[Singapore] 7 Best Stalls in Tiong Bahru Market

Hi Everyone! I know it's been too long since my last post. So glad that I finally could write again!

So you might know or might not know, earlier this year, I got an opportunity to work on an interior project in Singapore. It was such an exciting and valueable opportunity for me, to be able to experience living and working in another country. But now my project is done, and I'm back here at Jakarta. I would love to share about the project later here in this blog, but for now, I want to share about Singaporean food I miss the most.

During my 7 months working period, I work in an interior and graphic design company located at the most hipster area in Singapore, Tiong Bahru. I'm so lucky, right? It's one of the food heaven in Singapore. There are famous Cafes, Coffee Shops, and Dessert Places at every corner of the street. You can never get bored!  But nope, it's not the food in the cafe and dessert places that I miss the most now. I'm currently missing the hawker food from Tiong Bahru Market.

Tiong Bahru Market is one of the most famous Hawker Centre in Singapore. It has more than 80 stalls of  local and international food serving you everyday. It's where I went for lunch everyday during my stay in Singapore. And I must say, most of the food there are really good! I didn,t get the chance to try all 83 stalls there, but here are my favourite dishes so far (not in particular order).

TIONG BAHRU BAK CHOR MEE #02-77

Bak Chor Mee (pork noodle) might be a common dish that you can find in Singapore. But what made this one special is the MEATBALLS. Their meatball is not just any ordinary meatballs. Inside that plain-looking meatball are minced pork meat with super delicious pork broth that will burst in your mouth when you take a bite. Total Meatball-gasm! The noodle itself is not bad, but it's the meatballs that make me a regular customer of this stall.

TIONG BAHRU HAINANESE CURRY RICE #02-78

I love any kind of curry, and this one is no exception. The hainanese curry rice is something similar with mixed veg rice, but with curry sauce on top. You can choose your own toppings here. My favourite would be the pork chop, pork belly, and the green beans. The pork chop is very crunchy and tasty, and the fragrant curry sauce just compliments it best. Must try! And do anticipate for the long queue if you come at lunch hour.

YEAP SENG HANDMADE PAU TIM #02-71

I honestly never buy this myself, as the stall only open in the morning, and run out of everything by lunch hour. My colleague had always help me buy their dimsum for breakfast. They might not as famous as other hawker dimsum (like Tiong Bahru Pau or Hoo Kee Pau), but for me their dimsum is amazing! Even better than the dimsum chain you ate in the mall! Their prawn dumpling is definitely the best I've tried in my entire life, and I'm not being hyperbolic. And I love their charsiu pau too.

HONG HENG FRIED SOTONG PRAWN MEE #02-01

This one is my comfort food. It's called hokkien mee, and I think we dont have this kind of noodle in Jakarta. My first time trying this dish is right here at this store, and I fell in love immediately. The noodle is like a combination of fried noodle and soup noodle, topped with fishballs, prawns, and squids. It's soggy, but so fragrant and tasty. I love this noodle so much that the entire office knows that "Nat loves Hokkien Mee". My boss also said that I should learn how to make hokkien mee and open my own hokkien mee stall in Jakarta since  love it so much, lol. Hmm, should I? :p

BLANCO COURT FRIED FISH SOUP #02-61

Singaporeans have things with soup. At first I didn't understand the logic of having soup for lunch in such a hot day, and you are eating at the non-aircon hawker centre. But this fried fish soup got me hooked, and I don't mind eating this dish for my lunch, even thou I might be sweating like pig afterwards. It is basically fried fish fillet, fried eggs, and veggie inside light but rich fish soup. So good, but even better if you eat it in rainy days. Yum!

MIN NAN PORK RIBS PRAWN NOODLE #02-31

One of the most famous stall in the entire market, the line is always long! There's the soup noodle and dry noodle version, and I prefer the dry one. The noodle and the soup are so fragrant because of the combination of pork and prawn broth, and the topping is generous! Expect something like the picture above, two big chunks of pork ribs and two large prawns. Satisfaction guaranteed!

ALI CORNER #02-17

Last but not least, something that always reminded me of home. It's ayam penyet! Even thou the owner of this stall is Malaysian, but I must admit she cooks even better than some of the ayam penyet I tried in Indonesia. I especially love the sambal!

So yeah, that's the list of my favourite dishes in Tiong Bahru Market, Singapore. If you plan to come to Tiong Bahru Market, maybe you can try visiting this link http://tiongbahru.market/ beforehand. I find it very useful! Let me know what you think, and have a pleasant meal! 

TIONG BAHRU MARKET
30 Seng Poh Road
Singapore 168898

Coco Ichibanya Curry House

The largest Japanese curry house chain in the world has finally made it's way to Jakarta. Yes, it is Coco Ichibanya, everyone's favourite curry, which has more than 1300 branches in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, USA, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore.

