Noodle Cafe

Learning about Noodle Cafe in Sim Lim Square, it was such a joy as it was a killing two birds in one stone occasion where I can get to enjoy the long missing Thai Boat Noodle and also get to visit the complex.

Due to recent increasing complaint cases from consumers in Sim Lim Square, I noticed that alot of shops had ceased their operations and the it was no longer the crazy bustling IT place I ever knew.

To get to Noodle Cafe, we have to walked at the perimeter of Sim Lim Square. The cafe was modernly furnished and bright with TV.

Interior

Let's take a look at their special Menu and the Must Try!

Must Try

If you have never been to Thailand for their boat noodles, ordering such dishes may be new to you but its achievable in just 5 simple steps -

Step 1: Choice of Beef or Pork
You can choose Fresh Beef/Pork with respective liver or balls. Or if you want to try all just tell them you want meat with livers and balls.

Step 2: Size?
We all know about the bite size portion of a bowl of noodles which literally get finished in just 1 mouthful. So if you really just want a try and nothing else, just go for their small size at $1.90 or if you want something filling, a bigger size at $5 won't go wrong. 

Step 3: Choose your noodles
Apart from having Bee hoon, diners get to choose, glass noodle, kuay tiao, mee kia or tung hoon.

Step 4: Your Taste!
There are 4 choices, you can order them dry or with soup like TomYum, clear soup or even their special Soup.

Step 5: Level of spice
It comes in 4 levels, non-spicy, less spicy, normal spicy and extra hot.

5 Steps to your order

Just like an usual Thai eating place, sugar, chilli oil, flakes and fish sauce were all readily placed on the table. Do help yourselves with the condiments!

Condiments

We had chosen their Thai Milk tea over other beverages. Tea taste was not too strong and was overpowered by the taste of milk.

Thai Milk Tea - $1.80 Each

Having the big bowl of boat noodle in such permutation, mix pork with glass noodles and in their special soup with less spiciness. Glass noodles were soft and rather tasty with the sweet and clear soup.

Glass Noodle Special Soup - $5 (Big)

We opted for pork balls and lean meat. Having tried the authentic ones from Thailand a few months back, the standard from this bowl really varies. Pork balls were not that bouncy.

With Ingredients up

Never knew that such big kway teow exists in boat noodles, the dry version was topped with chopped vegetables (kang kong) and came with a separated bowl of soup which was opaque in color. The soup did taste a close resemblance to what I had in Thailand but still lacking of the meaty taste.

Kway Teow Dry with beef

Having boat noodles in singapore can never be compared with what we have eaten in Thailand for sure due to a higher living expense here. We got the luxury to enjoy an authentic mouthful of boat noodles at 10 Baht (less than $1) but over here in Singapore, its $1.90.

Ingredients on Kway Teow Dry

In terms of taste, they were quite close but still nothing in comparison to what we ever had. At least its good in the sense that we do not need to spend more money and time flying overseas to enjoy such thai cuisine.


Rating: 3.25 / 5

Noodle Cafe
Location: Sim Lim Square 1 Rocher Canal Rd #01-06

Ming Kee

Finally I got the chance to try out Ming Kee's congee after a long wait! Ming Kee Porridge is one of the recommended food to have in West Coast Square however do ensure that you are there before 12 noon at least as porridge is always selling fast.

Ming Kee

It was such an lucky incident as for over 3 years of lunching in West Coast Square Hawker Centre, I have never seen them opened during my lunch hours. Even if they do so, they are either cleaning the stall or packing up for end business day.

This afternoon as I approached the stall, it was already half dimmed, a common scene where  hawkers indicating that they are closing. I had a strong sense telling me that food were out of stock again but there then I still saw 2 customers waiting for their food and I decided to ask if there are any more left.

Bingo! The lady told me that 1 bowl of congee is left and I ordered the pork with peanut congee. While waiting, I took a look into the stall and saw an industrial grade congee boiler with a stirring jig in the middle. It is no wonder the texture of the congee is so smooth and have such ood consistency.

Into the Stall

Yes as compared to other congee / porridge stall in the vicinity, Ming Kee is no doubt the best. Pork porridge came with balls of marinated minced meat and was so tasty. Condiments like fried fritters, shredded ginger , spring onions, pepper and sesame oil were all available at the counter.

