The Old Mark Cafe (Malaysia, Melaka)

Tiramisu Souffle Pancake RM 19

I was looking at the location of Atlantis Residences, the airbnb where we were staying and the places nearby. That was when I stumbled upon The Old Mark Cafe, which had good reviews and was just a 8 minutes walk (or 3 minutes car ride) away.

We visited on a Monday afternoon at 1.40pm. Despite the timing, the cafe was full and there was a group in front of us. We waited around 15 minutes for a table as we had a big group (nine persons). Be prepared to wait 30 to 60 minutes during peak hour. Ordering was done over the counter and I was glad that I could use YouTrip to make payment. 

Old Mark Big Breakfast RM 27

This was the Old Mark Big Breakfast RM 27 which consisted of chicken ham, salad, sauteed mushroom, hashbrown and scrambled egg with toast bread. It was quite decent with all the right notes in terms of taste. Scrambled egg was perfectly cook, not overcooked.

Whites Nutty Souffle Pancake RM 19

The Old Mark Cafe is popular for their signature Souffle Pancake. You cannot visit this cafe without trying them. Their Souffle Pancakes were soft, fluffy, light and wobbly. Taste wise they were not overly sweet and literally melt in the mouth. This was the Whites Nutty Souffle Pancake RM 19 with homemade white chocolate sauce, walnut and butter crumb. Despite looking so plain looking, it was delicious and tasty.

The other Souffle Pancake we tried was the Tiramisu Souffle Pancake RM 19, with homemade cream sauce, lady finger soaked with daily espresso and butter crumb. Taste wise this was oh so good too. 

The other items that we ordered which I did not managed to try are below. I heard that they were not bad. 

Butter Garlic Chicken Rice Bowl RM 20

The Butter Garlic Chicken Rice Bowl RM 20 consisted of deep fried chicken thigh with butter garlic sauce and corn. 

Teriyaki Salmon Rice Bowl RM 24

Teriyaki Salmon Rice Bowl RM 24 came with teriyaki salmon cube and tobiko, carrot, corn and zucchini slices.

Hojicha Latte (Hot) RM 13

Overall, I was so glad that we visited The Old Mark Cafe. Ambience, food presentation and taste was fantastic. The younger generation will love this especially the Souffle Pancake which are so IG worthy.

The Old Mark Cafe (Malaysia, Melaka)
No.39, Jalan KSB 11
Taman Kota Syahbandar
Malacca City, Malaysia 
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Monday 12pm to 7pm
                           Closed on Tuesday 

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Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee (Hong Lim Food Centre)

$4.50 Fried Kway Teow Mee

If you are a fan of fried Char Kway Teow, you may have heard of this stall located at Hong Lim Food Centre; Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee. This stall has been mentioned many times on mainstream media such as The Straits Times, Yahoo Singapore and 8 days, and even received the Michelin Bib Gourmand award in 2018.

 

I visited on a weekday at around 10.30am and there was already a queue of around 10 persons in front. I waited for around 20 minutes before I received my plate of food.    

$4.50 Fried Kway Teow Mee

There are two versions available, either $4.50 or $5.50. I ordered the $4.50 Fried Char Kway Teow. 

$4.50 Fried Kway Teow Mee

This plate of Char Kway Teow really hit all the right notes. The wok hei (smokey fragrance) added on to the sweet and salty flavour of the dish which consisted of just noodles, kway teow, cockles, bean sprouts, fishcake, egg, and pork lard. It is amazingly how these ingredients could be fried together to produce such taste. There was not even any chinese sausage to enhance the taste. The cockles may look small, but they were plump and juicy.

$4.50 Fried Kway Teow Mee

Even if you try to get these ingredients and fried it yourself, you would not be able to get the taste as it takes skill to cook the wok hei flavour out. Moreover, the owner added his own mixture of umami soya sauce when frying the ingredients.

