Had a lovely feast of Malay food this week.
Category: Food
Cheap eats: Changi Airport Staff Canteen (Terminal 1)
It’s Food Friday here at YQ Travelling. Today, I will share where you can find the staff canteen at Changi Airport Terminal 1.
Usually, food at airport is expensive. However, among all the airports that I have been, Singapore’s Changi Airport has the relatively cheapest food.
If you don’t fancy fast food or restaurants at Changi Airport, I suggest visiting the staff canteen. Today, I will introduce the staff canteen at Terminal 1 because this is where I usually leave when I take AirAsia.
I find that the canteen can only be accessed from the second floor’s lift. Somehow, I could not find the elevator on the first floor.
Look for the toilet nearest to the AirAsia counter. Around the corner, there is a set of elevators to the basement. Head to Basement 1.
You will reach a large staff canteen such as this.
I find it surprising that many Indonesian tourists know of this relatively secret hideout for cheap eats. Every time I go, I see a table of tourists from Indonesians with their large luggage.
The food in the canteen is very similar to what you can find at normal hawker centers.
For example, this bowl of duck porridge is S$4. The same price as at the food court.
A normal cup of kopi (local coffee)
Have you been to the staff canteen at Changi Airport? Which is your favorite stall?
Disappointing all-you-can-eat dinner at Garuda Padang Cuisine
[While researching for this article (i.e. checking out the website), I found out that the Far East Square branch of Garuda Padang Cuisine no longer has dinner.]
I love all-you-can-eat places especially if the prices are good.
When D and I were at Far East Square, we found out that Garuda Padang Cuisine had daily dinner all-you-can-eat promo. Two diners only need to pay for one person. I think it was S$30++ for two.
One night, we decided to try out the place. D called to make a booking but was told that no booking was required.
When we got to the place, we found out that it was order-all-you-want and not a buffet line of food.
Oh well, we ordered some dishes which came in really tiny plates.
While food in Indonesia is generally awesome, Garuda Padang Cuisine’s all-you-can-eat was disappointing.
The food had been out for a while so they were cold. Some of them tasted like they had been reheated one too many times.
The only thing I really enjoyed was the all-you-can-drink lime juice. It helped wash away some of the spice.
I guess it’s no wonder that they cancelled dinner at that branch.
More info Garuda Padang Cuisine:
Website: http://www.garudapadang.com
Branch: Garuda Padang – Far East Square
Far East Square #01-01
7-8 Amoy Street
Singapore 049949
Opening hours: 11:30AM – 3:00PM (Last order: 2:30PM) (Closed on Saturdays and Sundays)
Chilli Padi Nonya Café at Heng Mui Keng Terrace: My fav high tea buffet in Singapore
My favorite place for a budget high tea in Singapore is the Chilli Padi Nonya Café (Heng Mui Keng Terrace). Its high tea buffet is only available on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays is only S$8.80+ per person (less than S$10 after tax).
I visited the Chilli Padi Nonya Café once when it was still in Bugis. The spread then was OK and the noodle dish was a Penang Assam laksa.
Then the café moved from the populous Bugis to the in the middle of literally nowhere Heng Mui Keng Terrace.
The first time I went to the Heng Mui Keng branch, it took me a long while of searching and a phone call to the café to find the place.
The café was huge but the place was very very empty. Compared with Bugis branch, it was practically a ghost town.
Unless you are in a large group, there’s no need to make a reservation.
Food selection at Chilli Padi Nonya Café
The Chilli Padi Nonya Café serves Peranakan food which is unique to Southeast Asia. (Don’t believe the propaganda that the Peranakan Museum tells you. Peranakan culture is not only in Singapore.)
The food selection for high tea is rather limited. But some of the dishes are so good that it’s actually worth going there just to gorge on them.
My most favorite dish is the curry laksa. You take some of the thick noodles, put it in the strainer and let it soak in the hot water a while.
Then, you put the noodles into your bowl and pour the coconut milk-filled curry gravy. DO NOT put your noodles directly into the curry gravy. (I’m looking at you middle aged man who went on Feb 17.)