Their first Jakarta branch is located at Grand Indonesia. The interior is light and bright, the place is quite spacious but it was almost full even though we came on weekday. As we stepped in, the first thing I noticed is the fragrant smell of their curry. It's very appetizing that I couldn't wait to order my own plate.

The food they serve here is only Curry Rice. None other than that. But you can customize your Curry Rice by choosing the spiciness level for your curry, choosing your rice size, and get additional topping. You can also get additional Salad and Drink for IDR 25.000 or Salad, Ice Cream, and Drink for IDR 35.000.

Chicken Cutlet Curry with Vegetables (IDR 78.000)

rice: 150 gr  ,  spiciness: standard

I always prefer to have my curry rice with vegetables, to make it richer and (hopefully a little) healthier. And I have to say, this plate is such a satisfaction. The curry itself is, as I said earlier, very fragrant, perfectly balanced, the sweet and savoury taste combined nicely on the plate, and the vegetables are perfectly cooked. Also the chicken cutlet is thick and tender, but got the nice lightly crisp on the outside.

Chicken Cutlet Omelette Curry (IDR 70.000)

When you order the omelette menu, you cannot change either the rice size nor the curry spiciness. Well I can understand that if we change the rice size it would be affecting the omelette shape, but I don't know why we couldn't change the spiciness level. Anyway the omelette is also a nice addition to the curry rice. It's smooth and silky and a lil bit runny. Oh and I found that the my friend's chicken cutlet here is slightly bigger than mine. Don't know if it's just her luck or the portion is different.

Beef Hamburger Curry (IDR 65.000)

rice: standard  ,  spiciness: lv.4

Another friend of mine ordered this, and when it was served upon us, first thing that came into our mind is the beef hamburger is small. Didn't give the hamburger a taste since it's already too small for him, but I tasted his lv.4 curry. It was spicy, but peppery spicy. They might used a lot of blackpepper to make it spicy, looking at the colour.

Lightly Crisped Chicken Curry (IDR 65.000)

rice: standard  ,  spiciness: lv.2

This lightly crisped chicken, for me, tasted better than the chicken cutlet. It was seasoned well, and the chicken is more tender. But it is certainly not as thick as the chicken cutlet. Well, such a dilemma.

As a new comer in Jakarta, I think Coco Ichibanya is having a good start. It was such a delightful dinner, and I'll come back for sure. But just a little suggestion, I would love them even more if they also serve pork cutlet, like every other country does.

CoCo Ichibanya Curry House
Grand Indonesia
West Mall - Level 3A
Unit E 01-1
Ph. +6221 23580960

[Bali] Mama San

Hello! I just got back from a super fun trip to Bali with my high school friends. Got lots of stories and pictures to share, so let's start with Mama San.

Having heard countless stories and rumours of how great the food they serve here, it's only normal that we went here straight away from the airport. It was Thursday afternoon post lunchtime, only a few tables were occupied, and most of the customers were not Indonesian. 

Upon entering the venue, the modern industrial interior is dominating the place. The element of wood, concrete, and bricks are blending well along with the huge painting of 'Mama' figure at the back. Planted pots and standing lamps add more colors to the monochromatic ambiance.

With Will Meyrick as the name behind this establishment (he's also the man behind Sarong and E&O), of course the food they serve here are Asian, widely varies from the rich curries to delicate dim sums. Here's our pick that day:

La lot  (IDR 68.000)
Vietnamese grilled minced pork belly wrapped in betel leaves with nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce). I'm really happy that my Bali trip started with such a great dish. Savoury minced pork belly was seasoned excellently, betel leaf adding textures and aroma, and the Nuoc Cham is sweet, sour, salty, and spicy at the same time in a balanced way. What a good start!

Vietnamese “Pho Bo” (IDR 115.000)

Vietnamese rice noodles served with twice cooked beef, Thai basil & Hanoi chilli sauce. Usually I'm not a big fan of pho, but I have to admit that this one is good. Nice warm broth and generous beef. Enough said.

Green Curry  (IDR 135.000)

In the other hand, curry is my all-time-favourite food. Mama San's green curry of sliced beef with bamboo long bean apple eggplant & Thai basil is one of the best green curry I've tasted so far. As usual, green curry is not too heavy, but still got the curry taste in it. But I hope they could reduce the chilli a little bit since it was too spicy for my taste bud.


To counter the spiciness in Mama San's food, they also have selections of cold and refreshing beverages:

Red Fruits & Raspberry (IDR 35.000)

Red fruit tea raspberry sorbet & lemon juice. Just looking at the presentation could chill me a little bit. It was sour and refreshing, just a perfect companion after dealing with that much spiciness in such a hot day.

