It does seem that there has been an influx of stores specialising in serving Middle Eastern fare that had opened in recent times around the Jurong East neighbourhood — one of such establishments would be that of Streets of Cairo that is situated within the BK Eating House coffeeshop within the Blk 134 Jurong Gateway Road. Streets of Cairo should be a stall that is relatively easy to spot; these folks are located next to the tray return area of the coffeeshop and sport a black signboard that also doubles up as a menu board that lists all of the items that are available to be ordered at the stall. Just like most other stalls within coffeeshops specialising in Middle Eastern fare around the island, Streets of Cairo serves up mainly chicken and beef kebabs alongside multiple options of carbs / starches that includes the likes of baked rice, Sharwarma, Fries, Pide, Rice — just to mention a few. There is also Mandi Rice being served at Streets of Cairo, while there is Kunafa and boxes of desserts available for those whom are looking for desserts.

We went with the Fries Chicken which would be typically the Fries with Chicken Kebab that is served at other similar stalls elsewhere. The Fries Chicken at Streets of Cairo comes with the usual suspects that includes fries and chicken kebab alongside red onions, purple cabbage and leafy greens with a drizzling of mayonnaise and chili. Digging straight into the dish, we did find that the chicken kebab is being done pretty well here; the chicken kebab definitely came with meat that is tender and sufficiently moist — what we found to be most enjoyable here was the skin of the chicken that seems to be roasted and carrying a slight hint of smokiness alongside with it. The fries were also executed pretty well here being all crisp without being heavily seasoned; the addition of the sauces being sufficient to provide ample flavours to the entire dish — we also liked how the fries aren’t particularly greasy and did not reek of any undesirable hint of overused oil as well. The inclusion of the various greens do add a refreshing crunch with the zing from the red onions helping to reset the tastebuds as well.

Auntie Ashley is a pretty new addition to The Centrepoint — these folks are located in the far end of the mall that is around the same area as where one would find other dining establishments such as the outlet of Gyushi, Dapur Penyet, as well as 49 Seats there; these folks are actually situated right beside Fire Ramen & Izakaya by Menbaka. The dining establishment is pretty much themed after a Malaysian-style shophouse; the interior evoking a sense of nostalgia of the colonial era. Considering so, it goes without saying that Auntie Ashley is one of those Nanyang Kopitiam-themed establishments that had been sprouting up all across the island; whilst we visited the establishment during its soft launch phase, the menu at Auntie Ashley is split into categories such as Hotplate, Claypot, Sides, Rice and Noodles.

We found ourselves gravitating towards the Claypot Ee Mee (Ipoh Curry) which is the only Claypot item listed in its soft launch menu. Auntie Ashley does not describe the elements that are included within the Claypot Ee Mee (Ipoh Curry), though it can be observed that it consists of Ee Mee, fish cakes, Curry Tau Pok, prawns and a sous-vide egg — all of which coming with Ipoh curry gravy. One thing noteworthy about the Ee Mee here is how it is being deep-fried before being plated in the claypot; this also meant that the noodles does carry quite a fair bit of texture where one can feel the crispness of the noodles from the parts left exposed above the curry gravy, while the Ee Mee that is soaked within the curry gravy still comes with a noodle-like texture with a bite. The curry gravy here does come piping hot with the use of the claypot preserving the temperature of the curry gravy over time; the curry being especially rich and flavourful — fragrant from the curry spices being used whilst delivering a spiciness that those tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness will be able to manage. Other elements included were mostly good to have and nothing much to shout about except for the sous-vide egg that provided the dish with a silkier touch overall.

Burnt Cones had been on a roll opening up various locations within the West for the past couple of years — that being said, these folks had recently opened their newest outlet right at the heart of the Central Business District. Located at IOI Central Boulevard Towers, the new outlet of Burnt Cones is just a store unit away from the outlet of Kwaasong Bakehouse there — the store facade facing Lau Pa Sat which makes it relatively easy to locate. Offering its more basic menu items when we made our visit to the said outlet, Burnt Cones offers its usual line-up of gelato as well as its typical selection of French Buttermilk Waffles at the IOI Central Boulevard Towers location, whilst also serving up espresso-based specialty coffee roasted by Sudden Coffee Roasters, non-coffee beverages, tea, hot specialty drinks and iced sodas.

