FoodZee - Good Food in Singapore and beyond

Located off Jalan Pemimpin, at the junction of Clover Way and Clover Ave, is a Malay stall selling Nasi Padang, Lontong and Curry Puffs. I have not tried the Nasi Padang, but the Lontong is quite good. It is usually sold out by mid-morning. After lunch, from about 2pm onwards, they will start to make curry puffs. About 50 curry puffs are made each day. By 3pm it is sold out.

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe is a new addition to our food scene. They have a large menu, serving all kinds of western and chinese food. I did not quite enjoy the western food on my first visit. On my second visit, I found the chinese food to be quite good. In particular, I enjoy the Chye Poh egg with Pork Floss noodles. It was a refreshing change from the usual fish ball or minced meat noodles. The soup was light and the "koka" noodles well cooked. The Pork Ribs fried Beehoon was another enjoyable dish. It was not oily and the Beehoon well fried. Xin Wang HK Cafe is located at 01-04 Marina Square, along Raffles Link.

In Hillside Drive, off Upper Serangoon Road, is stall that sells good tar mee (dry noodles). At $2 per bowl, they are quite generous with the ingredients. The chilli sauce is excellent. On weekends, prepare to wait 30 mins for your food. Parking here is a problem. There is only one tiny carpark behind the coffeeshop and the lots are reserved for patrons of a vegetarian restaurant next door.

If you need a break while shopping in the newly renovated Marina Square, head for Pick & Bite (01-07). This tiny cafe along Raffles Link is quite innovative with their snacks. Apart from the traditional kaya toast bun and dim sum, the cafe also sells Side-up bread. The Side-up bread is actually two pieces of toasted bread, with a piece of ham sandwiched in between, and topped with egg mayonnaise, tuna or sardines. Goes best with a cup of piping hot, aromatic coffee or tea.

I have been eating fried beehoon for breakfast at this stall for close to 10 years when it was operating from Hillview. The Hillview FC had been demolished and I lost track of all my fav stalls. I was therefore happy to spot this signboard in Block 91 Whampoa Drive Food Centre. And the stallholders are the same two brothers from Hillview. Business at Whampoa is brisk, with a perpetual short queue. The beehoon here is first fried and then left to steam on a rattan basket. Simple but tasty. Now, I need to find my Hillview laksa, yong tofu, carrot cake and mee goreng. Anyone can help?

If you are still thinking of where to go and what to eat on Mother's Day, I have a recommendation. Go for the ala carte buffet lunch/dinner at Kippo restaurant. At $30+++ per head you can select anything from a menu of more than 100 dishes. The must order dishes are Peking Duck, Sharkfins soup, Poached Prawn, Salmon Sushi, Fried Codfish, Steamed crabs, Japanese tofu and all the 5 kinds of dessert. Be prepared for slow service on Mother's Day. I had good service on May Day.

There are 3 types of curry fish head commonly sold in Singapore, curry powder, lemak and assam. Curry powder fish heads are mainly sold by Indian restaurants. Assam fish head by Chinese restaurants and lemak fish head by Chinese and Peranakan restaurants. While there are many good curry powder fish head restaurants along Race Course Road, it is not easy to find a good assam curry fish head restaurant. So, if you are around Sembawang, head for Chye Lee Restaurant in 1 Jalan Legundi. This restaurant sells very good Chinese style assam curry fish head. A medium size fish head cost $25. Also try the steamed tofu. Goes well with the fish head curry.

This very popular cze-cha stall in Toa Payoh has a special requirement. When they are operating during dinner time, all other stalls in the same coffeeshop (including the drinks stall) MUST close. Such a demand may not be unreasonable because this restaurant can easily attract customers to fill the entire coffeeshop with their food every evening. So, what is the attraction? I noticed almost every table has a plate of prawn paste chicken, claypot fishhead, pork ribs and fooyong egg omelette. One bite and you could taste the flavour of the prawn paste chicken because it is so well marinated. The claypot fishhead is also very tasty. The fishhead is coated with flour, deep fried and left to simmer in a claypot filled with an assortment of vegetables and beancurd. The fooyong egg omelette, sea cucumber and pork ribs may look ordinary, but they taste great. I suspect the chef here has mastered the control of the "wok hei". As the dishes are not over cooked. Prices are reasonable. Five dishes, plus vegetable and rice cost $60. Hong Sheng restaurant is located in Blk 203 Toa Payoh, opposite SPH building.

Sik Wai Sin is well known for two things, delicious steamed fish head and a hot and stuffy environment. There is no menu. Almost everyone orders the steamed fish head, steamed minced pork, beancurd with prawn, bitter gourd with pork ribs and watercress soup. The steamed fish head was first class. Fresh Song fish head was steamed with a "secret" sauce and topped with lard and cut chilli. You hvae to eat it to experience the taste. This dish cost $25. The other dishes were equally good. Sik Wai Sin is located in 287 Geylang Road, just after Lorong 15.