Wow Wow West Genuine (ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre)

Chicken Chop $7

I have always wanted to try out this western stall called Wow Wow West for the longest time ever. I still remember that I read about this stall in 2011 from Daniel Food Dairy blog and made a mental note to visit the stall when I was in the area. It was notable for its generous portion and delicious food then. Fast forward to 2018, I am glad that I have the opportunity to visit the stall at last!

A brief background about the stall. It started with Mr Eric Ng who started a western stall in the canteen of Raffles Institution. He moved out of the school environment to the hawker centre as the earnings were low during school holidays. Today, his son-in-law, Mr Jayden Cheong, helps to run the stall. In fact, he is the main chef at the stall and it is essentially a family business as Mr Eric Ng and his wife are also at the stall.

I visited the stall on several occasions and each time I am there, there is a perpetual crowd of people in front of the stall, either queuing up to order the food or waiting to collect their orders. I must say that I am most impressed with their system and processes, from ordering to collection of food. Despite the crowd, I have always waited for less than 20 minutes for my food. This is not an easy feat considering the crowd and number of orders. Unlike most western stalls, Wow Wow West does not churn out dishes one at a time. Instead, they churn out nearly 5 dishes at a time and different type of dishes too! At any one time, they are frying chicken chop and fish and chips, and cooking beef steak, pork chop and chicken chop, all at the same time! In addition, sometimes, they are frying fries too! I have always tried to observe how they do this, but never figured it out.

Chicken Cutlet $7

Look at the size of the piece of chicken given for the Chicken Cutlet $7. It was huge, nearly as big as my face. For someone who could eat a lot, I was very full after I finished the whole dish. The chicken cutlet was well-marinated and fried perfectly, which is not easily achieved considering the size. The exterior was so crisp and not over fried while the interior was tender and juicy.

Chicken Chop $7

The Chicken Chop $7 was huge too. It was marinated with herbs and pepper and was served with brown sauce. I particularly liked the bits of crisp skin at the sides as they provided a different texture with each mouthful. Surprisingly, the chicken chop was not as juicy as the chicken cutlet.

Pork Chop $7

The Pork Chop $7 was average. Maybe I had too high an expectation considering the quality of the other 2 dishes. I felt that the pork chop was dry and tough. Although the portion was big, I got too tired of chewing the meat.

All their dishes were served with fries, coleslaw and baked beans. Though these lost limelight compared to the mains, I must highlight that the portion of fries and coleslaw given was huge!

If you are looking for a big serving of western cuisine, look no further! This is the place to be at. And make sure that you are hungry. Very hungry! Try their Chicken Cutlet and Chicken Chop! If you are in a rush, you should refrain from eating this western food. Not because of the less than 20 minutes waiting time, but because you will likely need some time to polish off the whole dish considering the portion.

Wow Wow West Genuine (ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre)

#01-133 ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre

6 Jalan Bukit Merah

Singapore 150006

Tel: +65 9380 8571

Opening Hours: Tue to Sat 10.30am - 2pm, 4.30pm - 8pm

                           Closed on Sun & Mon

View FoodieFC's Singapore Food Map in a larger map

Shi Xin Western Food 时新西餐 (Tekka Food Centre)

Chicken Chop with Egg $6.20

Shi Xin Western Food 时新西餐 is a western food hawker stall located at Tekka Food Centre.

Menu

As its name suggests, the stall owner serves Western cuisine such as black pepper beef steak, fish and chips, chicken cutlet, chicken chop and pork chop. 15 varieties in total. The stall is manned by just 1 person, a lady. Not an easy feat considering that preparations are required and she has to juggle between receiving goods, taking orders, cooking and collecting payment. Moreover, this is the only western stall in the hawker centre and business can be quite good during meal times. Amazing how 1 person can handle all these. She must be very capable.

Pork Chop $5.50

This is the Pork Chop $5.50. It is served with fries, bake beans, sliced cucumbers and tomato, and a bun.

Pork Chop $5.50

Personally, the sides were decent. The down side was that the main star, which was the pork chop, was too tough.

Chicken Chop with Egg $6.20

On another occasion, I ordered the Chicken Chop $5.50. I added an egg for an additional $0.70. This fared better in terms of taste. The egg was nicely executed with its yolk still runny. The chicken chop was juicy and well marinated! 

I find the price of the western cuisine at this stall very reasonable. Also, all the items come along with a bun. 

Shi Xin Western Food 时新西餐 (Tekka Food Centre)
665 Buffalo Road
#01-307 Tekka Centre
Singapore 210665
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm

View FoodieFC's Singapore Food Map in a larger map

Cơm Tấm - Bún bò Huế (Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh)

Canh Khổ Qua Nhồi Thịt Chay (Bitter Gourd stuffed with Minced Meat Soup)

My Vietnamese friend had told us that we had to visit a Cơm Tấm at Nguyễn Văn Cừ, P4, Q5 for its Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả (Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chop) and Canh Khổ Qua Nhồi Thịt Chay (Bitter Gourd stuffed with Minced Meat Soup). Having written down the name of the shop in Vietnamese and the dishes to order, my partner and I managed to slot this in at a last minute and took a cab down. 