The Anytime is Twiggies Time is an official collaboration with Gardenia that is made available only for a limited time only which is retailed at all Burnt Cones outlets islandwide — the description card placed in front of the flavour in the display chiller describes the flavour to come with elements such as banana gelato and chocolate-flavoured Twiggies. Considering how the gelato flavour is designed, we did feel that this was Burnt Cones’ attempt to create something that leverages on the classic combination of chocolate and bananas; that being said, the Anytime is Twiggies Time flavour does see to leverage a lot more on the banana element with the base of the gelato providing much of the flavours of the entire scoop of gelato overall. Chunks of chocolate-flavoured Twiggies are churned into the banana gelato; seemingly included more for the textural contrast with the chilled Twiggies giving some sort of bite, though some might find the chocolate-y elements a little lacking for the balance for such a flavour.

Was actually around Beauty World Centre for Berempah Bros when we got to know about the existence of Xiang Xiang Ji 香香鸡 that is located within the hawker centre on the highest level of the mall — Xiang Xiang Ji is yet another new addition to the food centre, taking up a stall space along the same stretch of stalls where Pink Candy Korean Restaurant is located; the stall was previously home to The Three Elephants that is noted to serve up Thai-style braised pork trotter rice. Xiang Xiang Ji should be fairly easy to locate considering how the stall features a bright orange aesthetic used throughout the entire facade. The stall describes itself as one that serves up Singapore-style fried chicken; the menu is being split into sections dedicated to Ala Carte, Sides, XXJ Chicken Rice Set, XXJ Value Choice and XXJ Ultimate Combo.

The XXJ Chicken Rice Combi is described in the menu to come with elements such as 1 piece Chicken Drumstick, 1 piece Chicken Wing, and a choice of canned drink — patrons also get to opt between the side of XXJ Chicken Rice or XXJ Gourmet Fries for this item, with the latter option requiring a top-up of $1 extra on top of the base price of the XXJ Chicken Rice Combi. Not mentioned in the description of the menu but also included with the XXJ Chicken Rice Combi would be the side of the XXJ Ah Ma's Achar, while we also opted for the sambal option for the choice of sauce that is not listed in the Sauces category of the menu. One thing that is pretty obvious about the fried chicken here is how the batter seems to be made in-house; the batter does probably come a little bit of the thicker side for some but it also definitely gave a good crunch to the fried chicken nonetheless — there was also a slight hint of aromatics such as that of lemongrass that we could detect within the fried chicken itself. There is no undesirable stench of overused oil that comes with the fried chicken, while the flesh within was still juicy, tender and came off the bone very easily. Pairing it with the sambal option does give it a little bit of that local touch; the sambal coming with a piquant spiciness that tickles the tastebuds and is rather similar to that of Hainanese-style chicken rice chili without the overwhelming note of calamansi. Portion sizes for the sets does seem pretty generous overall; a stall to check out for those whom are into fried chicken!

Keong Saik Road has recently seen the addition of a new cafe yet again — Chapter One by Fables Specialty Coffee had opened in the same spot that was once previously occupied by an establishment named Black Olive Cafe that had a short-lived run in be local F&B scene. Chapter One by Fables Specialty Coffee is situated closer to the side of Keong Saik Road leading towards Neil Road; other notable dining establishments near it would include The Coach Bar within the Coach Play Singapore Shophouse. Whilst their brick-and-mortar shop is a new project that is undertaken by the brand, Fables Specialty Coffee has been retailing specialty coffee capsules that are blended and roasted in Melbourne which are sold online and also in some supermarkets locally. The food menu at Chapter One by Fables Specialty Coffee is split into sections dedicated to All Day Brunch, Sides and Add Ons, while the beverages section of the menu features categories such as Coffee, Non-Coffee and Alcohol.

