The O List
Price Range: $20-$30
O for: Overpriced
What is popular here?
SG50 Laska Penne [$17.00++]
While it tastes okay, with mussels, shrimp and scallops to boot, I couldn't help but think how much more satisfying a bowl of actual laksa would be. Singapore, yay you~
PS Someone should really do something about the service standard at the Clementi branch. Basically "Diner Dash" on the highest difficulty.
What should I try instead?
328 Katong Laksa (QSC) [$4.00]
If the original's too east for your liking, Queensway Shopping Centre provides some Western salvation. There're 2 ground-level laksa stalls, so look before you leap.
The O List
Price Range: $40-$60
O for: Optimistic
What is popular here?
Lamb Biryani [$24.00++]
Exquisite basmati rice, infused strongly with saffron & paired well with tender lamb cubes.
Table's Pop [$11.00++]
Billed as a sugar-free popsicle made with fresh coconut & chia seeds, this signature dessert was alright, but not as impressive as other reviews made it out to be.
Bombay Pani Puri [$9.00++]
Think a complex, Indian Kueh Pai Tee. The assembly process involving sweet chutney, mint paste & spiced water makes for an interesting experience.
Chilli Cheese Kulzza [$10.00++]
A nice starter in the form of Flatbread stuffed with cheddar. Add Chilli salsa for a slow burn to turn up the heat...eventually.
Butter Chicken [$24.00++]
Delicious, plate-scraping goodness.
Price is a little steep though.
Naan [$5.00++]
Serviceable, but you can definitely find better naan elsewhere.
What should I try instead?
Butter Chicken [$6.00]
Upper Bukit Timah's Al-Azhar whips up a comparable Butter Chicken for a quarter of the price. Pity that the standard of their naan to mop it all up, is slipping.
This was a hosted Burpple meal, courtesy of Table by Rang Mahal.
The Short Review
Price Range: $12-$17
Nearest MRT: Kent Ridge
Instagrammability: High -
Shelves of hipster tomes? Check.
Oddly-shaped tables under direct sunlight? Check.
Food:
1) Prawn & Mushroom Linguine [$11.90+]
Five plump, tender but obviously defrosted prawns sit atop some very mediocre pasta. Sufficient chilli oil, not enough garlic.
2) Royals' Nyonya Mee Siam [$9.50+]
My friend literally ordered this because of its accompanying "Recommended" logo.
It's as good as any Toast Box rendition, albeit at a higher price, presumably from the presence of earlier said prawns also.
Declare student status for a 10% discount.
It's not like Sapore's offering much competition for Western fare, but Royals seems content with joining the former's ranks in food standards.
At least it's halal & on campus?
Come Here: Maybe?
The Short Review
Price Range: $9-$15
Nearest MRT: Buona Vista
Instagrammability: Moderate -
No air-conditioned seating in sunny Singapore? Tut tut. Midday alfresco should be rendered illegal.
Food:
1) 100day grain-fed Striploin Steak Burger [$7.50++]
Medium-rare steak was tough and tender in parts.
Caramelized onions & pickles were welcome additions.
Fries were just fries.
Okay as a burger, good for its price.
2) Truffle Mushroom Pizza [$6.00++]
Tastes quite delicious.
The aroma & taste of truffle oil didn't seem to make it on the plate, but charred mushrooms and a crisp, thin crust still makes a great pizza.
If ever a return visit, I'll probably be looking more at the Pizza section.
3) Smoked Chicken Quesadillas [$6.00++]
The menu promised a filling of "smoked chicken breast", which transmuted into a highly disappointing chicken ham.
Stick to Mexican joints like Cha Cha Cha for your fix of KFC Meltz.
4) Cheddar Cheese Beer Shoestring Fries [$4.00++]
The emphatically beer-infused drizzled cheese had an oddly unappealing taste, which made it hard to finish. The sum of Cheese fries and a mug of Beer sadly is not more than its parts.
Despite its watering-hole-inspired name, Beerfest's best value is derived from its half-price weekday lunch promos. Who says alcoholism is only a nighttime affair?
