Teppan-Man @ 395A Bukit Batok West Ave 5

Right across the road from Swiss Cottage Secondary School is Goodview Gardens, a HDB estate set on a hillside at Bukit Gombak. 

By the side of the multi-storey carpark is a coffee shop named Eightways Eating House. I am there to check out Teppan-Man, a hawker stall located in this quiet neighborhood serving Japanese fare like Teppanyaki, Donburi and Udon. 

I have come specifically for the Teppanyaki but unlike the usual modus operandi where the chef cooks right in front of you at a long counter and entertain you with some culinary performance, the food here is prepared inside the hawker stall minus all the fanfare. I guess there are limitations when you are operating in a coffee shop.

Uncle Neo Western - Chicken Chop @ 253 Choa Chu Kang Ave 1

Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have heard of this Uncle Neo Western at 253 Choa Chu Kang Ave 1 numerous times.

It is located inside this coffee shop named 85°C Cafe at Keat Hong Shopping Centre near to the wet market.

According to the people who tried it, they have nothing but good things to say about this old school western food stall managed by an elderly Chinese couple.

I finally found the chance to visit this neighborhood coffee shop yesterday evening.

Shandong Dong Ji La Mian Xiao Long Bao @ Blk 134 Jurong Gateway Road

Among the four coffee shops in the area, Fu Chan Food Paradise at blk 134 Jurong Gateway Road has got to be the one with the lowest footfall. Or at least that is how it appears to be when I visited at around 10am on a weekday.

I intentionally walk past the other three coffee shops to make a comparison and observed that the environment here is the most conducive for my mental well-being. 

Boisterous activities such as rowdy beer-drinking uncles and kopi auntie shouting drink orders across the coffee shop drains my energy. #introvertwoes

Although there are plenty of indoor and outdoor seats available, patrons are few and seated far from one another with ample personal space.

I thrive in the calming vibes this air-conditioned coffee shop offer that I could sit here all day to recharge myself.

Keow Teow Kia - Wine Fragrance Noodle Soup @ Blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road

Foodclique and Happy Hawker are two longtime coffee shops at blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road. Located side by side, both have been there for as long as I can remember.

A week ago, after having my Hakka yong tau foo at Foodclique, I went over next door to check out Happy Hawker which has changed hands earlier this year. It is currently known as 咖啡仔来了.

Other than the popular braised duck stall at the corner, the remaining stalls at this coffee shop are all new.

Among them is this stall named Keow Teow Kia which specializes in Malaysian-style noodles.

Keow teow refers to kway teow but I wonder why is it spelled as such instead of koay teow like they usually do in Malaysia?

Anyway, on the menu are:

• keow teow soup ($4.50),
• dry noodle soup ($4.50),
• wine fragrance noodle soup ($4.80),
• bitter gourd minced meat soup with rice/noodle ($5.50),
• signature soup with rice/noodle ($5.50),
• salted fish mee tai mak soup ($5), and
• fish ball soup ($3.80)

Hakka Yong Tau Foo @ Blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road

Each time I accompany my folks to the nearby bank or CPF Building, we would end up having a meal in this coffee shop at blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road.

Although there are a variety of food options to choose from, they will bypass all the other stalls and head straight for the Hakka yong tau foo stall.

I have been here with them a couple of times but yet to try it. I wonder why they only have eyes for this stall?

I decided to make a lone trip here to try it for myself.

Ga-Hock Roti Prata @ 794 Upper Bukit Timah

Ga-Hock Eating House is a modest coffee shop sharing the same building as Bukit Panjang Hokkien Kong Huay at this stretch of old shop houses along Upper Bukit Timah Road.

I have lived in the vicinity for about 30 years now but I'm totally oblivious to its existence.

To think that I have been taking the bus to school via this route for eight consecutive years (three years primary and five years secondary) yet I have never noticed!

I only found out recently when I come across people talking about it on Facebook. It piqued my interest to come check it out. 

The very first thing you would see, when you reach here, is the roasted meat stall right at the entrance. Walk past it and you will find yourself flanked on both sides by the beverage stall, a noodle stall, a snack stall, a tze char stall and a roti prata stall.

The premise is so cramp, there is no space for even one table. The seating arrangements are all at the back behind the building under the huge Bodhi tree. Do not worry, though, as you will be protected from the elements under a zinc roof. 

I am awed by the laid-back vibes here which is reminiscent of a dai pai dong in Malaysia.

Gimee Face Noodle House @ Blk 371 Bukit Batok Street 31

I have not been to this coffee shop at Blk 371 Bukit Batok Street 31 for the last three years since the beginning of the pandemic.

When I finally paid a visit this week, I was surprised to learn that a new noodle stall named Gimee Face Noodle House have taken up space here.

I have heard of the branding before which is a chain co-owned by Tenderfresh’s COO Kelvin Chua and Bakerzin's Daniel Tay.

