Na Na Curry 南南咖哩 (Bukit Merah View Food Centre)

Curry Chicken $3.50

I have never heard of Na Na Curry 南南咖哩  till made its way into the list in the Singapore Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2016. Fast forward to 2 years later, it has continued to make its way into the list in 2017 and 2018.

Na Na Curry has been around since 1989 and opened its first outlet is at Marina South. This is the reason why the stall at Bukit Merah View has the words “Marina South” on its signage. The owner learned the curry recipe from his grandmother as it was a dish which was well loved by family and friends. 

Menu

Na Na Curry is unique in several ways. Firstly, it is one of its kind that specialises in just selling Chinese curry. Normally, such curry stalls are those curry rice stall that sells other food items. But Na Na Curry’s version is purely curry with white rice or bread. Secondly, it sells a unique range of curry items. Curry Fish Head, Curry Fish Meat, Curry Chicken, Curry Vegetables and Curry Mutton are common. But Curry Pork Ribs is totally new to me! Thirdly, it has a manufacturing arm to pre-packs curry paste for its outlets.

I have been to the stall several times to try a different curry each time. Before I continue, I must warn that the curry is not for the fainted hearted. It is very very spicy, but yet addictive. You are bounded to have a fiery ass after the meal (if you know what I mean. Haha).

Curry Pork Ribs $4 (top up $0.50 for rice)

I had reservations trying the Curry Pork Ribs $4 (top up $0.50 for rice) as I was wondering whether the meat would be tough and if I would need to use my hands or even stain my shirt if I was to use the utensils to pull out the meat. But wow, I was impressed. The pork ribs were so folk tender. The pork meat came off the rib bones so easily. Taste wise, the meat was not tough. The curry was fragrance and spicy.

Curry Fish Meat $5.50 (top up $0.50 for rice)

Curry Fish Meat $5.50 (top up $0.50 for rice)

The Curry Fish Meat $5.50 (top up $0.50 for rice) came with lady fingers and tomato. The curry taste just slightly less spicy probably because of the addition of the tomato and fish meat. What was impressive was the fish meat. It was cooked just right with its flavour intact. The sweetness and freshness of the fish left a lasting impression

Curry Chicken $3.5 (top up $0.50 for rice)

The Curry Chicken $3.5 (top up $0.50 for rice) came with 2 pieces of potatoes. The potatoes were cooked perfectly. They were firm yet soft when a spoon was used to cut it into small pieces. As for the chicken meat, they came off the bones so easily. The curry again was spicy yet fragrance.

The curry was so good that I could pair it with just plain rice even if no meat was given. It was so good that on one occasion, I had 2 plates of rice with it.

Curry Mutton $4 (top up $0.50 for rice)

The Curry Mutton $4 (top up $0.50 for rice) also came with potatoes. Interestingly, there was no gamey (or mutton) taste in the curry. Also, the mutton meat was so tender that I could cut the meat into smaller pieces using just the spoon!

Over the visits, I realised that the stall owner was able to cook the items (e.g. fish meat, chicken meat, potato, lady lady fingers) so perfectly because once the items were cooked, the items would be taken out. This prevents overcooking. Sounds like a no brainer right? But not everyone bothers to do these little things that matters.

If you are visiting for the first time, I would suggest that you try the Curry Pork Ribs which is not commonly available elsewhere.

Na Na Curry 南南咖哩 (Bukit Merah View Food Centre)

#01-47 Bukit Merah View Hawker Centre

115 Bukit Merah View

Singapore 151115

Tel: 9106 4316

Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 11am – 7pm

                          Closed on Sun

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Mary's Kafe - Hidden Gem!

*Edited on 5 Apr 18 as Mary's Kafe has shifted to Bendemeer

Roast Beef and Corned Beef Cutlet

Mary's Kafe is a hidden gem that is well-known among the Eurasian community in Singapore. Why is it well-known among the Eurasian community?

Well, it is because Mary's Kafe is owned by Mary Gomes, who is the best-selling author of "The Eurasian Cookbook". Also, she is the one doing the cooking in Mary's Kafe. Needless to say, it is popular for its Nonya and Eurasian food.

This no-frills cafe is hidden at a quiet corner of Queen Street at Kum Yan Methodist Church Building. I have been contemplating on whether I should type out this post after I got to know of this place in 2012. But well, I think I have procrastinated enough.. sharing is caring.

