Joined the snaking queues at Hong Lim for a taste of one of the best crayfish hor fun in Singapore. The countless awards that are plastered all over the stall are a testament to that.
$5 gets you a decent size plate of hor fun with 2 halves of crayfish and another 2 halves of a relatively big prawn. The hor fun was so silky and smooth that it slithered down my throat with much ease. The prawns and crayfish, though fresh, were not as sweet as I would have liked them to be. But then again, its $5 we are talking about and its more than worth it. The gravy only had a tinge of the 5 spices taste, which was a nice change from the heavily infused ones that I've tried before. If you intend to go on a weekday, my advice would be to go before 12pm, before the lunch crowd comes in.
My stomach was grumbling after a rigorous badminton session so I decided to check out the famed Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak at Boon Lay Place Food Village. It was close to midnight when my gf and I got there and my god, the queue stretch all the way to the main road! Fortunately, the queue moved at a relatively brisk pace and I got my order after about 30mins of waiting.
My order of a piece of Chicken Breast, Ikan Bilis, Fried Egg and Fish Fillet cost a whopping $4.50! That's a tad too expensive. Honestly, I couldn't see what the fuss was all about. Everything was just average tasting, except for the chicken, which was well seasoned before frying. The rice itself had a strong Coconut taste, but was light on the oil. Not bad, but nothing fanciful. It was probably the chilli then, which was sweet and not too spicy. But then again, I've tasted better chilli although I'm not a great fan of the spice. The only reason I can come up with is the freshness of the food. Everything is freshly cooked and comes piping hot because the turnover rate is high. Add on the fact that there is hardly any supper places in Boon Lay and you get a sure recipe for success!
Never knew Lucky plaza had its fair share of good food, until we stepped into this place. The favourite dish I must say is the Ayam Penyet. This is the first time I ate this dish and it really looked "penyet" if not "punchek". It was smashed up but still recognizable as a chicken thigh. I was expecting some gravy, but there was none. The ayam was fried with indonesian spices and was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
One thing that made me gulp down a glass of water is the sambal that came along with it. I was warned by the friend that the sambal is SUPER hot so I just did a little baby dip into it. But nevertheless, it was still too hot for me. Surprisingly, the friends plate of sambal was wiped dry...
Tucked in the secluded lanes off Upper Thomson Road is this cozy Hakka restaurant. We had about 12 people with us, so there was quite a challenge trying to squeeze into their largest table, which was more like for about 10 persons. Nevertheless, the staff were very helpful in getting all of us seated comfortably.
They have several signature dishes and we ordered almost all of them.
Mei Cai Kou Rou($21.60) was the most likable dish for the most of us. The Mei Cai was sweet, not too salty and the Kou Rou was soft and juicy. A well rounded combination of sweet (Mei Cai) and tinted saltiness (Kou Rou).
Yam Balls($9.00) was the next best dish. It had a unique flavour and texture short of eating or nee. The yam balls were spongy and springy and the gravy had a friend onion taste that made it a unique dish.
Specialty Tou Fu($14.40) was served with 12 pieces exactly. Well actually they "custom" made the dish for the number of people we had. So that means one piece is 1.20. :) The gravy was the favourite part of the dish for everyone. So when all the 12 pieces of toufu were walloped, the gravy was soon smothered dry by everyone.
Salty Chicken($27.60) was served not in one piece but all chopped up to reasonable bite size for everyone. Perhaps that was the most thoughtful thing to do as there was no need to decide how to dissect the chicken with surgical precision. Taste wise it was ok. Something noticable though is that the meat was tender and juicy, and not hard and dry.
Fried Beef with Green Pepper($10) had a soft and chewable texture and was not anything extraordinary.
Overall spent about $105.70 for a meal for 12 persons, so that means about $9 per person which is very reasonable considering that everyone was pleasantly surprised with the quality and uniqueness of some of the dishes. The staff were also very friendly and patient, always serving with a smile. So thumbs up for them.
Ate at Sinar Pagi Nasi Padang along Circular Road with my colleagues for lunch. Have always meant to try it partly due to the long queues that form during lunch as well as the multiple awards plastered to the walls of the shop.
My order of a chicken wing, vegetables and a Tauhu Telor cost a ridiculous $8.50! $5 for the rice and $3.50 for the Tauhu Telor. Geez, what is this world coming to? Having said that, the Nasi Padang was actually not too bad, with the chicken being nicely deep fried with lots of deep fried flour bits, which added taste to the otherwise bland dish. The Tauhu Telor tasted better than the ones you get at food courts, but still came across as rather average. The stall helpers are friendly though, but thats not good reason enough for me to return. Ever.