The taste is divine!
My second favorite dish is the kong ba bao (which unfortunately doesn’t have a Wikipedia entry).
You need to DIY with this dish. There is a steamer of white fluffy Chinese bun skin. Take one of this.
Take a fatty slice of the kong ba which is next to the steamer. Take a slice of lettuce so your mom won’t nag you.
Once at your seat, put the meat and lettuce into the bun. Eat while warm.
The kong ba is seasoned so well that I do not mind the fatty bits at all.
My third favorite is this: Pai tee which is a a little dough cup which you fill with braised turnip. Yummy!
Pai tee translates as “top hat”. Isn’t that the cutest name?
Other yummies
Desserts
Nyonya and Malay kuih (roughly translated as cake):
Mango pudding
Tropical fruits. Yes, we consider fruits as part of desserts and is a perfect end to a meal.
Coffee and tea: The kopi (coffee) is kind of weak. The tea is stronger. Both goes well with the evaporated milk they have at the side.
How to get there?
Chilli Padi Nonya Café
29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace
#06-21 (Ground Level)
Singapore 119620
Tel: 6872 2982
Actually, the address tells you NOTHING because it’s rather difficult to get there.
I have discovered an easier way to get to Chili Padi Nyonya at NUS.
- Stop at Pasir Panjang Road’s Heng Mui Keng Terrace or Opp Heng Mui Keng Terrace.
- Walk into NUS, take the right at the first round about.
- Walk up passing Sheares and Kent Ridge Hall and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
- At the top, you will see a building. The entrance to Chili Padi Nyonya Cafe is there.
- Bon appetit.
Have you tried Peranakan food? How was your experience?
Glutton at Chinese New Year
Happy Chinese New Year! Yes, CNY does not end until the 15th day.
This week’s FoodFriday features a special Chinese New Year edition of the Glutton Series.
For this banquet, we’ll have home cooked meals prepared for reunion dinners and a special “lou sang” dish that involved violent chopstick movements.
First course is the CNY eve reunion dinner at my aunt’s place. Every year on Chinese New Year eve, the extended family gathers for a meal.
This year, the table was overflowing with food (as usual) because many brought multiple dishes. I think my family brought the least as we only had my mom’s famous salted duck and a plate of salted vegetable.
Not included in the photo is two types of soups (one without chicken as my dad is allergic to chicken) and steamed fish.
Because the main dining table had limited space, I was assigned to the children’s table. The “youngest” person at the children’s table will be 19 years old this year.
Auntie’s place for lunch
The next day, we were invited to a friend of mom’s place for a lunch gathering. The auntie (a title we use to call an elder woman) is a great cook and she made an amazing lunch.
We had dumplings (a traditional Chinese New Year food). There was roast duck and roast pork which can be found in many Malaysian Chinese outlets.
The fish eggs dish is interesting. The auntie mixed fish eggs with chicken eggs and pan fried it in a rectangular skillet. The tiny fish eggs are snugly wrapped in a coat of eggs. Yummy.
Soup was winter melon soup with meatballs.
We ate all this accompanied with rice. My stomach was stretched almost to the maximum.
Last course: Yusheng
It’s quite alright for adults to have food war during Chinese New Year. The photo below shows Yusheng.
It’s a medley of food, put into a large plate while the server reads incantations (not really, just “auspicious wishes” ). The eaters then violently toss the ingredients with chopsticks.
I’ve never had this dish when I was in Sabah. It was until I began work that I am invited to Chinese New Year luncheons and I participate in the violent act.
After mixing, the dish is sourish with shred of turnip being the main taste.
What’s your favorite Chinese New Year dish? Share it in the comment section below.
Related Chinese New Year links :
#FoodFri White coffee @ Ipoh
The best white coffee I ever had was in Ipoh.
The slightly burnt taste with a smooth evaporated milk finish…
Divine.
