Cheng Heng Kway Chap and Braised Duck Rice 進興粿汁.鹵鴨飯 (Holland Drive Market & Food Centre)

Cheng Heng Kway Chap and Braised Duck Rice 進興粿汁.鹵鴨飯 is a kway chap stall located in Holland Drive Market & Food Centre. Although this food centre (hawker centre) is relatively big, ironically this stall is located right next to another kway chap stall; Blanco Court Kueh Chap.

To be frank, I was not sure which stall was better. Like a typical Singaporean, I went for the one with a longer queue! 

The stall was manned by two ladies. Since I already ate fishball noodles 15 minutes earlier, I decided to just order the Kway Chap set which cost $3.50 without adding other ingredients.

The bowl of kway (flat and broad rice sheet) was soft and smooth. What caught my attend was the broth in which the kway was soaked in. The broth was tasty with a hint of herbal after-taste. Moreover, it was not overly salty.

As for the plate of mixed intestines, the pork belly, intestines and salted vegetables were above average. Particularly, the pork belly had a good ratio of fat to lean meat with a melt in the mouth sensation.

Overall, the kway chap at this stall is one of the better ones around. While it may not be the very best, it hit the right notes for several of their ingredients/items.

Cheng Heng Kway Chap and Braised Duck Rice 進興粿汁.鹵鴨飯 (Holland Drive Market & Food Centre)

Holland Drive Food Centre 

Blk 44 Holland Drive #02-05 

Singapore 270044

Opening Hours: Daily 7.30am to 2.30pm

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Original Sin (Holland Village)

Original Sin is a Mediterranean Vegetarian restaurant located at Chip Bee Gardens less than 2 minutes walk from Holland Village MRT (exit A) station. The restaurant offers both alfresco and indoor (air-conditioned) dining. As we made reservations, we decided to sit indoors as the weather was scorching hot these days. In addition, we did not want to feed the mosquitoes. 

We visited during lunch time on a Saturday. During lunch hours, they had Set Lunch available during lunch hours. The set lunch consist of a Starter (choice of Soup of the Day/Green Salad), Mains and Dessert at $26. All of us ordered the set lunch. 

Minestrone Soup (Soup of the Day)

Most of us including myself ordered chose the Soup of the Day as our Starter. The Soup of the Day was Minestrone Soup. The soup was full of ingredients such as carrot, cabbage, tomato, spaghetti, etc. The soup itself was not well balanced in taste, I felt that it was a tad too sour and something seems to be lacking. 

Green Salad

A friend of mine ordered the Green Salad.

Spaghetti

For mains, I ordered Spaghetti which was cooked with zucchini, olive, cherry tomato, tossed in tomato basil sauce and parmesan cheese. The chef executed this dish quite well. What was lacking was that they could have been more generous with some of the ingredients such as zucchini.  

Tofu Burger

My friend ordered the Tofu Burger which was served with wedges and salad greens. This was a hit among us; in a league of its own. 

Tofu Burger

The Tofu Burger consisting of tofu and lentil pattie was surprisingly tasty. Although the patty was soft and crumbled easily, we love it! The potato wedges which came with potato skin was also nicely done. In addition, the entire dish was not soggy. 

Mediterranean Wrap

The Mediterranean Wrap which was essentially tortilla wrap filled with chickpea and pumpkin spread, grilled eggplant, feta and salad was a dish which most of us did not appreciate. The main reason was because we were not a fan of chickpea which had a unique taste and smell.

Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

For desserts, we had Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. The chocolate cake was a tad too dry. The molten dark chocolate that flowed out from the centre of the cake was rich and dense. It was so good that it made the chocolate cake seems inferior.

The set lunch made the meal more affordable compared to the ala carte menu. However, one should still note that even with the set lunch, at $26++, this is not exactly cheap. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable meal.

Original Sin (Holland Village)

Blk 43 #01-62 Jalan Merah Saga Holland Village

Chip Bee Gardens 

Singapore 278115

Tel: 6475 5605

Opening Hours: Daily 1130am - 230pm & 6pm - 1030pm

Website 

.6475 .6475 56055605.6475 5605

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Commonwealth Crescent Fei Zai Eatery (Holland Village Food Centre)

Commonwealth Crescent Fei Zai Eatery is located in Holland Village Food Centre. As it was my first time in the food centre, I decided to patronise the stalll with the longest queue. Hence, I found myself at Commonwealth Crescent Fei Zai Eatery. 

