Madam Saigon, Liang Seah Street

My confidence in Vietnamese food has been reinforced by this trip to Madam Saigon (30 Liang Seah Street, tel: 6333 9798). Was rather happy with what we've tried so far and a re-visit is definitely in order since I didn't get to try out their pho after being distracted by the rest of the menu.


We started off with some light and crunchy summer rolls which were accompanied by a sweet dip with crushed peanuts. Never realized that there were fried versions which were on the menu.


These are known as bolalot skewers; basically sticks of beef in betel leaves. I couldn't detect any flavour from those betel leaves. They came across like tasteless seaweed. Does anyone know how these are supposed to taste like?


This chicken and sweet potato curry was something that I didn't expect to see and never knew was Vietnamese. I've never associated chicken curry with Vietnamese food. This turned out to be interesting. In fact, I wouldn't mind eating them again since they were kinda nice. The sweet potatoes imparted a mild sweetness into the mildly spicy coconut laden curry. I wasn't sure but I thought some of that sweetness crept into the chicken as well. This dish made short work of the rice.


Their Vietnamese pancake was light and pretty crunchy beneath the slightly crisp skin, loaded with stuff like beans sprouts, spring onions, chicken and some shrimps. I could eat this again. It reminded me of a kind of poh piah. The accompanying dips were good with them.

If anyone's wondering about the coffee, I've tried it and I thought their brew was pretty thick (not Turkish coffee thick though), but lacked fragrance that might have made it great. I'll be back for the pho another day.

Poutine from Yella Fellas

I had once enquired of a friend who had spent 6 years in Canada about the possible availability of poutine here. To which, he texted me back in reply and said that I should inform him if I ever find out. A lesson in lateral thinking here for those of us who subscribe to the train of "ask and thou shalt receive". Hi Stan. This endeavor bore no fruit until recently, when I came across Yella Fellas (#B1-K6 Bugis Junction, 230 Victoria Street, tel: 9863 1404) doing a "poutine" version of their fries. 

To be realistic, one cannot expect the version that the Canadians make since this place is very obviously, a fries and topping place rather than a joint that specializes in poutine. They have substituted the curd cheese topping with cream cheese instead, citing reasons of the more expensive cost for the former which is also more difficult to procure. Which to me means that it would outprice their market if they would do it and have to charge us more. Nonetheless, this was the best (or only) I could find, which was better than nothing indeed. 

I would say that this poutine was not bad for taste but no comparisons will be made since I've never had the original versions. They were quite generous with the cream cheese toppings, however, the beef gravy was kinda flat and mostly just salty. The fries were just decent and these guys apparently weigh each serving on an electronic scale. The potatoes must be expensive.

What's wrong with Casuarina Curry?

This could have been a satisfying cheese and egg masala thosai from Casuarina Curry (136-138 Casuarina Road, tel: 6455 9093) but for a couple of gripes. The first was that the thosai arrived barely lukewarm. That should not have been the case. These are supposed to be made upon order and there was absolutely no good reason for them not to be warm. The same could be said for the vegetable masala fillings. To further compounded was the barely melted (though generously portioned) cheese inside. Have I been served something that was already pre-made to be tossed into the pan for a less than half hearted attempt at heating? It's fortunate that there are other options around since they've fallen this far.

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, Maxwell Food Centre

The queue bordered on crazy. If I hadn't been here specially to eat at Tian Tian (12 Murray Street, #01-10 Maxwell Food Centre), a queue like theirs would be a guarantee that I would not have bothered. By the way, I have no recollection of having eaten at their stall before. Their christening by a certain celebrated chef formerly from Les Halles Brasserie some years back as a shrine of chook and grains did much to cement their reputation.

If I had to say it, this was not bad as chicken rice went. What was also true was that a significant measure of the reputation at Tian Tian was overblown by the media. The chicken was deliciously tender and the grease soaked grainy rice was pretty hearty. It's nice but I wouldn't say it's the best. Whatever that best might be. What was arousingly refreshing was the lime spiked chilli sauce that was invigorating with heat and citrus. I smell a winning formula here.

