Hawker Fare

Tucked away in Golden Mile Tower, this cai png stall sells cheap but satisfying Nyonya dishes. Most diners here pick their own dishes cai png style, but we decided to order dishes to share instead. The assam fish is a great choice for that tangy, rich gravy. I also enjoyed their kicap manis chicken wings. Price ranges from about $3-5/pax.

I’m a sucker for silky smooth chee cheong fun, so when I saw a post about this hawker that makes her own from scratch, I knew I had to pay them a visit! Ms Liang Yuan learnt her craft from Guangzhou, specially grinding her own rice for these delicate sheets of kuay (usually rice flour is used instead).

The result is soft and light tasting which pairs wonderfully with the light flavoured sauce. The kicker here is their side of chai poh which you can add yourself for that salty, crunchy hit! Besides the usual CCF flavours like Prawns ($3), she also has interesting ones like Dried Shrimp Bang Kwang ($3) and Leeks ($2.50). Definitely a great find, this spot is popular with the residents in the area, for a good reason. 😋

My personal favourite was the Soy Sauce Chicken ($7-8/quarter); tender and moist with a tasty gravy to slather all over a bowl of rice.

If you’re staying at Potong Pasir then this should be next on your list of places to try! Opened a few months back by a young hawker who picked up his roasting techniques from a Hong Kong master, he serves up satisfying roast meats and noodles in this unassuming coffeeshop. His has a nice herbal flavour thanks the dang gui, herbs and spices he uses.

Comes with the drumstick/thigh, a side (actually a mountain) of bean sprouts, soup and rice. Definitely a good plate of chicken rice, though not my favourite. Chicken was tender and tasty, but the rice had a texture that I didn’t love, being slightly softer than I like.

Loved the bean sprouts in that light, savoury sesame sauce! Very value for money set.

Swing by the newly opened 11 Hamilton for comforting nosh and bakes from In The Brickyard! We tried a couple of items from their brunch menu and this shakshuka was pretty hearty, packed with soft bell peppers, tomatoes, beans and feta cheese. Dunk the perfectly toasted sourdough and mix up the two oozy onsen eggs for maximum satisfaction.

The space is modern and sports creamy pastel colours, a nice contrast from the grungier cafes you’ll usually find around the area. They’ll be launching a new weekday lunch menu from tomorrow onwards where it’s $15 for selected mains + drink, so that’ll be a great time to pop by!

“45 minutes wait. Ok?”, auntie says. Good things come to those who wait, and Chey Sua rewards those with the patience to get their carrot cake breakfast fix! It might not look like much, but meticulous care is taken to fry each plate of this fluffy, eggy mess. Slightly crisp, the generous amount of egg almost made this feel like a Thai omelette, and the kueh is ethereally light and soft. Then smeared across the surface is a layer of sambal that give it its red hue and a addictive sweet, spicy heat.

It’s been two years since I’ve had this, but it’s still on the top of my as one of my favourites.

Been a while since my last meal at Fatty Thai! Still a great rendition of Thai wanton mee, with meaty chunks of char siew and lotsa lard. It might look unassuming, but the noodles are tossed in a light but tasty sauce that packs a punch with chilli flakes. Only thing that fell flat today was the fried wantons that were kinda stale.

Fell in love with this wanton mee! There’s a few other options here for wanton mee, but Burpple and the queue told me that this was the better of the bunch. The noodles here also leans more towards the thinner, Hong Kong style mee with a less eggy texture and every mouthful had a great bite. But the thing that brings it all together is the generous spicy, slightly sweet sauce coating every strand. Even their wanton, something I don’t normally care much about, earns my vote of confidence for the well seasoned meat and silky skins!

For those who are unaware, you can now get Roast Paradise’s epic char siew at the Kopitiam in Tampines Mall! Was pretty surprised when we saw no queue for this, as their KL-style char siew won my belly over since their Old Airport Road days. Expect the same charred crust, tender meat and plenty of juice from the fat (no one said this was healthy). This outlet also has a Rose Wine Soya Sauce Chicken which we tried which was alright but we’d stick with their char siew any day!

Long queue for this kway chap in a busy Tampines neighbourhood! Smooth sheets of rice noodles is my perfect way to start a public holiday, made even better with the tender intestines that were beautifully braised. Sadly, uncle and auntie are going to retire soon and their last day of operations will be on 23 June, so all you Tampines residents know what to do!

Mmm hmmm... Saucy, spicy and generous with the juicy minced pork, I can’t recall the last time I’ve had a bowl of mee pok this good! The noodles had a QQ texture and soaked up the sauce perfectly, with just the right amount of twang from vinegar. If you want prawns, fork out a little more as only >$5 options have them!