Hakka Thunder Tea Tofu Bowl from Ah Lock Tofu @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre [Singapore] #ahlocktofu #yishunparkhawkercentre

The one dish i particularly enjoy from the Hakka dialect group is their thunder tea bowl as it's truly unique, highly nutritious and tasty! So much so that whenever i see it, i would be tempted to give it a try.

For this particular stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, Ah Lock, it's actually not my first time trying the food. I have had their hakka thunder tea tofu bowl twice before but only got to take the photographs for blogging on my third visit!

Honestly, i don't know how they survive. For the three times i was there, there wasn't a queue and the stall only had two items available for ordering; Hakka Thunder Tea Tofu Bowl and Hakka Tofu Bowl. However, according to friends whom i shared my photo with; it's apparently quite famous and there's actually a branch somewhere at Tanjong Pagar.

Well, i am not complaining as no queue means a much shorter wait for me to secure my food. And here's my food that's ready in about five minutes!

Compared to typical, traditional thunder tea rice, the bowl from Ah Lock Tofu has a few noticeable enhancements which made it visually more appetizing; the addition of fried tau kwa (bean curd), meat balls (which are not that uncommon in Hakka yong tau foo) and the dollop of mayonnaise-like cream in the middle.

The thunder tea, that greenish soup in a separate bowl, is a key essence although by itself, it's thin, relatively bland with a vegetable flavour that's indisputably infused with coriander and had that slight hint of bitterness. To unlock its potential, pour the 'tea' into the bowl of overflowing ingredients.

Mix them up for the ultimate, fireworks-exploding moment! It was refreshing (norm for thunder tea rice) yet with an added creaminess in every morsel that was punched with the crunch of long beans and this amazing vegetables known as manicai (Sweet Leaf).

Meatballs, topped and fried with a layer of beancurd skin, were satisfying although i am quite neutral with the tau kwa with meat filling. If you ask me, i am okay to remove both items for a reduced price so that more people would be able to enjoy this dish.

Relishing every bite with a bit of guilt since i am trying my best not to have too much carbohydrates for dinner. But the whole combi that included Japanese short-grain rice was just irresistible!

Burp!

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Address

51 Yishun Avenue 11,

#01-08, Yishun Park Hawker Centre,

Singapore 760355

Map

As above.

Pricing

Hakka Thunder Tea Tofu Bowl - S$6.80

(10% discount if you pay using their app)

Other Food In The Same Hawker Centre

(click the links to find out more about my review)

Shaker Lakers - East Meets West

Seafood Pirates - Seafood Soup

Ah Tan Crispy Har Cheong Gai (Shrimp Paste Chicken Wings)

One Mouth Noodle

Hokkien Mee from Hua Hua Cooking & Eating

Piao Ji Fish Porridge (標記魚粥) - Their Fish and Prawn Soup @ Amoy Street Food Centre [Singapore] #amoystreethawker

A plate of char kway teow wouldn't be sufficient to placate my raging hunger but i had already planned my strategy; proceeding to level two of Amoy Street Food Hawker Centre where a long queue had earlier attracted my attention! 

I happily joined the line which was about 15-person long while my mom went to secure a table; plenty though as many stalls at the food centre were closed on weekends. 

Finally about to reach the end of the queue for the chosen stall; Piao Ji Fish Porridge (標記魚粥). At this point, i had queued for at least 35 minutes! Thankfully i had chosen to eat earlier at the no-brand char kway teow on level one; if not, a hungry man is an angry man. 

The simple menu; fish soup, fish and prawn soup, and rice. Wait, where is the porridge? Well, in our local context, porridge can also mean rice thrown into soup. Whatever the case, online reviews favour the fish and prawn soup and since i have waited for so long; i shall go for the large portion to be shared between my mom and i.

Fish and Prawn Soup - on our table after almost 45 minutes of time! 

As usual, i started by taking a sip of the broth; light, simple yet with a refreshing, unami flavour that has a unique taste, and it's not due to the use of dried flatfish . On one hand, it wasn't rich and flavourful but on the other hand, fish soup lovers would likely prefer a less sinful tasting soup anyway. 

Meat is important to me and both mom and i were delighted with the fresh prawns and slices of Batang fish (also known as Spanish mackerel / 马鲛鱼). My mom, especially, is a fish-meat lover and absolutely couldn't stand eateries serving not so fresh fish to their customers. 

