Welcome to Bukit Timah.

The fish is fresh and soup is tasty. I will go back again

Was scrolling around the phone and got to know about Kem Huat Kopi — these folks does seem to be a relatively new entry to the local F&B scene. Taking up a space that most would likely not expect a F&B concept to appear, these folks can be found at 913 Bukit Timah Road; the building was better known as Tan Chong Motor Centre — cafe-hoppers would probably also relate this address to that of Homeground Coffee Roasters’ current location. Kem Huat Kopi actually shares the same space as the outlet of Kamome Bakery there though Kem Huat Kopi operates in a stall unit in another corner within what seems to be a canteen-like space given the layout of the store — this was also formerly a unit that was occupied by the now-defunct Boulangerie Asanoya. Kem Huat Kopi is an interesting addition to the space; whilst Kamome Bakery serves up artisanal bakes and breads with specialty coffee, Kem Huat Kopi serves up local-style breakfast and individually-portioned zichar rice sets; beverages offered would be that of Nanyang-style brews such as Kopi & Teh.

It was difficult to not go for their Salted Egg Chicken with Rice after knowing that they serve up the item after skimming through the menu; it is interesting to note that Kem Huat Kopi does serve up this dish with a choice of chicken, pork or fish — we found ourselves going for the chicken variant. One thing interesting to note about the rendition of the Salted Egg Chicken with Rice at Kem Huat Kopi is how it comes with Nai Bai on the side; something that usually does not come with such a dish at other establishments serving similar fare. All individually-portioned zichar rice sets are part of the Lunch section of the menu and are available only from 10am to closing. The Salted Egg Chicken does come with diced chicken that seems to be fried before being wok-fried with the salted egg sauce; there is definitely an element of crunch whilst it also carried a slight hint of peppery notes from the marination on its own. There is sufficient salted egg sauce coating each piece of chicken here; we did like how the sauce wasn’t overly creamy whilst focuses on the savoury notes of the salted egg — there are also bits of salted egg that further enhances the flavours and gives the sauce some texture as well, while the addition of curry leaves and chili padi adds another dimension of flavours and a lightly spicy kick that should work just fine for those whom are able tolerate lower levels of spiciness. The inclusion of Nai Bai helps to add a crunch and keeps the entire dish manageable; itself being drizzled with light soy sauce for flavour, while the fried egg comes with a molten egg yolk and soft egg white with crisp, browned edges — free from any undesirable notes of greasiness from overused oil.

Whilst there does seem to have been quite a number of dining establishments that had relocated themselves out of KAP Mall over a period of time for now, it does seem that there aren’t many new entrants that had moved into the premises of the building in recent times — with that being said, it is noted that a new One Social had recently taken over the former premises of the now-defunct outlet of The M Plot Cafe; these folks can be found around the same area as where one would be able to spot the outlet of Carl’s Junior and the outlet of Yeastside that is located around the perimeters of the building. One Social hasn’t done much work to the space after taking over the premises from the previous tenant; the facade of the shopfront and the furniture and fittings installed in the dining hall in the second level of the shop unit is largely reminiscent of the space during the time that it was The M Plot Cafe. Being an establishment that serves up local delights alongside traditional brews and modern specialty coffee, the menu at One Social is split into categories dedicated to The Social Classic, The Social Toast, The Social Bite, The Social Brews, The Social Espresso and The Social Tea.

The Laksa is an item that is listed in the The Social Classic section of the menu; for those whom intend to opt for their orders of the Laksa to come as a set with a beverage from The Social Brews section of the menu, one can go for the same under The Social Classic Sets section of the menu. One Social does not describe the elements that comes with their Laksa, though it could be observed from our order of the same that the dish does come with elements such as prawns, beancurd puffs, half-boiled eggs, sambal chili, laksa broth and thick rice vermicelli. Digging into the bowl of Laksa here, we did find that the gravy of the laksa to be sufficiently rich and creamy for the addition of coconut milk; all that whilst the fragrance of the rempah was also pretty prominent. The inclusion of sambal chili adds a spicy kick to the Laksa here, with the level of spiciness being suitable for those whom are tolerable to slightly lower than moderate levels of spiciness here. The thick rice vermicelli noodles could however be better cooked; we did find some parts where some strands of noodles were all clumped up together. Much of the price tag for the Laksa which is listed at $9.90 ala-carte does seem to be attributed to the inclusion of prawns — One Social does seem to be pretty generous with the amount of prawns coming with each bowl of Laksa; coming with three (3) prawns by default, the prawns did come huge and reasonably fresh. Overall, a spot in King Albert Park that serves up familiar local flavours in a comfy and quiet environment with a modern touch especially with the availability of espresso-based specialty coffee on its menu here.