Pork with Peanut Congee - $3

Since its end of the business day, the generous lady poured a wholesome amount of fritters onto my bowl. Porridge was really good but when can I have such luck again to try on others kinds of congee?

Pork & Peanuts

Century Egg with Meat - $3

Century Egg

Rating: 3.5 /5

Ming Kee
Location: 726 Clementi West Street 2 Singapore 120726

Scrumptious at the Turf

After walking one round at The Grandstand we decided for unit #01-08 while viewing from the directory and headed towards Scrumptious at the Turf.

Environment

Environment was rather pleasant and not too much of people as it was after the official dinner hours. Looking at the nicely decorated blackboard at Scrumptious, All-Day Breakfast was being served.

Since we were rather late for dinner, we quickly made our orders with 2 mains and 1 side. It was not too soon when the service guy approached us that all chicken mains were sold out and he apologized for it mentioning it was a long day. He suggested that we could take the Pan Seared Dory as an alternative and I agreed.

All Day Breakfast

We waited for about half hour then our appetizer were served. The Spam Fries were nothing interesting, dull thick cut meats deep fried and place on a plain white plate. Texture was not too bad with some crisp on its external however, it would be perfect if they were harder in bite and not too big in size.

Spam Fries - $9

Observing the on goings throughout the wait, with one of the tables complaining their buffalo wings were not cooked, and we started to notice that something was very amiss and was pondering how much longer do we need to wait.

Unfortunately, the wait wasn't for us. To make things worst, one of us had to rush back immediately due to work commitment. We tried calling off the bill and initially we were rejected but shortly the In-Charge came over and agree upon as we emphasized we had really something urgent to attend to.

He repeatedly apologize for causing the blunders and even offered our fries free but in the end we left paying.

It's all about team work when it comes to operating the Cafe. Luckily the kitchen is kind of opened concept with the glass panels and we were able to view the happenings. There were only 4 staff on service during our time of visit about 9pm which I would say over the peak hours. Keeping in mind that the crowd wasn't too many, the speed of serving was indeed very slow. The body languages from the 2 chefs in the kitchen had shown the reluctance in their job even though the so called Team Lead had emphasized the upcoming orders countless time that even offered to prepare some of the ingredients from them. It's all about getting serious on the job and it showed how much efforts the chefs had put in by their unpleasant and ignorant attitude. From what we observed, the team lead was caught in the middle and no matter how many times the team lead tried hard to recover its service, apologizing to customers just doesn't help after all.  With so many bad reviews around, it would be at best the management could do something to clear its name.

Sigh what a night!

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Scrumptious at the Turf
Location: The Grandstand (200 Turf Club Rd.), #01-08, Singapore 287994

Mdm Kim Wanton Noodle

Mdm Kim Wanton Noodle is one of the stalls housed in a coffee shop under Blk 710 in Clementi West. The coffeeshop is nothing new to me as I have been there quite a few times for their popular Hong Kong Street XO Fish Meat Bee Hoon and Vegetarian food.

Stall of Mdm Kim

The lady who prepared the noodle was pretty consistent in speed, putting them into and out of the hot water as well as cold water a few times. Though there was a good queue line up in front of her stall, her attention was all thrown into serving the dish. Her actions told me that she was very focused, giving me the full confident in the outcome of her dish.

Once ready, the noodles were stirred together with the sauces on the plate.

Florescent red pieces of Char Siew matching the blanched green vegetables were eyes pleasing. They are the ones that make the meal looked more appetizing.

Wanton Noodle - $2.50

Wanton Soup has a distinctive Shrimp flavour, sweet and tasty while the nicely wrapped up little bags of minced meat were smooth and of average taste.

Wanton Soup

Rating: 3 / 5

Mdm Kim Wanton Noodle
Location: Blk 710 Clementi West St 2 #01 Singapore 120710

Soon Lee B.B.Q [Closed]

Having eyed this stall for almost half a year, they have finally opened in the afternoon. I was elated as this was one of the stalls I have yet to try. Nowadays, its getting trendy with youngster going into F&B Business especially in the Hawker Centre and I guess there is more reason for me to try out their food.