Many people have different opinions on what a good Nasi Lemak should entail. Some say the food should be fresh, the rice should be nice, chilli should be good and so on. Personally, the single most important aspect in determining how good a Nasi Lemak is, is through the rice. Chilli and food are but mere considerations. Think about it, if you want good chilli, then you might as well eat mixed vegetable rice with a good chilli. One thing that differentiates Nasi Lemak from mixed vegetable rice is the rice itself. Now I know you are going to say that its weird to have chilli with mixed vegetable rice, but its just a matter of getting used to it. Case in point, the Canadians value chicken breast more than the thigh, but it is the opposite here in Singapore. Ok I know I'm ranting so let me just focus back on the food.
The name, Yi Liu Xiang might seem rather boastful but this stall has the right to be. Located on the 2nd floor of the Hainanese Village in Hougang, queues are an everyday affair at this small Nasi Lemak stall. The rice is very fragrant due to the loads of Coconut oil that goes in (I'm guessing)and not to mention tasty. It has this light and slightly sweet taste that doesn't make you feel like throwing up even if you overeat. The turnover rate is high so you can be sure that the ingredients are fresh as well. I personally like the thinly fried eggs which are tasty and go very well with the rice and anchovies. Try this stall out to believe!
Hidden in the sleepy estate of Pasir Panjang just after the infamous South Buona Vista Road, or better known as the 88 bend, is a small row of shops, one of which houses the famous Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice. My gf and I stumbled upon it by chance while we were driving though Pasir Panjang Road and quickly disembarked to try it out since it was already dinner time. We had braised duck rice for 2 with a side dish of tofu.
The tofu was rather mashed up and normal, so nothing much to talk about. However the braised duck was really good. A little chewy yet fibrous and with a very sticky and slightly sweet gravy to boot. And the best part is, it didn't come across as too oily. Another plus goes to the fact that the duck is boneless, which is just great for lazy people like myself. Without a doubt, I prefer this duck rice over Hup Seng's rendition.
Dinner for 2 pax came up to $15.90 inclusive of 3 bowls of rice and 2 glasses of barley drink. Not exactly cheap, but I guess you have to pay more for quality.
Lau Hong Ser Rojak at Dunman Food Centre has been labeled as one of the legendary hawkers by Makansutra. To verify this tag, I made my way to the food centre at about 830pm in the evening to try out this famous Rojak stall. I assumed that it wouldn't be a long wait as there was no one queuing up in front of the stall. Oh boy, was I wrong. The orders had been taken down on sheets of paper and the wait time was a cool 1 hour! Not wanting to return empty handed, I resigned myself to play the waiting game. The owner was nice about it and got me my order within half an hour or so.
$3 got me a decent size portion with lots of You Tiao and Tau Pok, which were freshly toasted over the fire, leaving them slightly burnt and very crispy. The shrimp paste used was of superior quality, thick and smooth. I personally like this better than Hoover Rojak at Whampoa Drive Food Centre because of the much bigger portions and slightly better taste.
My umpteenth visit to Botak Jones, but this time round it was to the Clementi outlet which I've never been to. Located at a small coffeeshop just opposite Clementi central, it was madly packed when my gf and I arrived at about 615pm. So much for trying to beat the crowd.
Botak Burger - Having eaten the Botak Burger at least 4 times, I'm not ashamed to say that I don't really see its draw anymore. And the beef patty still made me nauseous after a few mouthfuls even though it did come across as slightly juicier this time round. The bread was a little dry and hard, which made things even worse. I guess I'll stay off this for a bit.
Fish & Chips - Now the fish & chips exceeded expectations taste wise but the fish was rather thin under the crispy batter. This dish was quite a pleaser when warm, but once it turned cold, it became almost unpalatable as the batter tasted of reused oil. So be warned.
$12 isn't too expensive for a considerably decent meal, but factor in the wait time of 20-30mins and its a forgone conclusion, for me at least. I guess I won't be back anymore, especially when the prices have just increased.
On the ground floor of the mall, in close proximity to the Fairprice Xtra, is this small stall selling cookies. The prices are a little lower than that of Famous Amos and offer slightly more variety. My bag of Chocolate Paradise set me back by $3.50 for 100g. Taste wise was pretty similar to Famous Amos's cookies but Little Jerry's had significantly more milk in it, as evident by the rich milky taste. It lacked the oven baked taste of Famous Amos though. A worthy contender nevertheless, with a cheaper price to boot.
1=SGD 0.0587
Joined the snaking queues at Hong Lim for a taste of one of the best crayfish hor fun in Singapore. The countless awards that are plastered all over the stall are a testament to that.
