Chinese

This is probably what you came for. I would say the half-half fatty:lean char Siew is better than your average roasted meat vendor. Can’t say the same for the other meats. We had the Wantons in Red Chilli Oil ($10.80) and they were alright as well. I’d say order noodles> rice because the noods come with pork lard and super crunchy kailan. Their chilli is potent, but not as spicy as Eng’s. Make sure to arrive before 12pm if you are looking for seats for weekend lunch.

Don’t make the mistake I made. You MUST order their fried chicken wings/ drumsticks. They are fresh and cooked a la minute to support the high dinner/supper turnover. (I ordered the Korean fried chicken from the same Mee Sek Kopitiam that’s why!) Otherwise, it’s over-priced nasi lemak. Otah is normal and rice not super flavourful. But that’s the premium you pay for supper food. Would still visit again if I am hungry and craving nasi lemak past midnight.

Times are now tough for our local F&B businesses. This was a throwback to September 2021 when we could still dine-in as a group of 4-5 pax. Went on a Saturday and the place was packed! Make sure you call in to reserve/ book-online your table at Dim Sum Haus. Loved their XO Fried Carrot Cake and Lotus Leaf-Wrapped Glutinous Rice (荷叶饭). Congee and Dumplings w/ soup (水饺汤).

284 KPT seems to be the supper hub of Bishan, with 284 Kway Chap in the same Kopitiam. Ding Ji is the dark horse, famous for its fish maw noodles ($8.80). I tried the step-down signature BCM as I wanted to save the $$$ (cheapo that I am). The soup is rich. You can taste the umami from the sole fish (ti Poh) powder. Best thing is that they are open 24/7. Get this and a serving of kway chap. K-O.

I followed a colleague’s recommendations and the long-er queue to Kim Kim Cooked Food. They sell a range of economic bee hoon/ hokkien mee dishes. Including the usual ala carte fixings for Chinese Nasi Lemak. The pale green colour of the rice = Pandan used to steam the Nasi I hope! Ikan Kuning and chicken wings all come in a good size. Would have hoped for a more generous serving of their not-so-spicy sambal tho. Worth the 15-20min queue for sure!

This was from a stall called “Vegetable Oil Fried Carrot Cake”. Was surprised that there was no queue at 8:30AM on a Saturday morning! Since I don’t live around the area (was at the nearby Bishan Park I for a run) I decided “why not?” and got the largest portion ($6). The 粿has an interesting taste (almost bitter) but just look at the amount of egg they include? Not greasy at all. Otherwise an above average packet of carrot cake. 菜头粿just is an awesome Singaporean breakfast food. Good for 3pax!

Ugly Picture never mind. Just know that it took 30 mins in the queue to buy this! There were many people taking away boxes by the 10s. And we were there 15mins before opening hours on a Friday… This is not your average chicken rice. Is that 花雕酒i taste in the marinade? Chicken wings x2 were flavourful. It is essential that you consume your food ASAP as the wing-batter tends to get soggy. Oily and sinful yes. But good taste + great price= I travel to Jalan Besar just to have this for lunch.

Be prepared to queue about 30mins on weekends! I’ve always preferred hk-style char Siew rice with the thicker cut of meat! This is on the lunch menu (starts at 11am). Not bad for Char Chan Teng in singapore.

With hae mee you should always get the dry version. I bucked the trend and reaped what I sowed. :( Shun Li has two opening hours- one in the morning and one for the supper crowd (think 1:30am) This is comforting and nostalgic! There are better options out there tho~

Toa Payoh heartlanders have it good. If you happen to stay in the 120+ block area of TPY Lorong 1, you’ve no shortage of good food at reasonable prices. The dark horse is the roasted pork belly (Siew Yuk). I can mildly taste the five spice and the skin still retains a crunch. Hua Fong Kee is definitely an underrated gem of a neighbourhood eat.

Kok Sen is closed for 2 weeks from 1 March 2021 for renovations. So we braved the Friday dinner crowd for its Tze char fare. This claypot dish was one of their signatures, and we saw it on every table around us! They use fish/sotong paste to fill their vegetables (chilli, capsicum and brinjal) and stuff their tau pok. Being a more Hakka YTF kinda guy, it lacked the meaty bite of minced pork for me. The 汁sorta compensates as it definitely adds to the umami! Overall Kok Sen is the cheapest thing to eat along Keong Saik, but it‘s a little pricier for Tze Char.

Made the mistake of coming here on 元宵节. We queued a whopping 1.5hrs long as they didn’t take reservations! 😭 The food was good, but not great enough to repeat the long wait. This crispy roast chicken comes with pepper salt and homemade chilli 🌶 a real blast to the Chinese wedding dinners of yonder years. Skin’s crisp but not oily, meat’s tender but not too dry. Better than your usual chicken rice fare.