The cab driver was not familar and we was very helpful in trying to help us find the location. We stumbled upon a stall named Cơm Tấm - Bún Bò Huế along the road and thought that this had to be the shop as there were no other such shops nearby. 

In addition, this shop was like my friend described. No frills, no air conditioners, basic furnishing, only the locals knew of the place and that the staff would not understand English. 

This stall was similar to our Economy Rice (Cai Fan) stalls in Singapore. Where the dishes are cooked in advance and customers order what they want.

Since we had eaten lunch only half an hour ago, we showed the staff what our friend had written for us and indicated using sign language that we were sharing it. 

Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì  Chả (Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chop), Canh Khổ Qua Nhồi Thịt Chay (Bitter Gourd stuffed with Minced Meat Soup), Trứng (Fried Egg)

We ordered the Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì  Chả (Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chop), Canh Khổ Qua Nhồi Thịt Chay (Bitter Gourd stuffed with Minced Meat Soup) and Trứng (Fried Egg). 

Canh Khổ Qua Nhồi Thịt Chay (Bitter Gourd stuffed with Minced Meat Soup)

We were both most impressed with the Canh Khổ Qua Nhồi Thịt Chay (Bitter Gourd stuffed with Minced Meat Soup). The bitter gourd sliced into half was cooked till it was so soft. The minced meat was nicely seasoned and the soup was surprisingly tasty and light. I have not tried this before and would love to have this again! 

Trứng (Fried Egg)

Trứng (Fried Egg) topped with spring onions. Ordinary and on the oily end. 

Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì  Chả (Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chop)

This was the Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả (Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chop). 

Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì  Chả (Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chop)

The Sườn Bì Chả (Grilled Pork Chop) was average. The pork was well marinated and tasty, however it was a tad too hard for my liking.

It was only when we got back to our hotel and sent the photo of the shop to my friend, then did we realised that we went to the wrong shop! The right one should be the Com tam Nguyen Van Cu at 165 Nguyễn Văn Cừ. Well at least we managed to try the Canh Khổ Qua Nhồi Thịt Chay (Bitter Gourd stuffed with Minced Meat Soup). =D

Cơm Tấm - Bún Bò Huế (Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh)

213 Nguyễn Văn Cừ

Phường 02, Quận 05
Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

View FoodieFC's Vietnam Map in a larger map

No. 1 Western Food 驰名西餐 (Tanglin Halt Food Centre)

No. 1 Western Food 驰名西餐  is a popular stall which serves Chinese old-school style western food. This stall is located at Tanglin Halt Food Centre, a relatively ulu place (for me). I did not know about this stall until I read it about it on The Hungry Bunny, who highly recommend this stall (Thanks for the recommendation!).

No. 1 Western Food is operated by Mr Ong Choon Chiang, who is now 68 years old, with his wife (it is no mean feat to stand for hours and cook at the age of 68 in front of the hot grills and wok of oil). He first started selling western food more than 40 years ago before the days of McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).  In 1981, he shifted to Tanglin Halt Food Centre and has continued to ply his trade at this food centre till today. No. 1 Western Food is one of the more popular stall in this food centre and is well-known among residents in Tanglin Halt for its crispy Chicken Cutlets. A key differentiation / USP (unique selling point) is his very own special (secret) sauce which I shall elaborate on further below.

Special Sauce

This unique tomato-based barbecue special sauce, whipped by Mr Ong is added onto all the food served. Whether it is Chicken Cutlet, Chicken Chop, Pork Chop, Lamp Chop, Beef Steak or Fish & Chips, this special sauce is added on top! This special sauce is what made it stand out among other western stalls. It is no surprise that the recipe for this sauce remains a secret (During past interviews with The Straits Times interview, Mr Ong did not divulge any details of the ingredients other than the fact that it was made of tomato.).

Pork Chop and Chicken Chop

On certain days, they can sell as many as 100 plates of Chicken Cutlet. This explains why there are so many pieces of Pork Chop and Chicken Chop at the side of the gas griddle.

I ordered Pork Chop and Chicken Cutlet on two different occasions. In the photo above, you can see that my pork chops are being cooked on the gas griddle.

After a while, taken out from the gas griddle and grilled over an electric grill before being served.

Pork Chop $5

The Pork Chop $5 consisted of 2 pieces of pork chop served with baked beans, slices of cucumber and tomato, and fries. The special sauce was added on top of the pork chop.

