Boon Kee Wanton Noodle at Clementi

This is one of the popular stalls in this food centre. Their wanton noodle though not the best but it is a comforting choice. I used to be eating regularly when I was staying in Clementi. Their smaller portion at $3.00 is substantial and if you are really hungry then go for their larger portion at $3.50. I usually go with mee kia and it served with ingredients like some greens, sliced char siew, fried and soup wantons in a mixture of chilli and black sauce. It somewhat reminded me of the type of wanton noodle that I had at Kuala Lumper in Malaysia. 

Those slices of char siew were thinly sliced and not as tender as I liked it to be. And, I actually prefer the soup wanton to the fried wanton a little more. 

Go early as it usually sold out around 3 pm or earlier.

BOON KEE WANTON NOODLE

Block 448 Clementi Avenue 3 #01-40 Clementi 448 Food Centre SINGAPORE 120448

Operating Hours: 6.30 am to 4.15 pm (Closed on Sundays)

Tanglin Halt Western Food : Standard must have dropped

This western food stall is operated by Mr Ng and his wife and it has been around for close to 40 years. This is supposedly one of the famous stalls in this food centre that always have a queue. I took away once and it tasted alright even when i gotten home after slightly more than a hour later. 

It was raining very heavily when i happened to be there this afternoon and even though i just had lunch but i still decided to try it. There was another 3 customers right in front of me at that time. I wanted to try Chicken Chop ($4.50) and Chicken Cutlet ($4.50). I was a bit surprised when i was told that it is 'self-service' and i am supposed to wait there to collect it. The wait was shorter than expected, it was just slightly more than 5 minutes when both were ready. 

The presentation was not an appealing one, in fact, it looked quite messy. Somehow, it reminded me of those food that served in those cook houses in those army camps. It was a definite disappointment when i had my first bite. The brown sauce was a bit too sourish, like they added too much tomato sauce in it. 

The chicken itself tasted quite bland, not much taste at all and i suspected they did not even marinate those chicken pieces before they grilled it. Though it look charred on the surface but it did not have much flavor. The pool of unsalted fries tasted just normal but the coleslaw was good though. The nicest of them all. 

If the Chicken Chop was bad then the Chicken Cutlet fared much worst than that. It was not a whole piece but they cut it up into few pieces and deep-fried it. That somehow explained why the cooking time was a short one perhaps they do not want to jam up the queue. It was served with the same brown sauce over it. 

By deep-fried the Chicken Cutlet in smaller pieces, it would definitely compromised on its texture. The meat was in dark color and that is a good indication that they have overcooked the meat. As expected, it tasted quite tough and bland too.

Maybe they used to be good but their standard has certainly dropped. Their prices might be one of the cheaper around but it also happened to be one of the worst western food that i have ever eaten.

TANGLIN HALT WESTERN FOOD

Block 448 Clementi Central Food Centre #01-11 SINGAPORE 120448

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 8.00 pm (Closed on Mondays & Tuesdays)

My comfort food

After eaten countless popiah and i can easily say this particular one made by that friendly auntie is still the best popiah in Singapore. 

Coincidentally, i met this Auntie at the market near my house before she closed her stall and disappeared for a few months. I came back a few times thereafter but the stall has been closed then. I waited and the stall finally reopened a couple of weeks ago. I took notice when i spotted a queue from far. There is always a long queue whenever the stall is opened.

The auntie is basically on her own and so long waiting time is expected. When you order, you are expected to place the exact amount in the basket placed on top of the shelve.

Each piece of popiah is reasonably priced at $1.50. The price might be a little higher as compared to other popiah out there but the size and the ingredients in it somewhat justified for the $1.50. It is quite a big fat piece generously stuffed with ingredients like turnips, beansprouts, hard boiled egg etc. And what made it distinctively stood out is the intense spiciness of their special chilli paste. It is unbearably hot even for someone like me who got a crazily high tolerance for spicy foods. The key is never to request for extra chilli unless you have already tried it and have gotten a strong enough stomach to survive it. The extra chilli is charged at 0.20 cents per serving.

The auntie remembers me rather well.

She said, 'Most people wouldn't make such a request to not to cut the popiah. You're the rare one out'.

She said, 'I remember you. You stay in Ang Mo Kio too, right?' This auntie is blessed with very good memory. She could remember all the orders well.

We chatted and I asked her why did she close her stall for so many months. She said she went for an operation and that operation did not go too well so she ended up rested a bit longer.

I did ask her why did not her consider to have her stall in Ang Mo Kio since she is staying there. She said, 'I tried but i could not get a location with a reasonable rental in that area.'

It is really nice to have Auntie back to make more popiah.

If you are a big fan of popiah then you gotta give this a try!

Yue Yi Tai Shan Popiah 日益太山薄饼

Block 449 Clementi Avenue 3 #01-211 See Lam Hern Coffee Shop SINGAPORE 120449