Hidden Gems Of Local Delights

$4.50 for a bowl of signature noodles at a coffee shop is a little steep. But considering the condiment mixture that's so well balanced, it's worth a try and perhaps a return visit! If you are a fan of spicy, ask for extra spicy cos that's what makes it balanced. The handmade "her giao" is relatively huge and starchy on the outside - tastes decent but I couldn't really figure out what exactly is inside. Would have been better if the noodles portion was given more too.

Was first introduced to the Putu Piring here by my colleagues because they said it's very famous and would usually attract long queues at the original stall at Haig Road. Since then, every time we are here for lunch, we would definitely end off with some Putu Piring. You would be surprised to see how much space this stall takes up - not the typical partial small stall!

Their Putu Piring (Malay version of Tutu Kueh) is very different from the Chinese version. There is only gula melaka for the filling, not coconut or peanut filling. And the flour used for the outer layer doesn't give off the powdery or flour taste. In fact, the texture is like some soft cakes. They would add some shredded coconut by the side. The coconut enhanced the overall taste because it's on the savoury side while the gula melaka brings out the sweetness of the delicacy!

It's a must try if you are in this area! 5 pieces for $2.50 only. They may fish out some packets from their cooler box (which is used to keep them hot). But still equally tasty!

Located within Food Republic at Capitol Piazza, Guan's Mee Pok still guarantees a queue. They serve pretty interesting menu to deter from the typical BCM. A $5.80 bowl serves up mee pok with minced pork, a dumpling, half a flavoured egg and a piece of pork rind. You have the option to top up for fish maw, yakitori etc too! I think what differentiates them from the rest of the BCM stalls would be their ingredients and their special sauce for the noodles.

Fun fact: Their noodles are cooked to perfect springiness with the help of a countdown timer! Look out for it!

Located at Level 2 of Shunfu Mart, you will be greeted by the long queue at the stall. We arrived at about 12.10pm on a weekday and it only took us 15 mins to get our CKT. There are 2 sizes available ($2.50 and $3). We each had the big plate and wow, they aren't stingy with their ingredients (Chinese sausages, fish cakes, plump cockles)! The CKT is moist and not oily (hence no wok hei taste), and it's easy for one to finish the entire plate of wholesome without feeling jelat. We didn't taste the pork lard either (which I think is a pity).

Just in case you are one of those who dislike beansprouts, the uncle may just turn you down (rather impatiently due to the long queue) because they mass cook the CKT. The only requests you can possibly make would likely be no cockles, no chili, takeaway or the size.

This coffee stall serves half boiled eggs that are to perfection. We each had a set of 2 eggs and then indulged ourselves with kway chap. Heavy breakfast indeed!

There was already a long queue when we arrived at 11.15am. Finally placed our order half an hour later, hoping it's worth the wait. Ordered the Sliced Fish Bee Hoon Soup (without milk), Yuan Yang Fish Soup (without milk) and Tom Yam Sliced Fish Soup @ $14.50. Standard fish soup (with/without noodles) is $4.50 each.

Visually the bowls look pretty appetizing and the tom yam looks really tomyam-y. Tom yam was kinda too sour on the first sip of the soup but I guess the taste bud would just get used to it. The plain soup tasted sweet - but we just couldn't figure out how and where the unnatural sweetness came from. Not even my foodie mum could say what it was. If you ask me, it's not really worth the wait. But try it for yourself since it is always attracting a long queue!

Believe it or not, this is my first ever proper Ponggol Nasi Lemak. I suppose I've somewhat tasted it before years ago but not a proper meal. And the main reasons that deter me from buying are the long queues and my impression of it being over-priced.

I still think It's expensive ($7.70) but considering that they are generous with the Fried Kuning (4 pcs), and the juicy chicken wing, I think still kinda worth it? The chilli though on the sweet side is actually tasty! You could taste the dried shrimp in it.

As with the Kovan outlet, the queue is long! Occasional indulgence is alright I guess...

We arrived at Tiong Bahru at about 12.30pm on a Saturday and there was already a long queue at the stall (10-15 pax in line). The premium char siew (不见天叉烧) was sold out by the time it's our turn, so we had to settle for the normal char siew. 😣 The noodles were springy and you would notice how they didn't add the black sauce of sorts to the noodles. All so original taste! The char siew were sliced thickly and is not too fatty. Some pieces were a little tough though. Oh and each plate comes with 2 pieces of wanton in the soup!

Damage: $4 per plate of normal wanton noodles

Finally tried this claypot hokkien mee! This pot is $25 and feeds 5 pax fully. If you just want the hokkien mee as a staple food and order other dishes elsewhere, this pot can definitely feed even more pax. Personally I like this sort of wet-style hokkien mee. Flavour was just nice, but the chilli was a little normal. Oh they even have lobster or abalone version too!

Ingredients found: sotong, pork belly, lala, 5 big prawns (deshelled), fried pork belly, fried pork lark

Waiting time: approx 10-15 mins at 6.50pm on Saturday

Who would have expected to find claypot rice in this corner coffee shop? Located at 727 AMK Ave 6, the claypot rice serves generous serving of chicken and lup cheong. We ordered for 2 pax portion ($15) and it sure looks huge (as though it can feed 3 pax). But eventually we managed to finish 80-90% of it. Didn't find a lot of salted fish though. Not sure how the pricing works though cos we saw other customers getting the same-sized claypot to feed 3 pax. Waiting time was about 15 mins on a weekday evening (~6.45pm).

Finally got to try this Michelin BCM after queuing for 40 minutes on a Tuesday evening. Portion is a little small for $6 but it's just nice to feed my tummy. The BCM comes with 2 pieces of 扁鱼, 2 pork balls, 1 dumpling, tender slices of pork and liver, and minced pork. I guess how it stands out from the many BCM elsewhere is their sauce - strong vinegar taste and of course their specialty sauce. I asked for extra chili but a pity it didn't taste spicy at all. Worth the try though!

This stall sells simple Tze Char dishes like leafy greens, prawn paste chicken, pork ribs rice and of course their signature hor fun! Started queuing at 6.30pm and I finally got my food in 30 minutes. The hor fun comes with silky gravy and the kway teow has that "wok hei" taste. 👍 And most importantly I don't taste garlic in it. 😅 Ingredients are decent too! Damage: $4