Simple Food @ Tampines (The Food)

In my opinion, I would still prefer Roma Deli as compared to Simple Food due to the ambience in Roma Deli. The first time I went to Simple Food, I take away lagsana for dinner. To my dismay, I brought back a sour-taste lagsana. I called them back to “complain”, they suggested for one-to-one exchange. But I rejected because I had already reached home with a hungry stomach, no more energy to go change again when I still need to take 2 buses to get there.

Despite this scenario, it didn’t stop me from visiting them. However, I was resisted to order lagsana again. Other foods like chicken chop and such, which is freshly cooked, should not have this problem unless they did not keep the mock meats in the fridge.

The 2nd time I visited them, I lunched in together with my cousins. Simple food has a special offer menu. They had a standard set meal that comes with a drink, soup of the day and main course. I ordered a set meal with vegetarian seafood chicken chop as my course. The soup of the day is creamy mushroom soup, which tastes quite bland and watery. I feel that my creamy mushroom soup is thicker than theirs just that mine is not creamy.

Take a look at the food I had ordered on my following visits to Simple Food:

Special Offer Menu	Soup of the Day
Seafood Fish Chop	Hawaiian Fish Chop
Baked Rice	Mango Salad

The different flavors of fish chops are something which Roma Deli did not provide. So if you wish to eat some western food, you can go to Simple Food. In fact, Simple Food sells cai fan that you can order dishes and eat together with rice. In addition, they are selling Zi Char like hokkien mee, fried bee hoon, etc.

Read Simple Food @ Tampines (Introduction & The Shop) again.

Simple Food (Introduction & The Shop)

Simple Food is another foodstore that sells oriental, western and italian cuisine just like Roma Deli. As compared to Roma Deli, Simple Food’s ambience is like a coffeeshop. Simple Food serves more variety of food in the menu as compared to Roma Deli. Price wise, both are on par. In addition to the western food served like Roma Deli, I think they served chinese Zi Char food too.

Address: Blk 462 Tampines St 44 #01-64 Singapore 520462
Telephone: 65 6782 6142
Email: contact@simplefood.com.sg
Operating Hours:Tue to Fri. 08.30am-09.30pm
Sat & Sun. 09.00am-10.00pm
Open on alternate Monday, on every public holiday, and on every 1^st & 15^th day of Chinese calendar.
Website: www.simplefood.com.sg

Simple Food is not near to any MRT station. The nearest MRT station is Tampines MRT and you need to take a feeder bus before you can reach the destination. Simple Food is located diagonally opposite the side of Tampines JC, this landmark is easy for you to locate Simple Food.

Front outlook of the shop	Posters pasted on the wall

The outlook of the shop looks just like a coffeeshop. First glance, the front view of the shop is decorated with the menu on top. At the side of the walls, it has been pasted with posters all around.

Continue reading Simple Food @ Tampines (The Food).

Piao Xiang Vegetarian @ Fortune Centre

Piao Xiang Vegetarian is a very old stall. I had always tagged along with them to their new location.  Last time, they were located at bedok coffeeshop. Their new location is at Fortune Centre, Bugis now. Everytime I visit the stall, there are always alot of people.

Address: Fortune Centre Level 2, go up from the escalator and turn left

Piao Xiang Vegetarian is known for their zi char. In the past, Xing Zhou Bee Hoon, Hong Kong noodles are their signature dishes in my opinion. Till now, these are still their signature dishes. Today, they came up with new dishes like Claypot rice, Nasi Bryani and Baked rice. Well, I hadn’t got the chance to try all their new dishes yet.

Andy tried their Claypot rice today, his comments is “it tastes normal”. I guess claypot rice is still new to them, so not as good as other places yet. More improvements to be done.

Ever since Piao Siang moved to fortune centre, the food initially tastes as good as before. However, recently, I realised there is a drop in their standard. Nowadays, the food tastes salty, feedbacks were given to the store owner and he mentioned that there was a change in the chef. Well, last time, the foods were cooked by the store owner himself. I guess he’s near the retirement age, he wishes to pass it on to someone else to cook while he stays in the frontline tending to the customers’ needs, easier job.

Last time, I used to like their Bak Kut Teh. The smell of mushroom and the amount of pepper in it tastes superb. It tastes like they had boiled the soup for a very very long time. But now, it no longer have the strong smell, only smell of pepper. The Bak Kut Teh doesn’t taste as nice as last time too.

