[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

New Menu Launching at Blackball

Good news from Blackball! The largest Taiwanese Dessert chain restaurant in Jakarta is now bringing you something new to their outlets. And not only new Taiwanese drinks and desserts, now they're also serving food! Blackball has always been my favourite place when looking for Taiwanese dessert, as they currently have 22 outlets in Jakarta and other big cities in Indonesia, it's very convenience because I could find them almost everywhere. And they have the BEST red bean for me, just ask for their honey bean topping.

Not going to babbling much about them, I believe everyone has already know this famous brands. Here are their new menus.

Grilled Shredded Cuttlefish with Mayo Dip (IDR 40.000)

Yes I know it sounds simple and looks simple, but once you take a bite, you'll definitely craving for more. It's so simple yet so good, the texture's crunchy and chewy at the same time, and the mayo dipping compliments it very well. It's love at the first bite!

Taiwan Cold Noodle (IDR 40.000)

I'm not very familiar with cold noodle, but this one's quite okay. I like the texture of the noodle which is perfect for me. The seasoning taste like peanut sauce, not something you usually find together with noodles. It tasted quite funny for me, but well I'm a first timer.

Sticky Rice Yutiao with Beef Floss (IDR 30.000)

Another anti-mainstream menu from Blackball. It looks like sushi, but it's made of sticky rice with fried dough (cakwe) inside, and topped with beef floss and mayo. The taste kinda reminds me of lemper (Indonesian traditional snack made of sticky rica and shredded chicken), actually, but it's nice and worth trying.

Taiwanese Tea Egg (IDR 20.000)

It's one of the popular Taiwanese street food, and now you can have it here at Blackball.

Qffle with Beef / Chicken Floss and Mayo Dip (IDR 30.000)
Qffle is their new hero! You could have it sweet or savory, it's so good either way! The savory Qffle comes with choices of beef or chicken topping and mayo, while the sweet qffle comes with more choices of fruit and sweet toppings. What I love is the Qffle itself, the texture is crunchy at the ouside but soft and a little bit chewy at the inside, with perfect balance of sweetness. It's not too sweet, so it could match both the sweet and savory toppings.

Qvomaltine (IDR 50.000)

Banana, chocolate, vanilla ice cream, and Ovomaltine! Couldn't get wrong with this choice.

Very Berry Qffle (IDR 35.000)
I always have a thing with berries, so yes, this one's my favourite. Taste fresh with great balnce of sweetness and acidity. Definitely what I'll order on my next visit.

Matcha Snow Ice + Red Bean + QQ Gems + Boba + Vanilla/Matcha Ice Cream (IDR 38.000)

Not only food, Blackball also comes with new choices of dessert. This one is such a cutie, with that oreo panda ears :3 Perfect option for matcha lovers.

Black Sesame Snow Ice + Red Bean + Mini Ball + Caramel Pudding (IDR 33.000)

Milk Snow Ice + Strawberry + Kiwi + Mango + QQ Gems + Vanilla Ice Cream (IDR 40.000)

Milk Snow Ice + Honeydew + Watermelon + Honey + Vanilla Ice Cream (IDR 33.000)

Honey Lemon Mint Tea (R IDR 23.000/L IDR 28.000), Matcha Fresh Milk (R IDR 25.000/L IDR 30.000) 
 And also new drinks! my favourite was their matcha green tea. Love the strong green tea taste.


I was very full that night, it was such a feast! Thank you BlackBall for inviting me :D

Blackball 

Central Park shop 132
Level 1, Opposite Tous Les Jours
Central Park Mall, Jakarta Barat
T. 021 2920 0213

OpenRice Meet the Chef Event with Hog's Breath Cafe and VMAD Vegetarian Restaurant

Got invited to OpenRice event: "Meet the Chef" at Central Park Mall last Sunday. Well who doesn't know OpenRice? I bet you've at least heard of them, as they're the 1st culinary site in Indonesia, providing an online dining guide written by local people, featuring more than 71.000 dining places in Indonesia. This time, collaborating with Central Park Mall and Local Taste ID, they are organizing "Meet the Chef" event, a live cooking demonstration by restaurant's head chefs. Not only the visitors could learn how to cook a restaurant quality dish, they can also taste it on the spot, for free!

