30/11/2013

What to eat for $2.50 and under

We gave ourselves a budget of $2.50 and below for every meal, and were left well-fed and pleasantly surprised.  With the increasing standard of living in this city, it is comforting to know that a tasty, substantial meal can still be had for no more than a few dollars. Those that made the cut are complete meals, a filling (sometimes healthy) plate of the best budget eats in Singapore. Read and eat on. 
What good, filling dishes can you get for $2.50 and under these days in Singapore? We worked our way around the island and found that eating well for cheap is still very possible

 BAK CHOR MEE | Heong Huat Fishball Noodle, $2.50 | A humble bowl of noodles, in soup or tossed dry with minced meat and other ingredients, is one of the simplest hawker meals that one can find for $2.50. At Ghim Moh Market, Heong Huat Fishball Noodles serves a portion packed with ingredients and lots of bite. Choose from different types of noodles: mee pok, mee kia or kway teow. The dry noodles are evenly coated with sauce and come topped with fish cake, fish dumplings, minced meat and fish balls. Fried shallots and fried bits of lard add some sinful texture to the noodles. The accompanying soup is less salty than most we have tried. (Address: Block 20, Ghim Moh Road, #01-50, Ghim Moh Food Centre | Opening hours: Daily 5.30am-2pm)
BAK CHOR MEE

 BLACK CARROT CAKE | Delicious Fried Carrot Cake, $2 | We were hoping to get a snack-sized portion at $2.50, but this is what we got: a filling portion of radish cake chunks well-tossed and covered with black sauce, big pieces of sweet omelette and fat beansprouts with their tails on. Score! (Address: Block 85, Redhill Lane, #01-33, Redhill Food Centre | Opening hours: Daily 7.30am-2pm)
BLACK CARROT CAKE

 CHAR KWAY TEOW | Fried Kway Teow Fried Oyster, $2 | Not a massive plate, though this char kway teow (fried flat noodles) more than makes up for its size in flavour. It is an oily plate of sticky-sweet, dark, wok hei-laden kway teow, bulked up with chunks of egg, fat beansprouts, slices of fishcake, and – we weren’t expecting this – plenty of hum (blood cockles). Leave the vinegar-infused chilli sauce on the side – it mars the otherwise spot-on dish. (Address: 30 Seng Poh Road, #02-08, Tiong Bahru Market | Opening hours: Daily 10am-10pm)
CHAR KWAY TEOW

 WHITE CHICKEN RICE | Fook Seng Goldenhill Chicken Rice, $2 | This stall's regular plate of chicken rice ($2; premium, $3) comes with Hainanese-style white chicken that is slightly gamey in taste and texture. There is a mild sesame oil fragrance to the sticky rice, and the sourish spicy chilli sauce brings all the elements together beautifully. We think this is one of the best plates of chicken rice in Singapore, and feel lucky to be able to have it for such an affordable price. (Address: 37 Jalan Rumah Tinggi, #01-429 | Opening hours: Daily 9am-7pm)
WHITE CHICKEN RICE

 ROAST CHICKEN RICE | 88 Chicken Rice, $2.50 | This is one of the stalls at Ghim Moh Food Centre that has long queues, and at $2.50 for a plate of roast chicken rice, we can see why. The portion is generous with a suitable meat-to-rice ration. The meat is succulent with a silky (albeit, a little oily) soy sauce coating. Expect fluffy, well-seasoned rice and vinegar-infused chilli that brings it all together. (Address: Block 20, Ghim Moh Road, #01-20, Ghim Moh Food Centre | Opening hours: Daily 10am-8pm)
ROAST CHICKEN RICE

 CHWEE KUEH | Jian Bo Shui Kweh, eight pieces for $2.40 | This “water cake” (direct translation for chwee kueh) is topped with chye poh (Chinese dialect for preserved radish) that is sweet, nutty (we reckon it is in part because of the sesame seeds) and on the dry side (not a bad thing). The cake itself is soft and smooth, while the chilli is not overpowering, working beautifully into the salty and browned chye poh. (Address: 30 Seng Poh Road, #02-05, Tiong Bahru Market | Opening hours: Daily 6.30am-11pm)
CHWEE KUEH

