Tiong Bahru Bakery @ Raffles City Shopping Centre

Tiong Bahru Bakery by Gontran Cherrier is one of my favourite cafes in town at the moment given its location at Raffles City Shopping Centre, which is like connected to 3 of Singapore's MRT rail lines. Despite patronising them on a few occasions, I usually "tar-pow" or take away my food from there as I usually like to have it for teatime or for the next day's breakfast. What I like about this outlet of Tiong Bahru Bakery is that it has ample seating and the water feature gives it an open-ness that I find to be calming. This is especially since the water feature cuts through the middle of the cafe, giving each quite a bit of personal space to each table. The concept is simple: You go up to the counter and choose which pastries you want, then you choose which drinks you would like to go with your pastries, and then proceed to pay up and then you may sit wherever you wish. Plain water is provided, as is a free flow of packaged butter and jam. In a few words, I would say that Tiong Bahru serves excellent pastries, and although prices are slightly high at the moment, it's certainly a good alternative to commercialised coffee joints such as Starbucks or The Coffee Bean.

Tiong Bahru Bakery also serves excellent coffee of the "40 hands brew", a similar one to the one you will find at Common Man Coffee Roasters. I've had the latte on 2 occasions and the taste has been consistent, which I'm pleased with. Pictured below is a layman's guide to ordering coffee, showing the amount of coffee, milk and water in each drink, which I found extremely helpful. 

Their croissants, which are not pictured here, are definitely one of the better croissants in Singapore, trumping those made by Maison Kaiser, San Moulin, Paul's and DONQ. They are extremely flaky and crisp (even on the second day) and it tastes extremely good even on its own without any condiments. Its variants include chocolate, almond and orange croissants, which all have their own distinct flavours, but I prefer the original one personally as I feel that it is the most crispy. 

Large Latte ($7.50)

Like I mentioned earlier, a little bit pricey for the size of the cup, but the quality of the coffee and the luxury of space makes it worth it to come here. I would also say that their coffee is one of the stronger and better pressured coffees in Singapore. Their latte art is very ordinary though. I would have liked more variation instead of getting hearts all the time but ohwell -shrug-.

Kouigh Amann ($4)

One of Tiong Bahru Bakery's signature pastries apart from their Croissants. This pastry is extremely sweet on its own, which is why I like to take it with salted butter to balanced out the taste. It also happens to be one of the victims of the price increase (it used to cost $3.50) so sales for this have definitely dropped since then. There is also a chocolate variation of this ($4.20) but I prefer the original. MUST TRY if you are here for the first time.

Apple and Raisin Brioche (4.20)

I'll be the first to admit that I love things that are value-for-money, and hence when I realised that the Apple Crumble cost a whopping $6.80 for a 10cm by 5cm size with a thickness of about 0.6cm, I immediately went to source for an alternative. My answer? The Apple and raisin brioche. The filling is pretty much the same, and I find the brioche a much more crispy and pleasant on its own than the crumble which looks a bit on the dry side.

Expect to pay:  $10-15

#B1-11/12
Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road

Nam Nam Noodle Bar @ Suntec City

What's better than the satisfaction of find a new place to eat that's good? Well, that it's wallet-friendly. I paid a visit to Nam Nam Noodle Bar after much coaxing from my friend who said that she absolutely loved it. Hence I decided to meet one of my schoolmates for lunch here. There was a steady stream of people queuing up for the food, and the probable reason is that good-quality Vietnamese food is being sold at reasonable prices. I spent about 15 minutes in the queue which personally I deem to be negligible. Seating is allocated when you reach the counter, and you are given seat numbers. The bar tables also come with little hooks beneath the marble table for ladies to hang their handbags which I found to be thoughtful. Throughout the visit, a video documenting food in the streets of Vietnam was shown, but sadly people were too engrossed in their own conversations or busy eating to pay much heed to the video. Still, the ambiance here is decent especially after lunch hours when it starts to quiten down a bit. The lanterns certainly add to the charm of the restaurant, and there is a variety of sauces at each table (I didn't photograph this as I was sharing a common table) which you can add to your choice of lunch.

So I mentioned earlier that the food here was cheap. This can be attributed to 2 reasons - there is no service charge! and GST is already included in the price they charge so you can pretty much say that it's nett. Their ala carte prices are generally $8 for pho (noodles), and even cheaper for their Banh Mi (sandwiches). What made my visit better was that they had this lunch set which costs $9.90. Called the Saigon Street Favourite set, it has Fresh southern rolls with sweet shrimps, egg and fresh herbs. You can choose either chicken or beef pho, and the meal is completed with either a classic iced coffee with condensed milk or an iced lotus tea. For this outing, I also ordered their daily special, the Sweet Potato Net Rolls.