I was glad that I went early at 10plus in the morning. Because by the time I finished it was around 11am and the queue had grown in size to more than 20 pax. I really like this plate of Fried Kway Teow and am glad that I managed to try it. Rating this a die die must try dish! 

Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee (Hong Lim Food Centre)
531A Upper Cross St
Hong Lim Food Centre #02-17
Singapore 051531
Opening Hours: 6am to 3pm Monday to Saturday
                           Closed on Sunday

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Chef Wai Hometown Noodle (Blk 461 Yishun) - CLOSED

*edited on 21 April 2024, closed*

Having stayed in Yishun nearly all my life, I was surprised to see a few photos showing the same food from Instagram. Curiosity got the better of me and when I clicked the location geo tag, I noticed that the stall was located in Yishun. 

The stall called Chef Wai Hometown Noodle is located at Blk 461 in Yishun. The owners are husband and wife. The menu offers Signature Seafood Pork Noodle, Pork Noodle, Meat Ball Noodle and even Bitter Gourd Pork Noodle.

I ordered the most expensive item on the menu, which is the Signature Seafood Pork Noodle (dry) which cost $6.50. Interestingly, it comes with an onsen egg on top of the noodles, which gave the noodles, a creamy and silky texture when they are well mixed. 

The bowl of cloudy soup was definitely the differentiating factor that makes this stall stands out. It was robust, flavourful and full of ingredients. It came with two deshell crunchy prawns, two squid rings, two meatballs, minced meat patty and slices of lean meat, fishcake and cabbage. 

The minced meat patty was unique in terms of taste, it taste as though powdered dried sole fish was added in it. I liked the soup so much that I finished the whole bowl of soup. 

I have gone back to visit the stall around 4 times thus far. Can't wait to visit them again. 

Chef Wai Hometown Noodle (Blk 461 Yishun)

Prime Court Stall 5
Blk 461 Yishun Ave 6
Singapore 760461
Opening Hours: Fri to Wed 7am to 4pm
                           Closed on Thu

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Guang Fa Laksa 叻沙 (Havelock Road Hawker Centre) - Big, Fresh Cockles!

$5 Laksa

I have heard so much about this laksa but have never ate it due to its location. After all these years, I was glad that work brought me nearby, and I decided to walk over to Havelock Road Hawker Centre for lunch. 

Although I reached just before 12pm, there was already a queue of around 10 pax in front of the stall. It has the longest queue at the hawker centre. The queue moved very slowly because the uncle was the only one taking order, cooking and collecting the payments. 

I ordered the $5 Laksa (with cockles), which is the biggest portion available. May as well right since I had to queue more than 30 minutes and had been waiting to try this for years. 

$5 Laksa

The laksa came with thick bee hoon, hard boiled egg, beansprouts, fishcake, tau pok, cockles, laksa leaves and sambal chilli. The laksa broth is rich, only a little spicy and more on the savoury end, with a slight hint of hae bee hiam. You will need to mix the sambal chilli in or even ask for more chilli if you want a spicy and stronger hae bee hiam taste. 

The star here was the cockles. The cockles were so fresh and oh so big, plump and juicy!! Shiok lah. It is hard to get such big cockles these days. 

Really glad that I got to try this laksa at last after so many years! Do give it a try if you are around the area! 

Guang Fa Laksa 叻沙 (Havelock Road Hawker Centre)
22A Havelock Rd, #01-08, Singapore 161022
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 7.30am to 1.30pm
Closed on Sunday

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Hin Hor Fun With Prawn. Beef. Sliced Fish (Ghim Moh Hawker Centre)

It is hard to miss this stall with its bright red signboard and long queue. Hin Hor Fun With Prawn. Beef. Sliced Fish is located in the middle of Ghim Moh Hawker Centre and there is a perpectual long queue during lunch time, stretching to more than 10 person long. 

