Nurul Delights

Mee Siam ($2.50)

It was a rare encounter of thickly spiced Mee Siam (fried vermicelli in spicy soup) at 413, Bukit Batok West kopitiam. Sourish and fiery - a very satisfying bowl. We packed an extra order for home.

The nasi lemak rice is fragrant, comes with freshly fried chicken wings and thick-cut omelet. They offer lontong and mee rebus too. Everything at two-fifty only.

The meal left us feeling much thirsty, but the stall is popular. Be prepared to join a long breakfast queue.

Nasi Lemak ($2.50)

Curry Fish Head @ Sri Veera's

Curry Fish Head

Couldn't resist a 5 course curry fish head set for 2 pax, at $15 only. Badly wanted to see the genuineness of the offer, because they say - good things don't come cheap.

Most importantly, the fish head is fresh and meaty! We were served a full Grouper fish head, in piping hot Indian curry. Side vegetables of the day, with our choice of Masala chicken and sweet fried fishes (we didn't choose the mutton) on banana leaves. What's not mentioned on the deal was their offering of fresh, crisp papadum crackers for us too! It was enjoyable.

You might be pleased, that the little eatery is pleasantly air-conditioned.

Cucumber in Yoghurt, Brinjal, Gourd (Day Vegetables),

Masala Chicken and Fried Fishes.

Five Star Fast Food - Roti Prata

Plain Prata ($0.80 per piece)

Happy Deepavali! Just in time to share a local favourite of all races in Singapore - the Roti Prata, a floury pancake. It is an art often mastered by our Indian counterparts.

At the Taman Jurong Market Food Centre, the aroma of pan frying roti prata never fails to lure us when we arrived. Often we would turn to each other and smiled, "Prata?"

The Indian pancake was always crispy on the outside, fluffy and moist within. Never oily. We like their syrupy fish curry that’s a little spicy and alluringly piquant. It's hard to resist not making space for at least 1 piece of their prata!

The stall (no. 101) is at level 2. The sight of a short queue, tall carton trays of fresh eggs and lingering aroma will lead you.

YUSMAR Aneka Selera

Lontong ($2.50), Nasi Lemak ($2.50)

$2.50 dishes are hard to come by these days. And it has to taste good. In the lift at the Taman Jurong Market Food Centre, we heard a family asking one another if they want mee rebus or mee siam. That gave us the idea to go for some Malay cuisine this breakfast.

Brisk business at stall #02-99 helps Ric decide on them. Every of their dishes are at $2.50. It's a steal. Notice the correction plasters over their price menu? Yes, they were selling at $2 previously!

On this cold and wet morning, our favourite has to be their hot spicy Lontong! And fresh fried chicken wings on the nasi. Nothing fanciful. Just authentic food that satisfy.

Mee Rebus ($2.50)

Haron 55 - Satay Babat!

Satay Babat

Probably our most bizarre yet toothsome satay skew - Haron's satay babat (cow's stomach/ tripe)! Trust Ric to order it, when they were sold out on the mutton satay.

We were unsure, of course. But the babat actually tastes awesome for being soft, little chewy and pretty meaty at the same time. It is splendid barbecue skills when the skewered meat actually picked up most of the smoky aroma, without getting charred!

Do you even get this in restaurants? Just come down to the East Coast Lagoon Food Village.

Satay Chicken, Beef, Babat ($0.70 cents per stick), Lontong ($0.50 each)

786 A.L. YUSRA - Mee Goreng!

Mee Goreng, with Egg ($4.50)

With so many stalls offering the Malay fried noodles at East Coast Lagoon Food Village, you can't go wrong with one who specializes in Goreng (meaning 'fried' in Malay language), and nothing else. They (at stall 59) are the specialist. We are making this return trip specially for them tonight.

Like our last visit, we taste a good plate of fiercely fried noodles, which charred even some of its noodle strands. This is easily one of the best mee goring stalls in Singapore.

Indonesian Ayam Bakar

Ayam Bakar Sambal Lado ($4)

Ayam Bakar Diving ($4)

I have always loved Indonesia-styled grilled chicken, so i got pretty excited to see a short queue at this stall in the Changi Village Food Centre. We follow suit and ordered 2 of their signatures like everyone else.

It was standard grilled chicken for all, finished with the respective sauces according to your order. Clearly, the ayam sambal was the spicier one. The popular ayam diving was doused with sweet black sauce and a dollop of their sweet, piquant sambal was provided! Every plate includes a serving of aromatic rice cupped in heart-shape, dark-sauced pineapple salad, and a warm soup which tasted like Thai Tom Yum. This is many tastings in one plate!

We haven't got this excited over hawker food for a long time.

#01-79

Warung Nenek

#01-73

Heartwarming name of 'Warung Nenek' at the Changi Village Food Centre actually means 'Little stall of Grandma' in Malay. Sweet.

Their main stay is some well-toasted fritter (Chinese 'you tiao') and beancurd puff (Taupok), stuffed with raw cucumber strips and blanched beansprouts, done rojak style. Great for those who prefer their rojak without the pineapples and turnips. Seems familiar with what we usually have from Chinese rojak stall? But the shrimp paste used in the sauce here is much lighter, yet very palatable. We like it.

Next we followed others in buying up their little banana fritters, lightly coated with thin, savory batter. Served dipping hot. Surely, this is the best pisang goreng we had, from a Malay stall.

Rojak Bakar ($3)

Pisang Goreng ($2 for 8)

Changi Village Satay

Beef, Mutton Satay ($0.70 per stick), Lontong ($0.70 x2)

It doesn't go unnoticed that the most popular satay stall among the Chinese patrons, in the Changi Village Food Centre is Jason's, while our Muslim friends went for Changi Village Satay. We first caught sight of them on a Chinese table - fat chunky sticks of grilled meat! And i told Ric, i want those!

