Oh, the price of hum these days! Missing the old Lik Ming laksa so tried this new one at Lor 4. Not bad lah, need to stir in the chilli for full flavour. Generous with noodles & fish flakes, decent sized prawns, friendly service. Just that everytime hawkers tell me how much it costs to add cockles (hum), I’m shocked into silence for a full minute. Erm $2. It’s fresh not overcooked & maybe just me being greedy but still feel too little leh. It’s just how it is lah. A portion of hum for mixed rice at Ocean Curry is also $2. And thinking back on the last two times I ate laksa ( restaurant & standalone franchise stall), this $6.8 laksa (because I die die must add hum) is still considered very reasonable lah.😅 Not complaining

Makan siang yang sangat santai (very relaxing lunch) … at this charming cafe-style Indonesian eatery. Opened only 4 months by 3 sisters, but already 105 google reviews at 4.9 score and nicely full at lunchtime! They specialise in oxtail, though we had the grilled & fried chicken, both of which were super tender peel-off-the-bone.The aircon is a wonderful respite from the heat, good service and I especially appreciate they disinfect each table after use. Very cute sliding window to pass out the serving plates, and we will be back to try other dishes and the desserts!

Picture is of their Toa Payoh outlet. This is the best banh mi I have encountered in Singapore! Not that I eat them much in sg but I used to eat them in Vietnam. And this one really suits my personal taste! Mostly because their meats ( beef/ chicken etc) are lean, because their crispy baguettes are freshly baked daily & they heat for you before filling, the fresh aromatic herbs & vege & the just-nice kick of spice! I have tried all flavors & cannot decide if I like chicken or pate better!

I had forgotten how good these chicken wings were! Tbh it’s been years since I ate at Hong Sheng, because I always had memories of waiting in queue until faint from hunger 🤣. So heads-up that the quiet June holidays (while many are out of town) may be a perfect opportunity to revisit …hardly any wait! We also had the infamous hor fun etc etc. Within tpy, for har jeong gai, I also really like Xiang Man Yuan and the now defunct Mei Chin, but the styles are different.

Came for the Nyonya fried rice! Auntie asked me why I ordered that instead of their more famous dishes that are more ‘Penang’ ( fried kway teow, chendol, laksa) and I told her that I read it in a food blog! It was pretty good, slight sweet sour taste, warm & comforting and big portion. Wish there was more substantial ingredients though! Will be back to try the more famous, more penang dishes 🤣. They apparently have outlets all across the island now

Can you trust rice dishes from a nyonya kueh stall? I didn’t think so, that’s why it took me so long to even try this. Was pleasantly surprised! Had the fried tumeric nasi ayam, you can taste the coconut in the blue pea rice and the spices in the well-marinated chicken! Amazing because these days it’s hard to even taste coconut in most nasi lemak! Extra friendly service, and just check out the thoughtful presentation! We will be back to try the boss-recommended curry.

First impression: Wah, small & cute! Unusual shape/size for a kopi cup!

2nd thought: A bit pricey for the size, for heartland coffee hor. $1.80

But it was a good cup of coffee and that made up for it! 🤣

This Pomelo Haze was an unexpected find! A beautiful tasty pint, straight from the tap, from a hawker stall!

🤣

It wasn’t the best local ‘omu rice’ I ever had but the chicken was super crispy. The unexpected star of the show was the lap cheong sausage, cut into slivers. I don’t usually eat this but they were cut unusually and camouflaged. Texture wise tasted like a super yummy beef jerky. The portions was super generous for $6, couldn’t resist to top up $2 for luncheon meat. Which was unusually cut into meaty cubes for more bite. Gotta say these guys are masters at using texture & their knives to enhance taste!

Soontofu is one of my fave things to eat. This outlet is always reliable, plus they give you free side dishes & yakult. But did you know they now have hawker outlets in AMK & Punggol for a fraction of the price? Don’t know if it’s my imagination but that tastes even better!

Shrimp dumpling noodles at Kok Kee, once one of my faves at TPY. The dumplings have shrunks though but the oyster vegetables are still reliably good ( the fried shallots make it so tasty)