Orh Gao Taproom is one of those establishments that should be fairly familiar to those whom frequent around the Botanic Gardens neighbourhood for the past couple of years. Serene Centre has recently went through a revamp — Orh Gao Taproom which used to share a space with Killiney Kopitiam situated around the perimeters of the building had also seen it move to another shop unit situated within the building behind Twofold, while the concept has also been refreshed as Orh Gao Peh Gao. Orh Gao Peh Gao operates as a dual-concept establishment — it identifies itself as a coffeeshop in the day being Peh Gao Coffeeshop, while it still maintains being a taproom serving up craft beer on tap in the evenings as Orh Gao Taproom. With the daytime concept being no longer tied to that of Killiney Kopitiam, Peh Gao Coffeeshop now offers a menu that is segmented into sections dedicated to Traditional Toast, Open Top Sandwich, Noodle Soup, Noodle Dry, Rice and Sides — beverages available would include that of Nanyang-style Kopi and Teh, as well as Homemade Barley and Milo; just to name a few.

One of the dishes that had caught our eye early on when we were skimming through the menu at Peh Gao Coffeeshop was the Mapo Tofu Udon that is listed under the Noodle Dry section of the menu; the menu describes the dish to be one that come with elements such as PG Mapo Tofu, minced pork, Onsen Egg, fried beancurd skin and spring onions. Giving everything a good toss before digging in, one thing that we have noticed about the Mapo Tofu Udon at Peh Gao Coffeeshop was how the Mapo Tofu Udon does seem to come with more minced pork than tofu. It does also seem that the much of the flavours does come from the gravy that came along with the minced pork; whilst the minced pork provided a meaty bite, the gravy does carry a savoury note with a hint of fragrance from the inclusion of Sichuan peppers and seemingly also came with a spicy kick as well that should tickle the tastebuds for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness. The cubes of tofu does come soft, smooth and silken, while the inclusion of the fried beancurd skin adds an element of light crispness against the soft and chewy consistency of Udon. Mixing the runny Onsen Egg into the dish also provided a silkier touch for everything else within the bowl.

It does seem like the folk behind a slow cup / Painted Nail Bar has been on a phase of expansion of the late; whilst they had just opened their outlet at The Cathay not too long ago in lieu of the closure of their Robertson Quay location due to the redevelopment of its former location — that being said, they had recently just opened a new location within Dunearn Village at the ground level fairly near to the McDonald’s outlet there. The Dunearn Village location of a slow cup sees a more effective segregation between the nail parlour and the cafe as compared to thr outlet at The Cathay; a slow cup now fronts the shop space entirely with its seating area located across from the counter, while the nail parlour is segmented from full view from outsiders and cafe visitors with the divider situated between the cafe space and the nail parlour. As always, a slow cup emphasises more on its specialty coffee offerings with its beverage menu segmented between Coffee, Non-Coffee and Herbal Tea, while they do carry a very limited variety of bakes to go along.

The Banana Slice is one out of the three (3) different bakes that were being stocked in the display case during our day of visit — this would be pretty much a typical slice of banana bread that one would expect from other specialty cafes elsewhere; one thing worth noting about the Banana Slice at a slow cup is how it is being warmed up before being served to the table. The Banana Slice here doesn’t come feeling too dense; it does carry a soft and fluffy texture that brings it closer to a banana cake than banana bread — those whom prefer their banana slices to come with mushy bits of banana might be disappointed with this one. With that being said, the Banana Slice here does feel easy to have; all that whilst carrying a whiff of fragrance and sweetness with it.

Hadn’t been to Craftsmen Coffee’s newer outlets in quite a long while — heard that they had recently opened a new outlet at Dunearn Village (previously Link@896 / Sime Darby Centre) which is a short walk away from King Albert Park MRT Station along the Downtown Line. Craftsmen Coffee’s outlet at Duneran Village is located right beside the outlet of Guzman y Gomez there — it does take up quite a prominent spot considering how it is visible from the main thoroughfare of Dunearn Road. As with the other outlets of Craftsmen Coffee, the Dunearn Village outlet does serve up a few exclusive dishes that are not found at other locations of Craftsmen Coffee; the menu is segmented into sections consisting of Classic Breakfast, Oats & Salad Bowl, Open Face Toast & Croissant Sandwich, Build Your Own Breakfast, Savoury Waffles, Mains, Pasta, Starters and Desserts — there is also a range of bakes and cakes that are stocked within the display chiller at the corner as well.

