Rong Ji Chicken Rice & Porridge

During the weekends, Ted & me visited the Eastern part of Singapore, Joo Chiat area this time. Joo Chiat is known for its Peranakan and rustic ambience and of course, a popular haunt among foodies! If you would have known, there is the famous “Fei Fei Wanton Noodle” stall in one of the coffeeshops in Joo Chiat,a favourite breakfast spot especially over the weekends. So we headed there. But no, we are not trying the wanton noodles there. In case you still do not know, in this coffeeshop, there is another stall that serves mouthwatering chicken rice and porridge!! So this time we are going to try this.

Its called the Rong Ji Chicken Rice & Porridge stall. The business for this stall is so good that it operates only on half day. By noon, all the chicken would have already been sold out. When you are there, don’t forget to try the chicken drumstick rice set (S$3.50) – which is the best I have ever tried so far! This set usually gets sold out first while the rest of the chicken parts remain to be sold off slowly over time… Their chicken is so soft and tender and smells of the alluring sesame seed oil aroma. Really good!

Oh and there is also the very fragrant chicken rice which seems to be a very special type of short chopped rice grains. You really got to try the rice. It smells so good and cooked just nicely soft that it goes so well with the chicken. Eaten together with their specially made ginger chilli and the dark soya sauce, the chicken rice is just ultimate!

The pork and chicken porridge sold by the stall is worth recommending too. The porridge must have been cooked for very long as it is very smooth in texture. It also comes served with a fresh egg on top. Look at the top picture!

Rong Ji Chicken Rice & Porridge stall is located inside the Sin Wah Coffee Shop, Joo Chiat Road, Singapore. For your information, just beside the coffeeshop is the famous "Kim Choo Nonya Chang (Dumpling)". Do pick up some ba-changs (dumplings) while you are there too!

Sik Wai Sin Eating House

Located along the stretch of old shophouses in Geylang is where you will find this Cantonese restaurant called Sik Wai Sin Eating House. If you observe closely enough on its glass front, this coffeeshop has actually been found and already listed in the “Makan Sutra” by foodies already!! So we are not the only ones who discover this place!! Good and delicious food really travels afar! Sik Wai Sin, this place where the most simple yet delicious family style Cantonese cuisines are served.


This is not our first visit here. Previously they do not used to have a menu but during our visit over the weekends, we found that they now have a simple one. Because of its location and crowd, this place may not be where most people will like to visit. Also parking is difficult to find and there is not a MRT station nearby. One will either have to travel by bus or take to the nearest Aljunied MRT station and then walk. Tedious. But somehow the warm, delicious and prize deserving Cantonese cuisine served here tend to lure you back to the place again and again…

The staff there speaks Cantonese and the dishes they serve are simple finds. Their menu can be quite limited but one never complains because of its quality, generous serving and good taste. The typical cuisines offered are the steam fish-head (costs about S$18), fried egg toufu with prawns (S$18), bittergourd cooked with pork ribs or the soup delicacies. As there are only two of us, Ted and me decided to order the stir-fry kalian with prawns (S$18) and the steam pork with salted fish (S$10). The serving was real generous and the meal was simply delicious, delicious, delicious! Such fresh ingredients and generous serving ! It was so good that we even had to order so many extra bowls of white rice as the dishes were simply so wonderfully cooked ! (Do note though that the white rice costs S$0.50 for quite a small bowl)


See our sumptuous meal above. Real Cantonese delicacies. Offered in the most unusual place but yet not loosing its appeal and good taste. Please go and try it yourself if you are one who is looking for those simple Cantonese finds. Sik Wai Sin Eating House is located at 287 Geylang Road (near Lorong 15), Singapore 389334 Tel: 6744 0129. Please do take note the place is crowded most of the time and its best to go early before the dining hours so that you don’t need to wait. Vaguely recalled their opening hours are from 11am-2pm and 5-9pm.

Thasevi Roti Prata

Ted & me went for Indian fare this time! At Jalan Kayu. In the quiet farther part of Singapore. In the North-East, near to the Seletar Airport.

We visited the infamous one and only Thasevi Roti Prata. Well-acclaimed roti-prata since the 1960s. This shop also operates 24-hour! I was craving for pratas in the morning over the weekends so we headed for Thasevi. Since we were there, naturally we had to order the famous Roti Prata kosong (costs only S$0.60 each) and the Roti Prata with egg (costs S$1.20 each). (At Thasevi, they also serve a varierty of pratas now like: tissue (thin crust) prata and even ice-cream pratas!!) We also ordered the Nasi Briyani and had Chicken Curry as additional side dish. Greedy us.

Firstly, I have to commend on the fantastic and fresh chicken used in the chicken curry! Served with briyani, it was ultimate! The spices were well-used and blends so well in the curry, thus bringing the chicken to a fresh fragrant taste. Of course, not forgetting the spicyness. Great dish.