Stepping foot into the coffee shop, it is not difficult to spot the stall with its eye-catching signboard and impressive menu:

01) Original Pork Noodle ($4.30)

02) Abalone Pork Noodle

03) Spicy Volcano Mee Kia Soup ($7.30)

04) Longevity Mee Sua Dry ($5.30)

05) Mala Spicy Pork Noodle ($5.30)

06) Teochew Fish Ball Noodle ($5.30)

07a) Fragrant Laksa

07b) Fragrant Seafood Laksa

08) Braised Pork Rib Noodle

09) Silky Pork Liver Noodle ($4.30)

10) Fish Ball Kway Teow Soup ($4.30)

11) Homemade Pork Ball Soup ($4.50)

12) Bouncy Fish Ball Soup ($4.30)

13) Heibee Hiam Pork Liver ($4.30)

14) Heibee Hiam Duo Ball ($5.30)

I discovered that menu items #2, #7 and #8 are missing from the signboard. I compared the menu against the one on their Facebook and realized that, perhaps, they do not serve those here at this outlet. 

Wang Wang Claypot Congee @ Blk 371 Bukit Batok Street 31

 

Wang Wang Claypot Congee from the coffee shop at Blk 371 Bukit Batok Street 31, has been faithfully serving the Bukit Gombak neighborhood for as long as I could remember. 

The fact that they managed to come this far speak volumes about their congee. An obvious tell-tale sign of their popularity with the residents here is their worn-out signboard.

I have been a fan for a number of years and I wonder what took me so long to finally do a proper review about them?

What makes the stall stand out, is that they served their congee in claypots. Not many congee places do this and this is exactly what drawn me to them. 

Let us take a look at their menu:

• Frog Congee ($6)
• Ginger Onion Frog/Dry Cili Frog ($6.50 for one/$12 for two)
• Hong Kong Style Congee ($4)
• Seafood Congee ($4)
• Scallop with pork/chicken/fish Congee ($4)
• Sliced Fish/Sliced Fish with Cuttlefish Congee ($3.50/$4)
• Century Egg Pork/Chicken/Pork Congee ($3.50)
• Cuttlefish Peanut/Century Egg Congee ($3.50)
• Pig's Organ Congee ($4)
• Pig's Liver Pork Congee ($3.50)
• Century Egg Pig's Liver Congee ($3.50)
• Shredded Chicken Cuttlefish Congee ($3.50)
• Peanut Congee ($2.50)
• Sliced Abalone Congee ($3.50)

Wei Jia Ban Mian Fish Soup - Chicken Cutlet Noodle @ Blk 443 Clementi Ave 3

Wei Jia Ban Mian Fish Soup is located inside the same coffee shop as Wan Jia Xiao Guan Zi at Blk 443 Clementi Ave 3 behind Clementi Mall. In case you are wondering, no, the two stalls are unrelated.

The stall offer variations of handmade noodle such as ban mian, u mian, mee hoon kway, koka noodle, ee-mee, bee hoon/mee sua, tom yum noodle, dumpling soup, dumpling noodle dry/soup, qq noodle, chicken/pork cutlet noodle, kimchi noodle, steamed dumpling and fried dumpling. 

Strangely, there is no sign of fish soup on the menu. Perhaps they used to serve it but not anymore? Or maybe it is a off-the-menu item which you have to ask for? 

I do not have the answer.

Heap Seng Leong @ North Bridge Road

When I was covering the food stalls at Golden Mile Food Centre recently, I have walked past Heap Seng Leong numerous times while making my way to the food centre.

Despite its dingy-looking facade, the coffee shop is popular for its kopi guyu (butter coffee) which is not very common nowadays due to people getting increasingly health conscious. 

I told myself I will make this my pit stop after I'm done with Golden Mile but the opportunity was not there as I would often be too full for anything else after each visit to the food centre.

I have currently moved on to covering Haig Road Food Centre (still in progress) and I thought I will not be visiting Golden Mile anytime soon. 

Honestly, I am quite tired of the walking journey from Lavender MRT Station towards Golden Mile as this is by far, my most repeated trip to any food centre no thanks to Mr Baguette! 

However, as fate would have it, my pre-ordered comic book has arrived thus I had to go pick it up from the comic shop at the nearby Kitchener Complex. Since I will be in the area anyway, I thought I might as well make the trip to the coffee shop.

164 Stirling Road Wanton Noodle @ Blk 164 Stirling Road

Update: 164 Stirling Road Wanton Noodle has permanently closed.

For years, a nameless wanton noodle stall has been dishing out delicious wanton noodle in a dingy-looking coffee shop at Stirling Road - one of Singapore's oldest estate - in Queenstown.

Fronted by an aged signboard with a generic "wanton noodle" written in both English and Chinese, the fading photos on it bear witness to the years they have toiled in the stall, faithfully serving the residents in this neighborhood.

According to my research, the stall used to be called Chun Ji (春记) however, the name is not on the signboard anymore. It is now more commonly known as "164 Stirling Road Wanton Noodle" with reference to its location under block 164.

I came to learn about this noodle stall while reading up on the must-eats at Meiling Market & Food Centre which is only a few minutes walk away. As photos of the wanton noodle looked so enticing, I decided that a visit to the stall is a must.

Graffiti

Graffiti at Teck Lim Road (behind Tong Ah Coffeeshop)