One of the items that had caught our attention earlier on when we were skimming through the menu would be the Chilli Con Crème Pork Tataki — this is actually described on the menu to consist of elements such as Tender US Pork Tataki, Linguine and a slightly spicy coconut cream; other elements that are not mentioned which we had observed includes a mix of different mushrooms, garlic and wok-fried curry leaves. Digging into the Chilli Con Crème Pork Tataki, the pasta does come with a gravy that seems to be inspired by that of Lemak Chili especially given the use of turmeric and coconut milk; it is not overly rich but definitely carried a slight kick of spiciness — all that with a slight garlicky note. The addition of curry leaves gave the gravy an additional aroma, while the pasta itself does come al-dente; the inclusion of the assortment of mushrooms provided an additional note of earthiness with a slight bounciness in terms of texture. Our favourite part of the dish was the Tender US Pork Tataki; the meat being all smoky and juicy whilst being easy to chew through — there is a slight hint of sweetness whilst there is no undesirable porky stench that comes along. A dish that would fit those whom are looking for a pasta that comes all meaty and packing a punch of flavours!

Was scrolling around the phone and got to know about the existence of the fairly new Baker RST that is located at Empress Road Market & Food Centre — these folks should be fairly easy to identify considering how they extensively use a shade of blue throughout the entire stall facade; they are also located in one of the corner-most stall units within the food centre closest towards the side of the wet market as well. As the namesake of the stall suggests, Baker RST is a bakery stall — its offerings surround around mini-sized boat pizzas which consists of different savoury fillings that makes for a good light snack, while their line-up of muffins would be the selection of sweet items which they have to offer.

Between the items we had ordered during our visit made on a weekend to Baker RST, it was the Chilli Crab, Prawn, Fish, Cheese Boat Pizza that left an impression with us; we also did feel that their Boat Pizza items are better executed than their muffin offerings as well. For one, the dough for the boat pizza was the element that reeled us in; whilst looking like a mini bread that would probably come with an element of chew, this does come crusty with a good crunch that is similar to some basic pizza crust offerings that more commercialised quick-service establishments tend to serve up — the rendition served up at Baker RST barely being overwhelming given the size of the boat pizza. For the Chilli Crab, Prawn, Fish, Cheese Boat Pizza, we liked how it had captured that tangy, sweet and spicy note that one would associate with the local iconic dish of chili crab; all that whilst the inclusion of melted cheese provides a savouriness that also gels the other elements on the top — the prawns adding an element of bite and a hint of natural crustacean sweetness to the boat pizza as well. Works well as a light munch in the morning or for tea break to be coupled with Kopi / Teh on the side.

Established in 1998 by couple Hassan Abdul Kadir and Aminah Binte K. Omar, this legacy brand is amongst the most well-regarded in Singapore, counting Southeast Asian royalty, dignitaries, and heads of government amongst their customers. Today, it remains family-run by their descendants, including founder of Crave Nasi Lemak and their eldest son, Doctor Abdul Malik Hassan.
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Their rendition features a bed of long-grain basmati rice infused with coconut milk, lemongrass, and pandan / screwpine leaves, resulting in a fluffy loose soft moist texture with beautiful grainy earthy floral sweet herbal milky flavour. The deep-fried ikan bilis / anchovies with roasted peanuts are crispy crunchy firm in texture, shattering with fishy salty savoury earthy nutty flavour. The thin cucumber slices are crisp and juicy in texture with vegetal sweet flavour, while the fried chicken egg is soft and wobbly in texture with eggy savoury sweet flavour.
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The otak-otak / otah / spiced mackerel fish paste is pliant and soft in texture, carrying fishy savoury spice flavour. The turmeric marinated and battered chicken wing has a lovely crunch to the exterior, a warm tender juicy chew to the interior, and lovely meaty savoury salty spice flavour. Their grainy sambal tumis / stir-fried chili paste has a bigger sweet salty spice flavour kick compared to elsewhere. Additional crispy bits of batter lend an addictive crunch.
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Nasi Lemak
Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak
@ Adam Food Centre, 2 Adam Road #01-02
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2026/02/best-of-singapore-hawkers-nasi-lemak.html

great service and food:-)) theres upstairs seating w air conditioning but we sat outside for the vibesss.

lovedddddd the mentaiko mac and cheese !!!! highly recommend it!!

cheese pizza was delicious as well (one with the burrata) great for strong cheese loversss

Enjoyed my meal at Yeast Side. The crust mid wings were crispy, juicy and the Queen Margherita had a chewy crust with well balanced flavours. Overall a nice vibe, friendly service and a good craft beer. Would recommend!

Had a great time at Yeast Side! We tried their signature Queen Margherita pizza which had an airy crust and well balanced with tomato and cheese. Their crispy mid wings were crunchy and well seasoned. Perfect spot for hanging out with friends / family over some craft beer too!

Beers were great. Enjoyed the food and ambience as well. Staff were also friendly. Recommend.