One of the dishes that is being offered at Chapter One by Fables Specialty Coffee in the All Day Brunch section of the menu would be the Jewels of the Ocean — this is an item that features smoked salmon, Onsen egg, Ikura, Hollandaise, Potato Hash, Crispy Kale and Focaccia. The Jewels of the Ocean does feel like a spruced up version of an Eggs Benedict that features elements that made in feel more like a contemporary brunch dish with an Australian touch — this is so considering how the dish does get a little predictable (not in a bad way) with the use of smoked salmon, Onsen Egg and Hollandaise; a very classic combination of elements in the typical Eggs Benedict dish. The use of Focaccia over English Muffins makes the Jewels of the Ocean feel a little more substantially-sized; whilst the Focaccia here does come a little stiff and could do better being more moist and spongy, mopping the Focaccia up with Hollandaise sauce and the molten egg yolk does help with the texture of the bread nonetheless. Other elements like the Ikura and the Crispy Kale were good to have; both adds a touch of their own umami-ness to the dish — the former providing a popping sensation while the latter carrying a crispness, while the potato hash comes in the former of diced potatoes that comes soft with crisp edges that are savoury and sautéed with capsicums. Not mentioned in the description would be the Arugula dressed with vinaigrette and tomatoes on vine that comes on the side to refresh the tastebuds for a more balanced feel for the dish overall.

Was passing through Upper Serangoon Road just slightly further down towards the direction of Potong Pasir and noticed a fairly unfamiliar sight within the area. EK Creamery does seem like a fairy new addition to the neighborhood — these folks are located in the corner shophouse that is located at 997 Upper Serangoon Road; the previous tenant of the space before EK Creamery being a Ms Black Bean 黑豆浆小姐 that used to serve up Black Soya Bean beancurd. EK Creamery does seem to have enclosed the shophouse unit with walls and glass doors; the interior of the shophouse now being air-conditioned though the only dine-in area would be the high table with high stools located outside the shophouse along the five foot way. As its namesake suggests, EK Creamery is an ice-cream parlour; the establishment offers a decent variety of ice-cream flavours which patrons can opt to enjoy in cups, cones or with a waffle — there is also a limited variety of toppings available as well.

Skimming through the display chiller for the various flavours that they have to offer, we found ourselves ending up with a Double Scoop — one scoop of the Macadamia Ice-Cream and one scoop of the Peach Oolong Ice-Cream; we initially did specify our order to come with Camellia Oolong Ice-Cream rather than Peach Oolong Ice-Cream, though the folks behind the counter had served us the wrong flavour and we decided to just go along with it anyway. Both flavours do seem to be pretty on-point — this is especially so since we weren’t really expecting much with the ice-cream sold at EK Creamery; the ice-creams here seem to carry a stickier texture that somehow brings them closer to being a gelato. The Macadamia would definitely appeal to those preferring nuttier notes; this one carried that signature nuttiness that one would find with Macadamia whilst carrying an adequate level of sweetness — definitely something a little different from the usual Hazelnut / Pistachio flavours that are more commonly found outside. The Peach Oolong definitely came tasting very close to the commercially-made bottled Peach Oolong teas with a prominent fragrance of Oolong tea in its finishing notes; also being suitably sweet. Its location does seem a little challenging given the lack of indoor seating and being a little out of the way, though probably a spot to be appreciated by residents around it in time to come.

One of the dining establishments that we had found out whilst scrolling around social media of the late would be that of rockscafe by ANTEIKU STUDIOS — this is one of the few cafes that had recently opened in the Kampong Glam that had chosen a spot that within the second level of the shophouse in the neighbourhood. Entrance to rockscafe by ANTEIKU STUDIOS is through the back door alley that is located beside Sultan Mosque — one can look out for the signage situated next to the entrance leading to the stairs up to level two of the shophouse. Being a lifestyle store-cum-cafe, ANTEIKU STUDIOS’ interior does feel a little indie and underground featuring posters and memorabilia that references to various Japanese manga / anime; the shop also does retail streetwear as well as CDs and vinyls as well, while the dine-in area for rockscafe by ANTEIKU STUDIOS takes up the middle of the shophouse. The only food offering served up by rockscafe by ANTEIKU STUDIOS would be the small variety of pizzas, while the beverages offered are split into categories like Hot Coffee, Specialty Lattes, and Non Coffee.