Sliced Beef Pho

Vietnamese Noodle Soup with beef slices. As you can see, they added chilli and lime to the broth, which gave it an oriental flavour. The beef slices were also tasty and not too chewy, and I enjoyed the noodles as I personally have a soft spot for kway teow. Overall, the soup was not really spicy, making it suitable for those who don't really like to eat/are unable to take too much spicy food. Furthermore, you can take out the lime if you don't want the soup too taste too sour. However, this is definitely more mild as compared to Thai food.

Fresh southern rolls with sweet shrimps, egg and fresh herbs

For me, the best things about the rolls was the peanut sauce that came with it. The sauce isn't spicy and is sweet, making this dish suitable even as a dessert. This is because the rolls themselves are not exactly flavourful, and the dish would have been underwhelming if not for the sauce. There were also fried shallots in the sauce which varied the textures in the rolls by adding crispiness to it. 

Daily Special: Sweet Potato Net Roll (2 pcs for $2.90)

I'll be honest and say that I didn't even check how many pieces of sweet potato roll I would get for one serving, but although the portions were slightly smaller than what I would have liked, I would have to say the rolls were good. I felt that the icing was unnecessary as the sweet potato was already quite sweet on its own, but the sweet potato tasted average otherwise in general. I might want to try some other dessert on a future visit.

Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk

Your typical kopitam kopi, I wasn't expecting much from this drink. However, the coffee flavour was stronger than I was preparing myself for, and even when the ice melted a little over time it did not become too diluted for enjoyment. 

It certainly has been fulfilling for me to try out Nam Nam so long after they have opened, as I usually have my Vietnamese food at Food Republic. Even then, I usually stick to having rice over noodles. For those people who haven't tried it before, I would strongly suggest you make a trip down to one of their 3 outlets (especially before they increase their prices). If you're looking into having an Asian or Oriental alternative to Western food in Singapore, it's certainly a plausible option as compared to other Thai joints such as ThaiExpress. They also have a breakfast set which promotes their Banh Mi. 

Expect to pay: $10-15

#B1-131

Suntec City

Temasek Boulevard

#B1-47
Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road

#B2-02
Wheelock Place
501 Orchard Road

PS Cafe @ Palais Renaissance

PS Cafe is one of the other so-called "controversial" cafes in Singapore, because the big question is, is it worth to try the food there? I will attempt to give an answer to the best of my ability below. I have visited their outlets at Palais Renaissance and Paragon, and even then the experiences between the 2 locations vary greatly. The pictures below are mainly from their PR outlet, whilst the desserts are from their paragon outlet.

At first glance, you have to admit that PS Cafe is extremely posh and classy. Looking in from the outside, one would probably hesitate to enter if he was wearing casual wear like bermudas and slippers. Furthermore, it is set in the pretty "atas" location of Palais Renaissance. That being said, the patrons here are not necessarily well-dressed, as I found out when I entered. The decor of the cafe in PR is reminiscent of a hotel lounge, as you can see with the extensive use of wood and marble tiling. Inside, however, it is constructed to resemble a barn or farmhouse, with reflective mirror panes replacing the standard glass panes. 

PS Cafe still has a pretty strict no-photograph policy which I find annoying. I would understand totally if I was invading the privacy of someone else, but why can't I take pictures of the interior or the food? That being said, #YOLO so the pictures below are for your viewing pleasure.

PS Big Bacon and Eggs 

2 poached eggs, grilled asparagus, portobello mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon, salami sausage and toast. That's what I remember was in my dish anyway heh. I have a policy of usually trying what the cafe touts as their "big breakfast" when I visit them for the first time, and I ended up satisfied with the Big Bacon and Eggs. It was fairly filling, but not to the point that one would feel bloated. The poached eggs are excellent, and the spiced sausage is a refreshing change from what you would normally get from other brunch places. The toast is definitely not in the league of that served in Wild Honey, and I expected more from the tomatoes and mushrooms. They didn't taste exceptional to me. The "atas" touch? The asparagus, which was grilled well and added flavour to the dish.

