Yi Shi

Came across the social media pages of the new 憶食 — a new stall that had apparently found new digs within the Tai Ho Soon coffeeshop at Blk 1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza; the same coffeeshop that one would be able to find Meet Paul, which is best know for their western cuisine. Occupying half of a unit that is shared with the Hakka Yong Tau Foo stall there, 憶食 is a stall that specialises in serving up Taiwanese cuisine. Currently still in its “soft” launch, the stall is serving up quite a limited variety of dishes that are featured on their menu — while the stall currently only serves up Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork Rice along a small range of soups, it does seem that the do have the intention to serve up more types of soups as well as Taiwan Oyster Mee Sua in the future. For those looking to try more of their items at one go, 憶食 does serve up a set lunch deal where one can have their Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork Rice paired up with a Soup of the Day at $7.

Solely visiting 憶食 for their Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork Rice, it is noted that the Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork Rice here does seem quite affordable at $4 a serving — the portion size seemingly bigger than what some stalls would serve at the same price. The version of the Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork Rice here comes relatively simple; the Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork comes drenched atop the bed of white rice — the dish also coming with other elements such as coriander, half of a braised egg and slices of pickled cucumber. Digging in to the bowl of Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork Rice, it can be said that the version is a rather homely-tasting one; we liked how the flavours of the braised sauce here are a little more nuanced; not too sinful but get savoury enough, while the minced meat comes chunky enough. Sure, there are some bony bits around considering how they have used pork belly here, but we liked how there was a good mix of fatty and leaner parts here they provided a contrast of textures — some bits where it was melt-in-the-mouth whilst some providing a meaty bite. The inclusion of coriander meant that the distinctive note of coriander could effectively cut through all that, carb-loaded feel, savouriness and meatiness of the dish, while the pickled cucumbers helped to refresh the tastebuds by providing a zingy crunch. The braised egg was a decent addition; nothing much to shout about on its own, but a good attempt in making the dish a little more substantial and wholesome especially considering it’s price point.

Having only tried their Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork Rice, we do feel that 憶食 is quite a decent addition to what is available at Tai Ho Soon coffeeshop — the prices are actually quite affordable; something which office workers could most certainly have any other day for lunch whilst working from the office. No doubt we would most probably still prefer other establishments such as that of Eat Three Bowls 呷三碗 and Big Mouth Eat 大口吃台灣美食小吃 for their renditions of the Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork Rice, but there is just something about 憶食’s rendition of the same that makes theirs the more comforting one without all the fluff and fuss. It is a little sad to see how 憶食 is missed out by the office folks visiting the coffeeshop when we made our visit on a weekday lunch service — perhaps it could be due to the limited offerings that they have at the current juncture. That being said, we would be most interesting with what they have to offer when they launch the Taiwan Oyster Mee Sua soon — perhaps increasing their variety (think Taiwanese fried chicken cutlet, maybe?) of dishes on the menu might make them more of an appealing option against what the other stalls serve up within the coffeeshop; somewhere which we would be keen to revisit if having lunch around the workplace.