The usual school of thought is that having BBQ food is only the night thingy and I decided to pop my head into the stall and check out what are they serving since it was day time. A TV screen in front of the stall was showing the recommended set meal for the day and without further ado, I ordered them as it was the cheapest among the others.

Soon Lee B.B.Q

 Though the portion of $5 maybe a tad expensive than the usual $2.50 - $3 meals we had for lunch I would say that its all worthwhile. Why? Besides having a bowl of rice scooped onto the green plate, sunny side up egg was included with nicely cut cucumbers and sides like ikan billis with peanuts. Portion of black pepper chicken was generously given.

Black Pepper Chicken Set - $5

The bite size chicken meat was tender and tasty, consistently coated with black peppery taste and strong hint of garlic smell. Yummy!

Delicious Black Pepper Chicken

 If you are paying $6 for their Sotong Meal, don't dropped your jaws for their generousity.Sotong were fresh and "q", fried together in the addictive chilli paste filled with onions and garlic too.

Sotong Set - $6

With such portion, we joked among ourselves that we could actually save our lunch money by sharing the portion after all to consume such a big plate down could be a challenge at times especially when we have to fight against the Zzz Monster after lunch time. 

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Soon Lee B.B.Q
Location: Blk 726 Clementi West St 2 #01-180 Singapore 120726

Jenny Ayam Bakar Indo-Pura

I'm both happy and sad seeing new stalls appearing on our frequent dining place. Happy because I'm having new choice of food for lunch and sad because I felt sorry for the stall that was taken over if the business was not enough to cover their operations.

Jenny Ayam Bakar Indo-Pura caught my attention not because it was new but rather her stall lady who looked Chinese but serving Halal Food. As I approached the stall, she was quite friendly and asked if I need anything. To confirm my judgement, I replied back in Mandarin and asked her for recommendations. Indeed, she replied back in her fluent Mandarin, pointing at the few Ayam Bakar Dishes, she recommended Rendang which was not that spicy to us.

Jenny's Stall

The dish looked different from the picture as Ayam (Chicken) was dark brown in color. Chicken leg  has a subtle coconut fragrant and taste, giving the meat a alluring flavour in the aromatic blend of spices. Quite tantalizing to my tastebuds. Having the Ayam that steals the show from the entire dish, other compliments on the plate will be a piece of slice Tau Gua and "Ah Za" (Pickles) not forgetting the white rice that was topped with fried onions. The only gripe I had was perhaps that the meal is lacking of some bowl or soup to swallow down the rice. However, with so many staff from the drink stalls around, finding something to drink will not be any issue.

Ayam Bakar Rendang - $5

Rendang Chicken Leg

Besides having Ayam Bakar, you can get common Muslim dishes like Lontong, Mee Siam, Mee Rebus or even Mee Soto. With so many Muslim Stalls in the Hawker, competition is no doubt tougher. Adding Badgedil at additional $0.50 to the bowl of Mee Soto just made the meal complete even though the taste was more or less similar to other stalls in the vicinity. 

Rating: 3 / 5

Jenny Ayam Bakar Indo-Pura
Location: Ayer Rajah Food Centre, 503 West Coast Drive #01-33 Singapore 120503

Dullimah Sulaiman

Frankly speaking, having been to Ayer Rajah Food Centre for years, it was such a shame as I hardly try out all their Muslim stall as I choose to stick to a few. In the search of a better Mee Soto in the Hawker Cetnre, I visited Dullimah Sulaiman and saw someone taking away a plate of Tahu Goreng. I told myself, perhaps the next time I would try their Tahu Goreng.

Dullimah Sulaiman

Continuing my search for the better Mee Soto, I would say that I still could not find a one closer to my heart.

As usual, I topped up my dish with bagedil, afraiding that the basic portion may turn me hungry during tea time. Soup wise, there wasn't much to comment, stock was clear and taste with typical MSG included and topped with shredded chicken. If you are expecting nothing much, a simple meal like this could fit the bill.

Mee Soto - $3 (With Bagedil)

Rating: 3 / 5

Dullimah Sulaiman
Location: Ayer Rajah Food Centre, 503 West Coast Drive #01-52 Singapore 120503