Chicken in a Basket

I was surprised at my friend's decision to have this - after all, we came all the way to PS - but it was a good solid meal of fried chicken. As you can see, the basket is filled to the brim with lightly-battered chicken which was well seasoned. and wasn't too oily. The fries were pretty normal, although PS Cafe's truffle fries are good. Be warned though, a serving of truffle fries would probably require like 4 people to finish it comfortably, and leave enough room for dessert. This dish comes with ketchup and lemon sauce on my last trip. The greens are just average, but the carrot sticks are decent I suppose.

The pictures below are from my trip to PS. Paragon. There are 2 areas open for seating, one being the normal one within the mall, which I feel is too open and lacks privacy. Nothing special about the outdoor seating area. The rest of the cafe shares its space with a retail store called Projectshop BloodBros. The tables here are fairly small and the area is dimly lit. As you can see, the main source of lighting is supplied by tealights, which is really romantic in my opinion. GOOD FOR DATES *cough cough*. However, I would rather have my main meals over at PS's other outlets, as it's brighter, and I would probably only come to Paragon for dessert. That being said, the desserts at PS are reason enough to go back, even if their prices are on the high side.

Banana cake with Butterscotch Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream

This is my personal favourite dessert at PS. The banana flavour is prominent in the cake, and it makes it extremely fragrant. The butterscotch sauce is not overbearing, and it isn't sickeningly sweet. The vanilla ice cream goes well with either the cake, the sauce or both at once. Although overall the dessert on a whole is on the sweet side, it's still extremely enjoyable and it goes well with the coffee they serve (especially if you take their drinks without sugar).

Double Chocolate Blackout Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

PS's signature dessert. As the name of the dessert suggests, it's just CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE AND MORE CHOCOLATE. Chocolate fudge cake with chocolate mousse in between and drizzled with chocolate sauce and its paired with vanilla ice cream. Guaranteed sore throat after eating this but it's well worth it if you're a chocolate lover. The cake is extremely moist on its own, and even it acts as a sponge of sorts to soak up the chocolate sauce for even more chocolate flavour. 

In summary, PS is undoubtedly a good place for meeting friends or bringing your special someone out on a date because the ambiance is generally better than other restaurants in the area. The food is of a good standard, but it's definitely not something that is out of this world. Furthermore, the prices aren't exactly wallet-friendly either so you wouldn't be really heading down there every week. My verdict? Above average food, Good desserts, but both at high prices. Make sure your pay is in before heading down.

Expect to pay: $30-35 for food
                      $15 for desserts

Outlets visited
#02-09A
Palais Renaissance
390 Orchard Road

#03-41/44
Paragon Shopping Centre
290 Orchard Road

Hawker Spotlight: Toa Payoh Rojak @ Old Airport Road Food Centre

Rojak stalls in Singapore are everywhere, but I only eat the rojak from one place on a regular basis, and that's the one at Old Airport Road Food Centre. It's name? Toa Payoh Rojak.

I've been patronising this stall for a good number of years now, and their stream of patrons have always bene constant. You have to take a queue number first, and subsequently you make your order when your number is called. Hence you could say it's like any other numbering system you would expect to find in hospitals, clinics or the like. The stall is usually manned by the old man and his wife, as well as his son-in-law. There is a slight difference in how the rojak made by each individual comes out, but more on that later. 

A key selling point in the stall's fame is the shrimp sauce that is used in the rojak, but from what I have observed, it isn't handmade, but rather ordered by the tin. The secret to the sauce includes more sugar, with lime and lemongrass added to the sauce. There is also a secret ingredient that is usually stored in a porcelain mug which I believe is one of the reasons this rojak is arguably one of the best in Singapore. I usually have mine without the chili, but adding a bit of chili allows you to enjoy the dish while still finishing up the shrimp sauce. Personally, I will always just eat the shrimp sauce as it is with the peanuts. 

My recommendation is to have the rojak at the food centre itself, as the dough fritters (you tiao) are hand toasted before they are mixed in the wooden bowl. My only grouse is that they could add more bits of jellyfish strips (a $3 serving entitles you to only one piece of jellyfish) so that more people can try its flavour with the shrimp paste. Overall, the dish is rather sweet, which can make one slightly thirsty after consuming it, but the flavours are all well-balanced as you would expect of in a rojak dish. This is one of the dishes I have each time I go to Old Airport Road Food Centre for a meal when they are open. Highly Recommended.

Expect to pay: $3-5 (a $3 serving will serve 2-3)

 #01-108
Old Airport Road Food Centre
51 Old Airport Road
Closed on Sundays.

On a side note, Toa Payoh Rojak is often confused with the one at Toa Payoh HDB Hub (Soon Heng Silver Stream Rojak). I've tried it before and it doesn't even hold a candle to this one. Perhaps the only reason you would patronise that stall is that the portions are bigger. But I'm never one to compromise on quality for quantity.