We also had a side of crunchy blanched bean sprouts was expertly done with no indication of rawness. Would I come back for this again? I wouldn't say no, but there are other chicken rice options aplenty.

Monster Mash Cafe, Holland Village

smokey pork and apple w garlic & mushroom mash

I had the distinct impression that the retro styled Monster Mash Cafe from Edinburgh (26A Lorong Mambong, Holland Village, tel: 6463 4610) was British, but apparently from what I saw over at the place on a little bit of their history, the owners hail from Scotland. Nonetheless, the idea of the "cafe" seems to be of straight forward food with minimal frills and elaboration as evident from the menu. They even mention the Bird's Custard and Wall's ice cream that they use. Generally, the main draw of this place is their sausages and mash amongst a bunch of other fare like pies, burgers and British styled breakfast. I saw some vegetarian haggis on the menu which I didn't think to try since it was vegetarian.

One basically just chooses from the list of available sausage, mashed potatoes (real mealy mashed potatoes) and gravy from the menu and whatever's up on the specials on the blackboard. Unexpectedly, the accompanying gravy tasted a little bland. I was thinking that the flavor would be robust or at least, more salty. The onion gravy option did differ from the regular monster gravy by being noticeable sweeter from the onions, but that was pretty much it. The sausages were quite decent with the morrocan lamb being more flavorful than the other.

moroccan lamb

The bread pudding was frankly, very enjoyable with the piping hot custard that came on the side. The afternoon rain probably contributed to that, but I was quite surprised that nothing was excessively sweet. There wasn't the usual feeling of sugar overload at the end which was a good thing for me. That goes for the Baileys caramel shake which while wasn't the coldest or creamiest shakes around, was quite enjoyable with the flavor of the namesake liquor.

I've no qualms coming back again for more of their food. The cheese burger from the kid's menu on the neighboring table looked pretty good too. Lol.

Pow Sing Restaurant, Serangoon Garden

This was an old school restaurant (65 Serangoon Garden Way, tel: 6282 7972 / 6286 4813) that serves, and is known for their Peranakan food and Hainanese styled chicken rice. Part of the reason I was drawn to this place was because of the way it looked and the pictures of dishes that were displayed at the front of the restaurant. Besides, the crowd density indicated that things cannot be that bad. I hoped. In the end, this turned out to be a good call (a revisit in order!) as the food was indeed tasty and prices were very affordable.

Another reason that drew me into Pow Sing was the chicken rice which looked good already from the front of the shop. Behind the glass screen,the chef was carving the birds onto platters for serving. No squashing of the chicken meat with the cleaver in this place. As it turned out, the chicken breast which was ordered was quite tender and dare I say, succulent. Paired with a none too heavy rice that held a prerequisite greasiness and sufficient aroma, I was pretty much already sold.

Still we were compelled to pick some other items from the menu.


The Nonya deep fried tofu was deep fried egg tofu. Was not bad. If there was additional flavouring added to the exterior of the fried skins, it was lost to me. This dish was recommended by the server as a popular item and I could guess why after the first bite.


This was described as a sweet and sour duck on the menu. We wondered at what the dish was about so we ordered a portion of it. Didn't turn out far from the described name but the sauce wasn't the sweet and sour variety that was commonly stir fried with pork and sliced fish that I had in mind. This was stewed duck in a broth of some spices and shredded onions that were boiled to a pulp. The onions gave the sweet taste but I couldn't identify what made the dish slightly tangy. This wasn't too bad - the meat was just a little tough.


These were deep fried crispy squid. A no brainer with not much that can go wrong. Pow Sing's rendition was quite good. In fact, it was very appetizing after the a squeeze of that juicy lime.

Getting seconds of their chicken rice was a good indication of how much I enjoyed the food. Can definitely see myself making plans to return.