The Coffee Shop by Yaowarat

The latest of their revolving door of stalls. I guess what makes this Thai is the "white" seasoning and the pinch of crabmeat. It's an underwhelming meal. Although Thai wanton mee is "white", it's supposed to still be flavourful - this was bland.

The latest addition at this hipster kopitiam. It has quite a wide menu of noodles but this seems to be the OG. The spice was just right for me, which I appreciate. Topped with minced meat, beancurd skin and chives. Mixian is so enjoyable.

Chanced upon this new stall named 冰多多 (Bing Duo Duo) within The Coffee Shop by Yaowarat just a stone’s throw away from Kovan MRT Station — the same coffeeshop also houses The Breakfast Club and Ng Kuan Chili Pan Mee. Being the sole dessert stall operator in the coffeeshop, 冰多多 specialises in shaved ice, though also serves up hot desserts such as their Red Bean Soup with Mini Tang Yuan and Cheng Teng.

Amongst the few flavours of shaved ice that 冰多多 has to offer, the D24 Durian variant stood out to me the most — probably since I am much of a durian lover anyway. The composition of the shaved ice dessert here is relatively simple; comprises of shaved ice, condensed milk, chewy translucent balls and a scoop of D24 Durian flesh — patrons can choose to go for additional scoops at a further top-up. Thought that the shaved ice here did come in a relatively consistent texture; not as fine as we had wanted to be, but it is still relatively decent. Much of the shaved ice is flavoured purely by the condensed milk drenched over it for some hint of sweetness that was thankfully not overly sweet, while the durian flesh carries that fibrous texture with a pungent note of the King of Fruits — though we found that the sole durian element wasn’t particularly integral with the entire dish; perhaps an inclusion of a durian-infused cream over the use of condensed milk may further elevate the overall feel of the dish being a durian-based dessert. The chewy, translucent balls did what was exactly expected — provides for a variance of texture to the shaved ice dessert.

While the entire dessert did feel rather pleasant without being overly sweet, we did feel that the D24 Durian Ice fell a little short — almost akin to that of a slightly higher priced Ice Kachang with lesser ingredients included; a little pricey at $6.80. It may be possible that it is probably their concept to serve shaved ice in this format (something which I also respect; especially given how I don’t usually enjoy the condiments that come standard in Ice Kachang), it is also difficult not to think how there are other options around such as within the Kovan 209 Market & Food Centre, as well as Sweet Thoughts by M.O.D at the nearby J Forte Sportainment Centre for shaved ice desserts, whilst not forgetting the other dessert options such as The Humble Scoop, Sugartree Gelato, Lola’s Cafe, Naked Ice Cream and Ice Edge Cafe in the immediate area. It will be interesting to see how 冰多多 will be able to adapt and improve their recipes and fare in the long run on what they have to offer …

This may be everywhere and this may be a random kopitiam, but this is my go-to spot for iced Milo. They make a thick version that has all the correct notes and doesn't get diluted by ice.

I know this is easy to like and one of my favourite foods, but here it's quite at the pinnacle already. Not only freshly fried, it had lots of fats. The two would have a perfect collision in your mouth.

Yaowarat Thai Kway Chap is doing so well it's taken over the famous but plodding Simon Road corner kopitiam, although unfortunately right before circuit breaker. To be clear I'm not a fan of the kway chap. This kpt is well curated with likeable dishes - chilli pan mee, pork leg rice, all-day breakfast and this. Although the portion was tiny, it's unique. Like Penang Seafood Restaurant and Pasta Madness, this wasn't your usual hawker interpretation of Hokkien mee. It felt more luxe, but lacking street cred. Several staff were wearing Soi 19 uniform, but the group's wanton mee isn't here.