Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pan Cake

Peanut Pan Cake ($0.80)

I thought I had all the best Chinese pancake, until today.

This popular stall in the Tanglin Halt 48A Market opens 0330-1130hrs only (closes on 1, 3, 5). No wonder Ric has not been able to get me any!

If like me, you haven't had any from this stall; don't tell me you love pan cake.

126 Dim Sum Wen Dao Shi (搵到食) since 1985

Century Egg & Minced Pork Porridge ($3)

Upon a friend's recommendation, 126 Dim Sum bought us to Geylang. True to his words, the variety of dim sum here is vast with choices aplenty. But we wouldn't vouch for the quality - or finest of ingredients if you are looking for one.

The meal feels like a mess up of the taste buds; with strong seasoning that left us thirsty. There was nothing quite commendable, nor of character. Save for their well pleasing pork porridge; almost ruin by their generous sprinkle of fried garlic.

In short, we didn’t enjoy our meal.

Certainly not a place for purist who seek fine, simple taste in food.

Chicken Feet ($3.80), King Siew Mai ($5)

Shrimp Dumpling ($4)

Steam Yam Cake ($3.50)

BBQ Pork Bun ($3.50)

Lotus Leaf Rice ($4.50)

焱, Yan Fried Bee Hoon & Chicken Wings

Fried Bee Hoon ($0.60), Fried Chicken ($1.20)

Simple plate of fried vermicelli with fried chicken wings - got some to jest when Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee personally queued to buy it for his family. After the episode, queues at the already popular stall (#01-09) in the Redhill Lane Food Centre got really unbearable. That was in Jun, 2014.

Savoring the fare today got me to respect my prime minister's taste for food.

The springy vermicelli is lightly seasoned, just like home cooking. We really like it. The freshly deep fried chicken wings are savory, crisp, and juicy. One of the best you can get out here. I want to buy it for my family too.

Handmade Teochew Kuey, 手工潮州粿

Revisiting the stall. Was delighted to see a lighted up signboard.

We were told there is a wait of 20 mins for the steaming. So we guarded the stall jealously, knowing the limited quantity of each tray. We needed more to pack home. Many customers dropped in. But there were no reservations; money was refused too. As that would be too much to handle for the old hawker.

Camping right in front of the stall, we were rewarded with all the available selections. While the others hurriedly, scrambled in. Everyone, die-hard for old-school flavors.

Glutinous Rice Kueh, Yam Kueh, Soon Kueh (anti-clockwise, $1.20 each)

福粿园, Kueh Garden

Soon Kueh ($1 each)

Congratulations to Kueh Garden! Who actually manages to pull off their first year at the quiet Jurong East shop house. When we arrived, there was a 15 mins wait for a new batch of steaming to fulfill our order of 16 pastries.

The taste was how we like it - light, down-to-earth, home-cook. Make no mistake with a small bite, which might just register the taste as bland. Take a big mouthful into the plump kueh, and you'll satisfy your taste buds with a good aroma of fried shallots, crunch of the black fungus and pure sweetness of turnips and carrots. My folks love this.

We usually don't have the dark soy sauce, preferring to savor the original taste of food. But dip in a little into their non-sweet, natural-tasting chili sauce. It is good.

发笋粿, Fatt Soon Kueh

Chinese Dumpling, Soon Kueh ($1 each)

"This is my favourite soon kueh, you know?" touted the young man, younger than myself - my brother. He had often drove his way to the branch at New Upper Changi Rd for his craving.

Surely, the family was impressed by the crystalline pastry which looked absolutely mouthwatering. But the stronger flavor of the vegetable filling left us in disillusion. The dumpling though, boasts some of the plumpest dried shrimps we have ever seen in a soon kueh; and the sheer number of them in each dumpling, suffice to freak out any vegetarian.

You will enjoy this if you have a heavier taste buds. For us, we are sticking to the less commercialize ones.

肥佬, Fei Lou Porridge

(#01-116)

Come dinner time, there are always 2 long queues in the Telok Blangah Crescent Market and Food Centre. One belongs to the char kway teow, and the other at Fei Lou.

Their bountiful items on the yellow board might make you feel lost. Well, you just have to get what the guys in front are ordering!

Boneless Fried Chicken Wings ($1.20 each), Porridge ($1), Fried Bee Hoon ($1)

Steamed Chicken ($6)

Primarily it's the boneless fried chicken wings! (better than IKEA's) and steamed chicken that makes it to everyone's table. They have this classic 'fried shallot oil with spring onions' dip for their steamed chicken which i find most nostalgic!

