I have been to Amoy Street Food Centre several times during lunch time on weekdays. To say the place is crowded is an understatement. Wait till you see the queues that stretch more than 20 people long and the tables are not cleared as the cleaners could not cope with the crowd.

This time, I came down for lunch at 140pm. The lunch crowd was starting to slowly disperse away and more than half of the tables in the level 2 food centre were empty. But the tables were full of plates, bowls, trays as the cleaners struggle to clear them. As you walk inwards, you will notice that some of the utensils including trays are on the floor as customers had to clear the tables themselves.

I knew that this was a good opportunity to try out one of the stalls that always have a long queue during lunch. I decided to zoom straight to Tai Seng Noodle House as there was no queue and I was hungry. Normally, if you come during lunch time, there will be a long stretching queue. There were a couple manning the song. The uncle taking orders and collecting the cash while the lady boss prepares and cooks the food.Not knowing what to order, I decided to order their Cha Shao Yun Tun Noodle (Char Siew Wanton Noodle). As usual (in fact I will say act smart..), I 'upsized' my order, ordering $4 instead of $3.

I was quite shocked when the uncle gave me my order. It was messy and massive!This was the $4 Char Siew Wanton Noodle which was served with a bowl of wanton soup. They were extremely generous with the ingredients; char siew, noodles and even wantons.

The Char Siew given was tough and mainly lean meat. If there was a better ratio of fats to lean meat, it would have been better. With such a generous portion of Char Siew given, I got quite tired of chewing the Char Siew. A very generous serving of noodles was given too. The noodles was well cooked, with springiness and not too soggy. It was delish when mixed with the sauce which ensures that each strand of noodles was well lubricated. The Wanton Soup was normal, there might be some MSG added into the soup. It came with lots of wantons, more than 10 pieces. Although each piece of wanton was small, with such a generous amount given, it was very filling. I especially like the skin of the wanton which was smooth and thin with a chunk of meat fillings in it. (for the sake of comparison, the fillings of each wanton was slightly bigger than those given at Pontian Wanton).

I should not have 'upsized' my order and just order the $3 version. Although I finish the Wantons, I did not manage to finish the noodles and Char Siew.

Tai Seng Noodle House may not serve the best food, but it certainly must be the most value for money food stall around. The portions given are huge. No wonder there is always a long snacking queue at this stall. I heard that the pork rib noodles at this stall are good. If I have another opportunity, I would be keen to try it.

Detailed review: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2012/12/tai-seng-noodle-house-amoy-street-food.html

LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry has come a long with over 50 years of history specialising in confectioneries, pastries and cakes (including wedding cakes). They do not use any pork and lard in their products.

The many newspaper and magazine articles cutting pasted outside the show featuring their products. Along with photos of celebrities patronising their shops.

LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry are the first in Singapore to produce pineapple tarts that are round. I had meant to buy their Coffee Cookies as I tried it several days ago. And it was so good. Crispy with caffine and nutty flavour. Addictive! But well, I bought the cookies in a rush and instead bought their Chocolate Cookies instead. =S

LE Cafe is famous for their Pineapple Tart aka "Golf Ball" Tart. Any guess why "Golf Ball"?

Well this is the reason! The pineapple tarts are so big, fat and round that they look like golf balls. I wonder how they managed to squeeze 10 such pineapple tarts into the bottle. The pineapple tarts are not cheap, each piece cost around 90 cents. Don't play play, LE Cafe's Pineapple Tart are not only big, but also incredibly tasty. The crust was thin, soft, flaky with a buttery fragrance. I was quite shocked to see the amount of pineapple jam given. LE Cafe was so very generous with their jam. The homemade pineapple jam was rich, moist with intense sweetness of pineapple flavour. Extremely addictive. This is the type of pineapple jam required for a hallmark of good pineapple tart. Even the partner who is not a fan of pineapple tarts gave LE Cafe's golf balls a nod of approval as she went for another round. Irresistible!

After trying it, I can only say even at 90 cents each, this is quite value for money considering the quality and quantity of the pineapple jam and of course the pineapple tart as a whole. For a even more value for money option, one could purchase 20 pieces at $16. If you are keen to buy this for the Lunar (Chinese) New Year, you are advised to pre-book a few months ahead as these are always sold out during the festive period.

They are also famous for their Beancurd Tarts which I posted in my earlier posts.

Edited: Went over to buy some other cookies and this time I got to sample their freshly baked Pineapple Tart (golf ball). It blew me away. Hot out of the oven, so fragrant, so crispy. As I bite into the tart, the warm the pineapple jam added an extra dimension into the taste. Shiok!

Detailed review: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2012/11/le-cafe-confectionery-pastry-middle.html

This Western Food stall located at NUS Business Canteen aka The Terrance is considered the best western food in the campus. In short, it is cheap and good. You can hardly find western food at this price else where.
When I was studying in NUS Business School, I frequently this stall almost daily as there was nothing else that I fancy at the Business School Canteen. The other stall that was good was the Malay Stall located at the corner.

It has been three and a half years since I graduated. As I happened to be in NUS, I decided to come back to NUS Business Canteen and eat the Western Food again! Noticed that several stalls have changed hands. Glad to known that the western stall is still run by the same uncle. I was pleasantly surprised that he still remembers me!

