Welcome to Bukit Merah.

Was going around the Bukit Merah Central neighbourhood and a couple of new stalls situated within the SG Kopitiam at Blk 161 Bukit Merah Central caught our attention — this would be the very same coffeeshop which houses prominent stalls such as that of No. 25 Minced Meat Noodle and Wong Kee Wanton Noodle. Matter is a new entrant to the coffeeshop sharing its space with 161板面 Ban Mian that occupies a space that is half the usual size of a stall unit at the coffeeshop: these folks had taken over the stall that used to serve up economic Bee Hoon there. Matter is a beverage specialty stall that supplements the coffee stall situated within the same coffeeshop; a concept that mentions that it is being supported by Compound Coffee Co. (itself a local coffee micro-roastery that also runs a cafe situated at Kaki Bukit), the menu features specialty coffee, matcha latte, drinking chocolate and chai.

Noting that Matter does serve up an Espresso Tonic, we found ourselves going for the same — whilst most specialty coffee establishments that we had visited tend to serve up their versions of the Espresso Tonic with more commercialised brands of tonic water, we did note that Matter uses Grapefruit & Thyme Tonic Water sourced from Alchemy & Tonic for their Espresso Tonic; the shot of espresso being extracted from the espresso machine and steeped into the tonic water with ice. Perhaps it is the use of flavoured tonic water here that seems to make the Espresso Tonic here feel a little less punchy from the caffeine; nonetheless there is that slight zippiness going on amidst all of the carbonation that does make it quite a refreshing beverage to have especially given the heat these days.

For those whom have been following us for a while, the mention of an establishment named No Original Chicken might ring some bells — whilst we had previously visited No Original Chicken at Beo Crescent Food Centre, they had first started (and are still in operation) at PSA Complex. Their Beo Crescent location has since been shuttered; that being said, they seemed to have found new digs at Redhill Food Centre. The menu available at No Original Chicken at its Redhill Food Centre location does differ a little from what is being served up at their PSA Complex outlet — rather than serving up Grilled Chicken Set (also previously served up at Beo Crescent Food Centre) and Fried Chicken Meal, their Redhill Food Centre outlet only focuses on Curry Chicken offerings that were also previously served at Beo Crescent Food Centre. Patrons do get a choice of two curry options; a tomato based curry and a herb based curry, while on would go for the set which sees the curry coming with chicken, potatoes and a type of carb that patrons would be able to choose from.

It is noted that Sets 1 to 3 would be for their herb based curry, while Sets 4 to 7 comes with their tomato based curry — our choice of Set 6 also meant that the tomato based curry would come with 1x chicken drum / thigh, 1x potato and 1x Briyani Rice. Based on the description provided in the menu, the tomato based curry features elements such as slow-cooked tomatoes, tamarinds and roasted chilies. Going for the tomato based curry, we did like how the curry does feel lighter here and generally seemed to be more focused on the spices being used rather than the richness of the curry itself — the result is a less jelak curry that isn’t too heavy from the use of coconut milk and had an emphasis especially on the slow-cooked tomatoes bringing a tang and roasted chilies that gives a kick of spiciness that should do just fine for those whom are tolerable to lower levels of spiciness. The chicken drumstick does come tender, having seemingly been slow-cooked in the curry whilst the potatoes were also stewed to a soft texture. The Briyani Rice does come with a side of Nonya-style Achar; the rice being light and fluffy whilst carrying a hint of fragrance from the use of saffron and other spices that matched well with the tomato based curry, while the Nonya Achar gives a refreshing bright and tangy crunch that helps to reset the tastebuds.

[BUKIT MERAH, SINGAPORE] This is not your friendly BCM who says hi, this is a bowl that shouts FLAVOUR right in your face 😂

I believe No. 25 is no stranger to most people, but it's been on my list for some time and I'm glad to have tried it on one work day afternoon! Arriving at 1145am, the queue was about 45 mins and I got the Signature Minced Meat Noodle ($11.50 for medium size).

The noodles were just slightly springy, and very heavily seasoned with a savoury chilli sauce. This is very rich, very sinful but quite satisfying. If only the noodles were a little more al dente!

The soup itself was also very rich, full of umami but surprisingly not too salty. I can tell the ingredients were all quite premium, especially their fish dumplings. The liver was very well cooked, with the right soft and bouncy texture!

Personally, even for a person that enjoys heavy flavours, this might be abit too much for me. This is still a quality bowl of BCM, but I can imagine others liking this more!

3Brew Coffee is one of those places that we had managed to learn about only when waking past the shop space within the neighbourhood — these folks are located at Blk 164 Bukit Merah Central, being situated right beside Fu Kang Coffee Shop 福康咖啡店. An establishment that is set-up for takeaway operations, there are no seats situated within the shop unit itself; with that being said, the only seating space provided by the folks at 3Brew Coffee would be the camping chairs that is located outside. 3Brew Coffee does remind us a little bit of the hipster coffee kiosks that had been popping up in some heartlands of the late; think the likes of concepts like Bumi Brew and the now-defunct QYLS Coffee — the menu is one that heavily emphasises on its coffee offerings that is split into sections dedicated to Specialty and Nanyang, while they also do carry a Tiramisu and a Sea Salt Brownie for those looking for something to go along with their cuppa.

