Hai Xian Zhu Zhou 海鲜煮粥

Updated September 2021

Personally going down to Bukit Panjang for the umpteenth times all for a bowl of Ke Kou Mian but in agony as they were either closed or sold out. And finally, I went early in the morning and got a taste of the so called famous bowl of noodle among the Bukit Panjang Estate.

I still remember the first time that I was looking for the stall of Ke Kou Mian in the coffeeshop but had a hard time locating it as it was hidden behind the porridge sign board.

Well, since porridge are the main display of the signboard, we bought a bowl of Century Egg and lean meat porridge with egg which includes a handful of cut fried fritters (you tiao).

Century Egg Porridge with egg - $3

Consistency of porridge was even and texture was rather ordinary. Each spoonful of the porridge was loaded with ingredients. Though there was nothing much to rave about, it still have the very old school and home cooking taste if you are looking for one.

Ingredients in the porridge

I'm not a person who is keen on spicy food on an empty stomach especially breakfast but it seems that these words of mouth recommendation are irresistible. Spicy Ke Kou Mian with egg was not something out nor within expectation. Broth looked spicy but in fact it was not so.

Spicy Ke Kou Mian with egg - $3.50

What I like about was that the portion of noodle was generous and ingredients consisted of liver, minced meat as well as vegetables. Dish may look very simple and served in a small bowl but it was a pocket friendly meal.

A spoonful of Koka Noodle

With the city that never sleeps the night, this stall gives a very good alternative for supper if hunger pangs in the night. However, if you are going there for breakfast or lunch, be prepared to wait for about half an hour and as for lunch, be early as they usually close about 2pm.

Mr Ayam Penyet

The sudden crave for Ayam Penyet had led us to “MakanShiok” coffeeshop where a variety of Halal Food can be found and different from the main stream of stalls that we can find in the nearby Hawker Center. I came to know of this stall as one of my colleagues help us to Tabao during the CB (Circuit Breaker) period and I kind of recalled that it tasted above the average.

Stall in MakanShiok

Just like a standard set of Ayam Penyet, it comes with bowl of soup, rice, vegetables, tempeh, fried Tau Gua, cherry tomato and the delicious looking piece of chicken. The soup is flavourful, garnished with fried onions and goes well with the plate of Ayam Penyet.

Ayam Penyet - $5.50 (Drink not included)

Though the rice was not as good as I had thought ~ it was neither fragrant nor fluffy. However the chicken complemented the plain rice. If you like hot and spicy, you will enjoy their chili too.

Does the Chili look fiery?

Take a look at the glistering skin of the chicken thigh and its sauce, its quite tempting, isn't it?

Yummy

Comparing Ayam Penyet in the vicinity, there are definitely better ones but if you are looking for non fried Ayam Penyet, this should be considered as one of the better ones around the area.

Rating:  3 / 5

Mr Ayam Penyet
Location: Blk 49 Teban Gardens Road #01-583 Singapore, Singapore 600049

Whisk & Paddle

For people who resides in Punggol area, Whisk & Paddle is of no stranger for it is located along the river side. I have been there a few years back when I was looking for branch in Punggol area. Now that it has opened another outlet in the West, we are really glad.

Opening its door to the public since 5th September in Bukit Gombak Park, Whisk & Paddle is housed in a glass house theme structure surrounded by lush greeneries. It is conveniently located with a stone throw away from Bukit Gombak MRT and PCN (Park Connector Network)

Whisk & Paddle

Fortunately for this period, we are still able to dine in a small group and catch up over a glass of beer and some food to fill ourselves.

Beer - $13

Fresh clams were served in skillet and comes with 2 slices of toasts. Clams were big and plump. 

Fresh Clams

Broth was naturally sweetened by these seafood with hints of garlic and butter aroma. We enjoyed the dish however the soup may be on a salty side alone, therefore its best goes with the toasts.

For Clams lover

The battered haddock fish was fried to golden brown perfection. The dish was served with thick cut fries and tar-tar sauce. If you enjoy Fish & Chips, you cannot go wrong ordering it.

Fish & Chips - $25.80

Chilling with good food overlooking the lush greeneries through the grass house. 

Chilling over a meal and a glass of beer

Pizza crust was thin and crispy with parts of it charred.  We were kind of engulfed by the fragrance of lemon grass at the moment it was served. The ingredients were visible, topping the crust with red onions and a handful of cut prawns.

Tom Yum Pizza - $24.80

I was thinking what drinks to order and in the end I went ahead with refreshing smoothie consist of Watermelon and Lychee Flavour. 