As usual, this is the stall with the longest queue.

My advise is for you to decide what you want to order before joining the queue. Reason? Well.. the man behind this stall takes orders all the way to the end of the queue at times. His memory is real good! I still remember how on several occasion, he would frown when someone hesitates or is undecided on what to order. Customers who patron this stall will surely remember his 'Next Pls, Next Pls, Next Pls.'I ordered the Grilled Chicken Chop with Pasta and added Potato Wedges. Regulars would notice that I switched the pasta to Fusili Pasta. The Fusili Pasta comes with tomato sauce. I like the brown gravy that is on top of the chicken chop. It taste very similar to the gravy that is used in KFC's whipped potato. The chicken chop and potato wedges are simple yet it taste great.

This stall is run by just 2 person. The man and a woman (I am not sure if that is his wife). The woman just does the cooking while the man takes the order and collect the orders. When you look at the way they run the operation, you will be amazed how they clear the queue so fast. It is just like Just-In-Time, if you know supply chain you will know what I mean. I wish I have many more chance to come back here! When I was still studying here, I also frequently order the Cheezy Egg Sandwich $1.90, Cheezy Farmer's Omelette $2.00, Deep Fried Chicken Cutlet & Pasta $3.00, Herbs & Honey Roasted Chicken Leg with Pasta $3.40 and Fish and Chips $2.60.

I still remember that I was told that the man behind this stall was actually a lawyer. He stopped his practise in law and started this western stall as he had a passion for cooking. If this is true, this will explain his good command of English, wittiness, memory and pride.

Detailed post: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2012/05/western-food-nus-business-canteen.html

I did not know of this till recently when my friend brought me to this place. How many of us know that there is a staff canteen hidden in Changi Aiport Terminal 2? Kee Chiu (Raise hands).

The staff canteen at T2 is huge! Lots of tables and chairs it is like a food court and there are many stalls, more than 10! You are spoilt for variety. In fact, the place looks better than a food court, it was bright, colourful, clean and spacious!

After a quick walk around, decided to try the western food; Wild Olives. Wild Olives specialises in Western and Italian Cuisine. It does not use Pork and Lard in it's dishes. It's pasta starts at $3.30 (public price)!

There was a short queue at the stall; one of the stalls with a queue.

I ordered Linguine Alla Vongole. Staff price is $3.80 while public is $4.20. Wow, it is cheap for pasta compared to other hawker centres or food courts. Where else can you find such cheap pasta! In addition, you can add a small Soup / Garden Salad for $1.00 each.Well, I paid just $1 for this bowl of 'small soup' to complete my meal. It's definitely not small! This is their Homemade Mushroom Soup. I added pepper, hence you will notice that there are small black bits on the top of the soup. A big bowl of mushroom soup, the mushroom flavour was mild but addictive. In the end, I finish the whole bowl and found myself longing for more. But still I prefer if the mushroom flavour was stronger and there are chunks of mushrooms in it. Linguine Alla Vongole; linguine(pasta) with clams in white wine sauce. I am impressed by their generous portion of food. Look at the number of clams and amount of linguine given. This cost only $4.20! The clams were fresh and perfectly cooked. The pasta was a tad too dry, that was easily solved by mixing it with the sauce below. The sauce was disappointing as it was not fragrant enough although there were small pieces of garlic in the sauce. This dish would have been much better with more white wine sauce.

I wish that I live at the east side of Singapore. I did not know about this place till now. Well it is better late than never. Overall, I thought that the food (the two items I have tried) could have been better. But let's not forget that it is very cheap! I will not call it cheap and good food, but more of cheap and decent/average food. Hopefully, I will have more chance to explore the T2 Staff Canteen. If you know what's nice here, let me know.

Detailed post: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2012/05/wild-olives-changi-airport-t2-staff.html

Most people visit Sim Lim Square to shop for electronic goods and do not pay much attention to the food court located at the basement. I have heard that there is a famous Minced Meat Noodle (Bak Chor Mee) store located at the food court. Hence, decided make a trip down to this place during lunch on a weekday.

There was a short queue during lunch time; around 15 minutes wait.

Glad to know that there's no charge for extra mee!

I have no idea why I had a sudden craving for Abalone Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle. I ordered Mee Pok (chinese yellow noodle - flat) dry with chilli. As you collect your order, you can actually help yourself to the free flow of pork lard. First time I have seen such a practice. It is place along with the sauces and chilli.Look at the portions of ingredients (mushrooms, fishball, meatball, minced meat, bean sprouts, fish cake, dumpling, lettuce, scallion) given in the Abalone Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle. The portions given are so generous, which is a rarity in food court today. Of course, only1 piece of abalone was given. A piece of dried crispy fish was added inside. The noodle was well cooked and the sauce at the bottom of the bowl contained a mixture of chilli, black vinegar and soya sauce. When tossed properly, the sauce complement the noodles nicely.

However, Hill Street Tai Hwa's version is certainty better. (Hill Street Tai Hwa's sauce was more aromatic) Still this is a very decent bowl of Minced Meat Noodle compared to those at other food courts if you are unable to visit Hill Street Tai Hwa.

Detailed review: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2012/05/minced-meat-noodle-sim-lim-square-food.html