Coffee Tribe : a cosy cafe in Ang Mo Kio

This cafe is located at 51 @ Ang Mo Kio, previously known as the Big Mac Centre, next to AMK Hub and near the popular Takagi Ramen. It is at the corner, could easily be missed out though the yellow signboard is quite prominent. Their menu is extensive, their signature Braised Chicken and Braised Pork Belly with Yam are amongst the most popular choices.

I came by twice to take away their Braised Pork Belly with Yam before asking my dining companion to have lunch there. I ordered Mee Siam ($3.90) and Braised Pork Belly ($5.50) for him, together with an Iced Coffee ($1.80). There seems to be a lunch promotion going on but the counter staff did not mention nor made a recommendation for the past few times when I was there.

Their Iced Coffee is affordably priced at $1.80, much more affordable as compared to the coffee by Toast Box which is at $2.70. My dining companion said, "It is actually quite cheap to pay $1.80 for such a big cup of Iced Coffee, the coffee shop is already charging $1.50 for a small cup."

Their Braised Pork with Yam is a personal favorite. Each bowl is consists of 3 to 4 pieces of braised meat served along with a handful of sweet corn, sliced cucumber, and a braised egg. It tasted like homecooked, though not the best, it is good enough. Those slices of pork belly were nicely braised to the desired softness and quite flavorful.

I tried the Mee Siam for the first time. I was told that the key ingredients to this seemingly simple dish are patience and love as those steps to cooking a good nonya Mee Siam are quite laborious. The gravy was quite thick and flavorful, topped with dried beancurd puffs, dried shallots, bean sprouts, chopped chive with a lime. It is usually less sweet and not as spicy with a slightly sourish taste, different from the Malay and even Indian style Mee Siam. I actually enjoyed the Mee Siam here.

I went back after this to take away their signature Braised Chicken and it was served with a boiled egg and not a braised egg together with 4 pieces of braised mid-wings. I did not like it as much and would actually prefer their Braised Pork Belly much more.

COFFEE TRIBE

51 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 #01-01A SINGAPORE 569922

Operating Hours: 8.00 am to 10.00 pm (Daily)

[CLOSED] Mr Lorbak at Hougang

William Liou, 31, the owner, first started it in a coffee shop in early 2017 at Bedok North before moving to Ubi Avenue 1. He subsequently started another stall at Hougang Street 21. He has also recently started House of Happiness, a stall in a coffee shop along Bedok Road serving claypot rice. Willaim used to be a Group General Manager of a restaurant and he has a diploma from SHATEC. He was inspired by his mother as she used to run a rojak stall in Tampines. He is using a recipe from his mother. 

We went to the stall at Hougang for dinner. This stall is not just selling Lor Bak Rice ($4.50), also known as Braised Soya Sauce Pork Rice but also Braised Pig's Trotter ($7.00), Braised Chicken Wing Rice ($4.50), Minced Pork Porridge ($3.50), Minced Pork Pau ($2.50), Oyster Vegetable ($1.50) and Side Dish Combo ($2.00) consisting braised mushroom, tau pok, braised peanuts and preserved vegetable. We decided to go with Braised Chicken Wings Rice and Braised Soya Sauce Pork Rice together with a Side Dish Combo. The friendly auntie that took my order, asked, "Do you want Oyster Vegetable? the vegetable is very nice today." And, She said, "I do not have enough black fungus so I will be giving you more pieces of braised mushroom."

The Braised Chicken Wing Rice consists of 2 pieces of chicken wings, braised mushroom, braised egg, and black fungus placed on a pile of white rice drizzled with braising sauce. My dining companion, said, "It is not as flavorful as its look."

The Braised Pork Rice consists of a piece of braised meat that was cut in a few piece, a hard-boiled egg, braised mushroom, and black fungus. My dining companion said, "This is better than the braised chicken wings." I have tried when the stall was manned by William at Ubi Avenue. Somehow, it was much better than. 

