Welcome to Hougang.

There does seem to have been an influx of establishments serving up Filipino cuisine popping up all across the island recently; whilst the former tenant of the same stall that we are going to mention about was also used to be one that served up Filipino cuisine, the new tenant taking over the said stall serves the same as well. Located at Blk 932 Hougang Avenue 9 would be Second Serving Express; they had taken over the former premises of the now-defunct outlet of J&J Grill House within the Tastebud Eating House coffeeshop there. This would also be the same coffeeshop that houses other notable dining establishments like OK Chicken Rice & Humfull Laksa and Teenoy Thai Vegetarian. For those whom find the namesake Second Serving familiar; yes, this is a new concept from the same folks behind Second Serving that is located at Tai Seng Point — this is their very first Express concept that is run out of a coffeeshop stall. Second Serving is best known for serving up Filipino fare; the Second Serving Express location at Hougang serves up a more condensed menu of main dishes featuring rice sets, noodle dishes and snacks — they also do serve up their signature Taho offering here as well.

Considering how we have tried a number of Filipino soups and meat dishes in the past, we found ourselves gravitating towards the Palabok — a Filipino dish that we have yet to give a go during our various visits to several Filipino establishments around the island. Second Serving Express describes the Palabok as “Specialty Seafood Noodles”. Palabok is a dish that is known to come with elements such as that of prawn stock, pork bone broth and onions / shallots / garlic — the orange hue of the starchy gravy coming from the use of Annatto seeds. The gravy does come with a thick and starchy consistency that is rather similar to that of Mee Rebus / Mee Jawa / Pasembur; giving everything in the dish a mix, the gravy does come with a slight savouriness with particularly distinct but balanced notes coming from both the shallots and the prawn stock. The noodles that come alongside with the Palabok would be that of thick rice vermicelli that is rather similar to the ones that comes default with our local renditions of Laksa; slurpy and smooth. Addition of crispy pork lard does add another dimension of crunch to the dish, while the inclusion of prawns seem to compliment that of the gravy with its natural sweetness; the hard-boiled egg being an add-on that made everything seem a little bit more wholesome. Squeezing the lime does add a zing and tang to the entire dish — cuts through the savoury flavours of the gravy quite a fair bit which makes it an easier eat overall.

($6.70) Ume QQ ($1.40) its v wow taste that I almost forgot that guava can be strong taste and can easily to cover up.

($5.60) its quite decent but the sauce was quite thicken for bean paste.

($5 per 8 Pieces) the dough was quite thick enough and still decent.

($5 per 8 pieces) its quite decent tbh.

Kokoyo Express
($7.50) its quite salty for tender chicken tbh as at least chili sauce was quite nice.

($7.90) its quite nice and thick texture for braised sauce. Its replicated well so well 🫪.

Rich curry broth that comes creamy and full of flavour in every spoonful. It feels hearty without being too heavy, the kind of bowl that keeps me going back for another sip. Portion could be a little bigger for the price but it’s still a comforting pick when I’m craving laksa with a mix of YTF 》$7

Matcha comes through smooth with a refreshing earthy note, steady and pleasant sip after sip. The salted milk foam isn’t obvious on top but shows up in the taste, coming across a little strong at first before easing as the ice melts. Over time it blends better with the matcha, turning into something lighter and more balanced. The portion felt a little small compared to other home‑based matcha I’ve had at the same price, wished the cup was taller so I could enjoy more 》$6.90

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📍541 Hougang Ave 8, S530541

($6.50) another wildflower honey x almond tofu. I gotta tried it out. So like almond tofu usual v good but then wildflower honey like not tat strong.

($4.60) its quite ok with savoury and crunchy taro topping.

($4.95) its quite nice tbh with garlic sauce.