‘Western Food’ in Singapore is mainly based on
English and Italian dishes that have been adapted to the
local palate, and simplified into simply Western food. Yea, back in
the days most people wouldn’t understand what aglio olio is would
they.
Fish and chips in Singapore were most likely glorified via the
prevalence of Western food stalls in Singapore, while the chicken
chop has become a well-loved favorite.
Why go to an upscale restaurant when hawker centre western food is
half the price of a low-end western restaurants? And they’re kinda
like the ultimate comfort food Singaporeans splurged on while you
were younger. It was always a treat to eat western food as it was
slightly pricier than the usual char kway teow.
There are days when you just want a slab of nice grilled meat,
laddled with mushroom or black pepper sauce with a side of fries to
match. But you’re not in the mood to go to a restaurant and
also there really isn’t any need to.
So here’s a list of notable Kopitiam Western Food there aren’t
that known because discovering undiscovered gems and giving these
gems a platform to shine is always good no?
At Toa Payoh Lorong 1 Hawker Centre, Wang’s Western is probably
overshadowed by all the other fantastic conventional local food
like Chicken Rice, Orh Lua and Wanton Mee.
But should you give Wang’s Western a chance? Definitely.
They serve decent chicken chop, was juicy and not overly tender –
just the way I enjoy my chicken chop. The serving is pretty
adequate too.
Wang’s Western: Kim Keat Palm Market and Food
Centre, 22 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh #01-23, Singapore
310022
A cute play on words that displays a portion of bilingual
Singapore, took the spot Cafe Wok Inn used to take.
Their Fish & Chips ($6.50) was
okay but then again fish & chips are difficult to be
mindblowing. Their pasta, one of their crowd favourites, looked
really good though, from not-so-discreetly surveying other people’s
plates.
吃 Western: 206 Management Food Court, Unit 5, Blk 206 Toa
Payoh North 1, #01-1197, Singapore 310206
Credit
Rasa Sayang is an old
favorite in Ang Mo Kio that has been around for more than 15 years,
even before the S11 was renovated. Prices are a tad higher than
usual, and wait times can get pretty long.
The
classic Chicken Chop With Mushroom Sauce
($6.50) is a must try, using tender chicken thigh
lathered with savoury mushroom sauce, served with the standard
sides of fries, baked beans, coleslaw and garlic bread.
The steaks are also of
a thicker cut and not your usual thin kopitiam steaks which I
usually avoid like the plague. Its actually worth trying.
Stear clear from the
fish and chips though, reviews have been pretty bad.
Rasa
Sayang: Blk 711 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8, #01-07,
S11 Food Centre, Singapore 560711 | Tel: | Opens: Daily
1130am to 1230am
The chicken spaghetti
was pretty good. Appreciate that UNO Beef uses fried chicken
instead of minced chicken.
Before you shame me for
ordering chicken at a place that says Beef House, if what the place
isn’t known for is good, it says a lot about it, no?
Also, I fancy chicken
much more than I do beef, sue me. And don’t worry their beef
hotplates are probably good, I see a lot of people eating it.
UNO Beef: 51
Lorong 5 Toa Payoh, #01-60, Singapore 310051 | Tuesday to Sunday:
1130-2230, Closed on Mondays | Tel: 9003 3832
My go-to place to eat
chicken chop plus, the spaghetti here is good. It is interesting to
see a hawker centre western food pay attention to spaghetti. In
fact their Seafood Spaghetti ($6.90) is their Chef’s
Recommendation.
The noodles were done
al dente, I’m not even kidding, it’s better than other pasta places
like *coughs*pastamania*coughs*. And, the sauce is so much tastier
than bottled pasta sauces.
Not to mention, there’s
a variety of ingredients no doubt in small portions (only
one prawn and some crumbs of meat). It is already impressive that
there’s this much variety; it’d be great if the quantity matched up
too. Tastes great and looks great.
The Chicken
chop ($6.90) here has a pretty decent serving and really
tasty mushroom black pepper sauce.
302 Western Food:
Block 302, Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4, Singapore 680302
Situated in a large
hawker centre with so many other stalls and easily 3 other western
food stalls, Deli & Grill has to be different. And
differentiate they did!
Deli & Grill
doesn’t just serve run off the mill kind of hawker western food.
Instead, they serve things like smoked duck, bratwursts,
curry pasta, sambal mussels etcetera.
