Kee The Black Seed. This modern coffee house is going to be halal-certified so our Muslim friends can also enjoy kaya toast and nanyang coffee together.

The ordering system is quite straightforward. You order and pay at the cashier. When the number on your receipt shows on the screen, collect your food.

One drink the menu that they speak strongly about is the Bullet ($1.90 for 8 oz) which is made from concentrated black coffee with a slice of butter. It packs a punch!

Their 63°C soft boil eggs ($2.20 for 2) is super power lah! The sous-vide egg is a thing of beauty. The yolks are runny and surrounded by tender white that’s so silky smooth. Totally can’t bear to eat them. That reminds me, that I haven’t touch my sous-vide machine for a long time…

Their menu is quite different from our other coffee joints like Toast Box or Ya Kun. Yes they have the usual suspects but on top of it, Chef Benny has given a clever twist on our local dishes to cater to all.

For example, the chee cheong fun is not served in the black sauce. Instead, you can have them in sambal belacan ($3), peanut & chilli sauce ($3), beef rendang ($6.50), sambal sotong ($6.50), devil’s curry chicken ($5.50), local curry chicken ($5.50) or japanese curry (vegetarian, $4.50). So many different ways! I was recommended by the cashier to try the sambal sotong version. The chewy sotong is drenched with a thick and spicy sambal sauce that is so fragrant and tasty. Because of such intensity, I love this so much that I ordered again during my second visit.

Our national dish Hainanese Chicken Rice is given a gourmet twist as Chef Benny came up with Hainanese Chicken Sandwich ($3.20 for 4″, $6 for 8″). Choose from ciabatta or focaccia as slices of chicken, ginger sauce, chilli sauce, lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes are sandwiched in between the bread. It’s a little hard to eat them as a whole because of the thick layers of lettuce, making it easily dismantled. But if you successfully put them all in your mouth, you can an explosion in taste as if you are having a plate of comforting chicken rice. Other options include beef rendang sandwich that is stewed for at least 3 hours till it is tender; hae bee hiam with wild rocks, tomato with cheddar, roast duck or sambal sotong.

Devil’s Curry is a fiery red curry made with a different style of spice paste namely dried chilies, shallots, ginger, vinegar, yellow mustards, sausages, potatoes, carrots, chicken/duck etc. The end result is a complex flavour that is tantalising to the taste buds. Here, you can pair it with bread bowls ($5) or rice ($5.40 for nasi lemak, $4.50 for plain rice). It’s thick and sedap but needs a little more kick for me.

Breakfast is perhaps the best excuse to dive into supremely delicious nasi lemak, as New York-based Time magazine listed it to be the 10 most healthy breakfasts in the world (really?!?!). Nasi Lemak here uses basmati rice and starts from $2.40. We included a chicken wing and costs $3.80 in total. The chicken rests on a pile of coconut-scented basmatic rice studded by 1/2 boiled egg, ikan bilis, cucumbers and a fiery sambal.

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Everybody loves dim sum, and siew mai is usually the favourite. Now you can get decent siew mai for $1.90 at Xiao Chen Homemade Bao Dian! Started a few months ago by a Malaysian cook, Xiao Chen Homemade Bao Dian serves cheap and decent dim sum at a coffeeshop in Geylang Bahru. My group of makan kakis visited the stall in early April to try it.

To be honest, I never like to have dim sum in kopitiam because many stalls use commercially-made stuff that is bought from factories. I had a chat with the boss and he comes to the stall before 6am to prepare and makes the dim sum from scratch daily. The hard work put in to make these dim sum – it’s really not a job that everyone can do for years. I am sure there are many other kopitiam dim sum that holds that passion too.

Most of the dim sum items are priced at $1.90 including siew mai, har kau, crab meat dumpling, pork ribs, chicken feet etc. For good results, the boss uses fresh meat to make his dim sum. That makes most of his dim sum different. Other staples include chee cheong fun ($2), braised pork bao ($1.30), big pau ($1.60), coffee pau ($0.80), golden sands pau ($1). We didn’t get to try any pau that day, so we probably got to head back and do it again.

While you are there, don’t forget to walk over to Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre nearby to have a plate of Guan Hin Carrot Cake.