The stall seems to specialise in selling a wide range of dishes that revolve around noodles. There's prawn noodle, pig liver noodles, pork ribs & prawn noodle, fishball noodle, minced meat noodle and braised beef noodles. The prices of the items are listed in the photo above. I ordered the Pork Ribs & Prawn Noodle after noticing that two of the persons in front of me ordered that. 

Pork Ribs & Prawn Noodle $4.50

The Pork Ribs & Prawn Noodle cost $4.50. What made it stood out was the pork ribs which was braised. 

Pork Ribs & Prawn Noodle $4.50

Pork Ribs & Prawn Noodle $4.50

Frankly, the Pork Ribs & Prawn Noodle was disappointing The soup lacked depth and did not taste like prawn soup. The taste of light and dark soya sauce overwhelmed any other flavours (if any) in the soup. It was no doubt salty. The prawns were not fresh. The only consolation was that the pork ribs were tender and separated from the bones easily. However, it was too salty too.

Commonwealth Crescent Fei Zai Eatery (Holland Village Food Centre)
1 Lorong Mambong
#01-14 Holland Village Food Centre
Singapore 277700
Location

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Orchard Emerald Beef Noodles 牛肉麵 (Holland Drive)

Orchard Emerald Beef Noodles 牛肉麵  used to be located at Orchard Emerald Basement Food Court in 1997. I understand that the owner has moved several times before finally settling down at its present location; a coffee shop at Blk 46 Holland Drive. The stall is located at a corner of the coffee shop near the zi char stall. 

I visited Orchard Emerald Beef Noodles 牛肉麵 on a weekday during lunch hours.There was a queue of around 4 person in front of me. Despite the short queue, I had to wait close to 10 minutes. This was because it was basically a one man show. The owner operate the whole stall by himself. He takes the order one at a time, cooks it upon order and collects the payment. This reminds me of Yilmaz Western (Ang Mo Kio) which was also a one man show. 

This may also explains why the owner has left a clear indication of his operating hours and the price list for addition of ingredients clearly at his stall front. 

Beef Noodle (Half Set Meal) $4.00

I ordered the Beef Noodle (Half Set Meal) which consisted of a bowl of Beef Noodles and a bowl of Beef Balls Soup.

Beef Noodles

This bowl of Beef Noodles was delicious. A generous portion of beansprouts, diced salted vegetables, slices of beef and spring onions was served together with the noodles. The owner has also grasped the timing to cook the thinly sliced beef perfectly. Such that they were not over cooked, slightly pinkish and was so tender, so soft. The smooth brownish gravy had the right consistency - was not too starchy nor too fluid. Taste wise, it was great; tasty and full of flavour from the beef stock. 

Beef Balls Soup

As for the Beef Balls Soup, it was as good as the bowl of Beef Noodles. Although there was nothing to shout about regarding the beef balls other than it was soft, the soup was the star. It was rich, tasty, full of flavour and essence from the beef. I doubt that any MSG was added as it did not taste salty and I did not feel thirsty after drinking all the soup.

This bowl of Beef Noodles and Beef Balls Soup from Orchard Emerald Beef Noodles 牛肉麵  is easily one of the better if not best beef noodles around. Fans of Beef Noodles will surely love this!

After thought: I admire the spirit of the local stall owners (e.g. Orchard Emerald Beef Noodles & Yilmaz Western)  who despite the difficulties (e.g. rising rental cost, rising cost of ingredients, difficulty and cost of hiring a helper) have gone to continue operating the stalls themselves. In addition, long hours and hard work  are required to cook such delectable dishes. Let's hope that they continue to persevere. I will definitely still be going back to these stalls to continue to patronise, support and at the same time satisfy my stomach. A win-win-win situation.

Orchard Emerald Beef Noodles 牛肉麵 (Holland Drive)

#01-359, Blk 46 Holland Drive 

Tel: 9678 3869

Opening Hours: 10am to 8pm

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