Even dedicating a
portion of their menu to Asian-Western Fusion dishes that could be
as simple yet as comforting as Bratwurst Fried Rice.
Their Fish
& Chips ($5) aren’t puffed with greasy batter,
instead it is just a thin crispy and aromatic breaded skin. Though
again it wasn’t fantastic,I do prefer this much more than those
greasy and off-putting batter-induced-coma Fish & Chips.
Call me stupid coz I
didn’t expect to be served a slab of this smoked duck that we
usually see in those affordable smoked duck pastas. It was a tad
overwhelming in its taste and portion perhaps adding a cold
salad or more stir-fried vegetables to balance the intensity
would be good.
Wouldn’t try
this Smoked Duck with Hickory Sauce
($8.90) again but I would try their grilled meats and
fried rice that I witnessed many people ordering. I’m sure there’s
more to explore in that impressive menu.
Deli & Grill:
115 Bukit Merah View Market and Hawker Centre, #01-15,
Singapore 150115
AKA Grumpy @ Tanglin
Halt. They have multiple signs requesting for you, the customer, to
not bug them to take your order. Instead, you should simply
wait for them to ask you. Also did not have a very pleasant
interactions with either of the owners.
Their lousy attitudes
aside, they have huge menu because you get to pair different meats
with different pastas. The pasta choices include – aglio
olio, pomodoro, bolognese and carbonara. So now you get to pair
your favourite meat be it fish, chicken or lamb with your favourite
style of pasta unlike many other places that don’t have such
flexibility.
I
ordered Chicken Chop Pomodoro ($6.50). The chicken
was really flavourful and juicy slathered with a salty sauce. The
pomodoro however tasted pretty questionable to me as it tasted
oddly smokey and peppery. My father however, enjoyed it. Sooo
verdict’s on you I guess?
Some items are tad
pricier but for the humongous portions, your penny is worth
it. I would go back for the food but the surly service makes
me re-consider…
Indulgence @
Tanglin Halt: Tanglin Halt Market & Food
Centre, #01-06, 48A Tanglin Halt Road, Singapore
148813
Another German inspired
place at a kopitiam. Although the menu is not mainly
German, they do have the more well-known German dishes like
Pork Knuckles, Oxtail Stew, Rosti and a variety of Bratwursts.
Also, this hawker
centre, Epic Haus, houses many other international cuisines like
Thai, Vietnamese, North Indian and Japanese. To make this place
even better, they sell German beer and some craft beers and ciders.
Wow.
Otto Berlin Haus @
Epic Haus: Toa Payoh Lorong 8, Blk 211, #01-01, Singapore
310211 | Tel: 9833 7486 | Website
It the midst of rows
and rows of local food with an occasional deviation of
international cuisines like Western and Japanese, Bukit Timah
Market Food Centre rarely has a fully European hawker stall.
However, there was the anomaly – Mi Casa – that serves up
affordable Spanish food for locals.
Not authentic Italian
paella duh because how would anyone have the time to do that at a
hawker centre where we expect our food to be cooked in 5
minutes.
Still, the ingredients
used, the herb-y, tangy and sticky rice are reminiscent of Spanish
paella. Although some may say it just tastes like more smokey,
herby and tangy fried rice.
An Ang moh twist on
fried rice or Paella, I don’t know. What I do know is that I was
stoked to see a Spanish cuisine influenced hawker stall that serves
up paella and I was glad I gave it a try. I would definitely eat it
again.
P.S Would it also pique
your interests to know that the chef graduated from a culinary
school in France and worked in Singapore’s hotel kitchens?
Mi Casa: Bukit
Timah Market & Food Centre, #02-199, 116 Upper Bukit Timah
Rd, Singapore 588172
‘Ham Bao Bao’
means Hamburger in Mandarin.
Adorable name and
interesting initiative by 2 young folks, Ryan and Clare, who love
food. Gourmet asian-mod hamburgers in a esteemed hawker centre full
of delicious local food. They make their very own burger buns and
sauces. The best part? Nothing is above $5.
Before you say that you
can get an entire meal at Mc Donald’s for $6, at least at Ham
Bao Bao you’re paying for quality (and actual) food, not junk that
has been through god knows where from god knows what.