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At Tai Thong Crescent, there is a new bak kut teh stall called Rong Shu Xia Rou Gu Cha (榕树下肉骨茶). Yes yes *clears throat* 路边一棵榕树下, 是我怀念的地方 ~~ But this place is not located under the banyan tree. The owners from Perak, Malaysia call it this name because there are always food stalls located under the banyan tree and he would always meet his friends there to makan. Hence, 榕树 resonates with alot of Malaysian.

Started a few months ago, Rong Shu Xia Rou Gu Cha serves cantonese style bak kut teh, which is also known as Malaysian Bak Kut Teh. Unlike our peppery version, spices and herbs are added into their broth. We went for lunch last week and tried a few of their signature items.

First off, the steaming hot Pork Ribs Soup ($5.90). This reminded me of Restoran Shoon Huat BKT in Taman Sentosa. Not as herbal as I expect, the clear and watery broth is vague and a lot less herbal than the Klang style. So if you are looking for a kick in the soup, this is a little mild. Good thing is, the gentle soup does not snatch the limelight from the sweetness of the pork ribs. It’s quite tender and fall-off-the-bone easily. They currently only serve pork ribs now, but I hope they will add more toppings like liver, intestine and pig’s stomach to go with the soup in future.

To pair with bak kut teh, we ordered Preserved Vegetables ($1.90) and Stewed Peanuts ($1.90). The former is not bad, it still retains its crunch and not overly salty. Because of their opening special, they are having 50% promotion on weekdays from now till 1 July 2016 for selected items. On our day of visit, the Special Fried Pork is selling at half price ($3.20), so we ordered as well. Deep fried till golden brown, it is like biting into popcorn – crispy and flavourful with fatty meats in between.

The sizzling pot of Ginger Wine Chicken ($5.90) is tender while the savory sauce goes great on rice. I would prefer the chicken to be braised a little longer so that the sesame oil can be infused further. The Pig Trotter’s ($5.90) decent with a great mixture of fatty skin and lean meat.

Our meal ended with a bang, when the owners serve us a pot of XO Spare Ribs Prawn Noodle Soup ($5.90). This is like the best creation from Rong Shu Xia! The broth is made from shell and heads, added with intense XO sauce to develop a rich and umami laden flavours. Not the big prawns that you find in some other stalls, but the broth won us over.

Don’t expect much service. I called to ask their opening hours and the waitress was talking to someone while answering my phone. Upon reaching there, I had to repeat my orders to the waiter so many times. Well, I guess it is the teething issue that they are still working on. Look forward to better service next time.

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I am a huge fan of fish soup. There was once a foodie I knew online introduced me to a famous fish soup stall in Chinatown Smith Street food centre and said it was the best fish soup she has ever eaten, with no milk. The gullible me believed and went to try it only to find myself very disappointed and not to trust her anymore. Where got no milk? The amount of milk and sesame oil added into the soup was so overwhelming that I cannot… Moral of the story: some reviews really cannot be trusted. So I told my friend Melvin about my disappointment and he said, “Let me introduce you to a super good fish soup stall that everyone gave thumbs up!”. I was still skeptical and asked, “Sure or not?”. This time, I am really impressed.

Owner of Mr Fish, Mr Lee, only started selling fish soup in Chinatown about 2 years ago. As a family business, his son, Alan, who works as a It specialist at night helps in the stall almost every day and is now doing most of the cooking. Considering there are so many fish soup stalls in Chinatown, it is really brave for Mr Fish to come in. But they came in strong and are not newcomers in the F&B industry. They used to run a zi char in stall in the west Henderson Road. When they found got a stall in Chinatown, they decided to just focus on doing Cantonese style fish dishes well, i.e. Fish Soup, Black Bean Sliced Fish Hor Fun, Braised Bittergourd and Sliced Fish etc.

We waited half an hour on a late Saturday afternoon for our dishes. When the Fish Head Bee Hoon ($5) finally arrived at my table, I got that whiff of aroma from the piping hot fish stock. They first fried the fish bones and then boil it for hours to get that creaminess and silky texture. This is time consuming but they have insist that no short cut is done – meaning no milk is added. This one really got no milk lah, I am very sure because I am very “sensitive” to lactose products. One sip of the soup, you know it’s worth the wait. They are very generous with huge chunks of fried fish and some cabbage to give a refreshing taste.

