Ze Char at Community Centre? Yes You Heard That Right!

Sorry! Been a while since I last posted. I went on a holiday to Taiwan (Will post some food reviews of it shortly too), and afterwards was just busy with school, school, school and volunteer work. While finally, today I manage to meet up my good friend, Alex, and our adventures today take us all over the island!

Well okay, eventually our foodventures was largely East-centric, but still. Today we have Pasir Ris East CC, a place with extra hard to find parking (or maybe we just suay [that means "unlucky" for you non-local folks]). I highly recommend you park at the multi storey carpark nearby, since that was the one we found. Its located a Block 221, its a short walk to the CC from there, and you pay 50cents per 1/2 hour (coupon system).

Anyway. Onto the main story.

The above pic was blurry as I quickly snapped a photo while Alex made a turn. Well, its just a sign for where you need to find it anyway. Just to clarify, Pasir Ris East CC is the tall building, not the small 2-storey-like thing next to it with a very deceiving comunity centre-logo-like thing. 

And so, our adventures bring us to J.Hk Kitchen! It's a non-air conditioned place, but its surprisingly cooling despite Singapore's lunatic weather. (Okay to be frank, after going Taiwan during their summer season, Singapore's heat feels like a joke. The humidity on the other hand...) Then again, it could be because we went in the evening, so I dont know. The place is pretty cozy and decent to chill out, so you could spend some quality chatting time here after dinner if you like.

The first dish that was served is my favourite, CEREAL PRAWNS! I love it since I tasted it as a kid. (Okay confession time, I'm damn lazy to peel prawns. If someone peels prawns for me, I'll melt. Ok la, not melt, but I'll give extra brownie points. Teehee.) This cereal prawn ($12) is found under the Prawn section in the menu, although the chinese word for this dish is Cereal Prawn Balls.

This dish both came as a surprise and a disappointment. When you first take a bite into it (look below), the freshness and juiciness of the prawns just springs right into your mouth and dances around your tastebuds. Its a delightful taste, especially when I am severely sensitive to the freshness of seafood. As quoted from Alex, "It's as fresh as those prawns used in Dim Sum." Actually I think this tasted even better, and the prawn used is actually pretty big. So why my disappointment? The cereal was very powdery, and not the crispy savoury kind you expect in typical Ze Char. However, I would still give it a relatively high score, because the freshness won me over. Also, I think people who like to eat healthy would like to know, they don't seem to overload on flavour or sauces, so I think you would like this as an occasional treat without too much guilt.

Food: 4 / 5

Presentation: 2.5 / 5

Waiting Time: ~ 5 minutes (Even when we had 4 groups of people before us)

Yes that prawn dances gleefully in your mouth like a ballet dancer before the grand finale.

Next up, we have Coffee Pork Ribs!($8.50) Actually its more like Coffee Pork, since they already kindly removed the bones. The dark "Rojak"-like sauce is actually the secret coffee sauce, which was mildly bitter, and aromatic. This came as quite a surprise, because I didn't expect it to be boneless. But boy, did both of us have a good time enjoying it! Its also not very oily nor is it overly-fried, so I don't think there's much cause for concern for weight-watchers here. (Cause I also monitoring my weight like a prison warden. Heh.) While not the best coffee pork ribs I had, this is still highly recommended, as for the price, you get a pretty good portion of pork and its healthy (and tasty).

Food: 4 / 5 

(They removed the bone for you!)

Presentation: 2.5 / 5

Waiting Time: ~5 Mins

Of course, not forgetting our Ze Char Ee Mee! ($4 or $6 or $8. Above picture is $6.)  Basically its noodles fried in Soya Sauce, this dish really reminded me of those Hotel / Wedding Banquet style of Ee Mee, where there's chives and mushrooms. I would safely say this is definitely hotel / banquet standard, perhaps better. I was just a bit disappointed that there was no other ingredients, but Alex told me that was seafood Ee Mee. (Which I don't recall seeing on the menu, but not like I took a long time to study it anyway)

Food: 3 / 5

Presentation: 2.5 / 5

Waiting Time: ~5 Mins

And, both of us had Milo Smoothie ($2) to go with the meal. Quite an enjoyable meal I would say, if not for the fact I had to rush off to teach tuition right after, I would have enjoyed chilling here for a while. Give this place a shot, its definitely better than most of the Ze Chars out there in terms of standard and healthiness. 

1 Pasir Ris Drive 4
Singapore 519457