A Star Curry Puff

Only got to know about their existence of A Star Curry Puff when we were around Kallang Leisure Park fairly recently — these folks had seemingly sprouted up within the mall occupying a space that is relatively close to the entrance of the mall from Stadium MRT Station. A concept by the folks behind Hansfort Pte. Ltd. (also seemingly the company that runs the outlet of Au Croissant at Kallang Leisure Park), A Star Curry Puff is an establishment that seems to have aspirations to being a fresh contender to the myriad of Nanyang Kopitiam-themed dining establishments that have been opening up all across the island in recent times. Decked in a retro design that mimics that of an old school coffeeshop with a counter that bears a mosaic-tile design as well as furniture and fittings of a wooden and rattan accents, one can also find a number of old-school ornaments placed on the shelf hanging above the counter that brings those nostalgic vibes whilst dining within the space. The dine-in area comprises of a decent number of seats that most accommodates to groups of four (4) pax; most of them being regular dining tables and chairs though booth seats can be found by the side of the wall as well. The food menu at A Star Curry Puff is categorised into several categories such as that of A Star Toast Set (i.e. Hainanese-style breakfast toasts), Meal Set (i.e. local rice and noodle dishes) and Ala-carte (comprising of fried rice, pasta and western-style dishes). Considering how the establishment does mention “Curry Puff” in its namesake, they also do carry quite a number of flavours of curry puffs on the menu as well – all of which being display prominently in the display case at the entrance to entice passers-by. Beverages available at A Star Curry Puff will include Nanyang-style Kopi & Teh, as well as other drinks such as Bali (i.e. Barley; yes we know …), Milo and Ice Lemon Tea.

Of all the items that we had tried, it was perhaps indeed their curry puff that left the strongest impression with us. A Star Curry Puff does serve up quite a variety of flavours of curry puffs such as the Curry Chicken & Egg Puff, Rendang Chicken Puff and the Bacon & Egg Mayonnaise Puff, though the one variant that really caught our attention was the Japanese Curry Puff. It is worth noting that the curry puffs that A Star Curry Puff serves up are slightly on the smaller size when compared against the likes of Old Chang Kee’s Curry O. The puff pastry of the Japanese Curry Puff can be described as light and flaky, though not necessarily crisp nor was it exactly buttery — we did note that the puff did not necessarily feel greasy however, though some crispness would probably work out well nonetheless. The filling of the Japanese Curry Puff was what impressed us however; coming with a curry gravy that is still moist, the filling of the Japanese Curry Puff reminded us of what we would have expected to come with the Japanese-style curry donuts or Kare Pan — came with various chunks of root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots, all that with a curry gravy that is slightly sweet, earthy and lightly peppery. Overall, the level of spiciness was pretty mild, and this should still work well even for those whom have a lower tolerance to spiciness in general.

Wanting to go for something substantial since we were visiting A Star Curry Puff during lunch, we found ourselves opting for the Laksa. The Laksa at A Star Curry Puff does come with quite fair bit of other elements which include items like thick rice noodles, prawns, beancurd puffs, fishcake, beansprouts and half of a hard-boiled egg; also comes with a dollop of sambal chili over the top as well. Whilst coming in a bright red and orange hue that looked fairly enticing, we felt that the Laksa gravy here lacked the depth where the flavours of the rempah spices are of concern. To their credit however, we were glad that they didn’t go all out with the coconut milk here since the gravy would have unnecessarily rich if so. Interestingly, it does seem that these folks had substituted the use of blood cockles in the typical Laksa with clams instead; likely a move from the fact that blood cockles are pretty much a subjective thing despite being typically a standard element of Laksa. With all the hype on Yam Paste-infused Hainanese breakfast-style toast these days, it seems that the folks at A Star Curry Puff had recognised this trend and offering their patrons with such an option under the A Star Toast Set section of the menu. The Ornee Butter Toast can be ordered ala-carte or in a set; the latter comprises of two (2) soft-boiled eggs and Hot Coffee/Teh. The folks at A Star Curry Puff seemed to have opted to serve their Ornee Butter Toast featuring yam paste that has been infused with coconut cream; it also comes with thick slab of butter in between. Overall, we did find that the flavours of the yam paste are a little weak, though the toast does come crusty and lightly crisp; the chilled butter adding a bit of a bite whilst at it. For those whom are looking for a version of the toast that is more Yam-centric at A Star Curry Puff, the Ornee Toast would be the one to go for which excludes the use of butter. The Kopi here is a decent brew, though ie also one that is more veered towards the sweeter side of things — still works as a good accompaniment to the selection of curry puffs that they have to offer. Having tried a good number of items which A Star Curry Puff has to offer, we find their offerings to be pretty ordinary save for the curry puff which is slightly more noteworthy than the other dishes we had tried. Not going to deny that it would take a fair bit of convincing to make a special trip down to Kallang Leisure Park just for their curry puffs, though considering the footfall of the mall, they do seem like a good spot to grab a curry puff as a light snack over a cup of Nanyang-style Kopi.