The scalding hot porridge and savory fried vermicelli are the carbo to indulge. Occasionally, we will have their herbaceous braised chicken feet with peanuts! Get you a photo of it soon.

Braised Chicken Feet with Peanuts

佳记美食, Jia Ji Mei Shi

(#02-166)

We gonna start visiting the Chinatown Market and Food Centre often, because of the tons of good food here! It is Singapore's largest hawker centre with over 260 food stalls, and stall numbers will be listed here so you could locate them in this maze.

First up will be this famous steamed food stall - it is simple food, but isn't easy to do it right. Expect generous ingredients in their rice dumpling and cuttlefish porridge. Smooth and savory yam cake, and fried noodle with that 'wok hei'! Load on their special chili sauce that is mildly spicy, yet going so well with all the dishes here!

I almost wanted to shout out to the clueless tourists who are looking on at the crowded stall. "Hey Dude! This is the stall to get some local food!"

Pork Rice Dumpling ($2), Yam Cake with Chee Cheong Fun ($2), Fried Noodle ($1), Peanut Cuttlefish Porridge ($2.50)

Steamed Yam Cake and Chee Cheong Fun

Fried Bee Hoon Mee

Good Cheap Coffee Set - $2.20

Set B - Toasted Kaya Butter Buns, Kopi, Eggs ($2.20, upsized coffee + $0.10)

To satisfy an Asian soul in the morning, it would be a cup of fragrant Nanyang coffee; toasted bread with thick cold butter and warm, runny half boiled eggs. On a rest day, it's certainly this simple.

Here's a corner stall (#02-59) at the Taman Jurong Market Food Centre. They have been serving the neighbors for years - offering quality breakfast set at a fairly economical pricing. I reckon they too help keep prices of coffee around the estate stable.

Come down if you like what you are looking.

Handmade Teochew Kuey, 手工潮州粿

The stall reminds you fondly of your grandmother, because the elderly hawker cooks slow and steadily by herself, attending to customers warmly. Just like how grandma likes to dominate the kitchen, pampering us with food. Chat with her, and you find her speaking a few dialects, including Mandarin!

It was a quiet stall (#01-130) by one end of the Telok Blangah Crescent Market and Food Centre. But her stream of customers is constant, buying out every tray of freshly steamed handmade kueh. If you need more to pack away (which we did), you need to wait about 20 mins for the next tray.

What's special about the Soon Kueh here is its simple homely taste - very old school, large size and rich filling. I think we tasted dried sole fish (扁鱼干) too! I have yet tasted anything close to hers.

Steamed Soon Kueh ($1.20 a piece)

The grandmother could not promise us her operating hours, as she might be too tired to cook on some days. And most time, like our 2 evenings here, only her Soon Kueh (Turnip dumpling) is still available. The rest just got sold out.

Come earlier if you could, and you would probably have the chance to get her Chive dumplings, glutinous rice dumpling or the Yam cake. We would certainly try to do that. We did.

乔记面馆, Qiao Ji Noodle House

You like pancake with stuffing? I love it.

It is a basic staple food in China, but in Singapore we tend to pay a premium for it. This stall (#01-72) we are visiting at Blk 90, Whampoa Food Centre serves an economical one. Only a dollar fifty for a palm-sized piece. And they were fattened with stuffing!

Now we love to dip them into the vinegary sauce, complete with ginger strips. Yum.

韭菜盒子, Chives Pancake ($1.50)

猪肉馅饼, Pork Pancake ($1.50)

葱花饼, Spring Onions Pancake ($1.50)

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)

美香, Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang

Banana Fritters & Assortment ($1 each)

It's been many good years. And we still round up our meal at the Changi Village Food Centre with goreng pisang from Mei Xiang (#01-51). Their banana fritters are thinly coated with crumbly skin, and melting sweet within. For lesser sweetness, go for their fried sweet potatoes, which are delightfully fluffy!

For Sunday only, which is today, they will have their special of pumpkin + yam fritters and the yam + sweet potato! Buy it.

Pancake King @ Serangoon Garden

Peanut, Coconut Pancake ($1.10 each)

We first noticed Pancake King when it opened in the Serangoon Garden Market few years back, and we didn't patronise them - but good stalls survive right? Lovely chocolate cakes, cupcakes, brownies, egg tarts and puffs decorated their display cabinet, yet we were only craving for traditional min chiang kueh, the pancake.

