Was going around the Serangoon Central neighbourhood one day and thought that there was a sight in which that we found a little unfamiliar from our usual walks around the neighbourhood. It does seem that the folks of Canning Big Prawn Noodle 皇家山大虾面 had recently re-branded their Serangoon Central location, and it is now currently known as Fort Canning 1963 皇家山 1963 instead. For those whom are unaware of where the location of the dining establishment is, the Serangoon Central location is a individually-run establishment that can be found at the foot of the Blk 262 Serangoon Central; this is also the same space that was occupied by the now-defunct first location of Nan Yang Dao 南洋岛 when they had first sprouted up in the local F&B scene in Singapore. There has been some changes made to the space by the folks of Fort Canning Big Prawn Noodle / Fort Canning 1963 since its days of being occupied by Nan Yang Dao 南洋岛; the space does seem a big use of blue in its decor that is pretty much the colour theme of the establishment. Otherwise, the establishment does come decked in a way that is more for function than for form; almost akin to most casual eateries around. With the rebranding efforts from Fort Canning Big Prawn Noodle to Fort Canning 1963, they have also revamped their menu to be more aligned towards that of a Nanyang-themed Kopitiam — the menu being segmented into sections dedicated to Prawn / Pork Rib / Pork Tail Noodles, Hainanese Curry, Blackgold Hor Fun, Nasi Lemak, Signature Fish Soup, Wuxiang, Sides, Breakfast, Dim Sum and Desserts. Beverages offered by Fort Cannjng 1963 would include that of local-style Kopi & Teh, as well as other concoctions like Yuzu Tea / Soda — just to name a few.

Having tried a number of Nasi Lemak dishes form several establishments throughout the week, we thought it would be better for us to go for another item that isn’t a Nasi Lemak dish — we eventually found ourselves settling for the Hainanese Curry Rice with Pork Cutlet from the Hainanese Curry section of the menu considering how Hainanese curry is a less commonly found item during our various visits to other Nanyang Kopitiam-themed establishments around the island this far. For those whom do not fancy pork cutlet with their Hainanese Curry Rice, other meat options that one can find at Fort Canning 1963 would include that of Chicken Chop, Curry Chicken Drumstick, Braised Pork and Fried Black Pomfret. Whilst not being described in the menu of Fort Canning 1963, all their Hainanese curry rice dishes also comes inclusive of braised cabbage and a sunny side-up. The Hainanese Curry Rice with Pork Cutlet does come in the same style as how one would also Hainanese curry rice to be like — the rice being drenched in a generous portion of their curry gravy, whilst also being paired with a rich braised liquid as well. There was actually sufficiently curry gravy and braised liquid to go with all of the rice; the curry being sufficiently rich in its flavours and should be manageable even for those whom are not particularly tolerable to spiciness in general. The braised cabbage was decent; cooked to a soft consistency though we have had variants of the cabbage that were more flavourful elsewhere — still pretty ok overall. The sunny side-up here would come with a fully done egg yolk, while the pork cutlet was the only item that felt like a little bit of a letdown. Whilst we do applaud how the pork cutlet does seem to tenderised and come with a batter made from soda biscuit crumbs like how it is traditionally done, it was also a tad dry for our liking as well.

Other dishes that we had tried during the same visit to Fort Canning 1963 would include the Wu Xiang Platter (Regular); this would comprise of a combination of several items such as fried beancurd, fish cake, prawn crackers, Ngoh Hiang etc.. Accompanied with two (2) different sauces, one of them was a more savoury, zippy and spicy dip; the other was almost akin to that of the sweet, pinkish sauce that usually comes with Indian-style rojak. The various elements in the Ngoh Hiang (Regular) were fairly decent; all without coming particularly greasy with all of the deep-fried elements being pretty crisp — our only qualm would be the fried beancurd being not quite as fresh as what we would have expected. The Oni Toast is actually their version of the typical Kaya Butter Toast that comes spread with a yam paste filling — whilst coming with a thick, smooth and creamy spread that comes in a shade of light purple, the spread does seem to hint of a heavier note of coconut cream with a very light touch of earthiness from yam in its finish. It is also paired with toasted wholemeal bread here; slightly different from the brown bread that one would associate with the local style of Kaya Butter Toast here. The Tiger Biting Lion is essentially the Hor Ka Sai; the namesake being the direct translation of Hor Ka Sai from Cantonese to English — the version here seeing the addition of Milo into the Kopi in the form of Milo powder sprinkled atop the Kopi much in the likes of Milo Dinosaur. Overall, Fort Canning 1963 does feel like a spot with hits and misses; its attempt in serving up fare typical of Nanyang Kopitiam-themed establishments can be felt in both how the menu is designed and how the food is executed — definitely a wider variety than what Fort Canning Big Prawn Noodles serve up. That being said, we did feel that there are some elements within each dish that could be executed better for to hit that spot for us. We do hope that the folks at Fort Canning 1963 are able to further work on their craft as they get used to the operations with their new menu; this is especially considering how the local F&B scene have been pretty saturated with Nanyang Kopitiam-themed establishments that have appeared in recent times …