The only item that I liked of the Side Dish Combo was the braised mushroom, the rest tasted just mediocre. 

Though not the best, this simple taste is homely and comforting.

MR LORBAK

Block 212 Hougang Street 21 #01-349 SINGAPORE 530212

Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 8.00 pm

San Lor Bak Png : cheap and good Braised Pork Rice set

I got to know about this stall through Martin Goh, a friend on Facebook. He went on their opening day and he enjoyed what he tasted, he then shared it on the Facebook. This newly opened stall is run by the same folks behind Chop Chop  Western Grill just right next to it, in the same coffee shop.

The lady at the stall came out when she saw me taking pictures. She asked, "You are taking pictures of the stall?" I smiled then said, "A friend recommended your stall on the Facebook." She asked, "Do you want to try?" She pointed to a poster and said, "We have this super value meal for just $6.80." This is the set that recommended by Martin and I decided to go with it. I was given a buzzer for collection later. The set consists of a bowl of braised pork rice, a plate of stir-fried long beans and fried tomato egg with a bowl of ABC soup. 

The braised pork rice came with a good portion of rice with tasty braised pork belly and a handful of chopped spring onions was sprinkled on it. It was accompanied by a piece of mushroom and half of a braised egg with slices of pickled cucumber. I was told by the same lady at the counter to try having it with the chilli as she said some of their customers think it brings forth the flavor.  I tried it without the chilli first then added a bit of it to the braised pork and rice, I actually prefer to have it without. The braised egg did not have much flavor. 

The long beans were deep-fried then stir-fried with minced garlic, the texture was slightly hard but was acceptable to my dining companion. The fried tomato egg was nicely done too, those pieces of tomato were soft and added flavor to the egg. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.

The soup was specially mentioned by Martin, he said it was quite good which I agreed. The flavor was quite intense, I would think it was much better than those available at the stalls serving soup. It must have been simmered for a relatively long time to be that flavorful. You could find chunks of carrot, potato and sweet corn in it, there was also a piece of meat. 

This set is definitely value for money.

SAN BRAISED PORK RICE

Block 63 Geylang Bahru Food Cheery Coffeeshop SINGAPORE 330063
Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 9.30 pm

Sing's : the former Sing HK Cafe

This hawker stall used to be known as Sing HK Cafe when they first started at Everton Park. They were there for about a year or so before closing down. They have made a comeback in this coffee shop at Jurong East for slightly more than a month. Alfred Mo, the owner, was there when I visited on a Sunday for lunch. He said, "Our signature is the Hong Kong style Salt Baked Chicken." The dishes are prepared and cooked by him daily. I could not quite tell that Alfred is originated from Hong Kong as he did not speak with a Hong Kong accent when I talked with him in Mandarin. He has been living in Singapore for more than 15 years. He used to be working in the private banking sector after obtained his Master's degree. He always has the passion for cooking and that prompted him to open Sing HK Cafe about 2 years ago as he has wanted to serve Hong Kong style comfort food in Singapore.

I decided to go with the Signature Salt Baked Chicken Noodle ($6.50) and Classic Braised Pork Belly Rice ($5.80). There are also Signature Salt Baked Chicken Rice ($5.80), Dry Mixed Noodle with Soft Boiled Egg ($3.80), Dry Mixed Noodle with Braised Pork Belly ($4.50), Dry Mixed Noodle with Shredded Chicken ($4.50) on their menu. It is served along with the free flow of soup.

He asked, "You got to know about us from our Facebook page?" I nodded. He said, "We are going to have new items on our menu and we will announce it on there." As I was the only customer at that time, I did not have to wait too long to receive my orders. Alfred said, "Whether you like it or not, do leave us a feedback."

As a frequent traveler to Hong Kong, I have yet to try Salt Baked Chicken, also known as Yim Guk Gai in Cantonese, right there. It is a classic dish that is done using parchment paper to wrap up the chicken then bury in a pot of coarse salt and simmer. The modern way of cooking this is to boil or steam the chicken. This dish is not as common as I thought, I could not get much information on where to eat it in Hong Kong when googled.

