Mentaiko is one of those guaranteed crowd-pleasers in Japanese cooking. After all, who doesn’t love a blanket of creamy, umami goodness layered generously on their rice bowls?
With five branches scattered across Singapore, Mentai-Ya Japanese Cuisine is serving up this thicc Japanese-style cod roe sauce for customers in heartland areas like Tampines and Bukit Panjang.
If you didn’t open a cafe in Katong, can you really consider yourself part of the OG hipster neighbourhood? Atlas Coffeehouse Group marks its foray into east Singapore with Neptune, a chic cafe serving all-day brunch and other comfort foods.
What do you get when you combine traditional kuehs with a hip, modern setting? You get Cafe Confetti! Located a stone’s throw away from Tai Seng MRT, in Leong Huat Building, Cafe Confetti is the culmination of Confect.T’s recent rebrand and transition from online business to physical cafe.
With chicken rice and mala stalls a dime a dozen, it’s refreshing to see hawkers branch out into less common cuisines in the heartlands. Bánh Mì Bé Bi is one such family-run business that makes Vietnamese sandwiches from scratch, among other traditional offerings.
There has been a spate of Michelin Bib Gourmand hawker recipients expanding beyond their home bases and setting up shop across Singapore. Good for them – and good for us to be able to get a taste of their revered recipes closer to home! One of these growing hawker businesses is Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice, which recently opened its third outpost in Tampines Street 81.
Duo Chicken Rice ($5 – $6)
You’ve heard of 100-year old recipes passed down for generations, but what about 100-year old sourdough starters? Goldenroy’s San Francisco Sourdough Pizza is a takeaway kiosk whose claim to fame is American-style sourdough pizzas, the base of which is made from a 48-hour aged sourdough starter that is itself an heirloom strain aged over 100 years old!
Update March 2023: Ramen King has moved to Canberra Plaza.
Japanese cuisine aficionados who fondly remember Hokkaido Ramen Santouka as the go-to place for authentic ramen, rejoice, for you can now indulge in the same goods at a fraction of the price. Ramen King, a hawker-based venture by ex-Santouka cooks, has set up shop at Tampines Street 81, bringing its mouthwatering recipe to the heartlands. (Double yay for this Eastie!)
Chue On It 