Old Airport Road & Maxwell | Singaporean Food

5th September 2013.

One of my studio mates was relating his design to food during critique and the tutor retorted, "its so Singaporean!" in a demeaning tone. What's wrong with that?

This semester my studio have 3 foreign exchange students and I have brought to them to some of my favourite hawker centres : Maxwell Food Centre and Old Airport Road Food Centre.

At Maxwell Food Centre, we tried Guotie from Shanghai Special Tim Sum which was not bad. Crispy, fried dumplings with generous fillings. Then there was Marina South Delicious Food's Banana Char Kway Teow and Tian Tian Chicken Rice. I prefer their plain chicken rice more than the ones with skin (half chicken) which often turned out to be too fatty for my liking. The skinless chicken was tender, juicy and the rice was nicely cooked and good on its own. The only problem if you want to eat Tian Tian is the queue which has became longer now thanks to the Gordon Ramsay thing.

Next we went to Old Airport Road Food Centre after our interim critique. Pity Chuan Kee Satay was closed, so we went for Toa Payoh Satay instead. The satay was not bad, meats were nicely grilled and both the chicken and mutton satay were fine but the portions was miserable, some sticks only have 1/10 of the stick's length. At 50 cent per stick, that is a reap-off.

We also had Char Kway Teow from Lao Fu Zi which was good fried noodles with wok hei flavour, and seems like it has its own loyal following judging from the long queue.

The stars of the dinner are the Chilli Crab and Sambal Stingray from Mattar Road Seafood BBQ recommended by ieatishootipost. The seafood here is very fresh. The sambal for the Sambal Stingray was really tasty (and spicy).

The Chilli Crab gets spicier and spicier as you dig in, both foreign and local diners were seemingly defeated by the chilli crab towards the end. But, it was a good chilli crab (with a nutty flavour), it is best enjoyed with some Fried Mantous (6 for 3SGD). The crab meat itself was rather sweet too. We ordered a portion for 3, together with the mantous and sambal stingray, it cost us 76 SGD.

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Maxwell Food Centre
To get to Maxwell Food Centre, you can take an MRT to Chinatown MRT or Tanjong Pagar MRT and make your way there on foot. The food centre is located next to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and the URA City Gallery.

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Old Airport Road Food Centre
To get to Old Airport Food Centre, you can take an MRT to Dakota Station on the Circle Line and walk there. Alternatively if you don't mind walking further, it is also possible to walk from Aljunied Station on the East West Line.

Penang Food with George of Georgetown

30th August 2013.
Penang food seems to be everywhere now in Singapore. You have seen 10 at Claymore, Upper Boon Keng Road and Spice Brasserie…from the high-end to the hawker centre, Penang cuisine is readily available (for a premium of course when compared to 4 RM in Penang).

After reading about George of Georgetown on Ho Chiak, I am delighted to know that there is one such eatery just next to my school at West Coast Plaza and one Friday, my mum and aunts decided to drop by for dinner. The sight of empty tables worried us but the food spoke for itself.

The Penang Char Kway Teow (7.90 SGD) was decent, quite close to the actual thing in Penang. However, my aunt felt that it lacked the wok hei flavour and a quite oily which I agree. Nonetheless, it was still an enjoyable plate of char kway teow.

I also tried the Assam Laksa (7.90 SGD) after falling in love with it at Spice Brasserie. The Assam Laksa here is not as sweet but very fragrant. My normally picky aunt enjoyed the flavourful, sour and spicy broth which was made with mackerel. The laksa came topped with torch ginger flower, prawn paste, julienned cucumber, mint leaves, onions and pineapples. Not bad at all!

Out of curiosity, I also ordered the Cai Boey, a spicy vegetable stew with pork.

Their desserts are worth trying as well. The Penang Ice Kachang is pretty much like the actual thing we had in Penang, but still not my cup of tea.

My favourite dessert however would be their Chendol which was one of the best I had thus far with the right ratio of gula melaka and coconut milk. Their green jelly noodles was different, not the firm, rubbery ones I had and their red beans (in both desserts) was big and sweet.

While George at Georgetown might not be the cheapest place to enjoy Penang Char Kway Teow (partly because it is located in a mall), the food here is honestly not bad. If West Coast Plaza is too far, they do delivery too.

George of Georgetown
154 West Coast Road
#02-25/26
Singapore 127371

Last order at 9.30 PM

Upper Boon Keng Road Market and Food Centre

17th August 2013.
It was my first time visiting Upper Boon Keng Road Market and Food Centre due to another site visit around Kallang.

It is a nice and quaint place (maybe because we visited it slightly off lunch hours). The place wasn’t too crowded and quite a number elderly residents hanging around for beers or a chat.

Freshly baked bread from the ovens of Boon Keng Bread. Their Yam Bun was pretty good.

Penang Fried Char Kway Teow. Not too bad and very affordable. The prawns were fresh and the noodles have a nice smoky flavour. However, I find it a little dry but considering its about 3 dollars for a large serving, it’s really cheap.

The best dish I had here with my friend is the Chicken Biryani from the Roti Prata House. The rice was perfectly cooked and very fragrant and I the accompanying lamb curry was excellent.

The chicken was not bad as well, with a beautiful crispy skin and juicy flesh.

I would love to go back to Upper Boon Keng Road Market and Food Centre one day, heard there is stall with really good Soup Kambing.

Upper Boon Keng Road Market and Food Centre
17 Upper Boon Keng Rd

Lam's Noodle House | Signature Specialty Noodle

3rd August 2013.

Desperately hungry and tired Yew Ann dragged me away from my peaceful outdoor sketching to Lam’s Noodle House at Marina Square.

Priced at 5.20 SGD, their Signature Specialty Noodle comes with fish ball, sliced meat, vegetables, minced meat, one prawn, an egg and fish skin. The noodle’s texture was decent, springy and doesn’t stick to the teeth and after mixing, it gets coated with an oily but delectable special sauce. The sliced meat was a tad dry and tough but the nicely done egg makes up for it.

Lam's Noodle House / Lam's Abalone Noodles

Located on the same floor as the food court in Marina Square and opposite Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice.

Marina Square  

6 Raffles Boulevard 

Singapore 039594