Rolina Curry Puff @ Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre

I have long heard about Rolina Curry Puff but all this while, I had assumed that it is the name of a Muslim woman selling it.

After some snooping around online, however, I realized the truth was far from it!

On the contrary, the business was started by Uncle Tham, who learnt his craft from a Hainanese sailor when he was 19. To make a living, he began selling his handmade Hainanese curry puffs in front of Novena Church. 

And, if you have not already guess by now, Rolina is actually a mispronunciation of the word "Novena" by a customer.

Pandan Leaf Nasi Lemak @ Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre

Update: Pandan Leaf Nasi Lemak has permanently closed.

Today, I will be trying out Pandan Leaf Nasi Lemak which is the second nasi lemak stall out of the three located at the Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre. The third stall, called Makan Sutera Nasi Lemak Pandan Rice is closed during this visit.

As it is my first time at this stall, I am clueless about the ordering procedure. I only saw the $3 and $4 pricing pasted on the glass so I told the auntie that I wanted the $4 portion.

She proceeded to ask whether I wanted the chicken wing or chicken drumstick. I opted for the latter. 

Then, came the awkward silence.

Spinach & Soup @ Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre

I have just stepped into Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre when the skies opened up and a torrent of rain poured down with a roar behind me. Any second later and I would have been drenched from head to toe.

Well, it seems like the perfect morning to have a bowl of soup then. To be precise, let's have spinach soup.

The stall I am visiting is called Spinach & Soup and they have two sets for you to choose from.

Set A comes with spinach, minced pork, prawn, mushroom and wolfberry (goji berry) while Set B had spinach, minced pork, mushroom, wolfberry, century egg and salted egg.

They have recently added a new Set C to the menu which includes spinach, lobster ball, fish tofu, mushroom and wolfberry.

Peter Fried Kway Teow Mee @ Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre

Before moving to its current location at Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre, Peter Fried Kway Teow Mee was set up along East Coast Road and apparently quite well-known around the Katong area.

Instead of using normal boiled water to fry their kway teow (flat rice noodle), they used superior broth (brewed by old hen) which is more fragrant in taste.

The stall offers three different styles of fried kway teow namely Teochew, Penang, and Baba Nyonya.

The Teochew-style ($3/$4) that uses black sweet sauce is probably the one that Singaporeans are most familiar with.

The Penang-style ($4/$5), on the other hand, omits the use of black sweet sauce and leans more on the savory side.

As for the Baba Nyonya-style ($4/$5), only a little black sweet sauce is used, imparting the dish with both sweet and savory notes.

Xiang Xiang Nasi Lemak @ Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre

Update: Xiang Xiang Nasi Lemak has permanently closed.

Tanjong Pagar residents must be really ardent fans of nasi lemak because there are actually three non-Halal nasi lemak stalls located on the second floor of the food centre!

The one I visited is called Xiang Xiang Nasi Lemak which is operated by an elderly couple.

During my previous visit, I was sitting right in front of this stall having my lor mee when I noticed the never-ending queue. That aroused my interest to check them out during my next visit.

Soon Heng Food Delights Lor Mee @ Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre

The one and only item that Soon Heng Food Delights sell is lor mee, a noodle dish of Hokkien origins.

The stall, located on the second floor of Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre used to serve two versions: batang lor mee and fried shark lor mee, with reference to the type of fish used.

I have not eaten their batang version before but I guess it is shredded fish meat whereas the shark meat version is fried shark meat nuggets.

Now, only the shark meat version is available on the menu.

While researching for recommendations at this food centre, I came across photos of this lor mee and I was impressed by the presentation and reviews therefore I decided to include this on my to-eat list.