Besides the fish head bee hoon, the other best seller is Braised Bitter Gourd and Sliced Fish ($8). Cooked in a black bean sauce, the taste of wok hei is obvious. When bite onto the bitter gourd, you get their crunchy and smoky aroma, with fresh fish slices. It’s so comforting and best goes with rice. I can’t wait to try their Black Bean Sliced Fish Hor Fun which is freshly fried upon order, hence the waiting times increase. But, quality food is worth the wait right?

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My grandmother used to cook mee hoon kueh when I was a kid. She will prepare the dough and add dong cai (preserved winter vegetables) into it, tore them piece by piece into the boiling soup. That’s one of the sweetest childhood memory. Sometimes, we would eat you mian which we bought from the wet market.

When I visited Grandma Ban Mee (老妈子板面) at Amoy Street, memories start flowing as the stall name resonates with my childhood. During lunch time, the queue for this stall is very long. We decided to give it a try to see if it really brings back some feeling of nostalgia.

Honestly, it’s not really ban mee lor. It’s more like you mee. The menu is straightforward with only 3 options (Chilli/ Dry/Soup) and additional toppings come at extra charge. We were recommended to go for their their signature dry chilli ban mee ($5).

While I have not tried Kin Kin to make a comparison, the noodles here are springy with a moderately spicy chilli paste, egg, ikan bilis and minced meat. You could feel a little heat, but it keeps you going, perhaps due to the fragrance from shrimps. Before you know it, the bowl of noodles is gone!

I belong to the traditionalist who still love ban mee soup ($4), so we had to order it. Typically during my younger days, my grandmother only uses dried anchovies for the soup. But now, the taste profile has changed and we are looking at better tasting soup than before.

Grandma Ban Mee’s clear soup version was lighter than many other ban mee stalls but it’s filled with ingredients like mushrooms, black fungus, ikan bilis and vegetables. My dining partner finds it lack of depth, which is understand-able. But for me, it is probably a similar taste to what I eat at home. I call it “comfort”.

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Before I began my post on Ding Ji Mushroom Minced Meat Noodles, here’s a disclaimer – I am not paid to write about them. The story goes, this new bak chor mee stall opens in Bishan, at the same coffeeshop as the famous 284 Kueh Chap. I saw it while I was having supper. Then I went back for lunch and to give it a try.

The first time I ate it…

It was really really good. I ordered the most expensive one from the menu – fish maw soup. The first thought was, it looked like Seng Kee minced pork noodles in Serangoon Garden Market. That is my favourite and it has definitely set the high expectation.

So when the cook prepared my fish maw soup, I watched closely of the ingredients he added. The rich soup base is simmered overnight to get all the goodness from the pork bones. There is generous amounts of sliced pork, pork liver, dried sole fish (ti po), a spoonful of minced meat and egg served in the aromatic soup, with springy noodles tossed in chilli sauce. The ti po probably gives the soul to the broth. To be honest, the aroma of the ti po here is not exactly comparable to the one in Seng Kee. But, it does have that subtle fragrance that many BCM soups are lacking. Plus, I believed that the fish maw used here is a higher grade than Seng Kee’s, because Seng Kee’s version had a strong greasy smell to it.

Even though the mee kia was factory made, they were well tossed with chilli, vinegar, lard oil and sliced braised mushrooms that were spongy with savoury braising sauce. From readers’ comments, I understand that there are many Ding Ji noodle shop around the island but only the one is Bishan and Eunos serves fish maw soup. The rest of the Ding Ji outlets only do Teochew Minced Pork Noodles – which is really not impressive.

Keeping all these factors in mind, plus it only costs $8 for such a generous soup and noodles (cheaper than Seng Kee’s), it was natural for me to share about this stall. At that moment, I am quite certain I have found a very decent bak chor mee / fish maw soup stall that is open for 24 hours and so near to all of us who live in Ang Mo Kio and Bishan. In fact, I was so excited about it that I called my husband and good friend immediately after my lunch to tell them about this “finding”.

But I didn’t expect…

After my lunch, I roughly edited the video I took on my phone and uploaded to Facebook during the unpeak hours. What I didn’t expect, was the amazing feedback that everyone gave. Within a day, the number of shares and views were soaring and the stall eventually ran out of fish maw soup the following morning. Till date, the video itself has got 221K Views, 4369 Shares and 1200 comments.

