Nom Nom Monster (The Midtown)

@nomnommonster.sg is not new, as they’ve been operating over at Chai Chee for years, but they’ve recently spread their wings & opened up their second outlet in my hood. Nom Nom Monster does classic Singaporean Western fare, such as Black Pepper Grilled Chicken Steak, grilled pork chops and grilled fish, but their unique selling point is that they are the only place that serves a full range of pasta in the Hougang Central area.⠀
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From the timeless Aglio Olio to fusion options like Tom Yum Creamy Spaghetti, Nom Nom Monster’s selection of pasta is unrivalled by anything nearby. I chose the sensational sounding Mentaiko Salmon Carbonara ($12.90 nett!), and I was certainly not disappointed. Your standards might be a bit high if you’re expecting authentic Italian carbonara made with only guanciale, Pecorino Romano & egg yolks for thirteen dollars, so come in with an open mind & tempered expectations and you will be plenty pleased.⠀
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Most carbonaras cooked with cream tend to be watery due to the cream splitting during cooking, but no such problems occurred here. The cream carbonara was sufficiently creamy and thick despite the inclusion of heavy cream into the sauce base, and the sauce had no problems clinging to the al dente spaghetti. The addition of bacon & mushrooms makes the carbonara alone rich & sufficiently savoury, but why stop there when you can turn it up to eleven with the mentaiko salmon?⠀
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The salmon fillet boasts the crispiest skin I have ever had the pleasure of eating thus far, and most remarkably of all is that the crispness is fairly uniform throughout. However in the pursuit of crispiness, some of the moisture in the salmon had to be sacrificed, and it is a little charred around the edges. However, the abundance of creamy, umami torched mentaiko mayo is here to save the day, and all is well with this rich, delicious pasta.

Past by The Midtown at Hougang some time back and noticed that Nom Nom Monster was still undergoing renovations in the development back then — for those whom find the name of Nom Nom Monster particularly familiar; these are the same folks operating as the western cuisine stall that is situated within the Centuries Foodcourt which also houses the 百年 and 石年 concepts within Viva Business Park. This can be said as Nom Nom Monster’s expansion of its operations — the outlet at The Midtown being their second location after their very first one at Bedok. With the location at The Midtown, Nom Nom Monster has moved away from being a stall operating out of a food court to an independently-run eatery; Nom Nom Monster had taken over the former premises of the now-defunct outlet of THOSE DAYS Yong Tau Foo & Nasi Lemak, which has since consolidated their operations at their location in Fortune Centre. As with most of F&B establishments which operates out of the same type of shop units as Nom Nom Monster, Nom Nom Monster occupies a two-storey shop space; the first floor comprising of the counter and the food preparation area, while the second floor is where all the dine-in seating is. Much of the wooden chairs and tables seems to have been re-used from the days when the space is being tenanted by THOSE DAYS Yong Tau Foo & Nasi Lemak, with the walls being covered up with a wallpaper with red brick-esque look for some vibes. The menu at Nom Nom Monster’s outlet at The Midtown is pretty similar to what is being offered at its Bedok location — the menu being segmented into categories such as Monster Chops, Fry & Platter, Monster Pasta, Monster Brunch, Monster Burger, Monster Platter, Monster Finger Food and Monster Beverages.

We had been wanting to drop by Nom Nom Monster for quite a while since we were made aware of its existence at Bedok; one of the things which stood out for us was how Nom Nom Monster actually serves up brunch items on its menu — something that is not quite as common in most stalls that specialises in serving up western cuisine. Since we were visiting Nom Nom Monster for dinner, we decided to opt for the Fried Chicken Brunch which sounded like an item that comes at a more substantial portion size as compared to the Monster Breakfast and the Croissant Petite / Deluxe. The menu at Nom Nom Monster does not describe on the elements that the Fried Chicken Brunch comprises; that being said, it is observed from the plate of our order that the Fried Chicken Brunch does come with a waffle, a slab of fried chicken, scrambled eggs and garden salad on the side.

Digging into the waffle first, we noticed that the waffle comes sprinkled with icing sugar; the waffle that is served with the Fried Chicken Brunch was pretty much akin to a Liege Waffle — it carried a somewhat firm texture with a bit of a crunch around the edges and had a slight sweetness in those crunchy bits as well. The slab of fried chicken came battered with panko crumbs; the exterior being all crisp without feeling greasy, while the chicken does come juicy and tender — nothing too much to shout about but still decently executed nonetheless. The scrambled eggs came slightly runny; soft and fluffy while tasted slightly heavier of cream — seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper for flavour. Meanwhile, the garden salad is pretty decent; a good addition to provide some form of balance that makes the dish pretty wholesome overall. At $9.90, the Fried Chicken Brunch is a fairly decent attempt of serving a value-for-money chicken and waffles dish — not quite something that is comparable to that of those served at American diners, but definitely economical and palatable enough for the price tag nonetheless. The Hot Milk Coffee was more of a 3-in-1 concoction though; appreciate the effort taken to serve coffee though we did wish they could have informed us beforehand so that we are a little more aware of what is being served for the item here. Still, a dining establishment which we think Hougang residents would grow to appreciate having in their neighbourhood for sure.