Comfort Food

My Favourite Cafe when it comes to YTF (pun totally intended!). And if you are wondering what's that humongous ball in the foreground, it is freshly minced meatballs that are a signature dish from this YTF store. Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, it's no surprise why I allowed myself to THREE 🙊 of these guilty indulgences out of the 6 ingredients I took.

Another must order here is their fleshy Korean imported mushrooms which are so earthy and juicy. They sell a packet here for $16!

Pro tip: Best to come before 3pm. Once I came after 3 and the meatballs were all gone ):

Costs $4.90, with 6 ingredients and 1 carbs. This is the minimum order.

Crazy good fish soup at The Arcade. This time I got myself the fried fish soup, which renders this version quite unhealthy but whatever!!! The fish batter wasn't too thick and adequately covered the entire fish fillet. I also loved how sze chuan vegetables and tomatoes were added in to give a slightly sweet and sour undertones. AND DONT FORGET TO ADD THE GARLIC BITS!!!!

Pro tip: come in the morning to order takeaway for the afternoon. It saves LOTS of time queuing.

CNY's the perfect excuse to have prata when eating out (since most places are closed) and as I sink my fork into the paper thin crispy prata, I instantly salivate. On the table you see the special paper prata (left), egg onion mushroom prata (top, with curry) and red bean prata (bottom). The total bill came up to $11 for these 3 fancy prata, which all proved to be super yummy.

The biased red bean lover me went straight for the red bean prata. Great for sharing, do not have this alone. I managed to finish 90% alone... and felt slightly sick after. The paper prata is also something to have. I'd recommend the plain as it is slightly sweet already.

Hiding in a corner, all the way at the end of The Arcade lies a humble fish soup store that serves up a lip smacking bowl of fish soup. As it was my first time trying, I had the Mixed Fish Soup with rice ($6 in total), which comes with fried fish, sliced fish and a bowl of white rice. To change your white rice to brown rice, all you need to do is to top up $0.50. Between both fish types, everyone at the table felt that the fried fish tasted better. Please do not leave out the yummy fried garlic on the side. Add in heaps of it to enhance the flavour of the soup. All of us have 2 refills of this super yummy fried garlic. Also, they are selling it in a bottle for $5.

One of the only stores still opened at night within the Tampines Round Market, Hai Chang Fish Head Steamboat is bustling with patrons even at 830pm at night. It is a teochew style steamboat with 'ti Poh' (fried fish fins), Chinese yam, a variety of different and of course, fish. Patrons can choose from 3 types - angkoli ($18), red snapper ($25) and promfret ($30). I liked the soup, which flavour was enhanced through the slow burning of charcoal, and the Chinese yam (just because I am biased towards Chinese yam). While the fish slices were thick and chunky, we weren't sure if it justified the price tag, considering it is in a hawker centre. Nevertheless, it was still a satisfying eat.

Hands down the cheapest teochew porridge I've had to date and I still think it's mighty yummy and comforting. The whole assortment of dishes here only costed us $7 (note: 2 meats and 2 vegetables). The lor ba was definitely the highlight of the meal. It was as meaty as it was fatty, drenched in a super umami braised sauce. I personally love the minced pork and soft cabbage as well. #BurppleCheapNGood

Banana oat porridge - a bowl of warm oats served with torched bananas. My idea of a comforting weekend breakfast. Somehow, I thought it can be made better with some strawberries. Maybe I'm just being greedy. Heh.

Looking for a bee hoon with wok hei? Find it at JB Ah Meng kitchen. Hidden within this ugly layer of bee hoon, you can find a few handfuls of meat and egg. While it doesn't look like much, the beehoon is super flavourful, so much so, you don't need any ingredients to accompany it. A small plate comes at the price of $12 and a waiting time of 40 minutes.

The ultimate comfort food is a creamy, grain-less, flavourful congee that comes in an extra big bowl. Cooked since the wee hours in the morning, the grains in the congee are beaten so fine, it's texture resembles a thick creamy soup. The amount of chicken inside is generous, more than enough for the bowl. $3 a portion. #BurppleCheapNGood

Sucky photo cause I was too desperate to want to eat it. And it satisfied my cravings perfectly. This plate of churros doesn't some cheap, at $20, but it's dark chocolate dip is worth ever dollar spent. The churros were decent, no hint of oil smell, but I thought the insides were a little under cooked.

So a rainy day led us to Toa Payoh for a piping how pot of Hokkien Mee ($15 for 3) and a spicy and tangy fish curry ($19 for 3). Both famous stores are housed under the same roof, which often led people to wondering which to order. I'd personally recommend the fish curry as it boasts a better price-to-taste ratio. The hokkien mee was a little disappointing, no wok hei, the broth was slightly diluted and the portion was really small.

So a rainy day led us to Toa Payoh for a piping how pot of Hokkien Mee ($15 for 3) and a spicy and tangy fish curry ($19 for 3). Both famous stores are housed under the same roof, which often led people to wondering which to order. I'd personally recommend the fish curry as it boasts a better price-to-taste ratio. The hokkien mee was a little disappointing, no wok hei, the broth was slightly diluted and the portion was really small.