The holy grail; known one of the world's top ten most nutritious food, i guess the pieces of crispy pork lard (yes, they were still crunchy after a long soak in the soup) contributed to that unique taste and i am so not complaining given my love for pork greaves.

Interestingly, unlike some fish soups from other stalls, my tummy didn't feel that this was a heavy, burp-inducive meal. It was satisfying and i can imagine craving for the fish and prawn soup from Piao Ji Fish Porridge on a rainy day.

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Address 

7 Maxwell Road,

#02-100, Amoy Street Food Centre

Singapore 069111

Operating Hours

11.00 am to 3.30 pm

(Closed on Mondays and Thursdays)

Pricing

Fish and Prawn Soup (Large) - S$15.00

Rice - S$0.50

Fatty Bom Bom Junior (Halal-Certified) Within Fortune Supermarket @ Yishun Block 731 [Singapore] #fattybombom

A supermarket is where we usually get fast moving consumer goods and my narrow definition is just that, and nothing more. But at fortune supermarket which is super near my apartment, it has something which is relatively unique in Singapore.

There's a Halal-certified eatery within its small premises! As the shop space has always housed a supermarket, my calculation is that this Fatty Bom Bom Junior, with its kitchen, tables and chairs, takes up a significant 30-40% of the area. I have been eyeing the food for quite some time as i would always jog past and can't help noticing the steady flow of customers, despite opening for business just a few months ago.

It's time for me to give it a try! The menu was extensive and when asked on what's the most popular, the cashier suggested and i ordered chicken cutlet with spaghetti (as they had already run out of rice and i didn't want to wait 30 minutes).  

A friend mentioned that Fatty Bom Bom already has a few outlets in Singapore; i counted 13 on their facebook page and you may check it out for their locations.

At S$7.50, the price point wasn't neighborhood-friendly but portion was substantial with two pieces of chicken cutlet sitting on a bed of spaghetti, a bun and mashed potato. No water provided but hey, you are in a supermarket; just a grab a drink from the fridge and let the main tenant earn something too. 

Look at the thickness of the cutlets! 

Batter was crispy with the chicken meat retaining a juicy and oily texture! I do see many school children eating here and i totally can understand as this would be the sinful kind of chicken cutlet i would love to eat in my young days when weight control wasn't an issue. 

Going into my second piece! 

Frankly, i am not much into spaghetti and the one at Fatty Bom Bom kind of looked like a stomach filler with taste being placed on a lower rung. Turned out i couldn't resist the sweet, tangy sauce as i unwittingly kept putting in more and more pasta into my mouth until i cleaned up the box.

The unassuming fried bun; totally unexpected, it wasn't oily at all, with a fluffy texture and a thin layer of crispness that made it a delightful conclusion for my meal. 

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Too much carbohydrates for just this one meal. Satisfying nevertheless even though i do hope they could be more eco-friendly by not providing disposables for in-house dining. 

Address

731 Yishun Street 72, 

Within Fortune Supermarket,

Singapore 760731

Menu

As above.

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/fattybombomzxc

Pricing

Chicken Cutlet with Pasta - S$7.50 

The No Brand Fried Kway Teow @ Amoy Street Food Centre [Singapore] #amoystreethawkercentre

The location of Amoy Street Food Centre within Singapore's central business district means it's incredibly crowded during lunchtime on weekdays and the queue can get insanely long for popular stalls.

It's a totally different situation on weekends when many stalls are closed. This begets the question why the heck i was there last Saturday! Answer: on my mom's request as she would like to pray at Sian Chor Kang Temple and didn't know how to get there from the MRT station! 

Since the temple is literally next to the food centre, i decided to wait for my mom there. The moment i stepped in, the waft of char kway teow from this no-brand stall hit me and immediately triggered a craving as it was already past noon and i haven't had breakfast!

My plate of fried kway teow with an additional egg; i had asked for more black sauce but from the look of it, i guess the not-so-friendly auntie didn't hear me. Nonetheless, it has a good balance of yellow noodles and kway teow (flat rice noodles) with a sprinkling of beansprouts and pieces of cockles.

I can't wait to dig in after getting even more excited with the intense aroma of freshly fried noodles! Took a bite that was filled with expectations; only to be disappointed by the bland taste and the seemingly lack of wok hei.