Honey Lime (IDR 35.000)

Black tea lemon & honey lime sorbet. This one is a sweeter option if you can't handle that much sourness. Sweet or sour? Your choice.


After tasting all of he food, my favorite is definitely their La Lot. But all of them were great, really worth trying. Thanks Mama San, for serving us such a delicate meal to start our vacation in Bali.

Mama San Kitchen, Bar, and Lounge

Jl. Raya Kerobokan No. 135

Bali - Indonesia

ph. (0361) 730436

web. Mama San

Marugame Udon

Marugame Udon is expanding their business, opening their second branch in Gandaria City. Just a few days after the opening, I got an invitation to a blogger meet up and break fasting here at Marugame Udon Gandaria City. The place is occupying quite a large area. Still using the same system as the Taman Anggrek outlet, they have a big counter where you can choose your dish, as well as seeing it freshly made in the open kitchen. After that you pay at the cashier at the end of the counter, and eat your meal at the dining area.

 

As the name said, Marugame Udon's specialty is their Udon, which comes in eight different choices to try. Other than that, they also have assorted tempura and also rice dish.

Kake Udon (IDR 33.000)

Kake Udon is served with kake dashi soup (Japanese stock with soy sauce and mirin), which taste very simple and light. The udon itself already has the perfect thickness and chewiness, that it is yummy enough just to eat the udon with the light kake dashi soup.

Niku Udon (IDR 45.000)

Niku Udon is served with Kake Dashi Soup and Sukiyaki Beef. I personally like this more than the Kake Udon, since the beef was very tender, and it also gave a hint of sweetness to the soup. Just look at that gorgeous shiny soup, isn't it tempting?

Mentai Kamatama Udon (IDR 50.000)

It's another way to eat udon, it is served with no soup, but you'll got soft boiled egg, mentai (chilli cod roe), and shredded nori instead. Not my favourite way to have my udon, but it's worth trying though.

Tori Baitang Udon (IDR 45.000)

If you're looking for richer broth, here you go. Tori Baitang Udon is served with white soup and tori balls. The broth is definitely the richest amongst all, and I just love their homemade tori balls. 

Beef Curry Udon (IDR 50.000)

Udon served with sukiyaki beef and Japanese curry. I've always loved any kind of curry, so I will definitely say that this is delicious. It was said that the curry here was made not too heavy to adjust with Indonesian taste.

Tempura is also something you shouldn't miss here at Marugame Udon. They had various kind of Tempura ready to pick on the counter. Their tempura is refreshed every fifteen minutes to keep the freshness and quality.

Beef Croquette (IDR 10.000) and Egg Tempura (IDR 8.000)

Kisu Fish Tempura (IDR 10.000) and Broccoli Tempura (IDR 10.000)

Ebi Tempura (IDR 14.000) and Chicken Chilli Tempura (IDR 7.000)

All of them were served hot freshly cooked, so no wonder they're all good. My personal favorite would be the Ebi Tempura and Chicken Chilli Tempura. The egg tempura is also one of a kind, I think it's the only place in Indonesia where you could find a half boiled egg covered with crunchy tempura. 

So, will I be back? The question is not necessary, since I've been their regular customer since the opening of their first branch in Mall Taman Anggrek. And I've been back there twice since this event held about two weeks ago. So, I'll see you there? :)

Marugame Udon

Gandaria City 

Mainstreet Lv. UG

Jakarta Barat

Pappa Jack Kopitiam

Yesterday me and David went to Pappa Jack Kopitiam, a new kopitiam joint which just opened recently near my house area. I always saw it's parking lot packed with cars at night. I don't know whether they serve good food or it's just the new place hype, but it does attract my curiosity. 

It turns out that this joint is Pappajack's second branch, while the first one is located at Sunter. The place is spacious, it is a two storeyed building with a large void at the front part. The interior was dominated with bricks and large windows, along with black furnitures. 

As expected of Kopitiam, they served coffees, teas, peranakan cuisines, and light foods such as toast bread and limited choice of dim sum. It was said that their specialty is the steamed bread with chicken curry, but I doubted the taste will match one another, so I'll just skip it for now and ordered these instead.

Iced Coffee Cham Milo (IDR 21.000) and Iced Lemon Honey (IDR 18.000)

The Iced Coffee Cham Milo is a combination of Coffee, Tea, Fresh Milk, and Milo in one glass. For me the coffee taste was too dominant that I can't find the tea flavor in it. Meanwhile, the Iced Lemon Honey was quite satisfying with balanced taste of sweet and sour.