Pork Chop $5

Pork Chop $5

Although the two slices of Pork Chop were quite thin, they were quite well executed. The exterior of the pork chop was slightly crisp and had a slight hint of smokey aroma (probably both were achieved because the pork chops were put onto the electric grill just before being served). The pork chop was not tough and was well marinated (you have to try the part of the pork chop without the sauce to taste the original flavour).

As for the special sauce, it was addictive and well...special. It had a fine balance of delicately sweet and salty with a hint of tomato flavour. It made a whole world of difference to the taste if you were to add it on the pork chop. The sauce goes very well with the fries and cucumber too! I had a great time dipping them into the sauce.

The Pork Chop was quite decent and worth a try.

On another occasion, I ordered the famous Chicken Cutlet. My chicken cutlet was deep fried in the wok filled with oil at the extreme right of the above photo.

Chicken Cutlet $5

The Chicken Cutlet $5 consisted of a piece of crispy breaded chicken cutlet served with baked beans, slices of cucumber and tomato, and fries. The special sauce was added at the side. I was greedy and requested for more sauce.

Chicken Cutlet $5

Look at how thick the Chicken Cutlet is!

Chicken Cutlet $5

The Chicken Cutlet coated with a thin layer of bread crumbs on the outside was so crispy. The interior was incredibly juicy, tender and tasty (even without the special sauce)! I tried hard to recall, but can't remember when was the last time I tasted such a tasty chicken chop. The Chicken Cutlet was perfectly executed; the flavours and moisture were all locked in! I must emphasis that I have not eaten such a delicious piece of Chicken Cutlet before and this is really out of this world, in a league of its own. I was glad that the special sauce was not added on top of the Chicken Cutlet as it allowed me to savour the original flavour of this piece of Chicken Cutlet. This Chicken Cutlet is the best I ever had in a hawker centre! It is a must order! As for the sauce, it did not go wasted as I dipped all my fries into it! Shiok!

I can't believe that I have not heard of this stall before (so much for being a foodie. But well, its never too late!). Price wise, it was reasonable! If you have not tried this, I would highly recommend for you to try this soon. Do note, unlike most western stalls, this one is self-service. During peak hours, you can expect to wait (queue) for more than half an hour. During my visits, I noticed that some customers would order and come back later to collect their food.

ps: Tanglin Halt Food Centre is about 10 minutes walk away from Commonwealth MRT station.

No. 1 Western Food 驰名西餐 (Tanglin Halt Food Centre)

Blk 1A Commonwealth Drive

#01-13 Tanglin Halt Food Centre 

Singapore 141001

Opening Hours: Monday, Wednesday to Sataturday 4pm to 930pm

                         Sunday 1pm to 930pm

                         Closed on Tuesday

View FoodieFC's Singapore Food Map in a larger map

China Street Hainanese Curry Rice (Maxwell Food Centre) 2nd Post

I am always in a dilemma whenever I am in Tanjong Pagar. There are so choices when it comes to food. This time, I decided to visit the newly renovated Maxwell Food Centre. Even then, there are so many types of food to to eat such as Ah Tai Chicken Rice, Tian Tian Chicken Rice, Zhen Zhen Porridge, Xing Xing Tapioca Kueh, Hum Jin Pang, or Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff. 

During a weekday lunch, I decided to have Hainanese Curry Rice. Although there are several stalls selling curry rice, I  prefer the one from China Street Hainanese Curry Rice. I have posted on this stall before and you can read about it here. 

Taken from previous post

I joined the queue which was more than 10 person long. The good thing is that the turnover here is fast as the food are all cooked already. There are the usual choices you get to see in a curry rice stall such as bitter gourd, curry chicken, fried pork chop, cabbage, squid and eggs. I already knew what to order before hand. As you many have noticed, I ordered exactly the same items as what I ordered in the previous post which was 1.5 years back. I really should change and try their other items! 

Bittergourd, curry chicken wings and fried pork chop (which is a must for any curry rice), along with curry drizzled all over the items and rice. This time, the bittergourd was cooked was still hard, a little more time on the wok would have been ideal. The chicken wing was nicely cooked. The meat in it was soft, firm and tender. The pork chop fared the best. Well marinated meat with thin, crisp fragrant batter, it was fried perfectly. It was delicious! Worth the queue and braving the heat in the food centre. Although the food centre has been renovated, it was still quite warm. 

If you like Hainainese curry rice, I would also recommend the curry rice at Bugis called Eleven Finger (Eu Kee) Scissors Curry Rice. 

China Street Hainanese Curry Rice (Maxwell Food Centre)

Maxwell Road #01-68 

Maxwell Food Centre

Opening Hours: Sat - Thurs 1130am - 730pm

                         Closed on Fri & PH

View FoodieFC's Singapore Food Map in a larger map

Eleven Finger (Eu Kee) Scissors Curry Rice (Bugis)

Eleven Finger (Eu Kee) Scissors Curry Rice is located in a coffee shop called 'Rong Liang Ge Eating House' behind Bugis+ (formerly Iluma). The stall serves Hainanese style curry rice. 

