On my recent trips to Hainanese Village, I couldn’t help but to notice the long queue for Punggol Noodles (02-24). Didn’t regret a single bit after joining the queue. Go for the Punggol Noodles ($3) and remember to add on the amazing handmade meatballs ($2/3).

The chef-proprietor Mr Yee has been selling mee pok for over 20 years first in Punggol (hence the stall name), then to Kovan and now to Hainanese Village. Unfortunately, he met with an accident in his earlier days and cooks everything with one hand. And he has went through other trials and tribulations too. I admire his grit and determination as being a hawker is tiring enough.

We had the dry version of the Punggol Noodles and added some meatballs - essentially mee kia (thin yellow noodles) that’s mixed with a chilli vinegar seasoning (no chilli and vinegar available too) with minced pork, pork slices, pork liver and meatballs in a clear pork soup. Free flow serving of lard is available. Try to eat in moderation.

Fresh pork is used in making the handmade meatballs every day. Unlike most meatballs, there’s more meat than flour which is such a treat these days as most of them taste pretty uniformed. It was a delightful treat for me and I could feel the softness and bounciness of the meatballs in every bite.

The mee kia was springy and was well coated with the chilli vinegar seasoning. And you’ll get some stewed shiitake mushrooms to accompany your noodles. I appreciate how the pork liver is not fully cooked so it’s not dry and hard when you eat it.

Got the chance to try @boberteasg very recently! A homegrown bubble tea chain that offers a wide selection of choices. You’ll probably get the type of BBT you’re craving for rather easily.

More often than not, I’ll go for 0% sugar when I have my BBT, so your experience may differ from mine if you have it with sugar.

Fragrant Taro Latte ($6.10; Pic 2). Surprisingly at 0% sugar, I could taste the faint sweetness of the taro cream. The light purple hue was of an acceptable shade and I enjoyed the mild, fragrant, distinct taro taste. Glad I chose 0% sugar as it’d be much sweeter if it’s of a higher sugar level. I’d prefer a stronger taro flavour though.

Roasted Oolong Tea with White Jelly Pearl ($5; Pic 3). A house special. It’s a blend of fresh roasted oolong tea leaves that’s mixed with yellow milk. The oolong tea could be stronger in flavour as it didn’t have the woody and aromatic taste that I was expecting.

I opted for the white jelly pearl. Something I very much prefer to the traditional black pearl. Using konjac jelly instead of pearl, its elastic and chewy but doesn’t fill you up the way tapioca pearls do.

Signature Roasted Milk ($5; Pic 4). It’s a blend of roasted tea leaves with milk, plus a pinch of their signature Hokkaido Chizu and winter melon tea. The sugar level is fixed but it wasn’t too sweet for me still. Pretty rich and milky for me.

Thank you @boberteasg for having me!

I never had Vietnamese barbecue before and I have also never been to Vietnam. But going to An La Ghien is the closest you can get to having a Ho Chi Minh City street dining experience in Singapore. Besides Vietnamese BBQ, you can try the Vietnamese-style hotpot or the usual suspects such as pho. With the low tables and wooden chairs, it’s an elevated replication of what you probably will experience in Vietnam itself.

So we went for the BBQ and you get to barbecue your food over a charcoal grill. We ordered BBQ Platter 1 ($34.90). Good for two to three people, you’ll get a variety of meat and seafood. From beef to baby octopus to prawns to chicken. It’s a rather decent selection for the price.

The meats are fresh and lightly marinated but there isn’t a very distinct flavour. We also added some sliced beef ($6.90), frog leg ($3.50) and red tilapia fish ($3.50). Don’t expect anything fancy (no wagyu or kurobuta) but just decent Vietnamese BBQ. And you’ll have a savoury orange-brown sauce that you can dip your food into. I wonder what goes into the sauce though.

CBD does not lack good nasi lemak places. But if you’re back working in the office, you can try the fairly new Spice and Rice at Amoy Street Food Centre (01-15). Expect nasi lemak with fried chicken, butter chicken or curry vegetables.