Obviously, their pricing is higher than average, but i thought the coconut filling is worth it. Because we could taste Gula Melaka, a type of palm sugar in it. This is some good pancake indeed.

Supper @ 飘香小吃

Porridge ($1), Economic Bee Hoon Mee ($1)

This is a very late dinner at nine-thirty pm. Many food stalls are now closed, but i know people in the West flocked to supper at the Tanglin Halt Market Food Centre. Still, the queue at 'Piao Xiang Xiao Chi' jolted me. I was reminded of the scene here in 2014 (when I first visited the stall) where waiting diners rushed to form a queue, as soon as the stall lighted up at 6pm!

In truth, the food is nondescript. It tasted like how mum would have whipped up at home. It tasted home-cooked. And i guess, people just love how seasoning is kept in check here. This is, after all, a light meal after all the partying.

Some warm green bean soup and porridge to comfort the rumbling tummy; glutinous rice and fried vermicelli noodle to fill the void. Add savory fried chicken wings, fish cakes and stuffs to satisfy your gluttony. Then you are all warm fuzzy for a good night's sleep. Just don't overeat.

Fried Chicken Wings

莱兴, Lai Heng Handmade Teochew Kueh

Pan-Fried Turnip/ Chive Dumpling ($0.70)

We ate and made takeaway; just like the many others who came to collect their large order of 20s or 30s from this stall in Yuhua Market & Food Centre. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Just traditional Teochew kueh in the making - no fancy ingredients, special recipe or exorbitant price tags. Just honest, good stuff in their plainest form.

Nothing too salted. It was plain, fresh ingredients within. A dip in their special chili sauce that wasn't overly spicy nor salted, makes it all the more better. And I'm starting to develop a craving for this kueh...

Guess which of these usually got sold out first? 

If you are reaching later than 1pm, call Mr Wu at 9455 6341/ 9818 2116 for reservations.

Turnip Dumpling, 笋粿 ($0.60)

Glutinous Rice Dumpling, 饭桃 ($0.80)

Chive Dumpling, 韭菜粿 ($0.60)

Rice Roll, Yam Cake and Dumplings

Bean Dumpling ($1.50)

Quite unexpectedly, i've developed a craving for bean dumplings. This was ever since Ric bought some snacks from stall (#01-59) in the Sims Vista Market and Food Centre.

Together with its warm slippery steamed rice roll and yam cake, my weekend seems ready to bounce!

Yam Cake ($0.90) and Chee Cheong Fun ($0.80)

Brunch at Jalan Benaan Kapal - Singapore's Oldest Food Centre (Pt.1)

The Canteen Building

Jalan Benaan Kapal (Malay for "ship building road") is a street near Tanjung Rhu and Geylang. Little known to many, here lies the last of Singapore's old-style Kopitiam. Two stretches of one storey low rise offices lined the street, all of them with flat rooftops. So when you spotted a pitched roof building, that's when you steered into the free parking compound of the canteen.

We were initially drawn by the 50 cents kopi offered here, but we soon discovered that the place has more to offer. There are only 10 stalls; and most doesn't have a name, they go by stall no. 1-10. Here we start on part 1!

On the Part 2, we'll look at the Muslim stalls.

Breakfast Set, without Toast ($1.60)

Stall No. 1 - Drinks and Kopi Breakfast Set

Stall No. 1 and 10 serve cold drinks and coffee, but we thought only Stall No. 1 offers half-boiled eggs and toast? Because everyone gets them here. The hawker uncle works slow, but his coffee is the one you should go to.

We love it too, that the eggs were served, de-shelled.

Fried Bee Hoon Mee, added Fish Cake ($1.30)

Stall No. 3 - Economic Fried Bee Hoon, Steamed Dim Sum and Kway Chap

If you are early, and the Kway Chap is not yet really (only available after 10:30am), do order some of their fried vermicelli first. Many do this, while they kopi and chat, waiting for the Kway Chap.

Nobody is in a rush. This is a Saturday after all.

Kway Chap Set for 2 pax ($6)

Stall No. 7 - Chicken Rice, Braised Meat and Chicken Feet

Chicken rice, or if you fancy an alternative - bowl of braised chicken feet to accompany some fried stuff like the ngoh hiang and fish cake from the stall. They have some glutinous chicken feet for you to suck on!

Braised Chicken Feet ($2)