 FISH MEAT NOODLES | Tom's Citizoom Minced Fish Noodle, $2.50 | Young hawker Tom Loo turns the bak chor mee (minced meat noodles) on its head and makes a fish version of it. His noodles, cooked to retain a slight bite, comes with fish balls, fish cake, crispy bits of fish and a fried fish dumpling. Find out how long it took Loo to perfect this well-portioned, affordably-priced bowl. (Address: 57 Lengkok Bahru, #01-489, Teck Huat Kee Coffeeshop | Opening hours: Tue-Sun 7.30am-3pm)
FISH MEAT NOODLES

 HAINANESE CURRY RICE | Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice, $2.40 | A plate of pork belly rice for under $2.50? It exists. We ordered the smallest portion of plain rice (available at $0.50, $0.70 or $1), asked for the tau pok (beancurd, $0.50) and the pork belly ($1.40), and still walked out quite full. The servers gave two sauces – the starchy, slightly spicy curry sauce, and the mildly herbal dark sauce in which the tau pok was steeping. What a good, quick, flavourful meal. (Address: 229 Jalan Besar | Tel: 98261464 | Opening hours: 11am-3.30pm)
HAINANESE CURRY RICE

 LAKSA | Sungei Road Laksa, $2 | This Jalan Besar stall’s headlining dish is one of the last few – if not the only – places in Singapore that still keeps its laksa gravy gently heated in an aluminium pot over charcoal fire. Some say this results in a smokier aroma, we reckon that the spread of charcoal results in an even heat. The laksa isn't visually impressive – it comes in a small bowl, with merely a few slices of fishcake, and isn't rich and creamy because there isn't much coconut milk. What it does have is a lovely fragrance and a generous amount of fresh hum (Chinese dialect for “blood cockles”). All of these for $2. (Address: 27 Jalan Berseh, #01-100, Jin Shui Kopitiam | Opening hours: 9am-6pm,except first & third Wednesdays of the month)
LAKSA

 LOR MEE | Lor Mee 178 and Ma Bo Noodles, both $2.50 each | Even without the usual braised egg, and ngoh hiang (five-spiced minced meat rolled in beancurd skin), this stall's sticky, slurp-worthy dish helped put Tiong Bahru Market on the map. Although at $2.50, you won’t get the frittered nuggets of shark meat, the bowl of “braised noodles” (lor mee in Chinese dialect) is full of flavour, thanks, in part, to the add-on minced garlic topping. It is also crunchy in texture from the deep-fried batter, and hearty from its medium-thick, flat egg noodles. If you’re looking for the condiment-laden version, the most bang-for-the-buck dish we’ve found is at Ma Bo Lor Mee at ABC Brickworks Food Centre. For $2.50, you get a generous portion of noodles topped with ngoh hiang, fish cake, fish fritters, braised meat and a whole braised egg. Now if only the sauce was less cloying. (Address: 30 Seng Poh Road, #02-58, Tiong Bahru Market | Opening hours: Daily 10am-10pm) and (Address: 6 Jalan Bukit Merah, #01-139, ABC Brickworks Food Centre | Opening hours: Daily 9am-8pm)
LOR MEE

 NASI PADANG | Istimewa Nasi Padang, $2.50 | Yes, you have to tell the makcik (Malay for “Madam” or “auntie”) that you have only $2.50 to spend and risk holding up the line a little longer, but she will do her best to scramble for the most filling and varied plate. During our visit, she piled on the rice and gave an egg, a plump bergedil (fried potato patty), stir-fried green beans and milky, non-soggy (vegetables), less oily than most sayur lodeh (vegetables stewed in coconut milk curry). With so much flavour, we didn't mind that the plate was vegetarian, nor did we mind the food coma that came later in the afternoon. (Address: 28 Hoy Fatt Road, #01- 24, Stall 3  | Tel: 96301272 | Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10am-3pm, or until they run out)
NASI PADANG

 PRAWN NOODLES | Prawn Noodles/Laksa/Yong Tau Foo, $2.20 | It’s the prawn noodles soup you want: the sweet, dark soup is almost herbal, a little peppery, warm. Pictured above is the smallest size. The $3 version is considerably bigger, served in a melamine bowl. Our order holds just-cooked noodles in a styrofoam bowl, topped with three pieces of halved-prawns, lots of fish cake and a small handful of fried onions. The broth tastes like a much sweeter, more rounded bak kut teh (pork ribs and spices soup) without the pork ribs and with less pepper. (Address: #B1-08 Comcentre Cafeteria, 31 Exeter Road, Comcentre | Opening hours: Mon-Fri 8am-2pm or until sold out)
PRAWN NOODLES