I had the nasi lemak with fried chicken ($7.50). A rather generous serving of fragrant coconut rice, fried chicken leg, fried egg, fried anchovies (ikan bills), peanuts, sambal and cucumber. Although not part of the set, you’ll usually get a complimentary serving of curry vegetables. I added on some pan fried tempeh for $1.

What did I enjoy? 😋

Coconut rice was fluffy and fragrant. You could tell quite a good amount of coconut milk was used which gives it the rich taste.

The sambal was pleasantly pungent and slightly sweet as with all nasi lemak sambal. Would have more if I could. If you can’t handle spicy stuff well, don’t eat too much in one mouthful.

Ikan bills and peanuts are as good as you can get. Crispy and not too salty. I like to eat these two ingredients with the sambal.

Curry vegetables were a nice touch. It’s vegetarian, mild in flavour and pairs well with the coconut rice.

What could’ve been better? 💪🏻

The fried chicken leg was huge, juicy and crispy. However, as the fried chicken was refried upon order, the skin appeared slightly burnt. It was already fried golden brown (and would also look nicer for pictures 😂).

The tempeh was slightly on the dry side. Probably wouldn’t have ordered it on hindsight.

Would I be back? 🙋🏻‍♂️

Yes. I’m curious to try the butter chicken nasi lemak. I hope my fried chicken leg would be better next time.

How many of you remember Wild Olives, the ever popular Western food stall at the old Changi Airport T2 staff canteen? Now at Pasir Ris Central Food Centre (02-19), it’s still as popular and you gotta queue for 45 minutes on average during meal times. Some would say cheap and good Western food without the frills.

I had the Grilled Pork Chop with Apple Cider Whole Grained Mustard Sauce ($5.90), and opted for their Signature Mushroom Rice and Grilled Herb Potatoes for my sides. The portions are generous for the price as compared to its peers.

Cooked to order, you’ll be served a few slices of tender, flavourful pork chops that’s drizzled with their apple cider whole grain mustard sauce. The pork chops exceeded my expectations as I was a little apprehensive if they were gonna be too tough. As for the sauce, it was mildly sweet, tangy yet overly salty. It could probably do without the MSG.

Between the two sides, I prefer the grilled herb potatoes cause it’s potatoes over rice for me. Thick cubes of potatoes that’s marinated with herbs and a special sauce that contributes to it’s dark brown appearance. The skin is charred and slightly crispy while its soft in the centre.

The mushroom rice was cooked with shiitake mushrooms and caramelised onions that contributed to the fragrance of the otherwise run off the mill rice.

All in all, it’s a pretty good take on the classic British dish.

Truly fish soup for the soul that’s popular with diners here. It attracts long queues usually but we were lucky as the queue was pretty short on that day. As we had tried a lot of other food, we only ordered the smallest portion of the fish soup ($5/6/7/8).

What probably is the main attraction here is the thick slices of batang (Spanish mackerel) fish. It’s fresh and fleshy and can be justified by the higher price. Most places usually serve thin slices of fish (some may prefer this).

I also enjoyed the clear soup which isn’t too salty and didn’t get me having to gulp bottles of water (MSG effect). And it comes with some tomato, bittergourd, tofu, leafy vegetables and coriander (I like coriander actually).

Some may ask why queue? It’s just mee siam and mee rebus after all. Well, it’s truly cheap and good. For $2.50 (pictured) or $3, you get a rather generous portion of simple yet comforting Chinese-style mee siam. Bee hoon (rice vermicelli), tangy gravy, boiled egg, tau pok (fried beancurd puffs), dried shrimp, spring onions for garnish and a dollop of sambal.

The homemade gravy is neither too spicy nor too sour. I could also taste the distinct texture of peanuts in the gravy. And fortunately, the bee hoon didn’t absorb all the gravy so I can enjoy the gravy on its own. Many would also love the bits of crispy dried shrimp and tau pok.

So as you would have known Yong Huat didn’t close down on 31 August as planned. They’ve found an apprentice to take over the wok while auntie is there to supervise. Uncle will be back once he recovers from his surgery.

They do three items here - fried mee sua ($5/7/9), fried Hokkien mee ($5/7/9) and char kway teow ($5/7/9). I’ve tried their char kway teow and so I went for their legendary fried mee sua.

