Food Stops In NUS

New cafe replacing Late Plate at Shaw Foundation Alumni House, serving up casual Japanese rice bowls and snacks. Both portions of the wagyu and chirashi really differed from the pictures I saw earlier! Beef was reasonably tender but the chirashi was slightly over aburi-ed. I think it was just an off day. Definitely still worth going back! Am anticipating the release of their crab ramen ^^ #vsco #vscocam #vscofood #vscophile #whati8today #cafehopping #japfood #japricebowls #localsmes #localcafes #sgfood #sgfoodies #sgcafe #eatoutsg #sgcafefood #sgcafehopping #cafehoppingsg #exploresingapore #tablesituation #cafefood
#burpple #waacow #heartytastyworthy

A worthy alternative to Ameen's as your late night supper snack. Got this plate for $4.80, isn't the cheapest but it's not too bad. Loved the freshly fried chicken wings which were nicely marinated and crispy, a bit like a cheaper KFC going at $1.30 per piece.

Hearty (portion): 3.5/5
Tasty (product): 4/5
Worthy (price): 4/5

Humongous portions that made me skip dinner for the day. Lamb fell off the bone, red wine sauce leaned more towards mushroom, and the buttered mashed potatoes were delectable. A little pricey, but I guess it's worth a splurge once in a while.

Hearty (portion): 5/5
Tasty (product): 4/5
Worthy (price): 3/5

On a rare visit to the Science canteen I was craving for the Ayam Penyet. Perhaps people say that the Panggang at TechnoEdge is way better but I definitely prefer the Penyet here at Science. The chicken thigh was slightly flaky, dry, and looked rather malnourished as there was not much meat on it, like a 'kampong' chicken. However, the fried crispy bits really gave the dish a classic taste with the use of the yellow oil. A spoonful of the curry with rice together with the fried chicken was a burst full of spice and flavour. Since the last time I came, they raised the prices by 30 cents but it still makes for a rather inexpensive yet pleasurable meal. Don't expect to be very full though. 

Heartiness (portion): 3/5
Tastiness (product): 4.5/5
Worthiness (price): 4/5

12/05/15

Platypus kitchen opened a mini bar and cafe here in the Science faculty in NUS. Here's the Medium food bowl ($7.50 plus drink of 50 cents) which features salad (corn and kidney beans, lettuce, pasta), 1 regular choice (olive rice / soya sauce chicken / cream potato / chopped sausage) and 2 premium choices (salmon / smoked duck). The food here is decent and tastes good too! I feel that the small bowl is more worth it though, going at $5.50 with 1 less premium choice. I like the ambience as well and the smell of coffee that piques focus. At 50 cents you get a small glass of drink - I got the Mango Sjora.

Heartiness (portion): 4/5
Tastiness (product): 4/5
Worthiness (price): 4/5

Ordered this for a rare and indulgent supper treat because my nap extended through dinner :/ a simple fried rice with egg and Malay seasoning. I mixed the chili with the entire packet of rice to give it that extra oomph of pepper and spice. I collected this from my friend a little later so the crispy colored koropok was soggy by the time I consumed this :/ ah well. A reasonably satisfying supper. And I guess it's cheaper than what you get at Al Ameen's without too much compromise on the taste so that's a plus.

Heartiness (portion): 4/5
Tastiness (product): 3/5
Worthiness (price): 4/5

Soft, homemade dumplings tossed in homemade peanut sauce and bean paste chili. Some roasted peanuts and chopped spring onions tossed in as well.
A mixture of sweet, savory, and spice. Very interesting and delectable!

Heartiness (portion): 3/5
Tastiness (product): 5/5
Worthiness (price): 4/5

*NOTE: this stall is now closed :(

Now this is a hidden gem in the heart of NUS Engineering Faculty. It is one of the best places for Dan Dan Mian (DDM) and Dumplings (抄手). Getting here is quite a pain because of NUS' hilly terrain and messy building structure but trust me it is worth it. The DDM here comes at an affordable rate of 3 dollars and comes with handmade noodles, peanuts, a special nutty sauce, bean paste chili, and minced meat. The concoction is then mixed with love in its bowl with a pair of giant chopsticks before being served fresh. I usually get an egg to top up this meal for an extra 50 cents.

Heartiness (portion): 4/5
Tastiness (product): 5/5
Worthiness (price): 5/5

From the people who brought to you Don's Pies, Bazuka Yakibuta serves up "explosive grilled pork" as expressed in its brand name. I saw a post on this donburi and I wanted to try it since they have an outlet at One@Kent Ridge which is in the proximity of school. I had the combination Donburi which included both Crackling and Caramalised Roast Pork ($9.80), plus I added an onsen egg ($1) to bathe my rice bowl with some egg yolk sauce ^^

Unfortunately the taste of this did not meet my expectations at all. Perhaps it was a little late into afternoon so the roast pork and charsiew was served cold, so was the onsen egg but that didn't matter as much. I think the saving grace might have been the dried chili which contained a bit of hebe and shallots. Honestly, it tasted like an upmarket hawker store, but I wouldn't even say that cause some hawkers serve better pork. The sauce was also too salty even though it was drizzled in small amounts over the rice. Sadly, I wouldn't come back anymore :( if I was in the area and was craving for charsiew rice, I think I would visit the Kopitiam upstairs to get my fix.

Heartiness (portion): 3/5
Tastiness (product): 2/5
Worthiness (price): 2/5

Located at Engin canteen Techno Edge, Swirlz offers froyo from a vending machine at an affordable price of $2 per cup. The flavour of the day was Wild Berries. I wasn't expecting much but the yogurt was surprisingly soft and refreshing. It also had a nice blend between sweet and sour, leaning more towards the sweet side. The froyo melted quite fast though, but that wasn't much of a concern because there wasn't a lot of it to begin with. Decent dessert option to consider, especially on hot day like this!

Heartiness (portion): 3/5
Tastiness (product): 4/5
Worthiness (price): 5/5

The Taiwanese stall at utown koufu opened last year and they sell, to me, one of the dishes in utown. Each rice grain can be tasted in your mouth, with a generous serving of egg fried together in the concoction. The pork chop is succulent and tasty, although a tad salty with the Taiwanese seasoning sprinkled on top, which you can ask for less. For this price, this dish really comes at a steal, and is reminiscent of what one would get in Crystal Jade. I was impressed the first time I came here and one year later, it still doesn't fail to impress. To NUS students and frequent visitors to utown - try this!

Heartiness (portion): 4/5
Tastiness (product): 4.5/5 (salty seasoning)
Worthiness (price): 5/5

NUS students' most popular supper venue! Usually most people love the Naan and Butter Chicken but this time I went for the the Fried Rice!

The rice was slightly soggy and could afford to be slightly more dry. The fried chicken on the other hand was a little two dry. Basically it didn't taste fresh. Had a piece of garlic naan after this which was much better. I think I'd better stick to that in the future.

Heartiness (portion): 3/5
Tastiness (product): 1/5
Worthiness (price): 3/5