A traditional Hainanese style western food tucked away in Tanglin Halt Hawker Centre, opens only from 7pm (not on time in fact) onwards at night and closes before 10pm. To our surprise, a long queue had already formed in front of the stall before it was opened and people were patiently waiting as the stall owners took their time to prepare.

This hearty plate of mixed grill came with a combination of chicken sausage, fish cutlet, chicken chop and pork chop, topped with a sunny side up and several sides including coleslaw, fries, baked beans and a baked potato. While the fish cutlet wasn’t an impresser, the chicken and pork chops were flavorfully marinated with their own secret recipe, and grilled till tender. Other than the black pepper sauce, look out for their brown sauce which, interestingly, has an underlying citrus taste. Savoury or sweet, likely polarizing as a meat pairing sauce. Fries was served soggy, disappointingly.

No doubt there were hits and misses, I was still quite satisfied with the overall taste and especially value for money with its portion. It’s still the type of old school western stalls I would patronize for a time travel in taste. However, the order and collection was quite chaotic as many orders were taken at a go, and it was hard to identify if the food that was ready belonged to you.

1 out of the 3 stalls selling minced meat noodles at Kovan 209 hawker centre, each of which has its own queue. Other than the generous amount of ingredients such as minced meat, fish balls, fish cake slices, mushroom slices, meat ball, pork lard, the sauce that the noodles were tossed in was heavily flavored and filled about a quarter of the bowl. Their chili has quite a bit of spicy kick. However, the noodles was a little tough and the overall taste was only average, probably not worth spending time on queuing.

The long snaking queue formed beside this stall caught our attention but it moved rather quickly. Probably because there were a few helpers at the stall.

Chose the usual suspects of my plate of curry rice; cabbage, pork chop and something new, celery with tau kee (bean curd skin). While the 2 vegetable dishes were quite flavorful, diners gotta be prepared that the pork chop here isn’t like what’s served usually, the crispy battered ones. This pork chop has no breaded batter, although it still has a chewy texture. But personally I wouldn’t have it again, as I felt like without the batter, the pork chop lacks of an aroma, as well as an additional crispiness. The curry tended to the sweet, milky side.

Wouldn’t mind trying out other dishes here the next time as they have quite a variety of dishes.

Unlike their Creatures Crayfish Hokkien Mee which was really impressive, the Urban Baba Babi Pongteh was rather mediocre. When asked for recommendations, we were told that this was one of the recommended dishes but the staff couldn’t explain why.

A very traditional peranakan dish; thick slabs of slow-cooked pork belly sitting nicely in the middle of a pool of tao jio, or fermented bean paste. You could guess the long hours of cooking as the tender meat could be easily torn away from the fatty portion. One thing, however, to note was that the fermented bean paste was probably too thick. Yes rich in flavour, slightly yeasty but because of it’s assertive flavour, the entire meat dish became way too salty. Barely touched the fermented bean paste after a few dips.

Served along with the nyonya chap chye of cabbage, black fungus, red dates (that’s a first that I have ever come across in a chap chye!) and dried shrimps that added a kick of umami.

We really underestimated the size of the Bánh Xèo, or crispy pancakes, served here. This must really be a group sharing size, and justifies the price for an appetizer.

These are Vietnamese style pancakes made with rice flour, tiger prawns, sliced pork, mung beans, bean sprouts and mushrooms, served alongside a dipping fish sauce and some fresh greens. I got a little confused at first as to whether the greens should be used to wrap the pancakes or to be sandwiched in between the pancakes since the greens were relatively smaller than each slice of the pancake. But it’s entirely up to you how you wanna eat it.

The overall flavour was rather complex to me; it actually felt like a murtabak with lots of different ingredients, especially stuffed with mung beans and bean sprouts. The mung beans were a little mushy, that created a soft texture that I felt was conflicting with the crispy pancake. Similarly, I couldn’t taste evidently the prawns as everything was masked underneath the taste of mung beans. It’s a little greasy too and gets jelak after a while, hence highly recommended to eat with those fresh greens and to enjoy as a sharing plate.

A warm bowl of fresh rice noodles served in a fragrant beef knuckle broth with bean sprouts, scallions, white onion and fresh Vietnamese greens. There are choices of toppings like sliced beef, brisket and shank, beef meatballs of mixed. We went for the simplest, sliced beef, hoping to have a replication of the taste in Hanoi.

