Lunch at Tiong Bahru Food Centre

I was there on the last day of 2013 for lunch. 

I'd think this particular bowl of messy looking Yong Tau Foo served with Fishball Noodle was quite a surprise. I was there rather late and most items have already sold out then. I was given the option of Mee Kia with Yong Tau Foo as suggested by the friendly Auntie at $4. 

I did not get to choose the items. What i got was a mixture of everything like cuttlefish, green chilli with fish paste, bitter gourd with fish paste, tau pok with fish paste, fish dumplings, fishballs with kang kong.

HUI JI FISH BALL NOODLE . YONG TAU FU

30 Seng Poh Road #02-44 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898.

MIN NAM PORK RIBS PRAWN NOODLE

30 Seng Poh Road #02-31 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898.

TOW KWAR POP

30 Seng Poh Road #02-06 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898.

TIAN TIAN YUAN DESSERT HOUSE
30 Seng Poh Road #02-15 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898.

KOPI MUSEUM
30 Seng Poh Road #02-03 Tiong Bahru Food Centre SINGAPORE 168898.

Yi Dian Xin Hong Kong Dim Sim

I felt the standard has dropped slightly this time. The Beancurd Prawn Roll tasted a tad oily and the prawn tasted a little strange though it has been made and fried upon order. The basket of Siew Mai tasted rather average as well. The Liu Sha Bao still tasted lovely. 

YI DIAN XIN HONG KONG DIM SUM

1012 Upper Serangoon Road

SINGAPORE 534752.

AMK CURRY PUFF, the original TIP TOP CURRY PUFF

It was by chance when we crossed path with this particular curry puff stall. The banner displayed right outside the coffee shop caught my attention. It said, 'Original AMK Curry Puff'. 

I was greeted by the friendly Auntie. I asked her, 'This stall used to be from Ang Mo Kio?' She nodded her head. I asked further. 'I stay in Ang Mo Kio for decade long but never did come across a stall by the name of AMK Curry Puff.'

Auntie said, 'Yeah. We used to be at Ang Mo Kio.'

I asked again, 'Which part of Ang Mo Kio?'

She said, 'We used to be Tip Top Curry Puff.'

I was so taken aback. 

My immediate reaction was 'OH!'

Auntie said, 'Couldn't you tell the difference when you eat it now? The taste is no longer the same.'

Honestly, i did not quite realise. I have not been patronising as much after they increased their price to $1.30. 

The Uncle said, 'The business was not as good so we decided to sell away the brand name and shop.'

I guess their business is not as good as before. Only a handful of curry puffs were on the display. It tasted quite the same. It is rather moist with an aromatic curry taste and full of ingredients like cubes of potatoes and bits of chicken together with a slice of hard boiled egg.

The crust was rather flaky with a slight buttery taste and fried well to give it the rather crispy texture, not too oily though.

Auntie said, 'Next time, when want to eat Curry Puff, remember to come to this stall!'

It seemed the Auntie and Uncle started this staff from scratch. They do not have any assistant now just both of them. The Auntie was sitting down, hand making the curry puffs one by one and the Uncle was right behind, preparing the filling.

It is still one of the better Curry Puffs that i ever tasted.

AMK CURRY PUFF

Block 184 Toa Payoh Central

#01-372 Super 28 Coffee Shop

SINGAPORE 310184.

Grin Affair

I love dessert. I love it so much that i will travel to anywhere for it. I have heard and read about this particular place that served cake in the bottle. 

 I was there on a weekday afternoon at about 2 pm. I was at their front door. I simply love the rustic feel.

There are a wide range of selection of different types of bottled cake : Strawberry Cheese, Cookies & Cream, Hazelnut, Matcha Azuki, Honey Lavender, Avocado, Caramel, Kiwi Cheese, Dark Chocolate, Durian, Banoffee, Peanut Fudge, Mango Cheese and Banana Dark Chocolate. Not all flavors are available at all times though as some are seasonal.

The interior is simply decorated. There was only a nice Auntie manning the shop. I decided to have a Hazelnut bottled cake at $5.50 to go. The prices of these chilled cake served in the jars range from $4.80 to $6.50.

I asked her for permission to take some pictures. The Auntie waited for me to done taking pictures then took out a jar from the fridge behind her. She asked whether i need a bag though it stated the minimum purchase has to be 4 jars to get a carrier. She offered a normal plastic bag and a disposable spoon is given too. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this friendly Auntie.

I was given the option of dining in. There are limited seating capacity in this humble looking shop.

I was the only customer there at that time.

To enter from the front door, please lift the door up slightly while pushing it.

The bottled cake is nicely presented. The jar is covered by a paper cap with string tied to it. You might be wondering what is the purpose of the string. The string is served as handle to carry the jar.

I could taste the distinctive hazelnut taste in the mousse served with crunchy nut praline. It has got bits of freshly grated hazelnuts in it. The hazelnut mousse nicely rested on moist Coffee and Chocolate sponge cake to give it the layer effect with well-balanced sweetness.

 It is quite a small jar to be priced at $5.50. .

It is a delightful choice for dessert though.

Once you start, you cannot stop. And, 1 of such bottle is never enough.

When you started to enjoy it then you realised you left the last mouthful to go and leaving you craving for more.

The bottle can be returned for a ticket. The collected tickets can be used to exchange for Apple Brew (10 tickets), Jar of Dried Fruit (12 tickets) and Jar of Cake (20 tickets).

GRIN AFFAIR

3 Everton Park

#01-77

SINGAPORE 080003.

Cheapest Peanut Pancake maybe but not the best.

I spotted this stall when i wanted that something extra.

The pancake was not made right on the spot but already displayed when i ordered.

It was quite a thin layer though not as crispy as expected but with a good portion of grounded peanut and sugar as filling in it.

It has got a rather slight sweetness and fragrance from the grounded peanut.

Cheapest pancake maybe but definitely not the best one.

和合

Block 105 Hougang Avenue 1

Hougang 105 Hainanese Village #02-16

SINGAPORE 530105.