As shown in above photos, there are limited seats.The place is relatively empty as this was taken at 12 pm. Once you are ready to order, you will need to proceed to the counter to order and make payment. Only cash payment is accepted, they do not accept nets or credit card payments.

Also, do remember to collect the food, else Mary Gomes will keep ringing a bell. =P

Another photo of the place. This was taken at 12.30pm on a weekday. By this timing, the place would normally be full.

Set Lunch Menu

Set lunch is available daily, and they come with a drink and dessert at $8.50. The menu changes daily and there are limited quantities for each set. So the tip is to arrive early as the more popular set lunches may be sold out as early as 12.30 pm! The food shown below are those that I have eaten during my visits to the cafe.

Roast Beef and Corned Beef Cutlet

Since I have never tried Corned Beef Cutlet before, I added $0.60 to give it a try. It was essentially breaded grounded (grind-ed) beef meat which was then deep fried. It did not leave much of an impression.

The Roasted Beef set was served with rice and vegetable (cabbage). The cabbage was quite ordinary. Personally, I would have preferred it to be cooked a little longer so that it was softer. The cabbage was nearly always served as a side in most of my orders.

Roast Beef 

I was quite surprised that the Roasted Beef was served in a bowl, soaked in a dark brown sauce. It reminded me of Chinese braised soya sauce. But it tasted nothing like it.

Among all the dishes I tried, the Roast Beef was the best. The braising sauce was unique. It was light and flavourful with hints of sweet and savory taste which were balanced perfectly. The sliceds of roast beef was so flavourful as they had adsorbed the essence of the sauce. Also, the sauce went really well with the rice. Yummy!

Beef Curry with Tea

The Beef Curry set was again served with cabbage.

Beef Curry 

The Beef Curry was not it spicy at all. In fact, it was quite fragrance. Unlike most curry sold at outdoor eateries, this one had no powder residue. The beef chunks were tender and moist too. I liked the potato as it was cooked just right.

Chicken Meat Ball Stew with Corned Beef Cutlet

The Chicken Meat Ball Stew was not served with cabbage since the stew itself had cabbage.

Chicken Meat Ball Stew with Sugee Cake and Tea

Chicken Meat Ball Stew

The Chicken Meat Ball Stew was a stew with carrot, cabbage and chunks of chicken meat. Although the sweetness of the carrot and cabbage was evident in the stew, I felt that it could have been more robust.

Chicken Chop

The Chicken Chop set was served with cabbage (again). This was ordinary. The chicken chop size was small and the marination was forgettable. I should have ordered their other set lunch.

Signature Sugee Cake

The dessert changes daily too. This was Mary Gomes' signature Sugee Cake which was highly raved about. It sure lived up to its reputation. It had a grainy texture and was full of buttery goodness. I wish that the size was bigger as the one given can be eaten in one mouthful!

Green Bean Soup

The Green Bean Soup looked ordinary. But it was so awesome! In fact, I think that it tasted way better than the Sugee Cake. It was robust and full of flavour. Also, there was an addictive malty after taste that made me longed for more!

Appam with Caramelised Banana

On another occasion, the dessert was Appam with Caramelised Banana. I have never tried such a dessert before. It was so special! The unappealing tasteless / bland appam paired off well with the sweet and savoury caramelised banana!

I have been to Mary's Kafe several times but I still have not tried the signature devil's curry before! Although there are hits and misses, you should give Mary's Kafe a try. They sell real good Eurasian style food and who knows how much longer she will continue operating this no-frills, homely eatery. 

Mary's Kafe (Bras Basah)

20 Bendemeer Road
Singapore 339914

Tel: +65 9852 0348

Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 8am - 5pm

                         Closed on Sat and Sun

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Chap Chye Peng Stall (Golden Mile Tower)

I had my lunch and was exploring Golden Mile Complex for the first time. Little did I know that the basement was linked to Golden Mile Tower! At Golden Mile Tower, I saw a unique scene. There was a queue in front of a stall called "Dessert House". There was around 10 person queuing in front of the stall and the queue was not moving at 1220pm on a weekday. Being a kaypoh (busybody), I stood around and observed. This queue was not moving because the stall had not even opened for business yet.

 At around 1230pm, the stall opened for business.

The queue had already stretched to more than 20 persons long. I had to go up to level one to get a good picture of the queue. If I had not eaten and was not full, I highly suspect that I would be in the queue. Nevertheless, I made 3 other trips just to check out this stall for myself; why there were so many people queuing and waiting patiently.