Come Here: Again (for lunch).
The O List
Price Range: $13-16
O for: Overhyped
What is popular here?
Pat Bingsu [$12.90]
Shaved ice was sufficiently fine.
Topped with red beans, toasted almonds, peanut powder & rice cakes, its taste wasn't great enough to overpower the thought at the back of everyone's minds that Bing Go Jung's version is bigger AND cheaper.
Oreo Bingsu [$12.90]
Little variety in its one-note flavour profile, which tasted like it was almost tailored for a child's palate.
Chocolate Banana Bingsu [$15.90]
It tasted the best out of the three, only by virtue that I like bananas lol.
What should I try instead?
Milk & Red Bean [$11.00]
Look for posts on Bing Go Jung to juxtapose that disparate Hand:Bingsu ratio. Westgate's newly-opened Nunsaram looks miserly in comparison.
The Short Review
Price Range: $11-$19
Nearest MRT: one-north
Instagrammability: Moderate -
Claustrophobic store space, surrounded by a flurry of construction works.
Food:
1) Paprika Chicken Sandwich [$9.90]
Their most popular offering was harder than desirable, and its spiced taste was just...okay.
On the side, the dressed arugula was not bad.
2) Salmon Guacamole Sandwich [$10.90]
A lot more enjoyable than the Paprika Chicken. Though, I'd probably not return for this open-faced sandwich.
3) Exotic Tart [$7.50]
A mix of passionfruit, pineapple & banana, the bright & acidic curd was quite palatable. Its sweet crust on both sides of the tart was superbly good, though you're probably getting what you paid for with $7.50.
4) Vanilla Choux [$3.50]
Absolutely delicious. The pastry is light, the cream filling is airy & not overly-cloying, and the whole thing tastes like an affordable, vanilla dream. Think an excellent Chewy Junior.
True to its name, Bakersfield's field of specialty is well, baking. Get real food from Fusionopolis' many options, then stop by here for a sweet finale.
EDIT: The pastry shop's closed & the death knell's a-ringing.
Come Here: Again (for desserts).
The O List
Price Range: $24-$33
O for: Optimistic
What is popular here?
Country Baked Ribs [$21.90+]
After tasting a string of dry pork dishes recently, it's nice to see tender meat falling right off the bone. Though it's already quite flavourful, I wished that they would have infused an even more emphatic punch to the tastebuds & seasoned more aggressively.
Manna Spring Chicken [$11.90+]
Again, flavourful & tender.
Again, I could not care for its accompanying peach slaw.
Beef Stroganoff [$14.80+]
Prefer a creamy, white base to its Southern approach of adding bell peppers & capsicums.
The thin beef strips were really just of zhi-char standard or less.
Add $8 for a passable French Onion soup and unlimited access to an unremarkable salad bar, drinks & yoghurt dispenser.
What should I try instead?
Baby Back Ribs [$32.00++]
Was really impressed 4 years ago by North Border Bar & Grill's signature, which was well-marinated & heavenly soft. Needs a repeat visit soon to verify its worth.
Have you ever tried such good, comfort hawker fare, feeling both familiar & familial, that it fills a long-lost gap left behind by the inexorable outcome of every stall we love?
Food, arguably the only stimuli for our sense of taste, hence weaves integrally into our bedrock of memories. A child's tastebuds are most alive; compensating inexperience with receptiveness, and explaining why most children hate the detected bitterness in vegetables.
When I was in primary school, my family's favourite stall in Dover Market was a Teochew Porridge-esque stall, simply affectionately nicknamed "Maid Stall" for their seemingly endless work hours & diligence, which on hindsight, was terribly un-PC of my parents. I guess that's how it is with our favourite hawker stalls; ask for its name and we'll stumble, ask where it is and we'll bring you there on the double.
It was the stall that introduced me to the concept that vegetables, specifically cabbages, could actually taste great; not mere formalities to a balanced diet, but highlights of a meal.