$5 gets you a decent size plate of hor fun with 2 halves of crayfish and another 2 halves of a relatively big prawn. The hor fun was so silky and smooth that it slithered down my throat with much ease. The prawns and crayfish, though fresh, were not as sweet as I would have liked them to be. But then again, its $5 we are talking about and its more than worth it. The gravy only had a tinge of the 5 spices taste, which was a nice change from the heavily infused ones that I've tried before. If you intend to go on a weekday, my advice would be to go before 12pm, before the lunch crowd comes in.
Rating given:
My stomach was grumbling after a rigorous badminton session so I decided to check out the famed Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak at Boon Lay Place Food Village. It was close to midnight when my gf and I got there and my god, the queue stretch all the way to the main road! Fortunately, the queue moved at a relatively brisk pace and I got my order after about 30mins of waiting.
My order of a piece of Chicken Breast, Ikan Bilis, Fried Egg and Fish Fillet cost a whopping $4.50! That's a tad too expensive. Honestly, I couldn't see what the fuss was all about. Everything was just average tasting, except for the chicken, which was well seasoned before frying. The rice itself had a strong Coconut taste, but was light on the oil. Not bad, but nothing fanciful. It was probably the chilli then, which was sweet and not too spicy. But then again, I've tasted better chilli although I'm not a great fan of the spice. The only reason I can come up with is the freshness of the food. Everything is freshly cooked and comes piping hot because the turnover rate is high. Add on the fact that there is hardly any supper places in Boon Lay and you get a sure recipe for success!
Rating given:
Never knew Lucky plaza had its fair share of good food, until we stepped into this place. The favourite dish I must say is the Ayam Penyet. This is the first time I ate this dish and it really looked "penyet" if not "punchek". It was smashed up but still recognizable as a chicken thigh. I was expecting some gravy, but there was none. The ayam was fried with indonesian spices and was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
One thing that made me gulp down a glass of water is the sambal that came along with it. I was warned by the friend that the sambal is SUPER hot so I just did a little baby dip into it. But nevertheless, it was still too hot for me. Surprisingly, the friends plate of sambal was wiped dry...
Rating given:
Tucked in the secluded lanes off Upper Thomson Road is this cozy Hakka restaurant. We had about 12 people with us, so there was quite a challenge trying to squeeze into their largest table, which was more like for about 10 persons. Nevertheless, the staff were very helpful in getting all of us seated comfortably.
They have several signature dishes and we ordered almost all of them.
Mei Cai Kou Rou($21.60) was the most likable dish for the most of us. The Mei Cai was sweet, not too salty and the Kou Rou was soft and juicy. A well rounded combination of sweet (Mei Cai) and tinted saltiness (Kou Rou).
Yam Balls($9.00) was the next best dish. It had a unique flavour and texture short of eating or nee. The yam balls were spongy and springy and the gravy had a friend onion taste that made it a unique dish.
Specialty Tou Fu($14.40) was served with 12 pieces exactly. Well actually they "custom" made the dish for the number of people we had. So that means one piece is 1.20. :) The gravy was the favourite part of the dish for everyone. So when all the 12 pieces of toufu were walloped, the gravy was soon smothered dry by everyone.
Salty Chicken($27.60) was served not in one piece but all chopped up to reasonable bite size for everyone. Perhaps that was the most thoughtful thing to do as there was no need to decide how to dissect the chicken with surgical precision. Taste wise it was ok. Something noticable though is that the meat was tender and juicy, and not hard and dry.
Fried Beef with Green Pepper($10) had a soft and chewable texture and was not anything extraordinary.
Overall spent about $105.70 for a meal for 12 persons, so that means about $9 per person which is very reasonable considering that everyone was pleasantly surprised with the quality and uniqueness of some of the dishes. The staff were also very friendly and patient, always serving with a smile. So thumbs up for them.
Rating given:
Ate at Sinar Pagi Nasi Padang along Circular Road with my colleagues for lunch. Have always meant to try it partly due to the long queues that form during lunch as well as the multiple awards plastered to the walls of the shop.
My order of a chicken wing, vegetables and a Tauhu Telor cost a ridiculous $8.50! $5 for the rice and $3.50 for the Tauhu Telor. Geez, what is this world coming to? Having said that, the Nasi Padang was actually not too bad, with the chicken being nicely deep fried with lots of deep fried flour bits, which added taste to the otherwise bland dish. The Tauhu Telor tasted better than the ones you get at food courts, but still came across as rather average. The stall helpers are friendly though, but thats not good reason enough for me to return. Ever.