On certain days, the queue moves very slowly. While on other days, the queue was fairly quick. Once, I queued for 18 minutes when there was just 5 persons in the queue. On another day, I queued for nearly half an hour when there was 19 persons in the queue.

Ps: Once, there was 32 people queuing up!

Now to the food! This stall sells Chap Chye Peng / Chai Peng (variety of dishes with rice). Amazingly right? Chap Chye Peng can be found everywhere! Yet this stall commands such a following! The variety of dishes are not a lot compared to others which I have seen. But a unique selling point (USP) here is the free flow soup! And its not any just MSG soup! There are ingredients in the soup! Customers can also help themselves to the curry sauce.

$4.30

After I tried the food for the first time, I knew instantly why this stall managed to command such a following. The food here are simply delicious! Comfort home-cooked food that simply warms the heart. The food here just taste so good. The steam egg was so decently executed; soft, wobbly and tasty. The fried chicken wing was well-marinated, tasty and well fried. If it was more meaty, it would be perfect. The curry sauce was addictive and goes well with plain rice. The fried vegetables which I hesitated in ordering was surprisingly good. Unlike other Chap Chye Peng stalls, this one was so fragrant, with hints of shrimp / hae bee along with sweetness of the vegetables.

Sweet corn, Carrot and Onion Soup

The icing on the cake was the soup which was free! Inside the pot of soup, there was sweet corn, carrot, onion and pork. These were the ingredients used to cook the soup. The soup was not salty and had a distinct (naturally) sweetness from the corn, carrot and onion. Very comforting bowl of Chinese soup. What a bonus!

$5

During my third visit, this was what I ordered. I ordered different items compared to my 2nd visit on purpose for comparison sake.

The curry sauce was the same; delicious. But the chicken given was just so-so. Probable because of the chicken part given. The vegetables was really just so-so (i.e. average). The fish cake was decent and I believe you can get this fish cake at most places.

Lotus Root Soup

 Just when I thought the food was just average, the free soup just wowed me!

Lotus Root Soup

This Lotus Root Soup was cooked with cuttlefish and pork. This soup was just fantastic! The lotus root flavour kept me longing for more. In addition, the plus was the pork meat came with soft bones (collagen).

$4.30

 This was what I had for my third visit. I arrived quite late at around 130pm.

The chicken wings was as good as what I had during the first time. They will always fry a new batch of chicken wings when the current one finishes. This is a huge plus point as no one likes soggy and cold chicken wings! The fried bittergourd with egg was excellent and well fried! No raw bittergourd taste. As for the braised egg, you can easily get that elsewhere.

This time, the free soup was radish and carrot soup. It was cooked with pork bones and red dates. I am really impressed with their soup. During each visit, their soup has never disappoint me! This is coming from someone who is particular about saltiness!

The value for money, delicious home-cooked style food and free flow soup are probably the factors which draw such a crowd to this stall during lunch time at a ulu (out of the way) place. These are also the reasons why the some of the office crowd who know of this place bother to walk from The Concourse to this stall!

Now you know where to go if you are looking for 3 dishes with 1 soup (三菜一汤) without breaking the bak! Glad to find this hidden gem. If you intend to visit, do note the opening hours appended below.

Chap Chye Peng Stall <Hidden Gem> (Golden Mile Tower)

Dessert House

#B1-62 Golden Mile Tower

6001 Beach Road

Singapore 199589

Opening Hours: Sun to Fri 1230pm to 5pm

                          Closed on Sat

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Vanda Terrace (Orchid Country Club) 2nd Post

Hainanese Chicken Rice $8.50

This is my second post on Vanda Terrace at Orchid Country Club. The first post can be found here. In a few words, Vanda Terrace is essentially an Alfresco dining outlet serving local cuisines. 

A notification system for calling the staff or asking for the bill. This is becoming common in F&B outlets with the tightening of the foreign labor employment. If you take a look around you whenever you eat out, you would likely have noticed the after effects of such a policy. Many F&B outlets have close down because of labour or rental issues. Well.. lets go back to the food. 

Hainanese Chicken Rice $8.50

Since I was here for lunch, I had to order the Hainanese Chicken Rice $8.50. It has been years since I ate this chicken rice. The reasons being that it would normally be sold out after lunch time and I visit during dinner time. The Hainanese Chicken Rice consisted of chicken rice, steamed chicken, soup and garlic-chilli dip served in individual bowls/plates. 