The first cooking demo was held by Chef Anto from Hog's Breath Cafe. Hog's Breath cafe is a chain of steak house restaurants which originally came from Australia, and now they've opened their first Indonesian outlet at Central Park Mall. Not only specializing in steak, they're also serving choices of burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas.

Aussie's Burger (IDR 89.000)

Time to judge the book by it's cover, guys, because this burger tastes as good as it looks! Hog's home made all beef patty in BBQ sauce topped with cheddar cheese, crispy beef bacon, lettuce, beetroot, pineapple, tomato, onion, and sunny side up, served with soft bun, salad, and curly fries. What's not to love? Me personally, the thing I love most -- other than that thick juicy patty in BBQ sauce of course -- is the pineapple inside the burger, which is unusual, but gives the burger the fresh and tangy sensation.

Prime Rib Steak Sandwich (IDR 149.000)

Tender prime rib char-grilled steak with cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion, and hickory BBQ sauce on a toasted Vienna loaf, served with salad and curly fries. Another jaw dropper, I just love everything on the plate.

Virgin Mojito (IDR 40.000) and Strawberry Mixed Smoothies (IDR 38.000)

Both of them were so good and fresh, a great companion for the meal in such a hot day. The mojito has the perfect balance between the lemon and mint flavor, while the smoothies is tangy and sweet. Oh please note that this glass is not their actual servings.

The second cooking demo was held by VMAD, a Vegetarian Indian Restaurant located in Sarinah and Sunter. I know some people are being skeptical when they heard the word "vegetarian". They immediately judge the food to be plain and tasteless. Well I was one of them, to be honest, but lately I've tried some vegetarian restaurant, and I even tried the vegan diet for health purpose, and not all vegetarian food is plain and tasteless. I found some of them to be delicious and addictive too. VMAD here is also trying to let people know that vegetarian food can be as good as the non vegetarian food. And they're obviously healthier.

Hakka Bakka Noodle (IDR 49.000)

Fried yellow noodle mixed with sauteed vegetarian chicken and mixed vegetables, and gently mixed with black pepper sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, and olive oil. Even though it looks like a normal fried noodle, the taste was not just normal. It was BOLD. It's sweet and savoury and peppery in the balanced way. The vegetarian chicken they used here are actually made of soya bean, but it tasted quite similar to chicken.

Murtabak Ceylon (IDR 29.000)

Thin crusted pancake stuffed with spicy minced vegetarian chicken filling, served with Indian curry sauce. As expected from Indian food, this one's also bold and spicy. Nicely done, love the crispy outer layer and also the spicy chicken filling.

Jamaican Cooler (IDR 36.000) and Green Fantasy (IDR 35.000)

Jamaican Cooler is made of mocha syrup, vanilla ice cream, milk, and cashew nuts, while Green Fantasy's ingredients consists green veggie, lime, and pineapple. Both are cold and refreshing, but I love the Jamaican Cooler more as it's sweet and creamy but not heavy.

Thank you OpenRice for inviting me to this event :D 

Oh and for you who loves to capture your food and share it with others, you can now download OpenSnap for free. It's OpenRice's mobile apps which let you share your food experience with lot's of foodies from all across Asia! Download now on your AppleStore or Android PlayStore. Because sharing is caring, rite? ;p

Hog's Breath Cafe
Central Park, Tribeca Park, GF, Unit 15
Jl. Letjen. S. Parman Kav. 28, Slipi
 ph. (021) 29200114 

VMAD Vegetarian Madness
Jl. Danau Sunter Utara Raya Blok R No. 46 - 47 - 48, Sunter 
ph. (021) 6516075
Sarinah Building, Jl. MH Thamrin no. 11
ph. (021) 3903533

Canton Paradise

Jakarta is never short of new restaurants. This time, Boga Group has brought us another Chinese restaurant from Paradise Group, Canton Paradise. Their first outlet is located at Mall Kelapa Gading 3, and it's quite tricky to find the place since we have to reach it from outside the Main Entrance of MKG 3.