And we had. Sweet, juicy sticks of grilled mutton, with very little too tough to chew. This is good. The beef was understandably tougher, but equally aromatic. No regret for my whimsicality.

Oleh Oleh Bandung

Chicken and Mutton Satay ($0.70 per stick), Lontong ($0.50 x 2)

Another satay night at the East Coast Lagoon Food Village; there are so many Malay satay stalls here, we vowed to try them all!

Compared to Haron, stall 55 which we tried earlier, Oleh Oleh, stall 50 is lighter on the taste buds - less coating of spices on the mutton, and lesser salt in the peanut sauce. We welcome the lesser salt part, but were missing the spices. It was good, nonetheless.

Then we chanced upon our best Mee Goreng (on the background of the photo)! More on that here.

Haron Satay 55

Beef, Mutton Satay ($0.70 cents per stick), Lontong ($0.50)

How cool! When we don't eat on proper table and chairs; felt like a kid all over again. A sense of fun ignites as i sat by the beach and asked Ric to fetch some satay from the nearby East Coast Lagoon Food Village. The weather was amazing tonight.

He explained his buy from Haron - long queue and them being listed on the The Business Times & Knight Frank CEO's Hawker Guide. While i was most impressed with their deliberate use of aluminum foil wrapping to keep the satay warm! And the generous pack of sliced cucumber and onions that come with it.

The sizable satay was well marinated with spices, and deliciously aromatic after the barbecue! Eat it plain if you can, because we do suffer from their heavily salted peanut gravy.

Kintamani Indonesian Restaurant

Kambing Panggang, grilled lamb

We are back to the Kintamani for our yearly gathering, with prices up at $55++ per pax now. Compare with what we had in 2011, the food has maintained its standard, with some toothsome addition like the grilled lamb leg.

With their 1-for-1 promotion still valid with major credit cards, this is definitely value.

DIY Station - Mee Rebus

DIY - Gado Gado Jakarta

Another memorable dish would be their ayam panggang which has a nice ginseng aroma! Besides the typical fresh fruits and ice-cream for dessert, there are also hot bubur cha cha, chilled chendol, crispy goreng pisang and the special lolos beras.

A buffet i would love to return on the very next day.

Appetizers

Udang Rebus, fresh boiled prawn on ice

Mutton and Chicken Satay

Ayam Panggang, grilled chicken served with special black sauce

Sayur Lodeh, stewed vegetables with coconut gravy

Sambal Udang Balado, tiger prawn with sambal balado

Rendang Daging Sapi, richly beef slimmered with coconut gravy

Tumis Kailan Saus Tiram, kailan with oyster sauce

Ikan Goreng Colo-Colo, deep-fried Dory fish

Fresh fruits - Guava, Watermelon and Jackfruit (Longan and Passion fruits not in picture)

Nonya Kueh Assortment

Changi Village Food Centre

Standard Chicken Wings Set ($3.50, add $1.50 for Fried Ikan Kuning)

Changi Village has always been associated with nasi lemak. There are several good stalls here, and they are famous for their aromatic steamed rice and freshly deep fried chicken wings. It is really quite irresistible for many. The one we have today is from Changi Famous Nasi Lemak (#01-28). But my recent favourite is the homely, fresh tasting one from Orang Orang, in Bukit Batok.

Now, don't forget the iconic 'Commando dessert'. Made famous by our Commando soldiers at the nearby Hendo camp, who love to come by and order it for the whole table! Nearly every dessert stalls here serve it, and this dessert is unique to Changi Village only.

Red Tea Jelly with Longan, the "Commando Dessert" ($2)

You may wish to skip the soggy fried Hokkien mee we had. Curb whatever your cravings. Order instead a plate of savory fried kway tiao, or the well charred Chinese rojak with zesty lime juice in its dressing! You would thank me for it.

For more eats from the Changi Village, please type in 'Changi Village Food Centre' in the search box located at the right column of this blog. Eat your way out :)

Lai Xiang Rojak, #01-65 ($3)

Xiang Xiang Char Kway Teow, #01-58 ($3.50) 

Changi Village Fried Hokkien Mee, #01-53 ($3)

Orang Orang (F&B) Pte. Ltd.

Tauhu Goreng ($3)

Orang Orang F&B is a Muslim food court in Bukit Batok, which we are more familiar with, and really enjoy some of their entrees. Whether it's breakfast or lunch, it's easy to find something we feel like having from 3 of our favorite stalls here:

1. NASI PADANG - Nasi Padang, Tauhu Goreng, Mee Rebus, Mee Soto, Nasi Lemak, Mee Siam, Lontong.
2. RASYIDAH/ JJ - Roti Kirai, Gado Gado, Mee Betawi (beef), Ayam Penyat.
3. CHICKEN RICE - Chicken Rice.

Everything is quite good. Note that the fresh tasting Nasi Lemak is often sold out before 10am, while the uncommon Roti Kirai is only available on weekends. The unique Mee Betawi is a must try, but it will only be ready for lunch. Grab those plates of understated Gado Gado and Penyat too. Last but not least, you wouldn't miss the queue for their chargrilled Chicken Rice!

Pretty sure, you'll go away with something memorable.

Mee Rebus ($3)

Nasi Padang, with Beef Rendang and Cabbage ($3.50)

Nasi Lemak, with Chicken ($3.50)

Kway Teow Soto ($3)

Roti Kirai, with Chicken Curry ($3.50)

Gado Gado ($3.50)

Mee Betawi ($3.50)

Ayam Penyat ($5)

Chicken Rice ($3.50)