To be honest, the numbers were too scary. The response was overwhelming, to the extent that the stall cannot cope with it for the first three days. I have read every single feedback, be it good or bad. Thank you for spending time to type it out. Some people queued for 2 hours just to get a bowl of noodles. When people queued for so long, their expectations increased and when the noodles cannot meet their expectations, they get angry. There were people who assume that I get paid to write about this, there were people who called me nasty names, and there were people who take time to defame the stall by pasting the same reply on everyone’s comments. The most ridiculous thing is, some actually boycott it without even tasting it just because the stall belongs to Fei Siong. Come on lah, how childish is that? Pfft.

For those who queued, tried and left disappointed …. it’s understandable. I had it on a quiet weekday afternoon with no crowd, and the cook took his time to slowly prepare my soup and noodles. But after the video came out, the cook had to speed up the cooking just to cater the sudden crowd. There are definitely differences in standards, after all, it’s hawker food. And to be honest, after the video, I didn’t dare to write about it anymore.

So I went back again…

The issue is, because the stall operates 24 hours and they have two shifts to manage the stall. I usually go during weekday lunch and it is cooked by the uncle you seen in this post. There was no problem and I still enjoy it, even though I thought the soup was milder than what I had previously. I guess it was because their turnover time for boiling of soup became shorter, hence it was not as rich and flavourful.

But after reading through all the comments, I went back on a weekend supper to try it 2 weeks after the video was published. From 7pm to 7am, the soup and noodles are cooked by a 74-year-old aunty. Now I can truly understand the frustration of many foodies. Our orders were a little messed up, the noodles were overcooked (because the aunty was trying to decipher whose noodles were those) and the soup was not great. Some of the soups were only lukewarm. It was in fact, disappointing. I never doubt her experience but she was probably overwhelmed by the crowd too.

In conclusion…

I apologize if you were served a less than satisfactory bowl of noodles. I stress that I don’t own the place nor I am paid to write. I am just a happy foodie who wants to share good hawker food that I have found. It’s not unsurprising that we get drastic opinions from two different extremes of the same stall due to consistency argument. But I hope you understand that all reviews are subjective since it is a perception of an experience. 

Like most things, word of mouth is one of the strongest way a restaurant or hawker stall builds its street credibility. But it is also the responsibility for all F&B establishments to uphold the standards. Sometimes, the dish may not suit your liking. For example, I love my chicken rice flavourful and oily, but my husband thinks it is too much and prefers a lighter rice. It’s not wrong. Your food preference and my food preference may be different and can be different. I won’t criticise someone just because they have different views about the same dish. It’s fair comment, in my opinion. But well, obviously some people think their tongue can taste the best dish and if they think it’s lousy, they go all out to penalize and criticize. I don’t agree to such behaviour but I won’t name and shame. Afterall, we are here to build a healthy community of foodies.

For me, I would still go back for my dry noodles and fish maw soup in the afternoon. It is still tasty in my opinion. In fact, I just brought some of my food kakis there and they love it. In my district, it’s not easy to find a good bowl of bak chor mee like this. A bowl of BCM starts from $3.50 but I really suggest you to try the $8 fish maw soup version because it’s solid. They also serve huge and juicy teochew dumplings. Yes, they open 24 hours.

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Yong Tau Foo, a traditional Hakka Chinese cuisine, can be eaten dry with a sweet sauce or served as a soup dish. Customers are usually attracted by the attractively colourful and mouthwatering display of ingredients lined up or stacked up in rows at the front of a Hakka yong tau foo stall. Ingredients usually consist of minced-meat-stuffed tofu or fish-paste-stuffed tofu, as well as, other stuffed vegetables and mushrooms. You get to pick your desired choice of noodles (eg. yellow noodles, vermicelli or kway teow etc) to accompany the ingredients that you’ve chosen. With a gradually disappearing traditional hawker scene in Singapore, it’s hard to come across an affordable yet simply scrumptious Hakka Yong Tau Foo nowadays.

Remember Ghim Moh Wet Market’s Hakka Yong Tau Foo stall? Fans of Peter Leow, the man behind this delicious Hakka yong tau foo recipe, rejoice! Having taken a break since 2003, Peter and his wife have decided to make a comeback! We’re pretty sure you remember him for the queue at Ghim Moh Wet Market. There wasn’t a timing where his stall wasn’t stormed by a crowd.