Unfortunately the Phở here, in my opinion, was just average. The beef knuckle broth itself seemed to be lacking of flavour, and doesn’t quite hit the spot. Though the ingredients were quite generously added, I don’t appreciate being served the rice noodles that had already clumped up into a big chunk. I like the freshness of the greens and the tenderness of the sliced beef. I wouldn’t mind drinking the broth but it’s a far cry from the really good ones in Hanoi.

You can now enjoy 1-for-1 main dishes on #burpplebeyond at Mộc Cottage!

1-for-1 with #burpplebeyond!

Thanks to Burpple Beyond, we got to try these drinks from Ice Fork on National Day. First time trying a Gula Melaka version of the usual brown sugar fresh milk, and the main difference is the sweetness of the Gula Melaka that’s not as indulgent as the usual brown sugar. Also, you can taste a hint of roasted coconut, though lacking of the sticky sweetness of the brown sugar. The pearls in the drink are comparatively smaller, but still chewy.

For a refreshing treat, try their recommended pineapple passionfruit tea. Good balance between the sweet and sourness, with real chunks of pineapple and passionfruit to be enjoyed. A tropical drink that I wanted to quench thirst.

Good news for R&B lovers in the west, especially Jurong like myself! No longer having the need to travel far for a cup of R&B bbt.

It’s still one of my top choices for brown sugar boba milk, or the milk tea with brown sugar pearls. Some might find the brown sugar coating too sweet but I feel it strikes a good balance as it gets mixed into the fresh milk. Love the chewiness of the boba and for its price, the size of the drink is definitely worthwhile.

Totally unimpressed by these supposed lava-flowing buns which turned out to be mini paus with a rather tough dough and what sort of felt like a frozen filling made to be heated upon request. Other than being clumpy and not even flowy, the custard filling had a milky, sweet corn taste. Disappointed since it’s thought to be one of the highlights here. I would rather just have the beef hor fun.

If you have ever been to Hanoi, you would know that Bún Chả is a traditional dish which originated from Hanoi. Here at the 3-week old @moc_cottagee along Tanjong Pagar Road, you can find a Bún Chả that resembles closely to the original dish in Vietnam. We heard that the owner is a Vietnamese, who also owns Mộc Quán at UE Square.

Served on a large bamboo tray, there’s a small portion of Há Nội style rice vermicelli to pair with the grilled fatty pork, grilled meatball made of minced pork in a side dipping fish sauce,and a plethora of fresh herbs. First bite into the grilled pork belly hits the spot immediately; smokiness on point with a sweet saucy coating, just like the way they have it in Hanoi. Do take note of the amount of cartilages though. However, the meatballs were a little tough and seemed to be under-grilled. Personally I love the fresh herbs in Vietnamese cuisine that helps to cut grease, and I appreciate the fact that the portion here was rather generous.

Thanks to @eatigo_sg, we bagged a 50% deal! It’s also on #burpplebeyond, so I am definitely coming back on days with cravings for Vietnamese food!

Paying homage to our local delights but it’s saddening to read about the closure of @nonentree at the end of October this year. What a loss to the cafe/patisserie scene yet again.

Painstaking efforts goes behind creating this dessert. Here’s the decode: Passionfruit “noodles”, coconut “fishball” parfait, Gula Melaka crumble, pineapple crushed ice, red tea jelly, mango fluff and sea coconut. So detailed to the extent that the “noodles” are made to a firm texture, though the coconut parfait was a little dry. Particularly pleased with the remaining toppings for their tropical boost, paired with a hint of smoky sweetness from the Gula Melaka crumble. If you haven’t tried any of the desserts from Non Entrée, it’s time before they shut their doors.

It’s the time of the year again, where merchants are coming up with local-inspired flavours. Just like Old Chang Kee’s limited time Mao Shan Wang puff.

Priced at a hefty $3.30 per puff and $6 for 2, it is advertised that it contains real Mao Shan Wang durian filling. With every 2 puffs, you get 2 free sachets of OWL Kopitiam Roast & Ground coffee.
Sad to say, I enjoyed the flaky green puff crust more than the filling, even though it was on the oily side. I don’t deny the real durian bits, but just wondering how much additional stuff in there to make it taste more like a lempok durian instead, those rolls of durian cake from Malaysia. Nope, not worth the price.