[Buona Vista, Singapore 🇸🇬]
Mango Snowflake 芒果雪花冰 (S$7+)
MONKI 台灣小吃部
Address 🛖 : 1 Vista Exchange Green, # 01-41 The Star Vista, Singapore 🇸🇬 138617
Note 📝 : 10% service charge
Finally tried @monkitaiwansg at Star Vista and food was pretty decent!
I was actually quite impressed with the Shredded Chicken Mee Sua ($7.80), as the noodles still had abit of bite to them, giving a small contrast in texture. The soup itself was quite flavourful without being too salty. Too bad they ran out of oysters!
Fried Salt and Pepper Chicken ($6) was my choice side. They were fried to perfection, as the exterior was very light and crispy, with the meat staying succulent. However, it can be quite salty towards the end!
The Cheese Sausage Egg Roll ($8) was very interesting, as the exterior was grilled till crispy. I honestly couldn't taste the cheese, as it was drenched heavily in mayo and sauces 😂 Kinda expensive for the ingredients used!
A possible option if you are in the area!
Classic lu rou fan that features succulent pork belly with good ratio of fat and meat. Their sauce is a thicker and savory rendition that nicely coats the fluffy pearl rice. Served with a braised egg, preserved vegetables, taukwa, and broccoli (a tad odd but greens are always welcomed).
the most interesting of the lot - featuring crepe base that was *cripsy* at the ends. this added an extra texture which we enjoyed! only thing was, we would have preferred it with more of that eggy goodness.
crispy and reminds me so much of taiwan! honestly one of the more authentic ones i've had in sg (but also, point to note, my last visit was in 2017 🙈).
a comforting dish - have it with their homemade chilli for extra flavour boost (the chilli definitely has a kick, so go easy at first try!).
Quite rare to get legit Taiwanese food in Singapore. This restaurant’s has done it, both in terms of the different street food offered and also the taste.
The double mix mee sua in particular was very impressive. For $11, it comes with intestines, oyster or chicken. You can choose two of the three. The portion is large and it comes with stripes of crunchy black fungus with generous shavings of cuttlefish. You should add more vinegar and also their special chilli sauce. Be careful with the latter because it packs quite a bit of heat.
The braised pork rice was good but nothing to scream about. And so was the popcorn chicken. The cuttlefish balls were packed with pieces of crunchy octopuses and really delicious.
Must come back to try other items on their menu.
The portion quite big. The taste so so only. The rice was on the softer side. Comes with pickled vege also. There is no GST but got service charge.
Homely and Comforting bowl of 台湾滷肉飯 Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan ($9.00+) which has a good mix of fats and meat. I wish they have a smaller bowl option so that I can try more food.
Monki Café 台灣小吃部, 01-41 Vista Exchange Green, The Star Vista, 138617
I decided to give this a try due to positive online reviews. Personally, my entire experience was just slightly below average. Will I visit again? Not really. I went on a Tuesday afternoon at 2+pm. My first impression upon stepping into the cafe was bad. A busy staff with horrified tone greeted us. When we seated, ordered and waiting for our food, we realised their staff just don’t seem to remember the food were for which table and kept serving food to wrong table. Some of items on the menu also ran out. I had their sweet potatoes, chicken mee sua, popcorn chicken and longan red date tea. The mee sua did not impressed me. Sweet potatoes and popcorn chicken were fine. The red date longan was solid. I guess my experience when I first stepped into the cafe did affect my appetite. And with nothing to wow or fantastic about the food, it just did not score any positive points from me.
Didn’t plan to visit Monki Cafe initially, but found our hungry souls drifting here for food after being rather peeved by the bad crowd management from a new cafe in a nearby neighbourhood.
One thing I have found Monki Cafe to have done quite well in is their snowflake desserts — the Watermelon Snowflake being the item I had tried when they had just opened their doors for not too long, and was something that I am still able to recall its flavour and textures even to this day several years after. The Chocolate x Whiskey Snowflake is probably something less delicate and more poised at the mass market, especially given how the milky, chocolate shaved ice felt more chocolate ice-cream than being light and fluffy like how ice should be, but I liked how they have included the dried raspberries for an extra chew and a slight tang of sourness to cut through that heaviness of the “shaved ice”. The true show-stopper here was the shot of whiskey — something bound to attract the degenerate drunks who will love a boozy dessert, not to mention its price tag at $10.80 for an alcoholic dessert that puts it at the same price of the Strawberry Snowflake here that is definitely more kids-friendly.
Monki Cafe is one of the spots with hits and misses; an establishment that serves rather homey Taiwanese fare in the West that does well enough to solve those cravings especially in times like these when travel isn’t much of a thing we can do. No doubt the offerings may still feel as though they are short of something especially when compared to more established names such as Eat 3 Bowls, but Monki Cafe is a deserving indie alternative that offers quite a good variety of items not commonly found (i.e. Taiwanese Plain Eggroll, Taiwanese Hotdog) that is worth checking out purely on the fact alone.
From Monki Cafe
Sliced Handmade Sponge: Matcha & Original
Honey Ginger Tea in a pot.
Loved the friendly smiles and interior.
Taiwan braised pork rice 台湾滷肉饭 (S$9)
Available at @monkicafeholland
Interestingly mixed grain rice was used.
Monki Cafe
Address 🏡 : Blk 43 Holland Drive, # 01-41 Singapore 🇸🇬 270 043
Open ⏰ : Tue - Sun : 10am - 10pm
MRT 🚇 : Buona Vista (EW21/ CC22)
Note 📝 : Only cash & grab payments
Help yourself to the water at counter
卤肉饭！trying this place for the first time, the food was pleasant and the people were rly nice too :)
This cosy Taiwanese cafe has a wide selection of mains and desserts! Was full from lunch so we just got drinks. The black sesame latte was light and felt quite healthy. The coffee for the latte was also pretty good. Paid around $4 for the drink and there’s an additional 10% student discount!
It’s pretty cosy and quiet, so I’ll probably be back to try the snow shaved ice desserts and mains.
Mango snowflake dessert (~$6.80, S) 🍧🍨 had a really strong mango taste! Expected it to be more icey rather than creamy but it had more of a ice cream texture 😂 Nonetheless the ice shavings were consistent texture and taste wise, and it was a nice treat amongst the crazy heat 🤩
Ig @goodfomood
Braised Pork Rice ($9.00) was filled a lot of ingredients such as Braised Egg, sliced sausage, braised minced pork and some picked vegtables. I thought its small serving due to the bowl at first glance but I realised its not that small while eating. Braised Minced Pork have marinated well with braised sauce and quite strong and a bit salty taste inside it. I will be coming for green tea (Matcha) dessert 🙆♀️ but it's not soon 😅
Returned back to Monki Cafe after my first trip a couple of years ago to try out their mains. Couldn't give the Taiwan Chiayi Chicken Rice a miss considering how much I like Eat 3 Bowl's rendition of the Taiwanese-style Chicken Rice. Thought the version here was palatable though certainly not the best I have had; while there was a decent portion of shredded chicken topped over the fluffy rice beneath, the chicken would have been even better being more moist — still provided a decent meatiness and savouriness nonetheless. Coming with preserved vegetables, it provides a slight tang for some contrast in flavour, while the Braised Egg comes drenched with the same sauce that comes with the Braised Minced Meat Rice for an enhanced note of savouriness with some bits of minced meat to chew on. A pretty decent place to get those Taiwanese cuisine cravings sorted out especially for the Westies; all in a pretty chill, cute and laid-back environment that's great for catching up with friends or dates.