The secret behind his fresh and yummy ingredients is the strong passion towards creating culinary delights that Peter and his wife possess, as well as, the amount of hard work and love they invested in painstakingly hand-making each and every ingredient personally. Can you imagine waking up daily as early as 5am to prepare all the ingredients before they open their stall for business?! It’s no surprise that their ingredients taste distinctively different from those that are mass produced by factories and suppliers and made by machines.

What stood out for us most was the perfectly concocted chilli sauce that spices up the entire Hakka Yong Tau Foo dish! It adds that additional kick that’s super satisfying! We even bought a couple of their chilli sauce back home to enjoy with whatever home-cooked dishes we have.

So, what sparked Peter’s interest in making a comeback in the hawker scene? That’s when Varian Loke, founder of non-profit organization, Food Culture Academy (FCA), comes into play! FCA is established in December 2015, with an aim to bridge the gap between aspiring young hawkers and the already established and successful older generation of hawkers.

In order for the survival of Singapore’s hawker culture, Varian realizes that Singapore needs more youngsters to step out and be passionate about our hawker food. However, these aspiring young hawkers might have financial issues or might face certain problems which become an obstacle for them in pursuing the “hawker dream”. Hence, Varian, having a coffeeshop of his own in Geylang, decided to set aside two stalls as “training grounds” for the older generation of hawkers to impart their culinary knowledge and skills to the young hawkers who are willing and passionate about learning from the older generation of hawkers.

Peter is very supportive of Varian’s aim for FCA hence he decided to “test the market” once again, to see how responsive people are towards his Hakka Yong Tau Foo. This pop-up stall is located at the “Shiok Eat! Food Fair” at the atrium of West Mall from 20 June 2016 to 8 July 2016. There are a total of 14 different vendors. Peter and his wife are very open to feedbacks so if you’ve been a fan of his previous stall at Ghim Moh Wet Market, this is an opportunity for you to relieve the taste of Peter’s Hakka Yong Tau Foo again! Whether as finger food or as a side dish that you pack back home for lunch or dinner, Hakka Yong Tau Foo is a great choice for everyone!

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For those of you who have been a big fan of CCK 190 Wanton Mee, good news for you. Uncle Danny & Aunty Yvonne took one year break and they are now back in action – not at Choa Chu Kang anymore, but they have opened their brand new outlet in Circuit Road!

Aunty Yvonne learnt the ropes from her uncle about 20 years ago and opened a wanton mee shop with her husband Danny in Choa Chu Kang. Last year they took a break to enjoy life but eventually realised that they miss having their own stall, so they decided to make a comeback recently – not in Choa Chu Kang anymore, but in Circuit Road.

They left the house at 3am almost everyday to come to the stall to prepare ingredients. Yes, they roast the char siew in the shop, cook the soup and wrap their own dumplings. That is really hard work but Aunty Yvonne never complains. All she said was, “I am used to it.” Indeed, it was their passion and friendliness that attracted many diners. Even for regulars who has been eating their noodles in Choa Chu Kang, they don’t mind travelling all the way here to just have a plate of wanton mee.

The char siew is reasonably moist with minimal colouring and is sliced thicker than other stalls. The fried dumpling was the killer. Made from pork paste and mini prawn, they were substantial and juicy. Eat with a mouthful of noodles and we were all putting a thumbs up. The wantons, however, had a bit too much thick wonton skin for my liking.

This is one Wanton Mee that is anything but simple. The springy egg noodles were what I liked most. Uncle Danny tosses amazing noodles that is cooked perfectly with no alkaline taste. ere, each strand is retains its springy texture and original taste even after standing for 10 minutes. Best of all, the noodles did not clump together. Aunty Yvonne shared, the tossing of the noodles play an important role in ensuring that there is no alkaline flavour in the noodles.

The one thing which stands out is the sauce. Their homemade chilli is cooked for 4 hours, hence they have the punch and the addition of black sauce gave it more character. It’s a healthier noodle version – with no sight of lard. But I think the black sauce kinda makes up for it.

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Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee is not a stranger for all Bak Chor Mee fans. They started in 1945 and has been serving Teochew style bak chor mee (BCM) for more than half a century. At Hong Lim Food Centre, be ready to wait for at least 30 minutes during lunch. Ah Kow has passed on the skills to his two sons. In the past, both brothers shared the stall at Hong Lim. The 4th son would operate from Tuesdays to Thursdays while the elder son would operate from Fridays to Mondays.

