Vegetarian Delights of Kallang

As I mentioned in my earlier post, my adventures largely revolved around the East. In the afternoon, we met for lunch at Kallang Blk 5, this stall was unknown to me despite my somewhat frequent visits one of my close JC pals in the area. This coffeeshop just rests behind a bus stop facing the road into Geylang, the district of durians, delicious food, and.... some other things. As Block 5 has 2 coffee shops, this coffee shop is the one parallel to the MRT Track. You shouldn't have trouble finding it.

This is a picture of the stall. As you can see, they have quite a comprehensive menu, offering a number of vegetarian versions of LOCAL delights, such as Bak Chor Mee, Char Siew Rice... All vegetarian of course! (I said vegetarian version, were you expecting otherwise?) My vegetarian friend was the one who brought me here, and I really like the variety they offer.

I ordered the Vegetarian Bak Chor Mee [This means minced meat noodle]($3.50), because I was curious how it would taste like. It was very nicely served and placed in front of me, (I didn't even touch any of the plates and bowls when I took this photograph) and I like the way they arrange the food as well. It comes with fried mock pork oil (a very common ingredient among most local dishes), mock minced meat, beansprouts (Or as we call it, taogay. No the "gay" word isn't intentional.), vegetables and mock fishcake. 

Unlike your typical Bak Chor Mee, which is usually served in chilli/tomato sauce, this is served with soya sauce. Despite the difference, I really like how the food sits nicely on the plate, and behaves nicely in your mouth. The taste slowly dissolves (in the case of the mock meat) while other flavours let you teeth crunch happily away at them (in the case of the taogay [Again, beansprouts for the non-hokkien speaking folks] and the mock pork oil). This dish is an absolute delight for vegetarians who are keen to try some of the famous local delicacies but unable to because they contain meat.

Food: 4 / 5

Presentation: 4 / 5 (Look at how they place the chopsticks despite being a coffeeshop!)

Waiting time: ~ 5 - 10 minutes from ordering

5 Upper Boon Keng Road
Singapore 380005

Tanjong Katong Road, Thai Food Overload!

As previously mentioned, Tanjong Katong Road is home to an authentic Thai Stall. Today, Alex kindly drove me around and I decided to recommend this stall to him. Located just outside where I used to study (Chung Cheng), I never knew such a place until my friend from India introduced me to it. He loves the mango salad that they prepare here. And I got to say, I fell in love with their food as well. If you are lucky, when you order food, you just might be able to catch the extremely (in my opinion that is) polite sounding Thai language that the very pretty staff uses to convey your orders to the cook. (Also, they offer vegetarian alternatives to some dishes)

Having first fell in love with their Garlic Pork Rice, (I love garlic and shallots.) they are very generous in their garlic and pork portions. Priced at just $4, this is just a trip to Disneyland for your tastebuds. Your tastebuds need a holiday? No problem! The porks flavour is sealed in and the taste just explodes when you first take a bite into it. Its not the most juicy fried pork I have tasted, but with garlic? Fantastic.

Food: 4 / 5

I would have given it a higher rating if the egg was more tasty.

Presentation: 3 / 5

Waiting time: ~5 minutes to cook.

This was what Alex ordered. Belachan Fried Rice. Alex usually doesn't take spicy food, so when he requested for it to be non-spicy, both of us got surprised by the response of the staff. She said, "It's not spicy at all." And indeed we were surprised at how it looked. Maybe we need to adjust our perception of what belachan is...

His dish comes with strips of fried egg, honey chicken, and generous portions of vegetables. The honey chicken was so well-fried that the moment I tasted it, I needed seconds. I even went up to the cook and asked what the chicken was. (because both of us had no idea.) Priced at $5, this is a dish that is light on your pocket if you have cravings for Thai. The honey chicken on its own is $6. Drizzled with honey, the chicken was a very interesting blend of crunchy, sweet and juicy rolled in one. Forget KFC, this is going to be my sinful indulgence in the future.

Food: 4.5 / 5 just for the chicken

Presentation: 3.5 / 5

Waiting Time: ~5 minutes

Being a soup person (thanks to my mum, but that's another story.), we ordered Seafood Soup with Tang Hoon as Alex doesn't take spicy. The soup is not loaded on MSG, which I genuinely have a strong distaste for. It comes with very generous portions of tang hoon as well, (which again, I LOVE!) which are hidden underneath all the food in the above picture. The fried fish also created a special flavour. Even after being soaked in soup for so long, the fish retained its crunchy texture, unlike those soggy fried fish you have at certain fish soup stalls. The soup had lots of garlic / shallots in it as well, and ginger, which in Chinese Medicine terms: good for the stomach. Ginger is especially effective for the tummy, so again, yum with health!

Food: 4 / 5

Presentation: 3 / 5

Waiting Time: ~5 minutes

As mentioned, they also serve Tom Yum and Mango Salad, which are also really yummy. As my India friend would say, "it's so yummy!"

Overall: 4 / 5

Katong Student Hostel
369 Tanjong Katong Road
Singapore 437126