Having skimmed through the various types of pizzas that they have to offer, we found ourselves opting for the Pepperoni Pizza. All pizzas are available in three (3) different sizes; the 8”, 10” and 12” portion sizes — we went for the smallest size of 8” which is presumably made for a single diner; the pizza being sliced in four (4) pieces, while the Pepperoni Pizza is described to have come with elements such as a tomato base, mozzarella and pepperoni. One thing that we found worth commending about the pizza is how the pizza does feel like one that is actually handmade in-house; this is rather surprising considering how the space around the food preparation is designed — there is also some waiting time involved in the preparation of each pizza as well. Going for a slice of the Pepperoni Pizza, we did find that the pizza does come with a base that holds up the toppings above pretty well; the pizza dough does give a firm and slightly chewy bite to the pizza, and while the dough didn’t feel too thick around the base, there are some parts around the edges where it can potentially feel a little heavy. Otherwise, the other elements does make the Pepperoni Pizza a crowd pleaser — savoury soft cheese, tangy tomato-based sauce and the saltish notes typical of cured meat with the thin slices of pepperoni. A pretty interesting spot to check out in the Kampong Glam neighborhood!

Got to know about the existence of Mee Kueh Ho 面粿好 when going around Hougang Green Shopping Mall neighborhood — these folks are a coffeeshop stalls ha is situated within the De Tian coffeeshop that is located at the back of the neighborhood mall; this would be the same coffeeshop that houses an outlet of L32 Handmade Noodles. Mee Kueh Ho first caught our attention with its stall front; the stall does seem to make use of a shade of pink as one of their theme colours which gives it a striking look. Opened in September 2025, the stall does seem to be a typical minced meat noodle stall that serves up the usual variety of noodles one can find at such stalls elsewhere; think Minced Meat Fish Ball Noodles, Trio Balls Noodles and Laksa — just to name a few, whilst also serving up a small variety of Teochew-style Kueh which they has since stopped offering when we made our visit in January 2026.

One of their items that caught our attention whilst skimming through the menu at Mee Kueh Ho would the Crispy Luncheon Meat Pork Noodles. While it is rather common to find stalls serving up minced meat noodle offering other variants of noodles such as that of Teochew Fishball Noodles and Original Pork Noodles, the inclusion of luncheon meat for such noodle dishes does feel like a fresh concept to us. Elements included in the Crispy Luncheon Meat Pork Noodles would be Mee Pok, pork slices, pork lard, beansprouts, fishball, meatball, sotong ball, braised mushrooms and minced meat; the sauce mix that the noodles are being tossed around would be the same vinegar, soy sauce and chili mix that one would find int be standard bowl of minced meat noodle. Thought that the noodles are springy while the sauce mix here wasn’t too heavy tasting; the light savouriness and tanginess that coats the noodles here made it rather easy to have. The Crispy Luncheon Meat does come with the saltish notes that one would typically expect; all having been fried to a crisp texture throughout without feeling particularly greasy. The fishball, meatball, and sotong ball were good to have, though the sotong ball’s texture wasn’t the best and did carry a fishy note; the beansprouts did add a crunch for some variance of texture, while the braised mushrooms came savoury with a bouncy bite. Not something we would make an out of the way visit for, though a decent option to have if one is in the ‘hood.