Watermelon Lychee Smoothie - $8.50

If you are driving there, do note that the park lots are rather limited.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Whisk & Paddle
Location: 816 Bukit Batok West Ave 5 #01-01 S659089
Nearest Station: Bukit Gombak (NS3)
Website

Zhe Bian Lai Xiang La Guo 这边来香辣鍋

This Mala Hot Pot Stall is seemingly popular in the area with queues and crowds over meal time. This stall not only sell Mala Hot pot but they also comes out with a few china specialty dishes on their menu. The price of hot pot items are consider more reasonable that the food court in the mall nearby.

Stall from Happy Hawker

Buzzer

I'm not a fan of Mala Xiang Guo and I had it ordered with the lowest level of spiciness. Selection of the items are definitely in a wide range

The amount of rice is generous and overflowing the level of the small bowl till it can be shared between 2 pax. Although little spiciness was used in the Mala Xiang Guo, I still find that its a bit spicy for me thus I'm sure I cannot tolerate their usual spicy level for the food. Like most Mala Xiang Guo, the bowl was topped with roasted peanuts and spring onions with the selected ingredients toosed in the chilli and peppercorns.

Mala Xiang Guo 

We ordered some of the dishes on the menu on top of our main order. The shredded cabbage tasted pretty home cook with slices of pork, cabbages and dried chili. 

Shredded cabbage 手撕包菜 - $5

I love tomato fried egg as such combination is fragrant and sweet with a little bit sourness from the tomato. The dish is tasty but was on a drier side.

Tomato Fried Egg 西红柿炒鸡蛋 - $5

Taste in overall was not too bad and price for all items from this stall is relatively reasonable in the neighborhood. For those who enjoy Chinese dishes as well as Mala Hot Pot, no harm giving it a try here.

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Zhe Bian Lai Xiang La Guo 这边来香辣鍋
Location: 632 Bukit Batok Central, #01-134 Singapore 650632

Ah Hua Teochew Fishball Noodles

@umakemehungry One of the Better Teochew Fishball Noodles out there. Their fish balls are fresh and bouncy #umakemehungry #teochew #foodiesg #sgfoodblogger ♬ Beautiful - JJ Lin & G.E.M.

Ah Hua Teochew Fishball Noodle is located among the Pandan Gardens Estate and they are known for their freshly handmade fish balls & meat balls from scratch. Not only that, even their chili paste is done by their own recipe, thus you will not find anywhere with exact taste.

The nondescript looking bowl of Mee Tai Mak packs full of flavour. Simply love the quality made items that comprises of more of fish meat than flour. The fish balls are indeed bouncy and fresh without any fishy smell.

Mee Tai Mak

The chili is simply awesome and tasty, blending in well with the noodles.  Sometimes, the order can be quite confusing for some as some of the menu item do not allow chilli / tomato but only vinegar. 

Mee Pok - $5

Nevertheless, our favourite order is still the combination of chili with tomato ketchup. Noodles like Mee Kia / Mee Pok is skillfully cooked to Al Dente texture. Even so that these were packed food, the noodle still tastes as good after sometime. It really make me drools upon looking at these bowls of noodles again.

Our Takeaway orders when dining in was restricted

Finally get to dine in after the P2HA period as we always do take away and did not get to taste their soup. The soup is sweet and has a distinctive "Cai Poh" (Preserved Radish) taste. The noodles are simple topped with spring onions, bean sprouts and some minced meat.

Noodle - $5

If you are looking traditionally homemade Teochew Fishball and meatballs with self made chilli paste. Ah Hua Teochew Fishabll Noodles is not to be missed.

Mee Kia - $5

When we get to dine in, we get to order some special drinks like these refreshing Ice Jelly too.

Ice Jelly

To be honest, I'm not a fan of Fish balls noodle and often I will choose other meals instead of fishball noodles if I'm in Hawker or Coffeeshops but Ah Hua Teochew Fishball Noodles is an exception to me.

Rating: 4 / 5

Ah Hua Teochew Fishball Noodles
Location: 415 Pandan Gardens #01-117 Singapore 600415

+886 Taiwanese Bistro

@umakemehungry Another place where you can get Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice #taiwanese #umakemehungry #sgfoodie #exploresingapore ♬ 简单爱 - 周建华

Nestled away at one corner of Jalan Besar just beside a motor repair shop, you could find a cafe underneath Noble Hotel serving Taiwanese food, street snacks and bubble tea. This eatery is quite meaningful as its define the country code for Taiwan if you are making an international call there.

+886 Taiwanese Bistro

I'm quite a fan of Taro Milk and this order was rather hard to resist. Reusable metal straws were used and the drink is basically taro paste with fresh milk and taste well.

Lychee Black Tea 荔枝紅茶 & Yam Milk 芋頭牛奶 - $4.60 / $5.80

Since Taiwanese food was one of the cravings, we had chanced upon +886 as we browse through the social media. 