Through a Facebook group, we got to know that the 4th son has just opened his own stall in Bukit Batok serving the same old classic BCM. Jon Cher, who is the son of the 4th son of Ah Kow, shared that his father “was kicked out by his own brother” in 2000 and hence he rented his own stall in Old Airport Hawker Centre till 2014. Eventually, the stall owner at Old Airport sold away the stall, hence it was closed. Recently, they started again in Bukit Batok!

Enough of family drama, let’s focus on their BCM. Their menu is kept simple with Bak Chor Mee selling at $4, $5 and $6 together with Teochew Dumpling Soup at $4, $5 and $6. We ordered a bowl of kway teow soup and minced pork noodles dry.

The soup version has got quite a bit of “liao” in it, including lean pork, minced meat, braised mushrooms, dried sole fish and dumplings. The wife was seen busy wrapping the dumplings. Even though the skin was thick, but it was still comforting. They also serve Teochew Dumpling Soup where you can get generous amount of dumplings.

As for the soup, I thought the broth I had that day lacks a little depth and was towards the bland side. I hope it was due to their teething issue. I need to go back again and try. Neverthless, no MSG is added to the soup and this is definitely one of the better BCM than many others.

The dry version had soft and flavourful braised mushroom with chilli, soy sauce and vinegar. What truly make this dish is the braised mushroom and its dried sole fish. This add a touch of umami to the noodles. In my impression, their version in Hong Lim had so much more vinegar than the current version, which I felt was a little lacklustre. The uncle did explain to me that he has dropped his vinegar just to cater to the new crowd in Bukit Batok. Fair enough. For me, I prefer it to be more sourish but this may work for you.

I stood there and see how the uncle prepares the noodles. It was interesting to see that he was using two types of sieves to cook his noodles. The first time he would use a smaller one to lightly blanch in boiling water before moving the noodles into another more traditional sieve to cook it again. The uncle explained that this was done to prevent lumps from forming in the noodles and to retain its desired springy texture.

Looking at how the uncle has got older over the years, I started to wonder if there is anyone to take over their cooking. According to Jon, he was doing full time during the Old Airport days. As the bukit batok stall is opened for only a month, Jon still holds on to his full time job and will only be there to help out during weekends. But it looks like there is a possibility that he will be back to start full time soon once business picks up.

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My makan kakis introduced me to this Nasi Padang place in Serangoon. Mdm Djudjurjati came from Semarang, Indonesia. She cooks a lot for the family and friends and everyone enjoys her food. That’s why her husband encouraged her to set up a food stall near her home about 20 years ago. 

There are more than 30 dishes for you to choose from. In the morning, mee siam, mee rebus and sardine curry puff are sold. Their mee siam is a little different with coconut milk added to it. But it was a little too mild for my liking. Mee rebus, however, is quite solid. It kinda reminds me of my primary school days when I always have it for breakfast. 

Its ayam penyet is deep fried till golden brown, although leaning towards the dry side. The crispy bits added the crunch but what made us give a thumbs up is the sambal belachan chilli at the side – spicy and tangy enough. Now can I have a plate of rice please? Oh ya, not forgetting the otah wrapped with banana leaf that is a tad spicy but firm enough to cut and share. I love it for its smoothness and fragrance. 

Ayam masak merah is my favourite dishes amongst all. Translated as “red cooked chicken”, it honestly doesn’t sound very enticing at all. But in actual fact, the mildly spicy chicken is slowly braised in a sweet tomato sauce, with a hint from the spices like chilies and lemongrass. The combination is shiok, which goes well with rice.

We also had the ikan bakar that was grilled with their secret spices. Don’t judge the book by its cover. This unassuming fish is very addictive. The quality of sambal sotong is great, each one is tender and the sambal is tasty. Beef rendang is more on the sweet side and fragrant, although the beef was a little tough that day. Other dishes we had include Black Pepper Fried Fish, acar nanas and sambal goreng.

You will be pleased to know that the Claypot Assam Fish Head is cooked with their homemade gravy. The rempah is cooked till fragrant before some coconut milk is added to create a delectable gravy that is piquant and spicy. Little details matter, for example, the eggplants are lightly charred at the edges which help them to keep in shape and soak up the gravy. 

The food more than passes muster as seen from the nods of our dining kakis and the long queue at the stall during lunch time. I recommend you to go around 11.30am so that everything is still hot and fresh (plus skip the queue).

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