The Salt Baked Chicken did not taste like what we have here. It did not have much saltiness. My dining companion said, "It tasted more like a braised chicken and there is a slight sweetness."  The noodles were tossed in the sauce then topped with some minced meat and a handful of ikan belis as well as sliced cucumber. Those slices of preserved cucumber were a bit too sourish with a strong taste of vinegar which I did not like.

Classic Braised Pork Belly Rice was served with chunks of braised meat, sous vide egg together with steamed sweet corn and sliced cucumber on the rice. The rice was slightly drizzled with braised sauce. The braised pork belly is done using the slow-cooked method to absorb the full flavor. The texture was meltingly soft but was not as flavorful as expected. 

SING'S

Block 134 Jurong Gateway Road Fu Chan Coffee Shop SINGAPORE 600134

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 8.00 pm (Mon to Sat) / 9.00 am to 8.00 pm (Sun)

Mei Meng Taiwan Delicacy : the first 大肠包小肠 in Singapore

Zen Tan, 30s, the owner, started this stall in January 2018. I was the only customer when I went for early lunch. Zen seated at the table in front of his stall and stood up immediately when he saw me. I asked, "Are you a Taiwanese?", which he replied, "No." That is quite obvious actually as he does not speak with the Taiwanese accent. There are currently only 2 items on the menu, 卤肉饭 ($3.80), humble Braised Pork Rice, and 大肠包小肠 ($6.60), a popular street snack. I decided to try both. I have been a big fan of the Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice and it got me really excited when I got to know about this stall in Ang Mo Kio, they are located in a coffee shop near Mayflower Food Centre. 

Zen was telling me that he is in the midst of launching some braised items. He said, "These braised items are just like those that can be found at the night markets throughout Taiwan." He mentioned that he tried the 卤肉饭 at Macpherson and in AMK Hub before starting this stall. He said, "An elderly couple at Tainan taught me how to cook 卤肉饭." I asked, "What were you doing before starting this stall?" He said, "I was in the construction industry." He continued to say, "My friends were surprised when I decided to set up this stall as they did not expect it."

While eating, he came over and asked, "How was it?" I replied, "It is not saltish enough." He said, "I adjusted the level of saltiness a little as most of the customers find it to be too salty." I also mentioned that the rice was a bit too mushy. He said, "I am already using good quality rice and if I go any better then I would be left with little benefits." It is a common challenge amongst the hawkers to stay competitive by keeping the costs low. 

I said, "It would be nice if there is more flavor from fried shallots." He shared that the elderly couple was really patient when they taught him how to fry the shallots. I mentioned, "There is a popular stall at Seah Im Food Centre serving 卤肉饭. I think you should give it a try as their 卤肉饭 is the closest to what I had eaten in Taiwan."

When preparing the 大肠包小肠, he said, "You would not be able to get this in Singapore other than here. I handmade those glutinous rice rolls and it is very time-consuming. I have to be here as early as 6 am to get it going."  He asked whether I want to have it cut into smaller pieces. I replied, "No. I am taking pictures." He made an effort to wrap it nicely in the wrapper before handed it to me. 

I only tried 大肠包小肠 once at Feng Jia Night Market in Taichung but it was not quite memorable. I mentioned to Zen that the price seemed a bit on the high side. The grilled glutinous rice roll was sliced at the centre, it was topped with ground peanuts, salted vegetable, shredded carrot and slices of cucumber before placing the grilled Taiwanese-style hot dog on it then garnished with coriander. You could choose to have it plain, or with sauces. As mentioned by Zen, this is likely to be the only one that you could get in Singapore. 

Zen is still in the midst of perfecting the taste for both items. We should give him more time to work on that. Nonetheless, it is heartening to see a new hawker in doing his part to preserving our hawker culture.

MEI MENG TAIWAN DELICACY

Block 159 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 SINGAPORE 560159

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 8.00 pm (Daily)