Find out more about Ipoh:
- What to see: Among the ruins of Kellie’s Castle, Ipoh
- Where to stay: Stay: Ipoh Tune Hotel review
- What to eat: Glutton in Ipoh
Glutton in Pontian, Johor
The weekend trip to Pontian was short and sweet. My sister and I did not do much, which also meant that we did not eat much.
There’s not much formal travel information on Pontian (zero at the time of writing on Wikitravel) so we did a lot of Google searching about food and things to do.
Pontian Wanton Noodles
Since Pontian Wanton Noodles is famous in Singapore, I decided that we must eat wanton noodles in Pontian.
Unlike its name suggest, the wanton noodles is not promiscuous or cruel. Instead, it is a noodle dish served with little dumplings (wanton) which are fried or boiled.
We headed to Kedai Mee Heng Heng, a 15-minute walk away from the hotel. I was so hungry that I brought us into the coffeeshop next door.
I was rather puzzled why there was no wanton noodle. We were told that the dish was served next door. We thanked the people and sheepishly left the place.
Our noodles came really really slowly. We found out later that serving food at a slow pace is typical of Pontian town.
We ordered the black sauce noodles (instead of the sweet red sauce–ketchup–which feels urgh). The noodles were alright and the wantons too but nothing to shout about.
Football Field Restaurant seafood
Another highly-raved about place was the Football Field Restaurant which seemed like a long distance from our hotel on Google Maps. In reality, the route was quite quick.
We didn’t order crabs because they were priced at a crazy RM70 per kilo. I could have RM18/kg crabs in Sabah so I refused to order crabs.
We did have grilled flounder which was amazing, as usual. The chilli paste that came along didn’t spoil the sweet taste of its flesh. (I sound like a cannibal.)
yucky noodles
We wanted to try food at the Market. However, we found outthat the market only opens in the evening and at nights. In the end, we headed to a row of shophouses and tried our luck at one of the coffeeshops.
We stood in the shop waiting for tables to clear. No one was leaving and food was served at the usual snail pace.
We switched to a roadside eatery instead. The food was very bland.
Tropical fruits
Not counting the fish, this was probably the highlight of Glutton in Pontian.
Our taxi driver stopped at a roadside fruitstall where we bought a bag of mangosteens and two humongous guavas. I finished my guava only on the second day, biting through it like a beaver with my front teeth.
As for the mangosteens, they were sweet and delicious. I had fun making a video about how to peel a mangosteen, check it out if you haven’t seen it.
Have you been to Pontian? What did you eat there?
How to peel a mangosteen
it’s Food Friday here on YQtravelling. Instead of meals, I’m sharing a how-to video with you.
I had the chance to eat several mangosteens while I was in Johor. I thought it would be interesting to show you how to peel a mangosteen.
How to peel a mangosteen
Guide to peeling a mangosteen
The fruitseller told me to pick the fruits that had a softer exterior. A mangosteen’s flesh is covered by an armor of fiber which is coated by a dark purple skin.
Take a mangosteen, press on the fruit so the skin breaks.
Then, carefully break off the shell so your fruit doesn’t fall out.
Enjoy the while flesh and be careful of its seed.
More guides to peeling tropical fruits
#FoodFri Devonshire cream tea set in Singapore
My favorite place for afternoon tea in Singapore is Fosters, an English Rose Café at Holland Village.
Even though the scones are the leading characters in the set, the Devonshire cream steals the limelight EVERY SINGLE TIME! The rest of the spread is so so.
The white cream comes in a small tub, the top in a cute swirl. It doesn’t taste of cream but of coconut. Can you imagine? Coconut bread spread that doesn’t taste like fake coconut.
My history with Fosters
When I was in university, one of the bus I take always passed the restaurant. It looked posh. With my university allowance, I didn’t think that I could afford going there.
So, one of the first things I did when I got my first pay was to visit the restaurant.
I was curious about its Devonshire Cream Tea Set. Back then, the set had two scones, four finger sandwiches (2 cucumer–eek–and 2 ham), 2 fruit cakes.
Today, there is only 2 sandwiches and 1 dried store-bought fruitcake. At least, the one coffee or tea remains the same. The breadspread is the same: strawberry jam, butter and Devonshire cream.
