Kuching Three Colour Noodle Have pretty much learnt about the existence of Tasty Food House 绑下风味美食屋 at Blk 161 Bukit Merah Centrak when we had made our visit to Good Kopi previously — in fact, both Good Kopi and Tasty Food House 绑下风味美食屋 occupies neighbourhood shop units at the foot of the HDB block here. While Good Kopi is more of an establishment that attempts to capture the attention of a slightly more younger (or hippier, as one might add) crowd, Tasty Food House is more of a basic eating house that is simply decked. Turns out, it does seem like this isn’t the only Tasty Food House location that is being situated around the island, though it is believed to be the only one that is run as an independent eatery within a space of their own; they do have another outlet that operates within the Food Junction food court at Raffles City Shopping Centre that largely focuses on its noodle offerings. The spot in which Tasty Food House occupies at Bukit Merah Central is the same location that was previously tenanted to the now-defunct Black and White 黑白配 where one can also find Yew Tee Feng Zhen Lor Mee. The space is simply-decked, though with modern-looking cushioned seats that comes with wooden accents; the tables also featuring a wooden surface as well — the establishment also looking rather bright and clean. Offering Malaysian fare, Tasty Food House serves up a variety of Sarawak Kolo Mee as well Kuching-style noodles; this include the Kuching Laksa as well as the Kuching Kolo Mee, just to name a few. They also do serve up breakfast sets that include Nanyang-style breakfast toasts served with boiled eggs on the side, as well as hotpot with three different types of soup bases that seems to be exclusive to the Bukit Merah Central location.
There was quite a considerable number of choices to go for whilst skimming through the menu and deciding on which of their dishes that we would like to go for. The Kuching Three Colour Noodle looked particularly enticing since most stalls in Singapore serving up Kolo Mee are pretty much focused on serving it up Sarawak-style; the three-coloured noodle also seem to be quite an interesting offering that is less commonly found in similar establishments across the island. The menu does not describe the elements that is being featured in the Kuching Three Colour Noodle; that being said, while the Kuching Three Colour Noodle does come with colours in three different shades, other elements include minced pork and char siew and spring onions — all noodle orders also come with a bowl of soup on the side to go along as well, while two types of chili and fried pork lard are also available at the self-service area where the cutleries are also placed.
Giving the bowl of noodles a good mix, it is noted that the noodles seemed to come with pork lard that allows it to be all slurpy given how it laces around the strands of noodles for a slightly glistening look as well; we often lament on how coloured noodles do seem to be served as such for the sake of looks, but we really liked how the tri-coloured noodles here comes with varied flavours. The one with the lightest shade would be the standard Kolo Mee that we are all familiar with, while the one in a darker shade of brown seems to have been tossed in sweet soy sauce for a note similar to that of instant noodle-style Mee Goreng. The one with the red hue was by far our favourite; one that carried a spicy kick which definitely tickled our taste buds. All three types or noodles does come with a slight chewiness that is an identifying characteristic of Kolo Mee. The minced meat helped to add a savoury, meaty note that was free from any undesirable porky stench, while the Char Siew itself wasn’t too memorable — one that uses the red dye but was fairly serviceable to say the least without tasting particularly odd. Adding the fried pork lard into the noodle is probably the best way to enjoy the Kuching Three Colour Noodle — the fried pork lard being fried till all crispy, yet without having the oil being all dried up. Overall, Tasty Food House does serve up some decent Sarawak / Kuching-style noodles at a decent price point — their noodle dishes being priced adequately from $5.50 to $6.90; only qualm would be the indoor dining environment where it did feel a little stuffy and warm which really isn’t the best. Still, a fuss-free eatery that should serve the working crowd and residents in the area fairly well.