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.

Khoon Kee Tasty Prawn Mee @ Redhill Market & Food Centre

When I was at Redhill Market & Food Centre recently, I noticed quite a queue at Khoon Kee Tasty Prawn Mee. I went home, did a little read up on them and decided to return to give them a try.

There is no queue in front of the stall on my return trip and I was able to place my order immediately.

I had read a couple of reviews that do not recommend the pork ribs so I decided to take heed and order the soup version with only prawns.

One can truly tell the passion the chef had for his craft. Just see how he arranges the prawns in the bowl and the fact that they are only cooked upon order and not in advance.

Redhill Pork Porridge V2.0 - Reopened By Miss Tam Chiak @ Redhill Market & Food Centre

My last visit to the popular Redhill Porridge at Redhill Market & Food Centre was two years ago. I was taken aback to learn that the owner, Mr Han, has recently retired and the stall already shuttered.

But as stunned as I was by its sudden closure, news of the stall reopening soon reached my ears. The stall has been taken over by a new operator who turned out to be non other than... Miss Tam Chiak!

I thought she was pulling my leg when she informed me about it. She is already juggling multiple roles as a writer, photographer, food stylist, entrepreneur, wife and mother. Now, we can add on "hawker" to that list.

As it turns out, her family used to run a porridge stall so when she learned that the previous owners were bowing out, she seized the opportunity and took over.

A change in ownership bring new changes. The fish option which was previously available has been taken off the menu so this is now solely a pork porridge stall. Also, there is the inevitable price increase but do expect better quality ingredients.

After all, this is a partnership with celebrity chefs Cao Yong and Kenny.

Faith Nasi Lemak, Fried Bee Hoon/Mee @ Redhill Market & Food Centre

Since I would be dropping by Redhill Market & Food Centre to support the relaunch of Redhill Pork Porridge, I took the opportunity to check out the other stalls which I did not managed to during my last visit two years ago.

What caught my interest is this stall named Faith Nasi Lemak, Fried Bee Hoon/Mee. 

As its name implies, the stall offers nasi lemak and fried bee hoon/mee with a wide array of dishes to choose from.

However, unlike other economical bee hoon stalls where the nasi lemak plays second fiddle, the opposite seemed to be the case here with the coconut rice dish hogging the limelight.

Just take a look at their impressive menu on the signboard:

Set 1) Chicken Cutlet Rice with cabbage and egg ($4) 

Set 2) Sweet & Sour Chicken Rice with cabbage and egg ($4)

Set 3) Chicken Wing Rice with cabbage and egg ($3.80)

Set 4) Fish Fillet Rice with egg, silver fish and peanut ($2.80)

Set 5) Chicken Wing + Luncheon Meat Rice with egg, silver fish and peanut ($4)

Set 6) Chicken Wing + Fish Fillet Rice ($3.80)

Set 7) Chicken Drumstick Rice with egg, silver fish and peanut ($4.70)

Set 8) Curry Chicken Drumstick Rice with cabbage and egg ($4.80)

Set 9) Pork Cutlet Rice with cabbage and egg ($4.80)

That is a grand total of nine different nasi lemak sets with no mention of the bee hoon and mee. 

I opted for Set 7 that come with a deep fried chicken drumstick, egg, silver fish and peanut.

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)

Shi Mei Hainanese Chicken Rice - Smoked Duck Rice @ Blk 371 Bukit Batok Street 31

As its name suggests, Shi Mei Hainanese Chicken Rice is known for their chicken rice, particularly the Hainanese chicken and sesame chicken which I have tried four years ago.

This time, I am back to try their lemon chicken rice.

While in the queue, I noticed a hand-written menu plastered on the wall outside the stall. I had a quick browse and spotted smoked duck rice among the usual menu of chicken and roasts.

I had my very first smoked duck just a couple of months earlier from Chinatown Omelette Chef at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre and I find myself liking it.

Just thinking about it makes my mouth water so I decided to have the smoked duck instead of lemon chicken and ordered a rice set for $4.50.