Alright, it wasn’t really too bad comments for them, overall their food is still quite good. For instance, their Hong Kong Noodles, Mee goreng, etc still tastes as nice. Do visit them if you pass by.

Pictures of the food that I had ordered before:

Mee Goreng	Claypot Rice

Loh Mai Kai (Chicken in Glutinous Rice)

Cooked Loh Mai Kai

Loh Mai Kai, as the name goes, it is the favourite food of Cantonese or rather they are the one that found this chicken in glutinous rice.

Glutinous rice is a starch food when cooked, it becomes sticky and it can be very filling when you eat half the normal rice intake. You may even feel bloated eating glutinous rice. What I usually do to stop bloating is to drink some chinese tea. It is not an immediate effect of stopping bloating but it does helps to make you feel more comfortable.

Loh Mai Kai is similar to dumplings that is wrapped in banana leaves. In fact, you may be more creative too by adding in chesnuts. You can mix your vegetarian char siew with honey so that it tastes sweet and appetizing. Otherwise, you can have your creation by having dumplings wrapped in disposable bowls instead of banana leaves. However, your “dumplings” will lack of the smell of the banana leaves that lends the dumplings a unique fragrance and flavor.

The color of the rice depends on individual, it can be black or white. Usually with a mixture of oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and soy sauce paste, the rice will be black. The recipe that I had provided below is cooking black-colored rice.

Recipe of Loh Mai Kai (Chicken in Glutinous Rice)

Ingredients: Glutinous Rice Mushroom Vegetarian Chicken Vegetarian Char Siew Seasoning: Pepper Water Salt Mushroom Seasoning Dark Soy Sauce Soy Sauce Paste Oyster Sauce (Wan Jia Xiang Brand) Preparations: Dip the glutinous rice in water first while you prepare other ingredients. Fry the mushroom, vegetarian chicken and vegetarian char siew. Put the mushroom and vegetarian chicken in a pot. Add in all the seasoning shown above. In addition, add in starch to the pot of mushroom and vegetarian chicken. Let it boil and cooked. (Similar to cooking dark gravy with beancurd – look at the picture below and you will know what I am referring to, a dark gravy mixture) Filter out the glutinous rice and put inside a tin. In the tin, add in all the seasonings above again. Add in hot water into the tin of glutinous rice. Bring the tin of glutinous rice to steam. When the glutinous rice is cooked, put the mushroom, vegetarian chicken and vegetarian char siew at the bottom of the mould. Following on, fill up the mould with cooked glutinous rice. Bring it to steam for another 5 mins. Finishing: Scoop out the ready loh mai kai onto a plate and serve. You may serve it together with belachan chilli.

Thinking of what type of vegetarian char siew and vegetarian chicken you can use? Take a look at the pictures I had taken, use it as a reference for you.

Vegetarian B.B.Q Meat (Char Siew)	Vegetarian Fragrant Chicken (OKK)
Sliced Veg Char Siew	Dark Gravy Mixture

Happy Arts Deli @ Simei Metta School (Daily special)

Everyday, Happy Arts Deli will have a different daily special. Recently, they had just changed the sequence of their daily special. I can’t remember which day has which special but at least, the list of food doesn’t change totally.

Take a look at the daily special they had for each week:

Vegetarian Chicken Rice	Vegetarian Chinese-style Bento Set

Comments on daily special:

• Vegetarian Chicken Rice: This seems to be the most popular daily special of the week. The first time I wanted to buy their chicken rice, it has been sold out when I visited them at 12pm. Can you imagine that the chicken rice is so fast selling that even during the official lunch time, I couldn’t find a single plate. So, the following week, I went there earlier to try it. I would say its not bad, but for people who doesn’t likes to eat mock meat, this may be something you shouldn’t try. They have vegetarian char siew and vegetarian chicken. In my opinion, I would say this chicken rice is average which I would not go all the way out for it.
• Vegetarian Chinese-style Bento Set: Quite a big set of bento that can be quite filling. The vegetarian mock meat is quite tasty cooked with black pepper sauce. A saute of nai bai vegetable and few pieces of honeydew and grapes. If I remember correctly, this bento set costs $6 per set.

Read Happy Arts Deli @ Simei Metta School (Introduction) again.

Last updated: 15 Sept 2008