Penny University @ East Coast Road

Penny University is one of the cafes that has been in my neighbourhood for quite some time, but I haven't visited them until a few months ago when I decided to meet up with a friend there. In brief, it's a quaint cafe that serves fairly affordable mains and drinks, and I suppose the ambiance is decent too. More on this as we go along.

When you enter the cafe, you are greeted by a friendly group of staff that really makes you feel welcome. The decor in the cafe is nondescript - an assortment of old tables and chairs, and the usualsmatterings of couches, but I found their shelves and cue balls classy and gave the place a very homely touch. On certain days, you can choose the type of espresso beans you want in your coffee-related drinks, which was great for me because I always like to shake things up and try new flavours.

As you can see above, their table placards have changed over 2 visits. My first visit was on 30 November 2012 and that was when they still had the wooden numbers, and individual sugar containers per table. On 18 June 2013, they were replaced with quaint looking hand-made placards and the sugar containers are now on a common table.

PennyU is reputed for their Muddy Espresso in Cold Milk, which I found to be one of the best for cold coffee drinks in Singapore. The milk brought out the flavour of the coffee rather than suppressing it. The hot version, Espresso with 5 oz milk also reflected a similar, but somehow slightly differing flavour from its cold counterpart. Both are pictured below, with the Muddy Espresso on top.

Turkish Eggs with Sourdough Toast.

The picture on top is from my visit last year and the one below is the one from this year.

This is my personal favourite for a main as there is greek yogurt in the dish as well which tastes awesome when you dip the sourdough bread into the spices, eggs and yogurt. Slightly spicy, although not so much on my subsequent trip here. As you can see, the amount of chili oil varies from time to time.

Pictured below are 2 variants from my 2 trips to PennyU. The one on the left is marmite toast with tomatoes, but it is no longer on the menu. In its place is its successor - Eggs on toast (Maasdam Cheese and Marmite). Both are really good (which is why I posted the picture of the old marmite toast), but it was certainly a step in the right direction by pairing it with poached eggs and maasdam cheese. That being said, the cheese made the dish pretty salty overall, but it works out well when consumed with the eggs and salad.

Salmon and Cream Cheese on Sourdough Bread. 

This tasted good, although I was definitely disappointed that I did not get it with the bagel (they ran out of bagel so sourdough bread was the substitute bread). The bread was toasted to perfection and the bread was not too salty overall, despite the fact that both salmon and cheese can make a dish too salty.

Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon.

This was quite similar to my modified choice of salmon and cream cheese on sourdough bread, except that the hollandaise sauce replaced capers and black pepper. Also, this dish came with 2 poached eggs. It actually boils down to personal preference, as you could have easily ordered poached eggs at the side to enjoy with the salmon and cream cheese bagel (sourdough bread). I like the hollandaise sauce here more than some others due to the fact that the lemon taste is stronger.

Savoury

Pictured here is another dish that was given the axe. It's basically brioche toast accompanied with butter and maple syrup, and a side of strawberries and blueberries. As you can see, the portion of fruits and syrup is much less than desired, so it's probably one of the reasons that it got taken out of the menu. However, while it was in the menu I saw quite a few people ordering it. Personally, I would prefer pancakes to brioche toast as that's something still lacking in PennyU's present menu.

Hot Chocolate

A staple anywhere you go, good old-fashioned hot chocolate. I wouldn't go so far as to say that this hot chocolate was exceptional, but i would give it a 7 out of 10. I would have preferred the hot chocolate to be thicker and more bitter. Definitely this falls behind compared to the Wild Mocha Dolce served at Wild Honey, when comparing the price.

In summary, I would still go to PennyU if I happen to be in the area, especially if prices remain as they are. They have good food and decent strong coffee. If you are a fan of pressured coffee and espressos, this is definitely one of the places to go. Their menu could use a little more diversity, but given that its just a humble coffee joint, I feel that they're doing just enough at the moment. Will be coming back here for sure!

Expect to pay: $15-20 per person

402 East Coast Road

Tue - Thu: 08:30 - 18:00

Fri - Sat: 08:30 - 00:00

Sun: 08:30 - 21:00

Closed: Mon

Hawker Spotlight: 新美香卤面 Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee @ Old Airport Road Food Centre

Disclaimer: I've lost the photos I took when I went to have Lor Mee here recently, so I'll be using the ones available on their facebook page for now until I go there agan.