Although there is always a long queue during lunch hours, the turnover is quite fast. 

They sell just a few items such as chicken wings, fried egg, tau pok, stewed cabbage (chap chye), braised pork belly as well as fried pork chop.

Curry Rice $4

From the photo above it is hard to figure out what I ordered. Well, I ordered chicken wings, pork chop and stewed cabbage (extra cabbage). It was drenched in a generous serving of curry sauce. Three type of curry sauce to be exact. Hence, you might notice a different shade in colour of the curry sauce at certain portions. The curry was thick, fragrant and yet not overly spicy. Having it all over the food made the food so wet yet so tasty and easy to eat. Shiok!

The cabbage and chicken wings were good with the former providing a crunchy bite. On the other hand, the pork chop was disappointing. Nevertheless, the curry sauce stole the show. With it, I polished off the whole plate of food easily. 

Eleven Finger (Eu Kee) Scissors Curry Rice (Bugis)
Blk 269B Rong Liang Ge Eating House
#01-235 Queen Street
Location

View FoodieFC's Singapore Food Map in a larger map

Supreme Pork Chop Rice (Middle Road) Lost & Found!

*Edited on July 2012: Shifted to Bulkhaul House (67 Beach Road 189688)*

This is my 3rd visit to Supreme Pork Chop Rice.

Supreme Pork Chop Rice has a long history. They used to be located at Shaw Towers Food Court before locating to Bras Brasah Complex Food Court. After that they moved again, this time having their own shop at Middle Road, diagonally opposite Shaw Tower. Each time they moved, they did not inform their customers. But their customers took the effort to traced them down (through forums online) to the new location each time they moved. With such loyal fans, one can't help but feel that their food must have been very delicious. 

Location of the shop

Supreme Pork Chop Rice is located along Middle Road. It is diagonally opposite Shaw Towers and beside Great Eastern House. It can be spotted by its bright red signboard. In addition, outside the shop, you can spot the endorsements by television programmes, magazines and newspapers.

Menu

It may be hard to get find a sit over here during peak hours; lunch & dinner time.

Pork Chop Rice $3.50

Pork Chop Rice $3.50

Trying this for a third time, I thought that it was just average. The pork chop was hard as if it was fried a second time to keep it warm. Thin layer of batter that was topped with black pepper. Maybe it is the value for money factor that keeps customers coming back as this shop is located near Bugis and City Hall area.

Supreme Pork Chop Rice (Middle Road) 
21 Middle Road #01-00
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 1130am - 9pm
                          Closed Sun & PH
Location

View FoodieFC's Singapore Food Map in a larger map

Hainanese Curry Rice (Maxwell FC)

Another trip to Maxwell Food Centre during a weekday lunch. There are lots of curry rice or Hainanese curry rice stalls in this food centre. The prices tend to be slightly higher than other Chap Chye Peng (wide variety of dishes with rice) stalls in other hawker centres or coffee shops. Why? I have no idea. Maybe because they are targeting the office crowd and in the area for cheap food its either Maxwell FC or Amoy Street FC.

Hainanese Curry Rice

Tried 2 stalls of curry rice so far. This stall called Hainanese Curry Rice or ‘China Street Hainainese Curry Rice stall’ (#01-68) deserves some time online. A queue of about 7 people in front of me. But not to worry, the workers are quite efficient. Within 7minutes, its your turn to order.

I always order the same dishes when I visit the Chap Chye Peng stalls at Bugis. Now coming here, I changed my style and ordered fried pork chop (which to me is a signature item for curry rice!), chicken wing and bitter gourd (my favorite). And of course curry!

Don’t mind the presentation of the food, appearance can be deceiving! Despite the food being cold, it was irresistible! The meal totally wow me over, something so simple yet satisfying. The fried pork  chop was tasty (well marinated), crispy and thin. I was really wishing that a bigger portion was given. The chicken wing was not over cook, tasted firm and fresh! The bitter gourd (might be baised) was cooked to perfection, the way i like it. It was not hard! It was soft and sliced thinly. It was not salty and also not very bitter. Moreover, it did not taste raw. The curry was another wow factor. You really got  to give this stall a try. My next visit to Maxwell FC, I am going to eat this again to satisfy my craving! After that, I will try out other gems in the FC. =) Oh, I forgot how much this meal cost, but it was certainty worth it!

Hainanese Curry Rice (Maxwell FC) or China Street Hainainese Curry Rice
Maxwell Road #01-68 
Maxwell Food Centre
Opening Hours: Sat - Thurs 1130am - 730pm
                                  Closed on Fri & PH

View FoodieFC's Singapore Food Map in a larger map