Campus Eats

Baos, especially those made in-house, are like one of my ultimate favourite Chinese breakfast dishes because they're so handy and satisfying. And because generosity lies in the blood of Chinese (haha what even), their food is often large in portion and abundant, just like these baos and their fillings. (It may not seem a lot here, but that's because the fillings aren't exactly centered and I happened to tear open at the area where the fillings are less)

Often, the buns made by the mainland Chinese are chewier and that's what I really love. I also appreciated that the fillings aren't too sweet here. The yam (top) was chunky and natural-tasting, the black sesame (bottom) is paste-y and fragrant, and the red bean (not pictured) contains whole red beans!

May be a little pricey at $1.50 each, but they're definitely not the size of the usual buns you get in a typical coffee shop.

As dinner time approaches, this Chinese stall beside Aston's works non-stop as groups and groups of students, especially the mainland Chinese, walks away with 2-3 dishes for sharing. Similar to a tzichar stall, this stall actually has an extensive menu comprising at least 30 varieties of meat, vege and soups with varied cooking styles/flavours to suit your tastebuds.

Not really knowing what some of the names mean, and because I didn't want the typical sweet & sour flavours, I just went with the unknown and got a big shock of my life when my fish fillet came in a bowl of fiery red soup LOL I was initially afraid of the spice, but I was immediately calmed down when I smelled the intense and pungent aroma of the peppercorn 😍 The taste of the soup came as a surprise too as it wasn't as salty as I'd expected, and the fish fillets resemble closely to a silken tofu - super, super soft and tender.

This dish costs $9 but the amount is definitely generous. Paired with a bowl of rice, it's something you'll need on a cold, rainy day.

When it comes to Science canteen, many will flock and queue for two stalls - the noodle stall and the chicken rice stall. As I always wanted to know which stall does their food better, and whether they're really worth the hype, my bf and I decided to buy the same thing from each stall and do a blind taste test. We ordered the wanton mee and requested for more char siew, more wantons and more vege; the noodle stall's (top) cost only $2.50, and the chicken rice stall's (bottom) came up to $5. However, the chicken rice stall's portion is really almost double that of the noodle stall's, with 8 wantons given as compared to 4.

We did 3 rounds of blind taste test, each on the noodles, char siew, and wantons. Surprisingly, we chose the same stall for each component and the clear winner goes to......

Chicken rice stall!!!

While both noodles had the alkaline aftertaste, the sauce from the chicken rice stall was more flavourful. The char siew was also more tender, as compared to the noodle stall's which were dry and doesn't exude the porky fragrance that the former has. Lastly, the wantons were bigger and more delicious due to the addition of chives and water chestnuts, while the noodle stall's were just plain pork which tasted flat.

However, this result may only apply to their wanton mee; I know of other noodle varieties from the noodle stall which are popular among the people too (:

Vegetarian cuisine is new to the Science canteen, but I'm glad for its presence because it'll cater to the non-meat eaters and also provide a different dimension of flavours to the dining scene. 6 dishes are on their menu everyday but they'll also have daily specials (such as thunder tea rice and nasi lemak). The dry mee tai mak with minced 'meat' (pictured front, $3.50) is one of their 6 regular dishes offered daily and I love it for the al-dente mee tai mak coated with a strong-flavoured gravy, the seemingly real minced 'meat' and the vegetarian dumplings with minced 'meat' filling that tasted really umami. Love how the stall owners are really friendly and humble too 😊

The caifan and halal claypot aren't really fantastic, perhaps they'll be chosen when you're in a rush for class and can't afford to queue at the other stalls with nicer food.

"What's nice to eat at The Terrace?"
"Nothing."

Sad to say, it's quite true. I won't say that the food is terrible, but they can't be more normal. And it doesn't help when all the stalls and the atmosphere look so lifeless and old. The only thing that stood out the most is probably the Vietnamese stall which draws a consistent queue, but it's also weird because they also display veges/meat like a mixed vege rice stall when they're located just beside a legit Chinese mixed vege rice stall. Ordered their prawn and mango salad ($2.50) anyway, sweet and tangy but it was voluminised by lettuce instead.

