Saturday Morning Food Hunt @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

Chinatown Food Complex is located at Smith Street, and about 5 minutes walk from Chinatown MRT Station. It was Saturday morning and we were there for brunch. The food area is huge! It was rows after rows of food stalls, at the front, back, centre and if you're hunting for the famous ones, do lookout for the stall number where each row will have an 'index' indicator placed at the start of the row.

Chinatown Food Complex

Ivan bought us drinks from the popular 1950s Coffee 五十年代咖啡 that was Michelin recommended. Thankfully, the queue was not that long and the serving pace was quick. Thank you Ivan for the treat!

queuing for our turn

After you've placed order for your drinks (siew dai and whatever not combination), the lady at the counter would ask "几个面包？" Which translates to, "How many breads?" She'd also ask if you'd want any eggs as per any traditional breakfast set. We opted for just one traditional bread to try.

hot coffee

toasted bread

The toasted bread was thin and crispy (similar to another popular establishment but uses white bread), with the slab of butter in between the kaya (coconut jam).

I had the iced coffee and it was likeable. Thick, not too acidic, and not overly sweet. Am liking coffee from the 50s!

iced coffee (kopi-peng) 

Next up, to fuel our tummies, we had decided on Maria Virgin Chicken, chee cheong fun (because Shermaine wants this) and Hill Street Char Kway Teow. There were only 4 of us, so this will suffice because Tiara wanted pancakes from Hong Lim Food Centre. My task was to find Stall #32 for the char kway teow while Tiara queues for the chicken and Shermaine was off to find chee cheong fun and Kris was on table duty.

short queue

瑪莉亞處女雞 Maria Virgin Chicken - Soy Sauce Chicken Rice @$6

Served on disposable styrofoam plate, the portion of meat was generous and we opted for the dark meat. Served with blanched cai xin, the secret of the plate lies within the delicious soy sauce drizzled all over the rice. That, and those gelatinous flavourful skin. So yummy.

couldn't be happier munching on skin, rice with soy sauce

Not sure which stall Shermaine bought the chee cheong fun from, but it was interesting. When she mentioned that she wanted those with fillings like char siew, I'd thought she'd come back with the Hong Kong chee cheong fun version of thin smooth flour, wrapping the char siew bits and topped with fried shallots and drizzled with the light soy sauce. I was wrong.

chee cheong fun (min. order of 2 pieces) @$2.40

This version of chee cheong fun with the char siew filings, had quick thick skin much like our local chee cheong fun and the suace is the thick hoisin sauce. And because we had this much later, it was cold and the sauce had thickened a bit.

Next, was the char kway teow. Went around looking for it for about 5 minutes before I discovered that I had walked one whole big round when it was not too far away from our table. The queue starts at the side of the stall and there were about 6 pax in front of me. Each pax would take the uncle about 3 minutes to fry, so the waiting time was 21 minutes.

I opted for the $4 option and I overheard the aunty behind placing an order for $5 plate which the stall could accommodate. Pretty flexible.

almost there

uncle busy working the wok

Uncle would fry each order individually with a small spatula. Saw that he uses lard oil to fry the noodles. The aunty taking the order is friendly.

Everyone would just shuffle patiently in line and it was pretty exciting when the someone gets their plate. I overheard the tourist asking the person infront of him (presumably a local) about what's the difference of this char kway teow and the others in the food centre. The guy replied that he liked Hill Street version as it was less sweet compared to others.

aunty hands the order to you

Finally, it was my turn and I excitedly hurried over to our table with the plate of piping hot char kway teow.

Hill Street char kway teow 禧街炒粿條 @$4

On first bite, I nodded my head in agreement with the guy who said that this version was less sweet. Indeed! The noodles were tasty, with adequate lap cheong to up the notch. Cockles nowadays are smallish and these were no exception. A sprinkle of kuchai and sprouts so that these enhanced rather than overwhelmed the plate. I enjoyed this plate of char kway teow.

Thank you Kris, Tiara, Shermaine and Ivan for the Saturdate!

we were here

nice murals

Chinatown Saturdate

The 1950s Coffee 五十年代咖啡

Address: Block 335, Smith Street, Stall #02-048, Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, Singapore 050335
Contact: +65 8439 0434
Business Hours:
Daily: Mon to Sun - 7:00am to 8:30pm

Maria Virgin Chicken 瑪莉亞處女雞

Address: 335 Smith Street, Stall #02-189, Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, Singapore 050335
Business Hours:
Tue to Sun: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Closed on Mon & Fri

Hill Street Fried Kway Teow 禧街炒粿條

Address: 335 Smith St, Stall #02-32, Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, Singapore 050335
Business Hours:
Tues, Thurs, Sat: 11:00am - 6:30pm
Closed on Sun, Mon, Fri

The Sampan @ 63 Boat Quay

And so, we decided to have dinner at this place called "The Sampan". It's been a long long while since I last visited Boat Quay.

exterior

interior

Was there super early, so got myself a drink. Requested for a rum based cocktail and was presented with Cuba Libre. Rum and coke it is then. Was pretty good.