Many seem to shun this
artisan looking shop because why would eat there we when they are
surrounded by plenty of cheaper more familiar local food. Many
older folks also tend to think they’d be better off eating things
they’re already used to.
But the thing is, we
should give it a try. Because it is the people behind HAM BAO BAO
and other similar initiatives that are the ones enriching our
hawker and food scene.
A deviation from our
traditional local foods – yes, but albeit still contributing to our
hawker scene. If they are german food in kopitiams why not
burgers?
Give these budding
local chefs a try.
Ham Bao Bao: Beauty
World Centre, Blk 144 Upper Bukit Timah, #04-49, Singapore
588177 |Tel: 9475 1457 | Website
Surprisingly
good Salmon Steak ($9.90) complemented with a
buttery garlic sauce. Though it might be considered overcooked for
some people, I thought it was more than good enough. The
sides were a bit charred but the meat still retained its
juices.
Presentation was also
remarkable for a simple kopitiam western food place. Might be a tad
pricey for kopitiam food but hey, you’re having salmon, that’s
pretty acceptable price.
Their Chicken
Chop is $6.50 while the most expensive pasta goes at
$6.
Vie Bistro: Blk
155, Bukit Batok St 11, #01-322, Lee Soon Food Court Stall No 2,
Singapore 650155 | Tel: 8514 4792 | Website
Credit
Italian food in a
kopitiam? Yes please.
Imagine my surprise
when I saw Gnocchi on their menu. Yes, this random kopitiam sells
gnocchi! I was over the moon.
So I waited in
trepidation because I really missed gnocchi but I don’t know what
to expect. Thankfully, the gnocchi was fantastic – both the pasta
sauce and the dumpling.
The gnocchi was smooth
inside and out with a ‘QQ’ or rebounding texture that makes it
highly satisfying to chew on. The sauce was this tangy creamy sauce
pack with garlic flavour and tossed with asparagus.
Some of my colleagues
tried their tomato-based spaghetti and largely preferred my
gnocchi dish.
That aside, I’ll go
back for the gnocchi again and perhaps try their more italian
dishes. Heard their pizzas are pretty good too.
Il Piccolo
Pizzeria: Blk 78C Toa Payoh Central, Singapore 313078
The Carving Board may
be the most well-known than any other place on this list but I feel
like its recognition pales in comparision to Bukit Merah Block
119 Coffeeshop.
They have quite a
substantial menu with 4 types of burgers, 2 types of wursts on top
of the usual stuff.
By 8+PM, most of their
mains were sold out. So if you want to catch your grub in time, you
might wanna go earlier.
Norwegian Salmon
Steak ($14)
At first glance the
salmon seems to be overcooked in which case, its dry and flakes
easily. Instead, the insides remained surprisingly soft. The degree
of doneness could be lesser to retain the juices but it was still
fantastic nonetheless.
Under the salmon steak
is some jalapeno salsa and a bed of quinoa for your carbohydrate
source. Thought the quinoa was a great touch I mean having quinoa
at a Kopitiam is pretty damn novel to me. Overall, the salmon steak
had a swell combination going on and I’d recommend this.
Their Beef
Burger ($11) was very satisfying as well. Sufficiently
thick succulent patty with juicy pickles and a generous dollop of
sauce. Plus caramelised onions added extra smokey sweet flavour
that made this burger really enjoyable. Highly recommend the
salon steak and cheese burger.
Saw
Currywurst ($9) on the menu and got really
excited to try it but it was only meh.
They only open for
dinner time from 5pm-10pm.
The Carving
Board: Blk 252 Jurong East St 24 #01-107, Jurong East,
Singapore 600252 | Tel: 9789 8262 | Website
They pride themselves
as Taiwanese-style x Singapore western food as they serve about 3
taiwanese inspired dishes like Taiwan’s famoush fried chicken
cutlet.
Not in the mood for
deep-fried stuff, we got Pork Chop
($5.50!!) instead and whooop, no ragrets at all.
So good. The pork chop
was lean yet tender enough, retaining its tasty juices. Seasoned
right and accompanied with great sauce, a sizzling plate of this is
power lunch to me.
P.S. there will most
probably be a line during lunch hour so you might wanna avoid
that.
Hot Plate Western
Food: Tiong Bahru Market, #02-54, 30 Seng Poh Road,
Singapore 168898
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Best Kept Secret Kopitiam Western Foods in Singaporeappeared
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