The next interesting thing we saw was the Hongkong roasted delights stall selling "lala and fish white beehoon" ($4). But it was actually made like a fish beehoon soup and not the stir-fried version 😑 Nonetheless, the seafood was fresh and the soup is not bland.

The Terrace definitely needs an upgrade to be worthy of their own name.

If I stay at PGPR and there's only one food I can eat for my entire stay, it'll have to be this wanton soup which costs only $3 but comes with 12 substantial-sized pork dumplings and a heap load of vegetables in a highly flavourful soup. Comfort level: Maximum.

Just feeling a little sentimental as I approach the end of my university life, and one of the most pleasant memories I'll remember are definitely the canteen aunties/uncles who served me joyfully and wholeheartedly.

This Dilys cafe is located under a medicine block, and it differs from the others by selling mixed vege rice, drinks, salad, sandwiches and buns to-go with seating spaces within. The uncle mending the salad and sandwiches stall is especially friendly and courteous, not to mention the comfort-quality of the food prepared. Priced between $5.50-$6.50, it's a little pricey given that the sandwiches are not filling, but they sure are tasty and great for a light meal.

IT WILL BE THE CLAYPOT DELIGHTS. Seriously this stall serves one of the best meals in NUS cos where else can you get 2 legit chicken drumsticks (and 2 whole fish on a separate occasion) at less than $4 ?!?!!?? Their vege dishes are a good complement to the meats too, so so satisfied every single time 😋

Wew I'm so glad that I got to witness and enjoy the new food stalls at the revamped Science canteen before I graduate at the end of this semester :') This is a stall located in the air-conditioned canteen selling food akin to a Chinese cafe - toasts, coffee & tea, with dimsum and proper meals on a rotational basis.

For the day I visited, the meals available were Hainan Curry Beef Rice (top) and Four Treasures Rice (bottom) - both had brown rice, vege, and a wobbly onsen egg. The former had 6 thick slices of well-cooked and well-seasoned beef coated with thick curry, and I appreciated that they didn't drench the rice else they'll become soggy (but go ahead and request for it if you're a curry lover!) - an impressive dish for the price! The latter, too, was value-for-money and delicious, but had nothing to rave about because the chicken mid-joints, chicken sausage, and smoked duck are processed food anyway hahaha.

Always love the kebab stall in pasar malams? Well you can now get your kebab fix on campus! Choose from their selection of chicken, beef, lamb, battered fish, and falafel as a wrap, pita burger, salad, or basmati rice! Prices range from $4.50-$6.50.

The pita bread looked small at first, but it's humongous after being stuffed with my choice of chicken and loads of vege, resulting in a highly unflattering shot of mess right there. The chicken was sadly dry and tough, but the bread actually saved the day for being satisfyingly chewy.

Probably not the best grab-and-go option because subway may taste better overall, but the staff there provides a commendable, friendly service!

The vegetarian mutton biryani set (top, $4.50) features mock mutton cubes, which were super soft and tender, on a bed of fluffy basmati rice which was unfortunately bland. The chapatti set (bottom, $4.50) was great for their made-in-house chapatti, choice of 2 vege and dhal.

For both sets, the sides were essential in adding flavours to our otherwise tasteless carbohydrates, and it also helps that there weren't a pool of oil floating on top.

Salads, pastas, nasi padang and curry rice, platypus @ FoS doesn't lose out in terms of variety. Depending on the theme of each counter, you get to select every single ingredient to be placed in your bowl e.g. you get to choose from 3 different curries from the curry rice counter and 3 different rice from the nasi padang counter.

My order comprised of tikka masala chickpea curry ($3.90), shabu beef slices ($2.30), an egg (60 cents) and some vegetables. I was unimpressed with the curry which wasn't very fragrant and sufficiently spiced, and the rice for being in bits and having a mushy consistency.

Definitely pricey if you were to compare with the food being offered at The Frontier, but this will be the alternative if you're seeking something different in FoS!