But "Maid Stall" eventually succumbed to every hawker's Death & Taxes - old age, increased rentals and a dearth of successors, and while some stalls can be 'resurrected' by "Our Makan Places Lost & Found", my childhood stall stayed dead.
Thankfully, I had an Anton "Ratatouille" Ego moment with West Coast Market's ćæ Hainanese Curry Rice.
Perfectly braised & delicious Cabbage, with an almost pink complexion, as well as overboiled Brinjal which was just the right texture of mushy, are both terrific vegetable choices.
Skip the obvious Pork Chop, which theirs is rather skinny & dry, and opt for their Meatball, which is tender, moist & flavourful.
Added an egg, cause why not.
Finish off with a ladleful of curry, which isn't spicy but delivers on its Hainanese taste in spades.
Our best hawker food picks may not be still around, and our hawker food picks may not be the best, but when a good stall hits close to home - I'm open to suggestions but mm, it's good enough for me.
#Hawkerpedia
The Short Review
Price Range: $10-$15
Nearest MRT: Buona Vista
Instagrammability: Moderate -
Light's largely sheltered by the above hotel & residences; compensated for with an adjacent water feature.
Food:
1) Hazelnut Strawberry Pancakes [$9.90]
Supposed to contain Bananas instead, which better matches its drizzled hazelnut, but they ran out.
The pancakes were appallingly hard; my culinary skills are nothing to shout about, but even I've made tastier, softer & fresher flapjacks than this.
2) Apple Juice [Free]
A token glass offered with all breakfast items, that came in useful in washing down the pancakes.
Better stick with titular menu items, I guess.
Come Here: Never (for pancakes).
The Short Review
Price Range: $12-$13
Nearest MRT: Buona Vista
Instagrammability: Moderate -
A contemporary pub bistro setting.
Food:
1) Grilled Chicken Steak [$10.90+]
Quite unenjoyable. The tender chicken was squandered in a pool of over-salty gravy, while the mash was distinctly artificial.
2) Fried Ocean Fingers [$10.90+]
Portion's slightly sad, but tastes okay.
3) Salad [Free Flow]
Lime Juice [Free Flow]
Mushroom Soup [Free Flow]
Mediocre salad.
Coffeeshop-standard juice.
Soup's more oily than desirable.
Ever since prices has hit rock bottom with their $10.90+ lunch specials, so has Sixty 40.
Come Here: Never.
Singaporean's Guide To Ulu Café Hopping
Price Range: $20-$36
Nearest MRT: Dhoby Ghaut
Instagrammability: High -
Inserted skylights for your photo-taking pleasure. Interior fittings already look VSCO-ed, lolol.
Food:
1) Berry Ricotta Hotcake [$18.90++]
Baked from the same mould of Strangers Reunion, Top Paddock & Paddy Hills, this giant madeleine littered with berries and a more sizeable ricotta lump than Hills, still needs to be shared.
2) Salmon Eggs Benedict [$18.90++]
On par with many Salmon Bens out there, but disadvantaged by its steeper pricing.
Sourdough's not the toughest, but again, could've been toasted to a better crisp.
Meanwhile, a dollop of pùté-esque cranberry cheese on the side was absolutely splendid.
Come Here: Maybe?
Singaporean's Guide To Ulu Café Hopping
Price Range: $20-$36
Nearest MRT: Bugis
Instagrammability: Low -
Poor indoor lighting at night; worse still outside, dancing in the moonlight.
Food:
1) Blackened Pork Collar [$24.00]
Divine, delicious Thyme & Garlic cream sauce, which could have used a more generous helping to soften the pork that felt like it just came off the set of Mad Max.
"It says a lot about the place if its top pick is overdone."
Mash was fine.
2) Chicken & Waffle [$20.00]
Nicely battered & fried chicken, aggressively yet acceptably seasoned with salt. The waffle, intentionally blander & fluffier to accommodate the chicken's heaviness, can be revived with a jar or two of maple bourbon syrup.
Thanks to Marcus for his Entertainer 1-for-1 Mains offer!
Come Here: Maybe?