Rating given:
Many people have different opinions on what a good Nasi Lemak should entail. Some say the food should be fresh, the rice should be nice, chilli should be good and so on. Personally, the single most important aspect in determining how good a Nasi Lemak is, is through the rice. Chilli and food are but mere considerations. Think about it, if you want good chilli, then you might as well eat mixed vegetable rice with a good chilli. One thing that differentiates Nasi Lemak from mixed vegetable rice is the rice itself. Now I know you are going to say that its weird to have chilli with mixed vegetable rice, but its just a matter of getting used to it. Case in point, the Canadians value chicken breast more than the thigh, but it is the opposite here in Singapore. Ok I know I'm ranting so let me just focus back on the food.
The name, Yi Liu Xiang might seem rather boastful but this stall has the right to be. Located on the 2nd floor of the Hainanese Village in Hougang, queues are an everyday affair at this small Nasi Lemak stall. The rice is very fragrant due to the loads of Coconut oil that goes in (I'm guessing)and not to mention tasty. It has this light and slightly sweet taste that doesn't make you feel like throwing up even if you overeat. The turnover rate is high so you can be sure that the ingredients are fresh as well. I personally like the thinly fried eggs which are tasty and go very well with the rice and anchovies. Try this stall out to believe!
Rating given:
Hidden in the sleepy estate of Pasir Panjang just after the infamous South Buona Vista Road, or better known as the 88 bend, is a small row of shops, one of which houses the famous Lim Seng Lee Duck Rice. My gf and I stumbled upon it by chance while we were driving though Pasir Panjang Road and quickly disembarked to try it out since it was already dinner time. We had braised duck rice for 2 with a side dish of tofu.
The tofu was rather mashed up and normal, so nothing much to talk about. However the braised duck was really good. A little chewy yet fibrous and with a very sticky and slightly sweet gravy to boot. And the best part is, it didn't come across as too oily. Another plus goes to the fact that the duck is boneless, which is just great for lazy people like myself. Without a doubt, I prefer this duck rice over Hup Seng's rendition.
Dinner for 2 pax came up to $15.90 inclusive of 3 bowls of rice and 2 glasses of barley drink. Not exactly cheap, but I guess you have to pay more for quality.
Rating given:
Lau Hong Ser Rojak at Dunman Food Centre has been labeled as one of the legendary hawkers by Makansutra. To verify this tag, I made my way to the food centre at about 830pm in the evening to try out this famous Rojak stall. I assumed that it wouldn't be a long wait as there was no one queuing up in front of the stall. Oh boy, was I wrong. The orders had been taken down on sheets of paper and the wait time was a cool 1 hour! Not wanting to return empty handed, I resigned myself to play the waiting game. The owner was nice about it and got me my order within half an hour or so.
$3 got me a decent size portion with lots of You Tiao and Tau Pok, which were freshly toasted over the fire, leaving them slightly burnt and very crispy. The shrimp paste used was of superior quality, thick and smooth. I personally like this better than Hoover Rojak at Whampoa Drive Food Centre because of the much bigger portions and slightly better taste.
Rating given:
My umpteenth visit to Botak Jones, but this time round it was to the Clementi outlet which I've never been to. Located at a small coffeeshop just opposite Clementi central, it was madly packed when my gf and I arrived at about 615pm. So much for trying to beat the crowd.
Botak Burger - Having eaten the Botak Burger at least 4 times, I'm not ashamed to say that I don't really see its draw anymore. And the beef patty still made me nauseous after a few mouthfuls even though it did come across as slightly juicier this time round. The bread was a little dry and hard, which made things even worse. I guess I'll stay off this for a bit.
Fish & Chips - Now the fish & chips exceeded expectations taste wise but the fish was rather thin under the crispy batter. This dish was quite a pleaser when warm, but once it turned cold, it became almost unpalatable as the batter tasted of reused oil. So be warned.
$12 isn't too expensive for a considerably decent meal, but factor in the wait time of 20-30mins and its a forgone conclusion, for me at least. I guess I won't be back anymore, especially when the prices have just increased.
Rating given:
On the ground floor of the mall, in close proximity to the Fairprice Xtra, is this small stall selling cookies. The prices are a little lower than that of Famous Amos and offer slightly more variety. My bag of Chocolate Paradise set me back by $3.50 for 100g. Taste wise was pretty similar to Famous Amos's cookies but Little Jerry's had significantly more milk in it, as evident by the rich milky taste. It lacked the oven baked taste of Famous Amos though. A worthy contender nevertheless, with a cheaper price to boot.
Rating given: