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.

Bak Chor Mee Fish Ball Noodle @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

It has been a while since my last visit to Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre and it is high time that I return in search of new stalls to try out.

I must say this trip is rather fruitful as there are indeed a number of newly opened stalls (and some closures).

The first stall to catch my eye has a very straightforward name with a clear indication of what they sell - Bak Chor Mee Fishball Noodle.

If it is of any interest to you, this noodle stall occupies the vacanted unit of Tian Tian Porridge, the Cantonese porridge stall with a history of seventy-years. Run by five elderly siblings, they ceased operations last October due to old age.

Cheongfun Noodle @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

Update: Cheongfun Noodle has permanently closed.

Located at the yellow section of Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, Cheongfun Noodle is one of the newly opened stalls offering Hong Kong-style rice rolls (cheong fun) and ban mian (handmade noodle).

If my intel is correct, the six-months old stall is run by a Mr and Mrs Wong. The husband, a Hong Konger handmade the cheong fun while the wife, a Malaysian, prepares the noodle.

I chanced upon a photo of their chili ban mian dry ($5.30) on social media when they had just opened. It looked so darn good that I decided it is what I will have but you know what they say procrastination did to men?

So, I finally got my ass off the couch and head down to Chinatown. The stall is not hard to find in the maze-liked food centre if you come up by the myCK Department store escalator.

It is the first stall on your left which used to be Lao Ren Jia Roasted.

Ah Qing Traditional Lor Mee @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

Ah Qing Traditional Lor Mee is a relatively new stall at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre. 

Located in the red section right next to Maxwell Haha Mee Siam Mee Rebus, this lor mee stall serves several types of lor mee.

On the menu are fried fish lor mee ($5), ngor hiang lor mee ($3.50), fried chicken lor mee ($4.50) and fried chicken + fried fish lor mee ($6).

You can add on extra ingredients ala carte such as braised egg (70¢), braised pork ($1), ngor hiang ($1), fried chicken ($1.50), and fried fish ($2).

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)