Cuba Libre

sampan

Ivan, Hence and Alvin soon arrived and we ordered some bar snacks to start. We ordered 4 types of snacks. The emping belinjo was well fried and enjoyable with the homemade green chili dip. Was disappointed with the calamari portion though. The pani puri was surprisingly good and we were confused about the nuts below the pani puri. Some of us had actually tried to bite onto those before we were informed that it was for decoration only...oops.

Emping Belinjo @$5

Calamari with Wasabi Mayo @$10

Vegetarian Fritters @$8

Pani Puri @$6

Loved the vegetarian fritters too! So tasty.

Mango Chili Smash @$17

We were in a party of 5, so we ordered 3 meats and 2 carbs to share for the mains. The portion of each main is suitable for one pax.

Crispy Thai Beef Salad @$16

After the snacks, we started with a Crispy Thai Beef Salad which was tangy and appetising. Crispy beef wasinteresting as well. Lovely.

Fresh Local Seabass @$21

Seabass (different view)

The soy glaze gave the fish a delightful flavour that everyone's familiar with and nothing beats the texture of a fresh produce. The potato puree was so good to eat as well. Likewise, the pickled salad served with the dish. Yums!

Beef Cheek Rendang @$26

Couldn't believe it when I first took a bite of the Beef Cheek Rendang. "What sorcery is this?" I thought. The rendang flavour was best! So so good. Wish we could have more of the steamed rice cake (ketupat) to mop up all the delicious sauce. The beef was tender but the magic was in the sauce.

Kampung Bali Fried Rice (Beef) @$15

Unfortunately, the fried rice was a tad too dry for my liking. Flavour was good but just not my thing.

Whole Baby Chicken @$22

The baby chicken looked innocent but it was so dangerous! That aubergine sambal, was wow! The spicy punch hits you faster than a lightning bolt and I was coughing away before I knew what was happening. It was interesting that this dish was served with lontong. Why ah?

steamed rice cake with chicken

And, by this time, if you're still hungry, there's always mee goreng. When it arrived, it looked like mee pok! Well, it tasted like fried mee pok too. The noodles were al-dente but I was already very full by then.

Indonesian Mee Goreng (Seafood) @$15

My favourites were the seabass and beef cheek rendang. Kudos to Chef Ahmed and his kitchen crew for the fine execution. Lovely flavours using local produce!

Of course, to end our meal, we'd order dessert. Turned out that two of our dessert were green! The first one was described as 'breakfast' in a glass. Think Coffee Tuille, kaya mousse and Charred Bread Ice Cream.

Local Coconut Pudding @$13

Pandan Pancakes @$13

The pandan pancakes reminds me of min jiang kueh (面煎粿). The green dessert were very likeable but the ice-cream melted way too fast!

mochi brownie with ice cream

My favourite dessert was the mochi brownie with ice-cream. This was not in the menu yet and Chef Bjorn brought it for us to try. Loved it! That layered feel when you bite into the crisp thin layer at the top of the brownie, then sink into that slightly denser texture of the brownie before encountering chewy mochi was so memorable.

The crew at The Sampan are friendly and they'd constantly be checking on their guest. Water was topped up regularly too.

We enjoyed dining at The Sampan. Thank you all!

The Sampan

Address: 63 Boat Quay, Singapore 049851
Website: https://www.thesampan.sg/
Contact: 6732 1698
Business Hours: 
Mon to Fri: 11.30am to 12am
Sat: 5pm to 12am
Closed on Sun

[Tasting] Wang Yuan Desserts and Coffee @ 33 Keong Saik Road

Located at No. 33 Keong Saik Road, Wang Yuan Desserts and Coffee offers a comfortable environment to hide away from the hustles and bustles surrounding it. Want to get some 'bingsu' to counter the ever increasing temperature? Wang Yuan offers localised flavours with maximum yummy-ness while maintaining at a reasonable price point. Oh, you wanted coffee? I tried their 'Barista Signature' and enjoyed that cuppa smooth delicious coffee. How about food then? Why not have an Iced Gula Melaka Latte with a plate of delicious nasi lemak?

