We Recommend...

Realising that one man's meat is another man's poison, this preliminary list is offered "as is; where is". All the opinions are mine except where I relied upon the advices of my spouse or daugther. I will add more locations and detailed addresses when I get 'em. In the meantime, feel free to email me for more exact details.

Hong Kong Street Fish HoFun If you have been to the Holland Drive Coffee Shop (opposite the Swimming Pool) and found the services less than satisfying or cannot trace the fabulous 16-storey (Commonwealth Crescent) stall, take heart! There are 4 similar outlets in Clementi (Block 380), Aljunied (32/24 - junction of Sims Ave), Alexandra (opposite AIA) and River Valley. We recommend the River Valley branch of Hong Kong Street Chun Kee at the Hawker Alley of Clarke Quay. Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, you can dine in air condition comfort with normally a short wait. Prices are the same as the other outlets at non-airconditioned coffee shops.

Fried Rice My daughter rates the Erskine Road (near the Maxwell Road Hawker Centre) $25 per plate fried rice rather highly. Patrons to this restaurant will tell you that the taste is still as good and service even better since the original chefs left. For my money, the 2nd Mini Steam Boat opposite the Novena at Thomson Road offers some of the best tasting value-for money ginger fried rice around. Hold the ginger if you have children or are too chicken.

BBQ/Steam Boat The hawker centre next to the market at the HDB part of Sunset Road has a great value-for-money deal. Opens in the evening and for $ per head, the all-you-can-eat price includes a large variety of ready-cooked food.

My wife prefers the air-conditioned Pin Hsiang restaurant above the KFC at the Toa Payoh Bus Interchange. The seasoning for beef is great and the variety is getting better all the time. Available only in the evenings. Reservations recommended.

Laksa Forget Ceylon Road, Fook Hai hawker centre or Sungei Road... my recommendation is the stall in the middle coffee shop opposite Chinatown Point at Upper Cross Street. The largest bowl is $5, afloat with large chunks of tender chicken. Great chilli sauce.

Pao Most of the tim sum places offer "melt in your mouth" paos. Everybody's favorite must be the Tiong Bahru paos located opposite the Ministry of Health at Outram Road. My daughter recommends the stall at the coffee shop at the Clementi Bus Interchange. Bit sized paos with lots of char siew.

Hokkien Mee For great old fashioned charcoal fried mee, go over to Serangoon Road, near the Balestier/Lavender Street junction. Located at the middle coffee shop (opposite the Hindu temple), this stall still wraps their mee in the old styled leaves. Open after 6pm, closed on Mondays. Takeaways taste as good, and if you can believe it - yes, even better overnight!

Noodles Located at the corner coffee shop at East Coast Road and Jalan Tua Tow, this stall is well known for its Mee Pok. Expect a longer wait during lunch time. Closes by around 3pm. Great tasting soup.

Stewed Chicken Noodle/Rice Along the short stretch of Upper Cross Street, opposite Chinatown Point are two rival coffee shops that specialise in Stew Chicken. They are located at opposite ends of the shophouse row. Somehow, they tasted better when they were cramped together in one coffee shop and competition for customers was fierce.

Chicken Rice There are many places that serve OK chicken rice in Singapore. One of my favorites is at the Margaret Drive Hawjer Centre (opposite the library) on the 2nd Storey. Good and cheap. My daughter thinks that the chilli is too sweet.

Hainanese Curry Chicken Tian Tian serves up a pretty good offering at the corner coffee shop next to the Henderson Road Hawjer Centre/Market. Endless queues snake up the stall for the same old "zhi cha" spread each lunch time.

Mee Hoon Fish Better than anything Chinatown has to offer, the stall facing Watsons at the Jurong West Hawker Centre/Market has a normal waiting time of 15-30 minutes. Opens after 6pm, usually closed on Sundays.

I apologise that at this time of writing, I do not have the exact addresses of most of the above places. I have scores of other places tucked away in my head and I will get down to keying them on this page one of these days. Email Me if you have any questions, suggestions or simply want to treat me to one of these places.