We have first made our visit to Nat’s Chicks some time back when they had opened their doors the very first time at People’s Park Centre — they have since moved out of that location for a while (their former space has now been taken up by an outlet of Dickson Nasi Lemak) and has since moved to the shop unit previously occupied by 51 Noodle House at The Venue Shoppes along Tai Thong Crescent. The address does make them a short walk away from Potong Pasir MRT Station. Whilst its former location featured a almost open-concept space, its current space is enclosed by glass windows and doors that feature both indoor and outdoor dining areas; the former providing patrons a comfortable air-conditioned environment to dine at within its premises. Nat’s Chicks is pretty much a one-woman show whose father had founded Five Star Chicken Rice; she did had a stint of operating Ah Five Hainanese Chicken Rice
with her brother before establishing Nat’s Chicks. The menu at Nat’s Chicks is split across sections dedicated to Main Dishes, Signature Chicken, Ala Carte, Chill Menu and Drinks.

The Hainanese Chicken Prata Roll is one of the items that is offered on the Chill Menu. Whilst we did initially expect that the Hainanese Chicken Prata Roll would probably be served in the form of a prata wrap, we were fairly surprised by how it turned out to be something that resembled that of a Murtabak. Interestingly, the Hainanese Chicken Prata Roll does also come with Hainanese Chicken Rice-style chili on the side to be paired up with the prata roll itself. Even though the namesake of the dish mentions Prata Roll, we did find that the texture of the prata to be relatively close to the Taiwanese-style egg crepe roll considering the slight chew that the Prata Roll does come with. Coming with only their usual poached chicken being stuffed inside the Prata Roll, we did find that the flavours of the Hainanese Chicken Prata Roll does come cleaner than the usual Murtabak and therefore makes it rather easy to finish; the chicken being tender and juicy while we did note the use of caramalised onions that adds a sweetness to the dish in certain parts as well. We also enjoyed it with the Hainanese Chicken Rice-style chili that adds a refreshing zing alongside the piquant spiciness that it carries; tickles the tastebuds just about right for those tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness. A pretty inventive take and a fun eat overall.

For those whom frequent Chinatown Complex Food Centre, there seems to have been quite a number of changes for the tenancy of the stalls within the food centre. One new addition to the yellow zone of the food centre would be 团团圆圆 Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan that is located within the same row as where one would be able to find Hill Street Fried Kway Teow. These folks occupy the stall at the other extreme end of the same row; the stall should be relatively easy to identify considering the use of a handwritten font for its signboard while also featuring a pop-out of their Traditional Cheng Tng that goes beyond the height of the signboard frame as well. As one would have probably noticed, 团团圆圆 Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan serves up local-style desserts; their signature offering would be their Traditional Cheng Tng, though these folks also do have other items such as Mango Sago, Longan Grass Jelly, Tangerine Peel Red Bean etc. that are being listed other menu amongst a few others as well.

We went with the Traditional Cheng Tng which can be served either warm or iced — we went with the iced option during our visit to 团团圆圆 Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan on a weekday evening. 团团圆圆 Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan does not describe the elements that comes within their rendition of the Traditional Cheng Tng, though we did observe elements such as white fungus, dried apricots, barley, Gingko nuts, longan, sweet potatoes and lotus seeds being included in the dish. For the iced version of the Traditional Cheng Tng, it also does come with shaved ice that is being shaved to a fine texture and scooped by an ice-cream scooper that is placed into the bowl; the shaved ice would have melted into the Cheng Tng when it is served, with the Cheng Tng coming adequately chilled. Considering so, the Traditional Cheng Tng was suitably sweet throughout the entire bowl, with other elements that provided an additional dimension of sweetness such as the likes of longan and dried apricot that also provided some element of chew. Speaking of chew, there is also varying textures going on with some harder and softer elements such as the barley and white fungus — the former being one element that these folks seem to be pretty generous with. Elements like the Gingko nuts and lotus seeds provided a harder bite with the Gingko nuts adding a hint of bitterness to cut through the sweetness of the dessert, while the sweet potatoes were cooked to a soft texture where chewing isn’t quite required for it.