Wang Yuan Desserts and Coffee, as seen from opposite side of the road

entrance

let's browse the menu

interior

menu

This was an invited tasting so we got to try a variety of items. For drinks, I wanted a hot coffee, so I ended up choosing the Barista Signature because it sounded special. Liked that the barista actually asked the type of coffee that the diner prefers, and when the cup that was brought forth, hits all the right spot.

Barista Signature coffee @$6 

"not too acidic, smooth and mildly sweetened"

Wang Yuan uses their own house-blend for the coffee resulting in a balanced profile. Well, I liked its moderate strength that's easy to drink with a velvety smoothness overall. Was warned that it would be sweetened and that was fine since it wasn't overly sweet.

Here's a quick look at the other drinks:

milk tea

Butterscotch Caramel Milk @$7

Feeling hungry? Let's dive in to some hot food. Hankering for some Katong laksa? Yes, they serve it here. Cockles (螄蚶), fish cake slices (鱼饼片), beansprouts (豆芽), prawns (虾) and half a hard boiled egg (水煮蛋 - 一半). Ah, yes...not forgetting the finely chopped laksa leaves. The laksa gravy is slurp-able, with a gentle orange hue that does not feel overly rich yet tasty.

Traditional Katong Laksa 传统加东叻沙 @$7

Feel like having rice? How about a plate of good 'ol nasi lemak, one of our national favourite dish? A few options available; with Chicken Katsu or Sambal Chicken/Cuttlefish/Prawns. We tried the one with chicken katsu. The plate came with well fried crunchy chicken katsu, a large piece of mackerel otah, peanuts and ikan bilis, sambal, cucumber slices and half a hard boiled egg. The rice is pandan flavoured. Loved the chicken katsu for its crunchy batter with juicy and well seasoned meat. Thought the sambal could be spicier.

Nasi Lemak Chicken Katsu @$8

Next up, if you would like to have prata with curry chicken, they do have it here. The curry chicken gravy was light and tasted healthy. Do note that this is typically served with chicken winglets and potatoes.

Curry Chicken (winglets) with Prata (招牌咖喱鸡印度煎饼) @$8

Ever heard of Seafood Laksa Risotto? This dish is Wang Yuan's take on modern and traditional fusion. Imagine laksa broth as the base for seafood risotto. Do note that there is a waiting time of 20 minutes for this dish.

Seafood Laksa Risotto 海鲜叻沙烩饭 @$15.80

Overall, for the food, I liked the Katong Laksa and the Nasi Lemak for its flavors and value-for-money. Hmm, if I could just get some of those crunchy ikan bilis or the chicken katsu onto the laksa, then that will be uwu!

Next up, we are completing our meal with dessert, I mean desserts. Plenty of it!

Bobo ChaCha 摩摩喳喳 @$5.80

a good bowl of bobo chacha

Bubur Pulut Hitam 黑糯米粥 @$4.80

my attempt at an 'arty-swirl' on the pulut hitam

Between the bobo chacha and the pulut hitam, both were good. Traditionalist dessert done right. The bobo chacha was fragrant with the coconut milk flavour yet not overly sweet and healthy tasting. The pulut hitam was of the right consistency and slightly sweeter but hey, this is dessert afterall ;)

No worries if you're not a fan of warm dessert. The cold ones were awesome too!

Chendol Coconut Snow Mountain 煎蕊椰子奶雪花冰@$10.80

The Chendol Coconut Snow Mountain was interestingly presented in a coconut husk. Served with a separate side of homebrewed gula melaka, we drizzled every drop of it onto the 'snow'. Sweet but we still liked it! On hindsight, suggest not to drizzle all of it! Packed with toppings like red bean, corn, green rice flour jelly and attap seeds. Lovely!

For some bingsu, we got the Mango Snow Mountain. Just got to love the fact that we could get this dessert for less than $10 and can be shared amongst 2 pax. Came with two drizzles; mango and milk cap.

Mango Snow Mountain @$8.80

it's snowing mango

And for the finale, there was the Milo Dinosaur Snow Mountain. Milo powder ice tower and served with a green dino perched dangerously ontop of the cocoa snow mountain. Instead of red lava, we have the white lava flowing down its slopes.

Milo Dinosaur Snow Mountain 恐龙美禄雪花冰 @$7.80

Thank you to Kris and Ting Feng for the invite, and Wang Yuan Desserts and Coffee for hosting the session. Special thanks to staff who took care of us.

Wang Yuan Desserts and Coffee 

Address: 33 Keong Saik Rd., Singapore 089140
Website: https://www.facebook.com/wangyuancafe/
Contact: 8348 3393
Business Hours:
Mon-Thurs: 9am to 10pm
Fri: 9am to 12am
Sat: 10am to 12am
Closed on Sundays