They have recently increased the price of their Hor Fun from $5 to $6, a 20% increase. This is the plight of rising costs (gas, utilities, ingredients, manpower etc) for business owners and even hawkers. Currently, $6 is quite unheard of for Hor Fun at a hawker centre. But I believe that it will be the norm within a few more months due to stagflation. 

Although the queue was long, it moved fast as the Hor Fun ingredients were already prepared and they were constantly frying fresh batch of smoking hot Hor Fun.

$6 Hor Fun with Beef

I ordered the $6 Hor Fun with Beef. 

I was surprised that they were still so generous with the ingredients. To be frank, I was glad that they increased the price and maintained the portion, quality and taste. Unlike some businesses that decrease portion and increase price. 

$6 Hor Fun with Beef

Back to the Hor Fun with Beef, it looks so simple and dull, yet they totally nailed it in terms of taste. The Hor Fun was well fried with strong aroma of wok hei. The brown sauce provided contrasting flavours that alternated between smokey and caramelised flavours. I also noticed that they really used hor fun (wide flat rice noodles). Some places, they use kway teow (llong and thin flat rice noodles) for their hor fun. The beef slices were oh-so tender and soft!

I love their hor fun and will certainly continue to patronise them! 

Hin Hor Fun With Prawn. Beef. Sliced Fish (Ghim Moh Hawker Centre)
20 Ghim Moh Rd
#01-56 Ghim Moh Hawker Centre
Singapore 270020
Opening Hours: Tue to Sun 10am to 3pm, 5pm to 8.30pm
                           Closed on Mon

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Min Ji Laksa 民记叻沙 (Bendemeer Market and Food Centre)

 

Min Ji Laksa 民记叻沙 is a stall located in Bendemeer Market and Food Centre selling only 2 items, Laksa and Mee Rebus. 

Both dishes are highly raved about in the internet sphere. 

Since I seldom come to this area, I went straight for the most expensive, $5 laksa. I arrived at around 11.45 and there was already a queue at the stall. 

The Laksa was packed with ingredients; hard boiled egg, shredded chicken meat, cockles, slices of fish cake and tau pok with a handful of beansprouts. My default choice of noodles for laksa is always thick beehoon. 

Look at the big fat juicy cockles.

The laksa gravy was light yet so flavourful with a strong coconut fragrance. Once you start slurping the noodles with the laksa gravy, you cannot stop. That is how good it was.

If I live around the area, I will probably be eating this every couple of weeks! Wish that they would move to Yishun!

Min Ji Laksa 民记叻沙 (Bendemeer Market and Food Centre)
#01-31 Bendemeer Market and Food Centre
29 Bendemeer Road
Singapore 330029
Opening Hours: Thu to Mon, 7.30am to 3pm
                          Closed on Tue and Wed

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Kok Kee Wanton Noodle 国记云吞面 (Lavendar)

Kok Kee Wanton Noodle 国记云吞面 (Lavendar) has been a stall I have been wanting try for years.I was thrilled to be sent on course with the course location a 5 minutes walk away from Kok Kee. 

Jumbo seems to have completed the $2.1 million acquisition for a 75% stake in the stall and brand as the owners are not spotted at the stall. 

In addition, the staff are now wearing uniforms. 

Price wise, I understand that it has not changed since the acquisition. Each plate of Wanton Noodle starts at $5. 

I wanted to try both the dumplings and wanton. Hence, I ordered the $5 wanton noodles and added on two dumplings for $2. Which means each dumpling cost $1 and the total cost of the meal was $7. If you ask me, price is on the higher end. Unless Jumbo expands the number of outlets aggressively, I wonder when they are going to breakeven and generate returns for their shareholders. 

I have never tried Kok Kee before and cannot compare the taste prior to the acquisition. What stood out for me was the wanton noodle. It tasted so difference from elsewhere. Each strand of noodle was so smooth, soft yet springy. With their home made special sauce I found myself slurping the noodles endlessly. It was that good. The two pieces of wanton and char siew were average. At least the dumpling was decent, big in size and had a crunchy bite. The star of the dish was really the noodles with the special sauce. Not too sure that it is worth the $5 price tag. 