The fried mee sua is fried with some eggs and served with a good amount of prawns, fish cake, pork belly and chye sim (choy sum).

After waiting for nearly an hour, I was excited to tuck into the dish (after the camera has eaten). But I was slightly disappointed by the taste of this dish. It lacked the wok hei (smoky) flavour which I very much enjoy in my fried rice and noodles dishes. Maybe because there’s a long wait. Flavour wise, it tasted a bit bland for my liking as there wasn’t much seasoning in it. Add some sambal for good measure.

It’s nice that there’s fried lard bits on the side but I wished it was slightly greasier (a bit too healthy). Overall, it was decent but not worth the long wait.

But we gotta give the new guy time to hone up his skills and master the art of frying. It’s not something that happens overnight but I believe it’ll be Terryfic 👍🏻 in time to come.

Is there a difference between stewed duck and braised duck? Well, I was equally curious to know as well and checked out Soh Food Stewed Duck (01-106) at Empress Road Food Centre. The cooking style is relatively different and results in a softer and more tender texture. A very balanced and well nourished hawker meal if you’re looking for something healthier.

For $6, you’ll get a whole stewed duck leg, some Chinese spinach, shiitake mushrooms with rice or smooth and silky hor fun (I opted for this). Added $1 ($2 available) for fish maw and the owner was kind enough to spare me some lotus seeds.

I found the duck to be fresh and quite tender. It had a pretty home cooked feel to it. Perhaps it could’ve been even softer to have a melt in your mouth feel and less chewy at some parts. The gravy itself is thin and mild which probably is made from the duck juice with some seasoning.

Having fish maw absorb the light yet tasty gravy is quite a delight in itself. The sambal belachan deserves a mention as it’s pungent and has the distinct dried shrimp taste. Great to pair it with your meat or carb of choice.

If you want something soupy, there’s the salted vegetable and duck soup (kiam chye ark) available. You can also order a whole duck if you pre-order at 81989368.

I recommend you to try it when you’re at Empress Road Market if you happen to be having Bakery Brera or Ah Wing’s Wanton Mee (01-108).

I visited The Social Kitchen earlier this month. It’s Singapore’s first social enterprise cloud kitchen that aims to help the underprivileged pursue a F&B career.

A massive plate of fried bee hoon topped with two types of ngoh hiang (meat roll) and crispy prawn crackers. I must say the fried bee hoon wasn’t oily. But the pork filling in the ngoh hiang lacked the flavour and oomph I was expecting. Prawn crackers were crispy and not oily which was good.

They hire staff that are from low income families, single mums and persons with disabilities. So come down, have an affordable meal that will help to empower the livelihoods of others as we weather through the pandemic and recession. 🙏🏻

Get 1-for-1 on mains with Burpple Beyond. You can order their food for delivery through GrabFood and Oddle too.

I visited The Social Kitchen earlier this month. It’s Singapore’s first social enterprise cloud kitchen that aims to help the underprivileged pursue a F&B career.

Homemade patty cooked medium to medium well and served with melted Cheddar, sautéed shiitake mushrooms, lettuce and caramelised onions. You’ll get a side of crinkle cut fries. The patty is slightly juicy and I forgot to request for medium rare.

They hire staff that are from low income families, single mums and persons with disabilities. So come down, have an affordable meal that will help to empower the livelihoods of others as we weather through the pandemic and recession. 🙏🏻

Get 1-for-1 on mains with Burpple Beyond. You can order their food for delivery through GrabFood and Oddle too.

I visited The Social Kitchen earlier this month. It’s Singapore’s first social enterprise cloud kitchen that aims to help the underprivileged pursue a F&B career.

Unlike Ming Fa’s other outlets, they use LactoNoodle la mian here which aids with digestion. The thin, round noodles are firm and springy, the fishballs being bouncy and not too fishy. It’s garnished with shiitake mushrooms and shreds of carrot and cucumber.

They hire staff that are from low income families, single mums and persons with disabilities. So come down, have an affordable meal that will help to empower the livelihoods of others as we weather through the pandemic and recession. 🙏🏻

Get 1-for-1 on mains with Burpple Beyond. You can order their food for delivery through GrabFood and Oddle too.