Palate Pleasers N Tummy Teasers

Makan Post-it (1) - This nasi lemak’s worth every calorie!

Work commitments and attempts to maintain a Life outside of it have resulted in an unfortunate situation of dwindling posts on this blog as our dear loyal readers would have noticed by now In a bid to rectify this, papilles has decided to launch what we call “Makan Post-its”; short posts meant to feature one or two specific foods in bite-sized reads. Hopefully this will help boost updates and new posts so keep checking back for more yeah

The humble and oh-so-commonly found nasi lemak has the honour of being featured in the 1st of our Makan Post-its And this particular one’s sure worth every single calorie…

Apologies for the less than enticing picture; hawker centres don’t afford the best lighting for food photography But take our word for it when we say that it tastes a whole lot better than it looks. The highlight and main draw of customers to this stall lies in its Cereal Chicken (pictured bottom left). The fragrance of cereal bits is the first thing that hits you, followed by the crisp and juicy textures as you chew on it. This version being a Chinese take on what was orignally a Malay dish, offers a whole variety of other ingredients you can choose to have with your nasi lemak. Kinda like economic rice but with added sin thanks to all that additional coconut milk. Other must-trys include their curry mixed vegetables, sambal french beans and deep-fried chicken wings

Look out for the above signboard or simply the long queue leading to it; the stall is located along one of the middle aisles of the hawker centre.

Sims Vista Market & Food Centre

49 Sims Place

Tasty Thai food at unbelievable prices

With the current economic crisis, everyone’s looking to cut back on spending and meals at fancy restaurants would now probably be few and far between. If that’s equivalent to gastronomic suicide for you, papilles says Cheer Up! Cos’ good food doesn’t always have to come with a hefty price tag; though admittedly, great and cheap food is a rare find. So when papilles chanced upon a place which offers great food at affordable prices, we just had to share it with our readers

First, locate this signboard:

This is one stall that lives up to its name of serving some really tasty Thai food In fact, their popular Pineapple Rice could give some casual Thai eatery chains here a run for their money.

Who’d have thought dinner at a hawker centre could look like this:

And most importantly, with every item priced at $4!

I never fail to order their Pineapple rice everytime I’m here, simply cos’ it’s just too yummy to miss

The subtle sweetness of pineapples comes through with every mouthful, nicely complemented by a handful of sweet raisins, with the pork floss and caschew nuts lending an added crunch.

All this tastes even better when paired with another favourite of mine - Green Curry Chicken:

The fragrance of spices fused with coconut milk will have you spooning up every last drop of this curry Add to that tender chunks of chicken and eggplant stewed till mushy…YUM!

What’s a Thai meal without Tom Yum Talay:

This is one of those tom yum soups that look deceptively mild with its clear broth until you have a spoonful and sputter as the spiciness hits the back of your throat. A little too spicy for me, but they are really generous with their ingredients - you can see the chockful of seafood in just one serving and everything tastes really fresh and succulent

Although variety is lacking at this stall, their quality of food more than makes up for it. And at the prices they’re charging, it leaves me wondering if they even make any profits As with all good things, the food gets snapped up fast so do head down early to avoid disappointment.

Tasty Thai Hut

#02-159 Bukit Timah Food Centre

116 Upper Bukit Timah Road

Comfort in a bowl of handmade noodles

Even the most adventurous and fussy of palates wish for something a little less complicated and fanciful every now and then. A blend of simple textures and flavours - the mark of comfort food, should never be underestimated. A remedy for the home-sick and plain sick alike, these are the foods that nourish the soul and help restore the balance of one’s gastrointestinal system. Ok, if what I’ve just said sounds too abstract to make sense out of, just know that comfort foods well, provide comfort

Which is why whenever I feel under-the-weather and in need of soupy healthy stuff, I pop by a particular stall for some ban mian (handmade noodles):

Make no mistake, despite having a generous serving of greens and some pork slices in what appears to be a clear broth, this isn’t your typical ”healthy-tasting” fare. What sets this stall apart from many others is its broth, richly flavoured with the taste of garlic, pork and anchovies. A standard bowl ($3) comes with a poached egg, but you can choose not to have it (like I usually do) if you don’t like the idea of egg whites clouding up your broth.

NB: The coffee shop where this stall is located just completed an overhaul so expect the signboard to look slightly different. A taste-test post-renovations ascertained the quality remains unchanged, with the added bonus of a cleaner dining environment

美味板麵

Block 177, Toa Payoh Central

(Corner coffee shop diagonally across Toa Payoh Central Community Building)

Local Breakfast Delights Part III - The Grand Finale

With this post, I think I’ve just about covered every item at Mong Kok noodle stall. And what a fitting close, to my reviews of the more noteworthy food at Hainan Garden Market and Food Centre, this dish brings…

Introducing what is probably the best item of the stall:

(Curry Chicken Noodle - $3)

As you can tell, we don’t believe in cleaning up the spilt sauces on the edges of the plate just so the photo looks “clean” In fact, papilles food mantra centers on Honesty - that means no good-reviews obligations cos’ of free food (which explains our stance to remain largely anonymous) and definately no visual enhancements of food (save the occasional minor tweaks to the lighting of our photographs). In effect, what you see will be what you get when you head down to the stalls

Back to why this dish is a winner: chicken so tender it literally slides off the bone, bathed in a curry that is slightly rich and just about the right level of spiciness so you can lap it all up without feeling queasy at the end. Definite YUM. I liked that their version uses thin-type noodles usually found in wanton noodles, instead of the thicker yellow ones which tend to have an alkaline taste to them. Bonus points for using bony chicken parts instead of fleshy chunks of chicken breast which tend to taste dry and insipid!

So the next time you’re looking for a good curry chicken noodle, remember this review If you missed the earlier posts on what else is good here, read: Part I & Part II.

Mong Kok Noodles

#02-41 Hainan Garden Market and Food Centre

Block 105, Hougang Avenue 1

Where to find cheap Japanese cuisine

And we’re not just talking cheap food, it has to be decent-tasting stuff at the very least. Craving a Jap bento set or some curry udon yet holding back cos’ of the dreaded +++ that raise your bill beyond belief? Well, now you can satisfy those cravings and still be light on your wallet If you happen to live near the western side of this sunny isle, there’s the option of hopping over to the canteen at the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences at NUS; the Japanese food sold there is tasty and at student-friendly prices naturally. If a “journey to the West” sounds best to you only when it’s with reference to a book title, sit up and keep the following name in memory - Mansaku. I’m not too sure what this means in Japanese or if it’s even Japanese, but I do know that it works out to be somewhere along the lines of “cheap & good Jap food” for me

Their popular Salmon Set. And I can see why too - The salmon fillets were fresh and pan-fried just right, doused with a sweet-salty sauce. The side of freshly shredded cabbage provided an added crunch. My only complaint was that the rice was a bit lumpy that day, but that is a minor gripe. With a meal like this costing under $7, they really don’t leave you much room to nit-pick

Business is so brisk that the owners, who used to operate both lunch and dinner shifts, need only open for lunch now. That means the stall is open from 11.30am till everything’s sold out (which usually doesn’t stretch beyond late afternoon) Check out their Teriyaki Chicken set as well. The chicken is well-marinated, and the sauce fragrant without being overly salty like most teriyaki sauces used everywhere else.

Mansaku

#01-93 Golden Mile Food Centre (Beach Road)