When you bring up Lor Mee, there are 2 stalls that come to mind. One is Xin Mei Xiang Zheng Zong Lor Mee, which this post is about, and Tiong Bahru Lor Mee, which is my main basis for comparison. On a regular day before lunch hour (1145am), expect to queue around 45 minutes for this dish. Midway through queueing, you will be asked for your order, and when you actually do reach the counter, your order will be confirmed and your preferences (such as the addition of chilli and vinegar) will be finalised. Don't feel exasperated as people who usually buy from this stall order between 4 to 10 bowls so sometimes the queue can really feel like a Christmas Eve jam. Just start to play a game on your phone or scroll through your news feed and I'm sure you'll get there in no time. 

Image taken from Xin Mei Xiang's Facebook Page

I will usually order the $4 bowl of Lor Mee as it comes with shredded fish, and for noodle choice I'll have mixed bee hoon and egg noodle. I recommend a bit of chilli to go with the dish if you can stomach spiciness, and a bit of vinegar enhances the flavour. The shredded fish is actually decent because you can actually much on 1-2 inch pieces of semi-fried fish, and the lean meat does not have too much of a fatty portion which is good. The crux to this dish is the gravy, which I believe is yet another family secret (the stall is run by a group of sisters and their spouses). The starch added gives it the right amount of consistency and the taste is pleasant, with or without the vinegar (adding vinegar is recommended!). Another good thing about this is that you don't feel thirsty after eating it so that's great too.

Image taken from Xin Mei Xiang's Facebook Page.

On days when Xin Mei Xiang (XMX) is open, you will find like 15 people in the queue at a time (hence the approximate 30-45 minute wait). In contrast, Tiong Bahru Lor Mee (TB) will have like 5 people at a time, if a queue even forms at all (I observed this!). On the other hand, when the former is closed, Tiong Bahru Lor Mee suddenly has a stream of people who probably did not want their trip to Old Airport Road Food Centre ending up as a wasted one. The difference lies mainly in their gravy. TB's one is much thicker and tastes more like the conventional Lor Mee gravy whereas XMX's is lighter and more distinctive. Also, the shredded fish at XMX comes in much larger pieces and is much more flavourful than its counterpart. The lean meat you'll find at TB also is saltier but that's not that much of a concern for me.

Expect to pay:  $3-5 ($4 and above is recommended)

#01-113
Old Airport Road Food Centre
51 Old Airport Road

Tim Ho Wan 添好運 @ Plaza Singapura

My friend Derrick messaged me immediately upon seeing my photos stream on to Instagram and Facebook, and he asked me if it was worth the wait to get into Tim Ho Wan. I suppose this post is to answer his question more comprehensively. It came as a surprise to most that I had not tried Tim Ho Wan although it has opened its doors in Singapore for close to a year already. Tim Ho Wan's philosophy is to provide Michelin-star level food available for the masses, and hence I was having high expectations already. Furthermore, the average waiting time that I gathered from friends was around an hour. By this time, the crowds had died down a little and I managed to get my table in about 30 minutes. You can get one person to queue first, but in the end the whole party must be present before your seats will be allocated. Thankfully I got my seat at a less crowded part of the restaurant. Otherwise, it can get a little uncomfortable when you have to fight for your own personal space. Don't expect the ambiance you would find in other Dimsum places such as Crystal Jade and Canton Paradise, for you find that you would not want to sit and chat with friends here for a long period. Seriously, just eat and find some place else after that. I attribute this opinion to the level of noise, the length of the queue outside and the overall personal space that one gets while eating here.

Just a heads up, the 4 Heavenly Kings (aiya, just say must try la) are the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork, Vermicelli Roll with Pig's Liver, Steamed Egg Cake and Pan Fried Carrot Cake. 

 Photos below are taken from my Instagram account. (choccroissant)

Baked bun with BBQ Pork. (3pcs for $4.50). 

Just looks so pretty in a 3x3 doesn't it. Well they're certainly tastier than they look. 

Here we can have a look inside the bun. As you can see, the Char Siew filling is moist with a little bit of fatty meat. Overall the flavour is fantastic, although some people find the filling to be a bit too sweet. For me, it was just at the right level, and the buns are best eaten hot. They certainly trump those served at Crystal Jade. However, they can be rather filling. I would recommend for a serving of 2 buns per person, in order to try out the other dishes on the menu. 

Congee with Lean pork, Salted egg and Century Egg ($4.20). 

