i'm hardly ever in the bukit timah area, so when i was there for work yesterday, i jumped at the opportunity to check out restaurants in the vicinity. bukit timah has a whole slew of food places that i've been meaning to check out (but haven't due to accessibility issues and general laziness). thanks to the downtown line, though, sunny choice was actually quite easy to get to. out of all the restaurants, i picked sunny choice because i was in the mood for thunder tea rice- haven't had it in a while; there was a point in time where i was utterly crazy about it.
the café was actually merged with a grocer section, so there were shelves of organic produce all around. it was quiet for lunch. it being my first visit, i was wondering how to order. since there was a cashier, i went up there to attempt to place my order, but i was told that ordering should be done via the ipad placed in a pocket underneath each table.
i took a seat and placed my order- it was fairly easy to decide. i'd already settled on the thunder tea rice ($8.50) and the vegetable sushi ($7) that i'd seen online, though admittedly once i saw they had yam abacus ($7) i was briefly tempted. the food came really quickly once i'd placed my order- really efficient!
i was there mainly for the thunder tea rice, having seen rave reviews online. it was alright; not the best i've had, but serviceable. i'd asked for less rice, so i found the proportion of rice to vegetable just about right. i would have liked more peanuts for extra crunch, though. since it was a vegetarian place, the anchovies had been replaced with tiny tempura-battered (?) mushrooms, which were actually pretty good. best of all, the entire bowl was clean tasting and not oily. i didn't take to the rice, though- it was brown instead of the purple one that usually comes with thunder tea rice, but the texture was slightly on the mushy side. what i liked was the tea soup- it seriously packed a punch, not like the other wimpy, watered down versions i've had.
the standout, however, was the vegetable sushi. it REALLY tasted like sushi, despite not having rice in it. there was a vinegary taste which totally reminded me of regular sushi, plus the wasabi dipping sauce that came along was fabulous. i found myself dunking each roll into the sauce.
the food was clean and simple- exactly my kind of thing. i like vegetables, but i usually need meat in every meal; however, i found myself not missing meat at all. i'd come back for the vegetable sushi, and perhaps to try the yam abacus as well.
sunny choice organic café
434 upper bukit timah road
http://sunnychoice.com.sg
technically not my first visit to keng eng kee- i went previously when my colleague wanted to treat us to crab. i was in charge of the googling that time, so my search brought us there. we'd made a reservation for a weekday lunch, so even though there were only four of us, we got an air-conditioned table. i remembered the chili crab to be not bad, so when my mum said she wanted crab (what's new), keng eng kee immediately came to mind. my sister called for a saturday night reservation, and was told that if we wanted a table, we'd have to go at 5.30, which frankly speaking, is kind of a weird timing for dinner. way too early for us to have dinner, so we decided to just show up at 6, assuming that it would be alright.
due to unforeseen circumstances, i ended up being the first to reach at 6. the chaos that greeted me at the restaurant (really more of a coffeeshop stall that has taken over the entire coffeeshop space) was alarming. i was really glad we'd made a reservation, because there were groups of people waiting around and queuing for a table. the staff was harried and the entire place was buzzing with activity. i had to wait around for a bit before i was even ushered to the table, and was told that i'd have to order immediately because the food would take about 25 minutes wait, and we had to turn over the table by 7 (!).
so after consulting my sister on the phone, i placed the order. the guy who took my order gave me raised eyebrows when i was almost done ordering, prompting me to ask, is that too much food? he squinted at his notepad, laughed, and said that it would be okay for the five of us if we have good appetites. that sounded about right, so i just went with the order.
the food arrived right on time at about 6.30, but some dishes didn't make their appearance until much later.
i'd wanted to try the mingzhu roll ($12 for six pieces) since the other time i was there, so of course, i ordered it. it was fried taupok stuffed with SALTED EGG YOLK, prawn, ham, mushrooms and parsley, but i could hardly taste the salted egg yolk. it was alright, but not something i'd get again.
for the requisite vegetable fix, i picked the chinese spinach with three eggs ($10), because eggs! to be honest i've never had this dish, though i know it's quite common at zi char places. i liked it, but then again i like most things with eggs. it was comforting, soupy, and best of all, not oily.
our zi char orders never go without the yam basket ($20) if it's available. my dad commented that it's smaller than usual, but i found it to be of an okay size. best of all, it was yummy! i liked how the fried yam basket wasn't too greasy (though that probably prompted me to eat more of it than i really should).
