Lunch @ Hong Lim Food Centre

I am so into kway chap right now, I have been eating it at every place, maybe cos it's been pretty cold and I want to eat something steamy and hot, but am tired of fish soup.

This is the best best kway chap I have tried. the soup is fragrant and sweet and doesn't taste too much of garlic or salt. The braised meats are tender and not salty and just right. Love it.



2nd floor of Hong Lim food centre, near the crayfish hor fun lady.

Then I always have dessert here. I walk over to this 2nd floor place, where they serve sesame paste peanut paste and all kinds of hong kong desserts, including mango sago. I always have this - almond paste with glutinous rice balls (SGD2).

lovely!

Food Republic @ Vivocity

Much has been said about the Food Republic foodcourt (newest branch at Vivocity, level 3) - its quaint dining concept (set in Singapore of the early 1960s, where streetside hawkers abound and food was served in china bowls, and eaten off wooden stools and tables), and its prices (exorbitant compared to other foodcourts).

I personally like the dining concept, and find the food there very very good. There is a wide variety of cuisine to choose from, in a hygenic, clean, air-conditioned environment. So I don't mind that the prices are a little more expensive (average prices are about SGD7-8 per person).

We ordered a 2 person kway chap set (SGD7.80) with added items like braised peanuts, salted vegetables, extra pig stomach and intestines (for SGD 6 more). Kway chap is a meal of thin, flat rice noodle sheets in a savoury broth, eaten with braised pork (or in my instance, braised duck) and pig innards like intestines and stomach and other things like firm tofu (tau kwa) or beancurd puffs (tau pok).

The rice sheets were smooth, and thin, and yet also resilient to the bite. I really enjoyed it. The broth was tasty and not too salty.

The braised stuff went very quickly, savoury and delicious. The pig stomach was my favourite!

I will be going back!