Hainanese Chicken Rice $8.50

Vanda Terrace does not serve roasted chicken. They serve only steamed chicken. The steamed chicken was cooked perfectly; so succulent and delicious. In addition, the portion given was so generous and meaty (not layered). As for the chicken rice, it was fragrant and not overly oily. The Hainanese Chicken Rice did not disappoint. Yummy! 

Laksa Paradise $7.90

Every time we visit, someone is bound to order the Laksa Paradise $7.90. 

Laksa Paradise $7.90

Consisting of thick beehoon, prawns, cockles, fish cake slices, chicken, quail eggs, bean sprouts and dried beancurd, this laksa was another dish that never disappoint. It may not be the best, but it was certainly above average. Worth the calories. 

 Javanese Chicken Curry $9.90

Another regular item which we frequently order is the Javanese Chicken Curry $9.90. 

 Javanese Chicken Curry $9.90

The main item in this dish is the Chicken Leg in cooked in Javanese curry. There are so many types of curry. This version is spicy, sweet with a hint of lemongrass and cinnamon spices. The curry itself is very addictive and it goes perfectly with plain rice. As for the chicken leg, it was cooked just right. So tender! 

Oriental-Style Chicken Wings

Oriental-Style Chicken Wings which was crispy and well marinated.  

A breathtaking view of the Golf Course from our table. =D 

Vanda Terrace (Orchid Country Club) 
1 Orchid Club Road
 Golf Clubhouse, Orchid Country Club 
Tel: 6750 2200 
Opening Hours: Mon to Tue 730am to 10pm 
                         Wed to Sun 730am to 11pm

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Curry Cafe at Canberra Community Club (Sembawang)

Curry Cafe located at Canberra Community Club, a 10 minutes walk from Sembawang MRT station is a small humble family run cafe. If some of you have found the name familiar, its because they were previously located at the basement of The Central (Clark Quay).

Teh C Siew Dai $1 each

The Teh C Siew Dai was strong, fragrant, not bitter and not too sweet. Priced at $1 each, it was cheaper when compared to the likes of Breadtalk, Yakun or Killiney. The addition, it was wonderfully executed as a whole and came in a way bigger cup. 

Fried Chicken Wings $1.50 each

The Fried Chicken Wings ($1.50 each) was quite decent (though not a die die must try).

Fried Rice $3.50

Fried Rice $3.50

The Fried Rice $3.50 was fried with chicken hot dog, mixed beans, carrots, egg and spring onions. This dish was delicious. Although there was no wok-hei, it was tasty and had great consistency. Moreover, it was not oily. A simple dish which reminds me of home comfort food.

Curry Chicken $3.50 with French Loaf $0.50

We ordered the Curry Chicken $3.50 with French Loaf $0.50. I was impressed that the French Loaf was toasted prior to serving such that it was served warm and the exterior was crisp (the little things that matter).

Curry Chicken $3.50

One cannot not order the Curry Chicken $3.50 at Curry Cafe! After all, the Curry Chicken is their signature dish! The Curry Chicken hit all the right note in terms of taste. Fragrant, spicy and it was so delectable that we actually polish off all the curry. Terrific! The icing on the cake was that even the chicken was cooked perfectly - folk tender. The potatoes did not disappoint too (I suspect they had cooked the chicken in the curry and then take it out so that it was not overcooked. Likewise for the potatoes too). The Chicken Curry is one of the best I have tasted, they certainly did a good job blending all spices and chilli powder together and cooking this curry. This is a must try over at Curry Cafe! We liked it so much that we ordered another Curry Chicken to pack back home for dinner!

Curry Cafe is a hidden gem with lots of potential. The food was good and value for money. The downside is that its a small cafe with around 20 seats. We visited on Saturday during lunch hours and the cafe was full. Do note that it is self service. After ordering and making the payment. You can go back and take seat. However, you would need to collect the food from the counter once your food is ready (they will call you). I will be back for more! For those staying in the North, this is one place to consider to satisfy your makan / curry cravings.

Curry Cafe at Canberra Community Club (Sembawang) 
2 Sembawang Crescent
​#01-03 Canberra Community Club
Singapore 757632
Tel: 6966 0832 
Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 9am - 9pm
                        Sat & Sun 8am - 8pm
                        Public Holiday 8am - 5pm
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