It’s only available from 3 to 6pm which is a tricky timing since lunchtime passed not so long ago.
The restaurant is decorated quaintly and makes a good place to chat with friends. If there’s only two of you, you can sit at the two sofas near the door where a suit of armor guards.
How to get to Fosters, an English Rose Café
The nearest MRT stop is Holland Village.
[And look! This post fits WP’s Daily Post writing challenge]
Have you been to Fosters? Do you like Devonshire cream?
Glutton in Sabah
I was home for the holidays and ate many yummy things (and some less yummy food). This post is divided by the locations I ate the dishes.
Bon appetit!
Durian. My family loves durians but I’m a little meh about it. However, this time when I was back, I have kind of fallen in love with its creamy custard texture.
Lamb chop. On the second day when I reached home, I had a craving for lamb chop so I requested my parents to bring me to our regular steak place.
Our seats were right next to the covered drain but we got wafts of drain smell floating around us. :<
The lamb chop was rather disappointing. The portion was large but the meat was so tough I felt like I was a grazing cow. My jaw hurt in the end.
Kota Belud kopitiam
Before my mom and I headed to Kudat, we stopped by a kopitiam in Kota Belud. We lunched with my dad and my parents’ friends and ordered things to share.
Fried bee hoon. A typical fried noodle dish, garnished with roast pork bits.
Pig blood curd yong tau foo. If you’ve not had blood curd (like bean curd but with animal blood), you might feel a bit queasy about it.
It’s actually really tasty. It doesn’t taste of blood. I can’t really describe the taste but it’s firmer than jelly.
Kudat seafood
Mom and I couldn’t find a nice place for seafood while we were in Kudat. In our car, we went about town.
Finally, we settled at one of the wooden houses at the sea. We happened to sit at the less popular restaurant. Oh well, food is food is food.
Crab. I’ve never had this sort of crab before. The usual crab I eat has a uniform color but this was patterned. Mom said it was a “flower crab”.
The meat wasn’t as firm as the usual crab I eat. But the good thing is that the shell is less tough and I can break off the shell easily to the crab meat.
(This crab was not eaten in Kudat.) Just to show you what the regular crab I eat looks like. I had this at restaurant near my home.
Steamed fish. Oh, how much I love fish steamed with soy sauce and ginger. The sauce goes well with rice.
Roadside fruit stall
On the way to and from Kudat, fruit stalls are scattered by the roadside.
They all sell the same seasonal fruits: BBQ corn, bananas, jackfruit, honey, rambutan.
BBQ corn. It’s interesting how they cook the corn. I usually eat steamed or boiled corn, never one roasted by fire.
However, our cobs of corn weren’t cooked enough.
Honey. Mom bought a bottle of dark honey (“Darker means older honey,” said the seller.) I haven’t tried it but the bottles look so pretty.
Bukit Padang stalls
Cha kway teow. Stir fried flat board noodles. The half-cooked cockles are known to cause mild food poisoning.
Cendol. Shaved ice, coconut milk, gula melaka (palm sugar) syrup, and green cendol. Enough said. It gave me brain freeze when I tried to eat it really fast.
Others
Hokkien noodle. I love this dark sauce thick noodles. And the fried pork fat. Mmmm.
Pearl milk tea. Or also known as “bubble tea” in Singapore. Black chewy tapioca drowned in milk tea.
YOYO’s the best pearl milk tea branch in Southeast Asia, according to me.
Cooling water, or what we call “rhino horn water”. I do not think the drink has actual bits of rhino calcium. But it was selling like hot cakes (if they were liquid and cool) at my parents’ store.
I learned from a customer that they use it to cool down after eating heaty durians.
Swiss roll. I bought this cake because I mistook it for another bakery’s milk cake. There’s custard in between.
Fish soup bee hoon. Sluuuuurp. (OK, I’m not that big a fan of pale fish.)
Pot luck! My mom and her friends had a pot luck on new year eve night. It was dinner after mahjong. Later we went to the beach for our ritual feet washing.
YQtravelling 