Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice 505 肉脞面 (also known as Five.O.Five BCM) has been one of the spots that flew under the radar for us in the list of places that we had wanted to visit for the quite a while. Despite having its roots within a coffeeshop at 505 Canberra Link (hence giving the stall its namesake), we had only first noticed the stall when passing by their other outlet that is situated within the coffeeshop at Blk 21 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh. It does seem that Five.O.Five BCM had expanded their operations relatively quickly over the time span since; apart from a now-defunct outlet that was situated in Blk 217 Bedok North Street 1, these folks also do have other outlets that are currently still operating, such as the one at Blk 447A Jalan Kayu. It does seem that Five.O.Five BCM has got quite a prominent footprint in the northern side of Singapore; these folks had recently opened yet another outpost in Blk 233 Yishun Street 21. Unlike their other locations, the Five.O.Five BCM outlet at Blk 233 Yishun Street 21 is not situated in a coffeeshop; this is actually the first time that Five.O.Five BCM operates as an individual standalone eatery. The space is decked much like a retro eating house of the past — while there is a slight bit of modernity with some of its fittings, it still attempts to look a little spartan; the air-conditioned space sees the use of wooden and marble accented furnishings to compliment the pink and white painted walls. All these are matched with a counter that features a mosaic-patterned wallpaper that brings the nostalgic factor into its design. Since Five.O.Five BCM’s outlet at Yishun operates are a standalone eatery, the menu at this outlet is also more extensive. Apart from its usual selection of noodles such as mushroom minced meat noodles and Laksa, the Yishun outlet also sees other items such as Curry Rice, Western Delight Breakfast (available until 2pm), Kaya Toast and dessert being served up as well. Beverages include Nanyang-style Kopi and Teh, as well as vintage bottled soda drinks and a variety of homemade drinks amongst others.
It does seem a little odd that we found ourselves giving the Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice a go at Five.O.Five BCM; after all, Five.O.Five BCM is a spot that places a heavier emphasis on their minced meat noodle offerings. That being said, we actually did find that the Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice was a dish that we had preferred more as compared to the Ah Hua Bak Chor Mee (Dry) that we had also went for. The menu does not describe the elements that come with the Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice; that being said, the Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice seems to be Five.O.Five BCM’s take on the local’s favourite Hainanese Curry Rice. By default, the Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice comes with elements such as cabbage and fried egg — this item could also be ordered in the form of a Pork Cutlet Curry Rice as well if one so fancies. Patrons can also choose to add-on other meats at an extra cost if they wish. There really is nothing much to pick on the Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice here; the rice comes drenched in a braised sauce first before the curry gravy is being drenched atop of it — this Is much in the style of how Hainanese Curry Rice should be. The curry gravy is flavourful on its own with enough to go around the entire portion of rice; not too thick yet being sufficiently rich, whilst there wasn’t much of a spiciness going on — goes great for those who are not tolerable to any form of spiciness. The fried chicken cutlet came with a golden-brown panko-crumb batter; whilst we would have thought that these were prepared in batches way beforehand, the breaded exterior was crisp and the slab of chicken still managed to maintain a good moistness without being greasy. The cabbage was also done just about right; lightly savoury in its own and delivered a soft bite. Overall, a pretty satisfying plate of curry rice with the elements hitting the right spot; not entirely gastronomical, but a hearty meal that is very much relatable does speak to the soul.
One thing we really enjoyed about our visit to Five.O.Five BCM was how varied the menu is. It is no doubt that Five.O.Five BCM had humble beginnings as just a typical stall in the heartlands that serves up the usual offerings of what a mushroom minced meat noodle stall would typically have on their menu. That being said, it does seem that the folks behind Five.O.Five BCM have had ideas that are bolder as they progress on in the business — these folks definitely were not resting on their laurels when they had decided to venture out into operating a space of their very own. Whilst some other folks may continue serving up the same items are per what their other outlets are serving up, it seems that the folks at Five.O.Five BCM have already knew that they would probably need to offer more items to satisfy the preferences of a wider audience. Since it would not be a visit made to Five.O.Five BCM without ordering one of their minced meat noodle items, we went with Ah Hua Bak Chor Mee (Dry) — Five.O.Five BCM strangely does offer a version of this that comes in black sauce. While this wasn’t something that went well with our preferences as we would soon find out, this would work best with noodle options like Hor Fun that can absorb the savouriness of the black sauce. Elements that came with the Ah Hua Bak Chor Mee (Dry) does not only consist of the usual suspects like minced pork, pork liver, pork ball and fish ball, but also items like Fish Ngoh Hiang and Fried Dumpling — somewhat reminds us of Guan’s Mee Pok in terms of its composition less the black sauce. Another highlight was the Signature 505 Hu (Bottle) beverage — describe to come with caffeine, this is their rendition of the Hor Ka Sai (i.e. Kopi O + Milo) that is chocolate-y rich, but aptly sweet with a good dosage of caffeine; a must-have here in our opinion. Prices of the noodles range from $5.50 to $10.90, while the rice items are priced between $5.50 and $7.90. With other coffeeshops located within the vicinity of Five.O.Five BCM’s outlet in Yishun, competition does seem to be pretty right; that being said, it does provide a good dining alternative with a better environment that is worth giving a shot for those residing nearby!