3Brew Coffee does serve up their Nanyang-style Kopi using their espresso machine much like how the folks at Generation Coffee, Bumi Brew, Koffee Kollective, Seasonal Brew etc. does it, but the Sea Salt Brownie that the offer is also something that really deserves a mention. The folks behind the counter at 3Brew Coffee had mentioned that they do not have any plates and hence provided us with a tissue to serve our Sea Salt Brownie on — presentation issues aside, we were really impressed with how the Sea Salt Brownie is being executed here; slightly crusty on the outside, all that whilst being soft and moist to the point that it is almost fudge-y within. Coming with a very rich chocolate-y note, we liked how the the brownie wasn’t too sweet — all that whilst coming with specks of sea salt that helps to balance things out with a slight hint of saltishness that cuts right through to keep things from going too heavy; a brownie that was definitely easy to have and also one that would capture the hearts of those whom love their chocolate-y desserts!

Not acidic and smooth

Had heard about the new Postboy Coffee that had recently opened within the grounds of Enabling Village — Enabling Village is situated within walking distance away from Redhill MRT Station, and has been seeing quite a number of interesting F&B additions of the late; this includes establishments like Mad Roaster's Slow Bar and Bailey & Patch Pet Cafe. Postboy Coffee is actually located in a newly-constructed building within the compounds of Enabling Village; they can be found in an area quite nearby both the aforementioned dining establishments, though it is located in a complex named the i'mable Collective Space. This is a retail-cum-gallery / studio-cum cafe space that showcases the creations of people with various disabilities, which allows them to be trained and up-skilled for potential employment in the future. Postboy Coffee fronts the entire space on its second floor, with quite a decently-sized dine-in area being dedicated for its operations. The working area of the cafe for its own staff is sectioned away with wooden panels; pretty much the same fittings used to partition each section of the space away from each other, though blue acrylic signages does indicate the existence of the establishment whilst also listing down the beverage menu that they have to serve. The seating space comprises of a mix of booth seats and proper dining furniture; there are more booth seats that makes use of side tables for dine-in seatings, though individual diners would find the small cubby holes near the counter seats with high chairs facing the windows being particularly cosy. The food menu at Postboy Coffee is fairly simple; the highlights would be the various renditions of Waffles that they have to serve up, though they also have a number of bakes which are stocked in the display case at the counter. Otherwise, Postboy Coffee does seem to emphasise largely on the beverages it serves; the beverage menu being sectioned into Coffee, Non-Coffee and Tea.

Skimming through the menu at Postboy Coffee, the Lemon Cloud’s Drip is an item that caught our attention whilst at it — perhaps considering how it is one of the few special concoctions that Postboy Coffee has to offer. The Lemon Cloud’s Drip is essentially an Einspanner-inspired beverage — one that comes served with black coffee that is beneath the lemon cream foam layer typical of the milk cap or “macchiato” layer that sits atop the beverage that one can find being served at bubble tea stalls around. Considering how the black coffee does carry a medium body with fruity notes, the lemon cream foam adds that rich and creamy touch whilst carrying a zingy and zesty note that makes it refreshing for the tastebuds — quite a interesting change from the usual where the lemon cream foam actually makes everything particularly easy to drink.

The Triple Chocolate Cookie was one out of two (2) cookies that are being offered during our trip made to Postboy Coffee on a weekday afternoon; the Triple Chocolate Cookie does come as a pretty thick and soft cookie — coming with a dark chocolate batter, it does also come with nibs of white chocolate within that provides a suitable level of sweetness to the cookie. Postboy Coffee does seem to be an establishment that is more than just their specialty coffee, waffles and bakes — apart from retailing their very own line-up of merchandise that includes stickers, postcards and t-shirts, it does seem that the establishment also retails postcards that one can write on and get it posted to them after the visit is made; a place where one can immerse in self-reflection over a cuppa. With the establishment being situated in a meaningful spot, Postboy Coffee integrates itself nicely within the space that it calls itself home to; would like to return another time to give their waffle items a try!

From Paelah. The waiting time was abt 20min evrmen though there was no queue. The portion is generous. The seafood is really fresh. The tomato sauce in the ricr adds tanginess and make it less jelat.

From Ah Er Soup (ABC Brickworks)
佛跳墙 南瓜饭
Only $7.50 for the tasty tonic soup.
Generous with ingredients: 5 chinese mushrooms, 5 dried oysters, 3 chunks of cut chicken, fish maw & sliced abalone.
$0.80 for the bowl of pumpkin rice.
Satisfying indeed.

From Four Season Ching Teng (ABC Brickworks)
清汤
Only $2.60 a bowl of cooling & nourishing dessert.

($2.30) finally went there after seeing a lot of reviews frm online. The waffles v crispy and crunchy and topping was quite filling.

Freshly made on the spot and just $1 a cup — how could I possibly say no? 😄 Ended up getting 6 cups… yes, SIX! I like mine sweet and chilled, just the way it should be. 💛

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It’s so good, I simply refused to share a single bite! Sweet-savoury chai tow kway (a.k.a. carrot cake) with dark sauce, loads of charred bits, chye poh (a.k.a. preserved radish) and a glorious splatter of egg all over — and yes, I’m proudly #TeamBlack! 😍
#burpple #burpplesg #stfoodtrending #straitstimesfood #sgfood #sgeats #foodsg #wheretoeatsg #whattoeatsg #sghawker #hawkersg #redhillfoodcentre #fumingcookedfood