The interior is mostly decorated with monochrome colors from the floor, wall, ceiling, and furnitures, so the purple lighting, which is their signature color, could stands out. They have quite variable menu, from dim sum to the main courses, that we had a hard time picking up what we wanted. But our decision went to these delicate dim sums. 

Crispy BBQ Honey Pork Bun (IDR 28.800)

You might noticed that this is my first review in Kelapa Gading area. I usually avoid Kelapa Gading area, since it's far from where I live, and the traffic is just too much too handle. But this pork bun has changed my mind and made me and David drove here to give it a try. We've fell in love with this kind of pork bun since we tried Tim Ho Wan in Singapore, and as far as I knew, Canton Paradise is the first restaurant in Jakarta which serve this. But sadly I have to say that this pork bun didn't meet our expectation. It was actually quite decent, it has generous fillings and the bun was soft and slightly crispy at the outside, but I should've known, it just can't compete with the 1 Michelin Pork Bun.

Crispy Bacon Roll with Cheese (IDR 28.800)

In the other hand, this Crispy Bacon Roll was outstanding. Well, who could resist fried bacon roll filled with cheese, seafood, and mixed veggie, and topped with mayonnaise? I definitely can't. Heaven in your mouth, I assure you, this is worth a try.

Prawn in Beancurd Skin Fritters (IDR 21.800)

Another favorite dish of the night! Prawn in Beancurd Skin Fritters is a must-have dish whenever me and David having dim sum, and by not being hyperbolic, I have to say that this is the best Prawn in Beancurd Skin Fritters I've had. The fillings was actually pretty much the same in every other places, but I looooove that very very crispy beancurd skin. 

Steamed Custard Bun (IDR 23.800)

Custard bun is another must-have dim sum dish for me, and Canton Paradise's custard bun has everything it needs to be a perfect one. Soft and warm bun, runny custard filling, and excellent taste. Have I told you that I ate all three of these with no regret because David doesn't like Custard Bun? *Ops*

Steamed Pork Dumpling "Siew Mai" (IDR 21.800)

The Siew Mai is another decent dish. It was cooked perfectly, all the ingredients were fresh and tasted good.

Crispy Roast Duck Noodle (IDR 58.800)

We wasn't meant to order any main course that day, but they were actually having a promotion and we could have this noodle for only IDR 9.999 if we spend IDR 150.000. So there it is. The noodle has made it to David's favorite for it's thin and chewy noodle but I didn't quite like it because there's something too smelly for me in the sauce or in the duck. I don't know what it is.

Overall I was satisfied with their dim sum selections, in fact I'm thinking to bring my family there this weekend. Even though it was far from my house, but it's worth it.

Canton Paradise

Mall Kelapa Gading 3

GF no 15 B-C

(next to Dante Coffee)

Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta
ph. (021) 4585 3918/9
fb. Canton Paradise Jakarta

Indomie Taste of Asia

A few weeks ago, I received a box of the new Indomie flavors. In this brand new products, Indomie is slightly changing their concept. While usually Indomie is famous for their local taste, now they are expanding their flavors and launched the "Taste of Asia" concept. There are three flavors launched recently, each flavor represents an Asian country. Here they are:

Indomie Tom Yum a la Thailand

Indomie Bulgogi a la Korea

Indomie Laksa a la Singapore

After tasting all three flavors, my heart goes to the Indomie Bulgogi. I'm always a huge fan of Indomie Goreng series, and I have to say that Indomie Bulgogi is another great invention. The noodle is wider and chewier than the usual, and the seasoning were great, but I suggest not to blend all the seasoning since it'll get too sweet. Oh and not to mention the generous slice of beef, yum!

In the other hand, the Indomie Laksa was pretty decent. I'm not a big fan of Laksa, but I find that Indomie Laksa was quite enjoyable. A little spicy but good.

The third one, Indomie Tom Yum, was kinda disappointing for me. As the picture shows, the seasoning couldn't blend well with the hot water, as well as the taste. And the taste also need to be more 'kicking', in my opinion.

All these flavors are now available in almost every mini market as well as super market in town, each at the price IDR 3.000 -IDR 4.000, depends on the market brand and promotion. 

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