Our Orders

This is a very common dish that you can find in any eateries in Taiwan. I thought that it could bring back the good memories of Taiwan. However, the resemblance ends there. The century egg was neither runny nor soft and the bean curd is nothing but run-of-the-mill kind topped with bonito flakes.

Cold Tofu with Century Egg in Taiwanese Sauce 皮蛋豆腐 - $4.20

A famous street snack that you can find in almost every night market in Taiwan. The popcorn chicken is a good replica of that. These bite size chicken was infused with the aromatic basil leaves.

Popcorn Chicken 盐酥鸡 - $6.80

The texture was similar to what we have in Taiwan. However, I still miss the pig intestine or the oyster version. The ingredients include shredded chicken, mushrooms and vinegar with bonito flakes broth.

Chicken Mee Sua 雞絲麵線 - $5.50

The Meesua was too fine for my liking. Personally, we will prefer the thicker ones. One thing to note, chilli padi, pepper, and garlic paste are available upon request.

Texture of the Mee Sua

The staples order not to be missed in a Taiwanese eatery will be none other than their braised pork rice, aka Lu Rou Fan. Using superior soy sauce, those meat was braised more than 24 hours covering the bed of premium Japanese rice. No minced pork was added and there was a good balance of lean and fatty meat with the melt in your mouth sensation. Ah Bao Braised Pork Rice was topped with shredded seaweed. Overall, this bowl of rice was delicious and the braised me totally reminds me of the fillings of what I had in Bak Zhang (Rice Dumpling).

Ah Bao Braised Pork Rice 阿寶鹵肉飯 - $5.80

It is a nice quaint little place that tries to replicate the Taiwanese flavours. Personally, I felt that it was a hit and miss.

Rating: 3 / 5

+886 Taiwanese Bistro
Location: 407 Jln Besar, #01-01, Singapore 209012
Nearest Station: Bendemeer (DT23) / Farrer Park (NE8)

Yaowarat Thai Kway Chap X Ob Woon Sen

Along the shop houses in Cheong Chim Nam with other eateries, Yaowarat Thai Kway Chap x Ob Woon Sen (aka Vermicelli) is located beside Mikawa Yakitori Bar offering the Thai Specialty Signature Kway Chap. Previously, I have visited Yaowarat Thai Kway Chap in Holland Village when I first heard about them.

Shop Front of Yaowarat Thai Kway Chap x Ob Woon Sen

Just can't skip ordering the staple drinks from the Thai Menu? Grab yourself a cup of their recommended Thai Milk Tea. I'm surprised that they have Pineapple Drink on the Menu but just too bad, it was not available during my day of visit.

Thai Milk Tea & Thai Iced Lemon Tea - $3 each

A minimum of 3 pieces for ordering. Although the color of the Moo Ping was a surprised to us. These Moo Ping were juicy and tasty. 

Moo Ping - $2.50 / Pcs

The Signature Thai Kway Chap's broth was lacking in taste. The bowl comprised of piece of lean meat, crisp-fried pork belly, pig stomach as well as their tasty fish sausage.

Signature Thai Kway Chap - $5

Every rice noodle sheet was curved up in the edge and this spelt out the difference between our local Kway Chap and Thai's.

Kway

This is probably one of the better dishes ordered. 

Fried Large Intestine - $8

The innards were properly clean, no gamey taste and crispy on the external. Best of all, it went well with the Thai chili provided.

Close up of the Pig's Offal

Tau Pok was crispy initially when hot. However, overtime as it cools down, it was not as addictive anymore. In our opnion, the sauce did not really complement the Tau Pok and taste was simply lacking. 

Salted Egg Tau Pok - $4

We were quite excited to order Giant Prawn Claypot Vermicelli as it was one of the recommended dishes on the menu with addictive looking Giant Prawns.

Giant Prawn Claypot Vermicelli - $19

The dish was lackluster, the ingredients such as pork lards and fried garlic cloves did not elevate the taste of the dish. The big prawns steal our attention, decking up by the bed of vermicelli with spring onions by the side. 

Vermicelli

The big and plump looking prawn looks interesting however, the texture was beyond expectation and the prawn was tough. Meh.

Close up of the Giant Prawn

Overall, we find that there are much more room for improvement. Nonetheless, their service was rather attentive and on the ball. Comparing to the previous outlet that we had patronized, I will still prefer to head back to where we had started to dine with.

@umakemehungry Yaowarat Thai Kway Chap x Ob Woon Sen #sgfoodie #umakemehungry #thaifood #thaifoodlover #exploresingapore ♬ Shuffle Dance Viral - Techno Music

Rating: 3 / 5

Yaowarat X Ob Woon Sen
Location: 20 Cheong Chin Nam Rd, Singapore 599744
Nearest Station: Beauty World (DT 15)