Remembered making the trek to Blk 682 Hougang Avenue 8 for dinner when dine-in was still allowed under Phase 3 back then — pretty surprised to find a Happy Congee outlet at Blk 261 Waterloo Street in the same coffeeshop as Leong Yeow Hainanese Chicken Rice which had seemingly been through a revamp with a couple of new stalls moving in (including Liang Ji Char Kway Teow, which is making their move here after the closure of Xin Tekka).
Being one who would settle for the usual item if I was satisfied with what I had during my previous visit, I found myself revisiting the Rice Noodle Roll with Dough Stick again at this new outlet — had to resort to takeaway considering that I had visited this outlet during the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) period when dine-in is disallowed. I would say that these will definitely be better when had on the spot — the item is freshly-made, so one can actually expect the dough sticks here to come all toasty and crispy within. Taking away does affect the quality of dough sticks a little where it may get a little soft and limp, so one may want to exercise a bit of discretion with distance and timing in mind when it comes to ordering this item. Otherwise, the rice rolls are smooth and silken, while the dough sticks come in a pretty substantial portion where it’s almost the same girth as the dough sticks that come from hawker stalls serving up fried fritters (as opposed to the daintier ones that come with similar dishes in dim sum restaurants). Doused in light soy sauce, there was ample sauce to go around for a slight savoury note, while the chili does come with a slightly savoury note and a lightly spicy kick to just tickle the taste buds.
It seems that Happy Congee is massively expanding their presence after the success of their outlet at BGAIN Eating House at ARC380, with outlets sprouting up at various locations across the island — a pretty welcomed move though we do hope that the quality stays consistent in the long run; a challenge for most establishments that is heading in this direction of expansion.