Had been walking through Chinatown Complex Food Centre in recent times and had noticed a new stall that is situated within the green zone of the food centre — Mei Hong Creamery is one of the newest tenants to have shifted into the food centre; these folks should be rather easy to find if one is very familiar with the green zone of Chinatown Complex Food Centre at the very least. Mei Hong Creamery is located in between Smith Street Taps and Fook @ Smith Street (listed as temporarily closed on Google Maps at the time of writing) — as the namesake suggests, Mei Hong Creamery does serve up gelato as its main emphasis. Patrons do get a choice on whether they would like to have their gelato in cups or with waffles, as well as old-school ice-cream with bread, biscuit or cone. In an attempt to serve savoury food aside from the range of gelato that they have to offer, they also do serve up waffles with roast pork as well.

Whilst being offered as a savoury item, one quirk about the Roast Pork Waffle at Mei Hong Creamery is how they actually do allow patrons to go with the option of adding scoops of gelato to the Roast Pork Waffle — we opted for their Osmanthus Mango Passionfruit Gelato. The Roast Pork Waffle isn’t intended to be a gastronomical creation that is made to draw crowds on its own, but feels more like an addition to the menu to provide an option of savoury food that also feels like a compliment to Smith Street Taps’ line-up of craft beers on tap. While the roast pork doesn’t come with a crisp exterior, we did find it pretty decent considering how the roast pork was easy to chew through and wasn’t too fatty — savoury and does not carry any undesirable porky stench. The waffles here are done in a flatter form that makes it suitable as a snack rather than the more plush ones that we are used to seeing outside; the waffle does carry a hint of buttermilk fragrance but isn’t inherently too sweet to match with both the sweet and savoury elements atop — the waffle also being sufficiently moist at the same time and did not feel cloying. The Osmanthus Mango Passionfruit Gelato did feel a little lacking in the floral notes of Osmanthus; seemingly focused more on the Mango and Passionfruit elements where it carried a slight zing from the passionfruit though a little overly sweet from the Mango — that being said, the gelato was adequately stored with a smooth consistency that held against the heat well without any icy bits formed.

While Basil King has been actively expanding its footprint after the establishment of their very first outlet in Singapore, it does seem that there is yet another establishment that is entering the same space as them within the F&B scene here. Located within the Kopi Breweries coffeeshop at Blk 61 of Shun Li Industrial Park, one would be able to find A Chai Thai Food — Basil Queen 07 occupying a stall unit that is situated in the middle of the row of stalls within the coffeeshop. Just like Basil King, A Chai Thai Food — Basil Queen 07 centres its menu around its Thai-style stir-fried basil dishes; all of which featuring meat / seafood, with patrons having the choice to opt for Single, Double, Triple or Quadruple Egg options which is itself inspired by that of Phed Mark in Bangkok, Thailand. Apart from such offerings, A Chai Thai Food — Basil Queen 07 also serves up scrambled egg rice and also ala-carte Moo Ping as well.

We went for the Double Egg rendition for the Basil Pork which comes with a sunny side up featuring two (2) egg yolks — much to the like of how the same dish is being presented at Basil King or even at Phed Mark in Thailand. The Basil Pork Double Egg does feature all of the usual suspects that one would find in a Thai-style stir-fried basil minced pork — think French beans, chili padi, basil, minced pork; all that served with white rice on the side; patrons can opt for their desired level spiciness out of five levels which we went for Level 2 (Normal Spicy). Felt that the Basil Pork was executed in a way that we liked it — the version here does come a little saucier where one will be able to have a little bit of sauce to go with the rice. The minced pork here does come with a mix of fattier and lean parts that provides a bit of bite though was also easy to chew through; all that whilst having absorbed the savoury notes of the sauce and came without any undesirable porky stench. The notes of basil does come through to flavour up the dish, while we found Level 2 to be adequately spicy for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness; the addition of French beans also gave the dish and element of crunch amidst the minced pork. The fried egg does feature molten egg yolks that are runny, though the base of the egg white does come a little thick and stiff — perhaps intentionally done so to achieve some ease in picking it up whilst plating the dish.