Bakmi Sapi Cincang (IDR 36.000)

Thin and curly noodles, minced beef, fish cakes, and also bean sprouts. David has always loved bean sprouts, no wonder he ordered this dish. I personally quite like it too. Combined all together, there's the sweet and savory taste of the beef, also the crunchiness from the bean sprouts and richness from the broth.

Dry Curry Mee with Chicken Curry (IDR 33.000)

This dish took FOREVER to come out. It has been long after David finished his dish, and mine hasn't come yet. We kept asking the waiter, and they could only say sorry politely and told us it will be served soon. Luckily  the taste was not disappointing. Bold and spicy chicken curry met the thick noodle that cooked into perfection, what more could you expect?

Will I be back? Sure. Well the service still needs some improvements, but what they served to us was a good start to take our heart and satisfy our belly. And plus, it took less than 5 minutes to get there from my house. So 'til we meet again, Pappajack!

Pappa Jack Kopitiam
Terusan Arjuna Utara no.2
(beside Jakarta Eye Center)
Kebon Jeruk
Jakarta Barat

other branch:
Jl. Danau Sunter Barat Blok A3 No.6 
Sunter, 14350
Ph. 081218919119

[Bangkok] Dragon Seafood

After trying the famous Somboon Seafood, the next day we did another seafood hunting for dinner. This time we tried Dragon Seafood, recommended by a friend of my mom who is also a shop owner in Mangga Dua. She went to Bangkok a lot and gave us a lot of recommendations, but Dragon Seafood is the nearest diner from where we stay. It is located in Ratchadamri road, across the Central World Plaza, which is only about fifteen minutes walk from our hotel in Pratunam.

The venue was not too big, the first floor was already full when we arrived, so we got seated at the second floor. The first floor was decorated in the warm red and black ornaments, which look like the old chinese house, while the second floor was much more brighter and simpler.

Not going to babbling too much, let's just get straight to the food.

Tom Yam Khung (M) (THB 380)

Well I was getting bored with Tom Yam, but not my parents. And luckily they decided to order this, because it was the best so far. Even though the prawns were not too big, but it was very fresh. And the soup was the richest amongst all we've tasted before.

Stir-fried Crab with Curry Sauce (THB 160 / 100gr)

I'm not being hyperbolic by saying that this was the best crab dish I've ever eaten in my life. Rich flavour, huge and fresh crab, perfection.

Stir-fried Prawn with Shanghai Sauce (THB 180 / 100gr)

Another great dish. The sauce was sweet and salty and also a little spicy. I just can't get enough of this.

Steamed Grouper with Lemon and Chilli Sauce (THB 150 / 100gr)

Steamed fish has never been my favourite. But even though this one is my least favourite among the other dishes, I have to say that it's quite good. 

In the end we spent more than THB 4000 (about IDR 1.300.000) for all the dishes above plus rice and drinks (we only drank water and tea). It was one of the most expensive dinner we've ever had, but we had no regret at all. The seafood they served were very fresh, and it's cook with perfection. I'll definitely going back here if I ever go to Bangkok again someday.

Dragon Seafood
Ratchadamri Road (across Central World Plaza)
Pathum Wan, Central Bangkok (CBD) 
Bangkok 10330

Tokyo Belly

Ismaya's outlet is always a must-try. I've always adored their creativity in creating unique restaurant concepts and serving delicious food, no matter what kind of food it is. Western, Japanese, Chinese, say it, they've got it all. Now they even reach coffee and soon the cake bussiness too. I wonder will they open an Indonesian food restaurant too someday?

Anyway, this is a late post about my dinner with high school besties at one of Ismaya's restaurant, Tokyo Belly. The outlet is replacing Mr. Curry's place at Grand Indonesia, but looks more open and more Japanese, because they've got lots of japanese murals on the wall.

A friend of mine brought us a box of chocolate truffles from shangri-la. How kind of her :D 

I ordered Hot Ocha (IDR 13.000, Refillable), and it came in such a cute mug. Every property of Tokyo Belly got this red man printed on it.

My Salmon Ikura Horenso Omurice (IDR 58.000) didn't look as appetizing as the picture in the menu. The sauce was almost dried up, I think they took too long before serving it to the table. Taste was fine. I chose the buttered rice, but it was more like chicken fried rice.

One of my friend ordered Chicken Katsu Curry Rice (IDR 58.000). Tasted just like Mr. Curry's.

Another friend of mine ordered a plate of Kiss of Fire Sushi (IDR 45.000), salmon rolled sushi fried with tempura batter, served hot. This one is delicious! I would love to order a second plate if we weren't too full that night.

Great food and great companion, what a night!

Tokyo Belly

Grand Indonesia Shopping Town

 West Mall level 3A 

Jakarta, Indonesia

ph. (021) 23581090

f. Tokyo Belly