 ROTI PRATA | Sin Ming Roti Prata, two pieces for $1.80 | You could have the coin prata at six pieces for $3.50, though the regular prata is equally good, and not just for our story's cheaper constraints. The dough used is the same. For the regular prata, the sweet-salty-buttery dough is fluffier inside, but equally chewy, and crisp on the outside. Bonus points for being one of our Hawker Heroes. (Address: 24 Sin Ming Road, #01-51 Jin Fa Kopitiam | Tel: 64533893 | Opening hours: Daily 6.30am-6.30pm)
ROTI PRATA

 TEOCHEW PORRIDGE | Shi Le Yuan Teochew Porridge, $2.50 | You have to be specific with the stallholders when you order: the porridge or rice ($0.30 per portion), stewed peanuts ($0.50), regular vegetables ($0.70), and meat ($1) shouldn’t bust your budget. We accidentally picked the daily vegetable special of broccoli with goji berries ($1), so we busted our budget by 20 cents, but the meat – minced pork with fermented beans – was just what the constraints and the non-watery porridge needed. For $2.50, we were able to tuck into a myriad of flavours and textures that were further accented by the chilli sauce, fermented beans and garlic-chilli-vinegar sauce. This did not leave us too full to resume work, too. (Address: Blk 85 Redhill Lane, #01-41, Redhill Food Centre | Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10am-2pm)
TEOCHEW PORRIDGE

 THOSAI | Heaven's Indian Curry, $2 | Heaven’s is famous for serving the rare South Indian snack putu mayam (vermicelli served with grated coconut and sugar), although for a more filling meal, the thosai (crispy pancake) is our choice. For $2 you get not one, but two pancakes served with sambhar (lentil curry) and tomato chutney. The thosai is not as ghee-laden as those served in Little India’s many eateries; this is a lighter and less-crisp version, mimicking the kind made in South Indian homes. The sambhar is perfectly spiced and well-balanced in flavour. Although we did miss the coconut chutney (usually served with thosai), at these prices, it was more than we could ask for. (Address: Block 20, Ghim Moh Raod, #01-20, Ghim Moh Food Centre | Tel: 94290431 | Opening hours: Daily 6am-2pm) 
THOSAI

 VEGETARIAN INDIAN FOOD | Annalakshmi Janatha (Central Square) and Annalakshmi Janatha (Amoy St), $2.50 | "Annalaskhmi" is the goddess of plenty and these restaurants run by the ethos atithidevo bhav (Sanskrit for "the guest is God"); the guest is therefore welcome to pay as much as they wish or are able to do so at this social enterprise. The generous restaurants serve North and South Indian homecooked dishes via a menu and a rotating buffet counter. This restaurant group with two locations under its belt was named one of our top 52 best buffets in Singapore, but of course, please pay them more than $2.50 if you are taking the all-you-can-eat buffet. It's only good karma. (Address: 20 Havelock Road, #01-04, Central Square | Tel: 63399993 | Opening Hours: Daily 11am-3pm, 6-9.30pm) and (Address: 104 Amoy Street, #01-01 | Tel: 62230809 | Opening Hours: Mon 6-10pm; Tue-Sun 11am-10pm)
VEGETARIAN INDIAN FOOD

 WANTON NOODLES | Wanton/Chicken Noodles, $2.50 | Formerly Hong Ji Mian Shi Jia at Telok Blangah Crescent Hawker Centre, we’re glad this wantan (pork dumpling) noodles specialist made the move to the centre of the city. The best part of this meal – apart from the price – are the glistening nodle strands that are cooked to a bouncy bite and the very savoury chilli-spiked sauce in which they swim. The side bowl of sweet and mild soup gives off an essence of ikan bilis (fried anchovies), and is the base to the dumplings which are the size of big buttons – both sideshows to the amazing noodles. (Address: #B1-05, Comcentre Cafeteria, 31 Exeter Road, Comcentre | Opening hours: Mon-Fri 8am-2pm or until sold out)
WANTON NOODLES

 YONG TAU FOO | Zhen Ji Yong Tau Foo, $2.40 | This is one of our most treasured finds: pick any six items, including the noodles or rice, and each item is 40 cents. Of the minimum of five pieces you have to order (excluding the noodles or rice), one can be substituted for more noodles, if you’re really that hungry. We asked for the soup version; the sweet, light broth is made by simmering soy beans which, incidentally, are also served to the customer. (Address: #02-66, Tiong Bahru Market, 30 Seng Poh Road)
YONG TAU FOO

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