While the Chinese favours three factors when it comes to good food (i.e. the appearance, the aroma and the taste), i am the weirdo who prioritizes taste way over appearance and aroma. Honestly, i should be happy that it wasn't horrid tasting; just that it fell below expectation. Regardless, it didn't stop my mom and i from cleaning up the plate.

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Address

7 Maxwell Road,

#01-01, Amoy Street Food Centre,

Singapore 069111

Map

As above.

Pricing

Char Kway Teow - S$3.00

Add Egg - S$0.50

Monster Curry - Big on Size and Big on Taste @ Yishun's Northpoint City Mall [Singapore] #monstercurry

Monster Curry has been in Singapore for close to eight years now but stubborn me, who couldn't quite accept the sweeter form of curry, had never thought I would give it a try. But i did recently after my younger sister persuaded me to check out the branch at ION Orchard. 

Within a week, i brought my family to its branch at Northpoint City shopping mall and i was so glad to reach a little past 6.00 pm as the queue built up not long after we got a table! 

It wouldn't be easy to miss any branch of Monster Curry; aside from having a large signboard, it has godzilla (a cute version) as its beloved mascot and displays of gigantic plates of curry rice right outside! In the case of the branch at Northpoint City, your eyes would be drawn to its red theme. 

An order list was provided and although i did keep a copy, i didn't manage to find it! Don't fret as you can find Monster Curry's full menu here. Check the order reference receipt to ensure your order is correct! 

Teriyaki Chicken - in the beginning stages of the Japanese cuisine boom in Singapore's hawker centres and food courts, this was one of the first few Japanese dishes i had and i would order teriyaki chicken whenever i see it on the menu then.

Having tried a lot of teriyaki chicken, this wasn't particularly outstanding but good enough when the craving hits, especially after taking into consideration that it's a thick chunk of meat that cost S$5.80.

Cheese Omelette Curry - this was ordered for Jerald and since he's a growing boy, i didn't think it's nice of me to ask him for a bite. I did ask for his verdict and his simple response was "i like it". Probed further, he also added that the authentic one he had at Osaka is better! Oh well, i can't comment much as the curry i had in Japan was soup curry which is different. 

Big Fried Fish Salad - my elder sister isn't big on carbohydrates and requested for this instead. The portion was pretty generous and the fried fish was easily one of the impressive ones in recent times; served piping hot, the crust had a nice crunch with the meat encased within, full of juiciness. Dressing wise, you may choose from Yoghurt, Goma (Sesame) or Wafu Daikon.

Monster Combo Curry - with a chef recommended logo next to the dish on the menu, this humongous combo served on a 41-cm plate includes pork katsu, pork shabu-shabu, shrimp tempura, fried fish and cheese.

It shall be devoured by dad and i! Just some background information about the curry, it's made of "14 different vegetables and spices" and had to go through "a two-day rigorous cooking process"! 

Since both of us can't take much spiciness, i specifically asked for the lowest level one (there's also a non-spicy version). How to differentiate the spicy level of your curry? By the heart shaped on your curry! If you ask for level 5 (known as monster spicy), there will be five heart shapes! 

Now on the food; the curry was sweet as expected but it has a nice twang that goes perfectly with the white rice buried underneath. My younger sister did warn me about their pork shabu and i agreed that without the curry sauce, the porky taste was a bit hard to stomach. 

Thick chunk of pork katsu that had a pile of cheese on it and the fried fish was the same kind used for the salad i mentioned earlier. What i extremely enjoyed from the combo curry was the prawn tempura; it retained crunchiness despite half soaked in the gravy, batter wasn't insanely disproportionate to the prawn within and best of all, tasted delicious!

Almost all cleaned up! Next time, i think it would be safer for me to go with their jumbo ebi curry! By the way, Monster Curry has a level 100, 10-ten minute spicy challenge! To know more, click here. For a weak man like me, there's no way i would take up the challenge....

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Address

1 Northpoint Drive,

#B1-102, Northpoint City.

Singapore 768019

Website

https://www.monstercurry.com.sg/

Pricing

Teriyaki Chicken - S$5.80

Cheese Omelette Curry - S$12.80

Big Fried Fish Salad - S$11.80

Monster Combo Curry - S$27.80

(Subject to GST and Service Charge)