and of course, we had to get the moonlight horfun ($5), which is their signature dish. my parents, who are traditionalists when it comes to chinese food, said that it was a non-traditional version of horfun and expressed concern over the raw yolk perched on top. but then they cleaned out the dish anyway, so... i did remember it to be nicer the previous time i was there, though! much more wok hei, for one.
we ordered several other dishes- fried rice ($4) which my parents liked better than the horfun, cereal prawn ($18) and sweet & sour pork ($10). (didn't bother with pictures because i was too busy stuffing my face.) the food was good though, especially the super crispy cereal prawn- though my sister did get food envy seeing salted egg yolk prawn served at other tables. they even offer an option of deshelled prawns, but i didn't go with that- it's the crackly shell that adds extra texture and flavour.
but of course, the star of the dinner was the chili crab ($65/kg) which, fittingly enough, appeared last. i was too lazy to get my hands dirty (crab is way too much work for too little meat) so i only tasted the sauce. ordered mantous to dip into the sauce, because that's what chili crab is for, isn't it? instead of serving fried ones, they served steamed ones, which my colleagues didn't like previously, because it was way too soft. my family, surprisingly enough, liked the steamed mantous. kind of pricey though- i think they go for $1 each. my mum (who is a crab fiend) and grandmother basically cleaned out the entire crab between the two of them- the rest of us, like me, just aren't that into crab. she commented that the crab was fresh and pretty good, so i'll take her word for it.
of course, given that the crab only appeared at close to 7, we finished our food way after 7. no one came to chase us away (i think they were too busy) so that worked out fine. the bill came up to about $30 per person, which is quite reasonable given that we had crab. weekend dinners are a no-no without prior reservations, though!
keng eng kee seafood
block 124 bukit merah lane 1
#01-136
http://www.kek.com.sg/#!/home
timbre+ has, naturally, been on my to-visit list since its opening. its concept embodies all the stuff i like- plenty of interesting food in a non-restaurant setting. the only thing that was stopping me from going there was its location in the west side. thankfully had some time on a weekday, and decided to head there.
made a loop around the place before deciding on wong kee- i've heard a lot of good things about its noodles and dumplings. (though, of course, i was distracted by other stalls, like dusk by slake. another time, perhaps.) to be honest, i was also half attracted by the queue at wong kee, which was shorter than i expected, perhaps because it was late for lunch (and also, the only stall to have a queue). i had time on my hands, so i didn't mind the queue, and besides, i didn't have to queue that long, anyway. there were perhaps six people in front of me, and i waited for about 10-15 minutes before placing my order.
while queueing, i was pondering what to order. i knew that i wanted the dumpling soup ($4) but i also wanted the beef brisket noodles. i did want to try the beef brisket, but i'm really not into carb-based dishes, especially after whole 30. so while in the queue, i'd decided to just get the dumpling soup and not be greedy. for some reason though, after i'd ordered the dumpling soup, i decided to be brave and ask the guy if only sold the beef brisket on its own. understandably, the guy went like !!! and consulted the girl who was cooking the noodles. maybe carbs are really unfashionable or something, but she got it straight away, and said, "you just don't want carbs, right?" so she special-ordered my dumpling soup by adding beef brisket to it, charging $6.50.
so glad i decided to be brave and ask, because the beef brisket was pretty good! (i would probably ask them to put the beef brisket separately next time though. the girl did ask if i wanted it separate, but i was already embarrassed enough about my order that i just said no.) i would definitely go back again, especially after they were so nice about my (seriously weird) special order.
the dumplings were even better. they were huge! its skin was silky smooth, super thin, and packed with a juicy, flavoursome filling. there were even bits of water chestnut and black fungus in it. one of the best dumplings i've eaten.
i'd definitely come back for more of their food. i've heard that lunchtime queues stretch up to half an hour, though, and that's kind of scary. i'd stick to the late lunch timing if i go back.
wong kee wanton noodles & roasted delights
timbre+
#01-06
https://www.facebook.com/wongkeewantonnoodle/
i have a soft spot for hawker/coffeeshop stalls selling not the usual hawker fare, because it means unique food without the accompanying high price tag. so it was natural that i'd want to check out brickworks tacos. tacos at a fraction of the price it's sold at in restaurants- why not? the only thing preventing me from heading over was its location. bukit merah- really?! and so far away from a train station, too. so it was only today, when i had oodles of time on my hands, that i managed to head over.