Kok Kee Wanton Noodle 国记云吞面
30 Foch Rd, #01-02
Singapore 209276
Opening Hours: Daily 9am to 10pm

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Ah Fatt Mian Fen Guo 阿發面粉粿 (675 Yishun)

 Stall moved to Blk 675 Yishun

Ah Fatt Mian Fen Guo 阿發面粉粿 (732 Yishun) has in selling handmade noodles in Yishun for more than 20 years.

The stall is not located near MRT station or shopping mall, but it still has its own loyal customer base from the heartlands. 

It is sad to hear that the stall is closing down at the end of the month (i.e. Apr 2021) due to rising rental cost. Each bowl starts at $2.50. The prawn version cost $3. Despite, their own customers asking them to increase the price, they did not. 

The owners had not raised the cost of their handmade noodles for years, something that is rare in Singapore. Look at how much food and drink prices that you have buying had been increasing over the recent years.  

One plus point is that the owners made their handmade noodles from scratch. It is not factory made. 

This is  You Mian with Prawns $3. Comes with lots of vegetable, minced meat and egg. 

This is the $2.50 Mian Fen Guo. It is hard to get such a good bowl of handmade noodles at this price else where.  

Folks stayng in Yishun, hurry down to savour this for the last time before they close down. Expect to queue! 

Ah Fatt Mian Fen Guo 阿發面粉粿

Blk 675 Yishun Avenue 4 

Singapore 760675

Opening Hours: Daily 7.45am to 9pm

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Jia Xiang 佳香 (Red Hill Food Centre)

 

Follow the queue and you will never go wrong. When I visited Red Hill Hawker Centre, I noticed there was a long queue in front of this stall calls Jia Xiang. The stalls sells Nasi Lemak, Long Tong and Mee Siam. Surprisingly, nearly everyone except 1 person in from of me ordered the Mee Siam. The one person ordered Long Tong. No one ordered Nasi Lemak.

Following the crowd, I ordered the $3 Mee Siam. 

It was really good! The star ingredient was the Mee Siam gravy. The mix in flavours of tangy, sweet and spice was perfectly balance. None of them overwhelmed the other.

The little bits of fried croutons was the icing on the cake as it provided a crunchy and crisp texture to the dish. 

This is one of the best Mee Siam I had. Worth another visit! 

Since I was at Red Hill hawker centre, I just had to also ordered the Yon Yan 永焱 fried chicken wings. While many have said that their standard has dropped, I still like it!


Jia Xiang 佳香 (Red Hill Food Centre)
#01-35 Redhill Market

Block 85 Redhill Lane
Singapore 310019
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Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodles 海南星洲牛肉粉 (Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre)

Beef Noodle (Dry) $5

Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodles 海南星洲牛肉粉 has been operating for close to 70 years. The stall used to be located at Cuppage Centre before moving to its current location at Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre.

 Tip: Visit during off-peak hour as the queue is known to be slow moving.  

The beef noodle is served in either dry or wet version for $4 or $5.

Beef Noodle (Dry) $5

This bowl of Beef Noodle (Dry) $5 came with generous slices of beef meat.

Beef Noodle (Dry) $5

I felt that the slices of beef were overcooked as they were on the tough end and not as tenderised (or melt in the mouth) as what I hoped for. Thankfully, the dark, rich, gooey sauce made up for it. The sauce was not salty and had hints of beefy flavour. The sauce complemented the beef slices and thick bee hoon well. 

The bowl of accompanying cloudy brown soup was tasty with hints of beefy flavours too. 

Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodles 海南星洲牛肉粉 (Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre)
22 Lor 7 Toa Payoh
#01-06 Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre
Singapore 310019
Opening Hours: Tue to Sun 8.30am to 3.30pm
                           Closed on Mon

Give it a
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