HPB Voices Reloaded
September - October 2007
Food review in Tiong Bahru Food Centre
Tiong Bahru is a famous food centre back from the old days when I was a medical student more than 25 years ago. It was rebuilt in the same location and opened in 2006. It now has many more stalls so newcomers may not know which is the original Tiong Bahru stall. We reviewed stalls which people said were good.
Rating: *** Average **** Good
Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice #02-82 (Open everyday)****
Long queues seen at this stall. Served with fiery hot chillie sauce just the way I like it. When eating chicken rice, the chillie sauce is the key factor. The chicken is soft, tender and deboned.
Available at $2, $3 per plate and $18 per chicken.
Tiong Bahru Lor Mee #02-79 (Closed on Mondays) ***
Speaking of the traditional noodle dish, lor mee, I think there’s no other that beats the stall selling it at the Tiong Bahru Food Centre (the one at Bt Purmei comes very close).
You have to look carefully for this lor mee stall in Tiong Bahru Food Centre because there are at least 3-4 stalls selling lor mee. You have to select this particular stall with just a simple signboard “卤面”. And do not let this simplicity deceive you.
The texture of the gravy compliments just right with the yellow chewy noodles. Every mouthful brings forth a sense of filling satisfaction. With the few drop of black vinegar, the taste of the gravy is alleviated to a heavenly level.
The ingredients are generous. You will feel that the owner of the stall gives you value for money. 3-4 pieces of deep fried fish and an assortment of fishcakes, wuxiang and pork slices with a big bowl of noodles – all for only 3 dollars.
Of course, there are some bad points. For the weight watchers, you may be displeased to find that they are substantial deep fried crispy flour to add to texture to the “culinary experience”. But then again you only live once.
Koh Brother Pig organ soup #02-29 (Closed on Mondays)***
There were long queues at this stall. Value for money, it cost $3 per bowl and 40 cents for a bowl of rice. The chilli dip is however not fantastic.
Tian Tian Yuan Dessert House #02-15 (Closed on Wednesdays) ****
Chng teng – almost all food center sells this ordinary dessert. Why should this chng teng stall deserve extra-ordinary mention in this Voice issue?
It’s all because of the generous, very very generous servings and the wide variety of ingredients it offers to customers in a humble bowl of chng teng.
You will never guess that besides the usual assortment of ingredients like longan, barley agar agar pearls, white fungus etc, there are even gingko nuts, sweet potato and tapioca cubes. All these ingredients, when combined with the syrupy honey water (not so sweet) will just make your day. You can even eat it on its own for tea time.
This is highly recommended for a healthy dessert to soothe your sweet tooth cravings.
Tiong Bahru Pau & Snacks #02-18/19 (Open everyday) ****
This is one of the original stalls in the old Tiong Bahru Food Centre. The main shop is at 237 Outram Road, the corner of a row of shop houses opposite the old IOH.
They offer a variety of pau and snacks e.g. pau, lor mai kai, carrot cake, fan choy and other fried stuff. One of these is hard boiled egg with minced chicken fried in batter (shown in the photo) is quite yummy.
Price range upwards from 60 cents for a curry puff.
The char kway teow is average though there is a queue. It could be because there is only one char kway teow stall. Expensive $3 for a small plate only.
Tiong Bahru Fishball #02-20 (Closed on Mondays)****
Quite a popular stall .This is not exactly a food stall. It sells fried fishballs and all manner of fishcakes. Value for money. Most people buy it to garnish their noodles, serve it as a dish or just eat the fishballs.
Tiong Bahru Fishball noodles #02-13 (Closed on Wednesdays) ***
There were long queues at this stall too. Noodles are available for $2 and $3 per bowl.
The dry mee pok is good.
Giraffe Bar & Restaurant
The double-storey building that houses Giraffe Bar & Restaurant, with its chic glass deco, sited among the greens of Istana Park, has always awed me. Exploiting the excuse of celebrating a birthday, I finally put out my curiosity, with the reluctant company of my partner.
Near the entrance is a raised platform with a water-filled see-through floor. Pre-dinner drinks are recommended to complement the pleasure of basking in the simple yet chic deco and the noiseless water.
Dinner menu consisted of pasta, fish, chicken and beef. There wasn’t really a variety.
For the main course and drinks, we opted for pan-fried Garlicky Chicken, Giraffe 7oz burger, Tiramisu (desert), Espresso and a glass of Chardonnay. Before that, we shared a Caesar Salad which was a decent serving of fresh and crispy greens for 2.
After a long wait, the service team of 3 staff came towards us with the food. One reached out for a collapsible table, opened and placed it about 5 feet from us. The dishes were placed on this table and served to us, one after another.
Garlicky Chicken, was, well, garlicky. The Chef was rather generous with his choice of chicken meat, given that the dish cost only about S$16.00++. It was quite a huge piece and though it was pan-fried, the edges were rather well done i.e. crispy. I particularly liked the garlic sauce that coated the back of the chicken meat. It had a sweet sour taste and I was to find out later that it’s made of Balsamic oil, Olive oil, Rosemary, Pepper, Chili and some other herbs. The Giraffe Burger – the patty that is – looked humungous. When the red meat was cut, I could see how raw it was. Thought only steak came raw, medium raw or well done.
Dessert was truly the highlight of Giraffe, if I can say that. They were quick in serving desert. My partner ordered a Chocolate Lava Cake which looked rich, especially when he sliced the cake and the chocolate just oozed out of the exposed layers. Tiramisu wasn’t bad either.
The total bill came up to about S$80++ for 2 for the ambience of dining in a modern and chic restaurant set in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city.