I would say this congee is one of the smoother congees that I've tasted, although I find it similar to the one served at Canton Paradise. However, the dish does not disappoint as there are a lot of ingredients to go with the congee. The bowl is of a medium size, so I would say it's a little on the heavy side for light eaters, and hence I would recommend that a bowl be ordered if you eat a fair bit, and ideally 3 people could share 2 bowls to make room for later.

Glutinous Rice Dumpling ($5)

I was initially relucant to order the dumpling, but since I saw almost every other table ordering it, I caved in under pressure. This is definitely a dish to be shared, and I found it quite heavy. Refer to the next picture!

Yup so here we have a close up on what's inside the dumpling. I would say that the lotus leaf makes the dish extremely fragrant. The dish overall was not really outstanding, given the fact that the rice and the meat tasted rather normal. Still, I would order this on a repeat visit. 

Pan Fried Carrot Cake (3 pcs for $4.50)

So we move on to the next of the 4 Heavenly Kings. I love the cantonese version of carrot cake, and hence this dish was a real treat. The cake was well fried, with just the right amount of charring. The carrot cake was extremely soft and melted in your mouth. However, I would have preferred it to be a little saltier as it tasted a little flat. However, this problem can be solved by pairing this dish with the Chilli Bean sauce available at the table. (Incidentally, the chilli sauce tastes almost exactly the same as the one at Canton Paradise, wonder if it's commercial.)

Steamed Prawn Dumpling (4pcs for $5.50)

What was outstanding about this dish was the distinct quality of its shrimp. It was extremely fresh and you could taste this in every bite. The skin was also of the right thickness, which pleased me because I get annoyed with dumplings that have skin that is too thick. This dish goes well with the above-mentioned Chilli bean sauce.

Vermicelli Roll with Pig's Liver ($5.50)

The 3rd of the Big 4 Heavenly Kings. The texture of the Vermicelli Roll, or chee cheong fun was great, as it was smooth and melted in your mouth. The skin was thinner than that of the Prawn Dumpling mentioned above, and hence it was super satisfying. However, this dish was let down by the Pig's Liver. Although I am not a huge fan of pig's liver, the liver was obviously overcooked and hence it had a rubbery taste in addition to having the strong smell that I am not particularly fond of. The redeeming factor was the sauce, which made it much more bearable. Hence, I would recommend this dish only to those who like Pig's Liver. Otherwise, you should stick to the Vermicelli Rolls with either BBQ Pork or Prawns (all $5.50).

Steamed Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (4 for $5)

SIEW MAI <3. The wolfberries on the top of the pork dumplings add a nice touch to the dumplings that already taste great. I am rather particular about the thickness of the skin as mentioned above, and hence Tim Ho Wan managed to deliver in terms of consistently ensuring that the skin was not too thick. That being said, I tasted more pork filling than shrimp, but it was satisfying nonetheless. 

Steamed Beancurd Skin Roll with Pork and Shrimp (3pcs for $4)

This was just another one of those dishes that I ordered for the sake of trying. Unlike the Siew Mai mentioned above, I was able to taste the shrimp properly in this dish. The beancurd skin was pleasantly sweet, and the sauce made this dish even tastier. I would say that this is better than average, but not exceptional.

Steamed Beef Ball with Beancurd Skin (3pcs for $4.20)

As you can see in the picture below, there is barely any beancurd skin to speak of. Not sure if this is supposed to be the case but oh well. A strong beef taste will linger in your mouth so only order this if you do like beef. I did not enjoy this dish as much as I had expected, and the inside of the ball tasted a bit raw. Again, whether this is intentional I do not know.

Steamed Egg Cake ($3.80)

This has to be the highlight of the trip to Tim Ho Wan. Whilst the BBQ Pork Bun earlier was way better than average, I would have to say that the steamed egg cake, or malay cake sets the new standard for such cakes here. It's definitely one of the more pricey items on the menu, but hey, with every single bite comes pure bliss. The taste of the cake was reminiscent of Gula Melaka, or palm sugar, but it was not too sweet. This is another dish best eaten hot but will probably do well cooled down as well. 

Tim Ho Wan has recently opened its 3rd outlet in Westgate, in addition to its existing outlets at Plaza Singapura and Toa Payoh. So effectively everywhere except the east has a Tim Ho Wan restaurant already. Hence there is no excuse not to give it a try, with the Big 4 Heavenly Kings definitely being the ones to go for. However, like I found out, there were a couple other dishes that would undoubtedly satisfy the palate.

Expect to pay: $25 for a good meal

#01-92A
Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road