The pratas were a little of a letdown, I think. Maybe because we had came with too high an expectation. We felt the pratas were just quite the normal. I really dont remember it tastes like that in the past. I vaguely recall it was small and real crispy. The experience we had that morning we visited Thasevi didnt quite gel with the memory I had in the past... Nevertheless, the trip ended with our nicely "tariked" Teh-Tarik (Pulled Tea) and Teh Alia (Ginger Tea). The teas just compliment the meals so well by washing off the spicy and oily feeling ...

We will go back for the pratas and curry again! Dont forget to go try out Thasevi Roti Prata too! Go to 237 & 239 Jalan Kayu, Singapore to relive those good old days of having Roti Prata and Chicken Curry at those row of little coffeeshops located just beside the roads (p.s. Jalan Kayu is still the same old untouched quaint little road in Singapore with a row of coffeeshop on side and terrace houses on the other. Plus you can also check out other eateries like: Jerry's Bar and Grill while you are there too) !

The French Stall

This time we venture to a quaint little food stall located at one of the small lanes near to Little India, Serangoon Area. Here is where you will least expect to find a French restaurant, where they call themselves “The French Stall”. This place claims to serve authentic French cuisines prepared by a French ex-chef so we thought we will drop by to try.

The ambience is open and relaxed. The walls inside are lined with newspaper cuttings and reviews. Customers can opt to either sit indoors or at the tables outside. The place is not air-conditioned so be prepared! But given the lovely little lane and sometimes with cool wind in the evening, you will not mind being given a table laid with nice white tablecloth at the outside. So Ted and me was brought to a table near the small lane. I managed to capture a shot of the place from where I sit.

So we proceeded to order. First, soup and starters to begin with. We decided to go for the set menus but I decided to change the Daily Soup of the Day in the set (which was “Pumpkin Soup”) to the “French Onion Soup”. Alas! The food was not really up to our expectations. We found the food nice but not really quite the exquisite like what we were looking for in French cuisine. Serving was quite generous for a French meal though!

My main was the “Pan Fried Dory Fish Fillet with Mashed Potatoes”. Nicely presented but it fell short of my expectations as the fish does not taste fresh, it seems. The soft mashed potatoes underneath the fish saved the day. Ted ordered the “Vegetarian Dish”. The dish was made up of eggplant, long beans, carrot, potatoes and some vegetables. Real vegetarian. Just what Ted wanted. I ended my set with the “Crème Brulee”. I would say it is soft and sweet to end the evening. There were no surprises for us that night and we would say it was a generally pleasant meal. We may go back again. The French Stall is at Serangoon Road, Sturdee Road, Singapore.

Life is so simple!

It was the last episode of the "So Simple" TV show on Channel U yesterday. Missed quite a few episodes and only knew about this great show recently. The show was about life inspiring travelogues and simplicity of life looking through the eyes of a poetic traveller played by a Singaporean TV artiste. Really enjoyed the show very much because of the inspirational messages brought across about leading a simple lifestyle. Many eco friendly tips and inspiring adventures too! Feels so very much alive after the program and begin to appreciate life better living simply! Got the final dosage of the series yesterday and have an urge to spread the word around about living simply, being eco friendly and to share the wonderful lessons to everyone! Do visit the link for more living inspirations at:

So Simple TV Show Blog 2 (in English/Chinese)
http://poeticlifejourney.blogspot.com/

So Simple TV Show Blog 1
http://sosimplegoodies.blogspot.com/

As Ray Charles would sing it "What a Wonderful Life"...

Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee Stall

Its local fare this time round! We are back at the famous Amoy Street hawker centre again over the weekends. Our favourite haunt. On Level 2 of the hawker centre, you cant miss this Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee stall! There is always a long and winding queue of people waiting to order the Lor Mee. So whats the big deal with their Lor Mee??

Ted and me tried to understand. With their stall front pasted with accolades from Chinese and English newspapers, TV recommendations, we try to order and see whats so delicious about the dish. No wonder. You got to try it. Really.

The S$2 per bowl (small serving) of Lor Mee is quite different from the rest! (The big bowl is only at a reasonable S$3) The sauce is sumptious, palatable and the noodle is chewy. There is a good generous serving of fish meat and fried bean paste in the bowl of noodles. I understand those are sharkfish meat!! The garnishes also blend well with the sauce. In addition, we also helped ourselves to the garlic garnishes. The fragrant garlic went very well with the noodles but I thought it seem a little too strong for my liking. I was full of garlic breath after taking it! Nevertheless, the slurpy noodles in the delicious sauce did not fail to convert me into another one of its fan! I will go back again for the noodles. Do go check out the Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee Stall at Amoy Street, Amoy Street Hawker Centre, #02-79/80, Singapore too!