it was located in a coffeeshop beside abc brickworks hawker. not sure whether it was because it was slightly after the lunch break, but i was the only one who patronised them the entire time i was there. examined the menu and decided to ask regarding the difference between the taco meal and bowl. the taco meal came with two tacos and a small side of rice, while the bowl was basically a deconstructed taco, sans tortilla but with rice. happily enough, they were running a special, with all bowls and meals going at $5.
they were also having beef rendang and chicken curry tacos, which sounded really good. so the beef rendang taco meal was what i went with, though the chicken curry was also tempting.
i was told to take a seat, and they'd serve me my food. my food came pretty quickly! it even came with free grilled corn, which was buttery, sweet and delicious. the beef rendang taco itself was really good, too. shredded beef rendang topped with coleslaw, wrapped with a warm, soft tortilla- fusion done well. eating tacos usually end up being a messy affair, but the tacos were wrapped with paper, making eating less cumbersome. i could've done without the rice, though. that was the only part of the meal that i felt was a letdown. the rice had all the colour, but none of the flavour- it was kind of like eating plain rice. the coleslaw on top helped slightly. i would've swapped the rice for another of the corn, though!
the food was delicious- i scarfed everything down in minutes. that, though, was one of the problems, too. portions was more snack-size than meal-size. i was tempted to go nab another of the tacos (probably the chicken curry one) but managed to stop myself. i would come back if i'm in the area. they have quesadillas that look tempting.
brickworks tacos
2 jalan bukit merah
#01-5134 stall 3
https://www.facebook.com/brickworkstacos/
to be perfectly honest, the thing that drew us in to try this (aside from the fact that it's newly opened and really, city square mall does not leave us with too many options) was their opening promotion. they were having 50% off all mains on the menu.
it was nine-ish on a monday night when we stepped in, which was probably why it was so quiet, but still, it was not confidence inspiring. decided to go ahead and try anyway- with the 50% promotion factored in, prices were comfortable.
it was simple to order. grab a seat, order and pay at the cashier, then wait for your number on the receipt to be called.
i tried the signature soup pan mee (originally $8.90). choice of flat or round noodle- of course i got the flat one, given my preference for linguine over spaghetti. came with minced meat and an onsen egg, with fried anchovies on the side.
the soup itself was pretty good- warm, comforting, and flavourful. also liked how the noodles were cooked al dente (i hate soft, overcooked noodles) and there was a bite to it. the fried anchovies also added a savoury crunch. with it being served on the side, it meant that i could add it to the soup whenever i wanted, and it wouldn't get overly soggy. the egg was also well cooked.
i found that they could've been more generous with the other ingredients, though, for a $8.90 pan mee. while pan mee is basically a carb dish, they could've given more of the minced meat to make it a more complete meal. or maybe i'm just a more protein-based rather than carb-based eater.
without the opening promo, not sure if i'll be back. sure, it was a passable bowl of noodles, with better than average noodles, but for $8.90? questionable.
face to face noodle house
#02-23/24 city square mall
it was purely by chance that i discovered this stall. needed a quick lunch in the CBD area, so we settled for hawker food. the layout of the hawker itself makes it difficult to discover new places- it has two levels, and each level is segmented in such a way that you'd be disinclined to venture beyond where you're seated to look at other stalls.
my friend chose a particular row, because she wanted wanton mee, so i just went with it. didn't have the luxury of time to be picky, anyway. i was first tempted by the dumpling soup at another stall, so i got that, but then the curry rice stall, with its perpetual queue, lured me in. so... i decided to be greedy and got a plate.
it was two-thirty, so they'd run out of their more popular items, including the char siew and the cabbage. i don't usually eat curry rice, so i didn't mind. i got the pork chop, beansprouts, beancurd skin and a generous ladle of curry over rice ($2.80).
it was pretty satisfying, especially considering how cheap it was. the pork chop was still crisp, though it was prepared a while earlier. also liked the curry, especially paired with the beansprouts. i could understand why there was a queue.
came back for a takeaway for my dad the next morning. at nine-thirty in the morning, they had all of their stuff available.
managed to get the char siew this time, along with the braised cabbage. only tried the char siew, but i liked it. i can absolutely understand it'd be sold out. it was lean yet not tough, and well marinated.
nothing fancy. it was simple food done well. i'll be back if i need a quick lunch in the area.
hock gooi curry rice
#02-35 golden shoe food centre
