Coffeeshop at Teban Garden

You know you aren't a true blue Singaporean if you have yet to step into a coffee shop, feeling sweaty and irritated with the crowd. The air all stuffy and humid, to make things worse somehow the fans aren't really helping. But the surprising thing is, no one can quit going to coffeeshop for meals yet. Why?

You don't need to be a mad scientist know the answer to the question above. That's because in the coffeeshops, that is where you can find some of the most amazing food at super affordable prices! And I am sure this is the only reason that kept people going back.

A few days back, my daddy decided to bring the whole family out for a meal. We used to do this often when I was much younger, before my brother and I started having other commitments, like giving tuitions, etc. Sometimes, no matter how happy you are with your life, and how busy you are, it's always important to free up your schedule, just for your closest and loved ones. (: Afterall, family members will always be the ones there for you, no matter how bad/terrible things and situations are!

Okay, enough of life. Now, back to food!

Blk 54

Not a very accessible place for people living outside of this area, but if you drive, everywhere is accessible!

Not much of a crowd because we avoided the 12-2pm lunch crowd. So it was a breeze finding a table, much to our relief. It was such a hot day, we needed a table where the fan is emitting wind our way.

Lor mee/Prawn Noodles/Satay Beehoon Stall

This is the store which my daddy always patronise whenever he is here for meals. He said the Lor Mee is superb. Well, that is what he claims.

Lor Mee

Lor Mee is a dish served in thick gravy with lots of starch in it and thick flat noodles, accompanied with several ingredients. The most common ones are half boiled eggs, ngoh hiang, fish cake, pork, fried dumplings, etc. Most people will eat with vinegar, garlic and/or chilli. The really traditional stalls will also sprinkle fried fish crumbs as toppings before serving.

In my impression, Lor Mee is supposed to be piping hot, with the right amount of ingredients. Noodles should be springy, with fragrant pieces of pork slices. Gravy should not be runny, like you're having noodle soup. It should be thick enough so you can mix your noodles all evenly.

I was blown away by the looks of it. When it was served, I couldn't wait to have the first bite! But like how the saying goes, Looks can be Deceiving. This particular dish is out to disappoint. The noodles tasted limp, instead of springy. The ingredients weren't  at all tasty. And most importantly, the gravy went wrong. Terribly wrong! Even with the right noodles and ingredients, wrong gravy will have spoiled this dish completely.

Enough said, let's just move on.

Prawn Mee

Prawn noodles is one dish that will forever be in my top favourite list. How can someone not like prawn noodles? Okay, I'll excuse those who are allergic to prawns or doesnt't like prawns, but for the rest, get prawn noodles into your life! The fragrant prawn broth is the main essence to this whole dish. Almost nothing can go wrong when you have a flavourful soup base, that leaves people yearning for more. A best combination would be beehoon/noodles, while some will opt for kway teow/noodles.

The brother ordered this particular dish. Took a spoonful of the soup, decided to give it another try. Another spoonful down, before i decide that this is enough. The soup was obviously lacking in every ways. Not tasty, not rich, doesn't leave a trace of prawn flavour in my mouth, and ahh full of MSG in my opinion.

Satay Beehoon

 Not a fan of satay beehoon since I don't fancy having nuts in my food as they get stuck in between the teeth easily. And as we all may know, satay beehoon sauce is a chilli-based peanut sauce, very similar to the sauce we eat with satay (hence the name satay beehoon, if you're wondering). The dish will usually be served with satay sauce spread on top of vermicelli, accompanied with ingredients like kang kong, bean sprouts, prawns, and even cockles in some.

As far as I can remember, I have never tasted one satay beehoon which leaves me wanting more. This isn't an exception. The sauce was quite weird, in my opinion. Sticky, and uh, starchy. Pardon me if this is the way it should turn out to be, but it tasted like a combination went wrong. Didn't score with my parents either, even though they love satay beehoon.

Finally, a new stall, Hua Zai.

I've a weak spot for Mini Pot Noodles, and many other food as well actually heh. So when the hawker centre/coffeeshop I am dining at have a stall selling Mini Pot Noodles, I won't bother looking out for other food items to fill my tummy with. Isn't it amazing. A bowl of noodles sitting in front of you, while a boiling pot of soup + wonderful ingredients swimming in the pot waiting for you to indulge in them, ie fish dumplings, fish cakes, meatballs, fishballs, veg, etc. And of cos, the egg cracked into the soup. The noodles here is the main essence, it should be tasty, springy and not lumpy. For me, I will ask for both ketchup and chilli. Best combination ever!

Mini Pot Noodles

One word, disappointment. First of all, the noodles were Lousy (with a captial L). The whole lump of noodles were stuck together, it feels like I was eating dough even though I have already pour some soup over the noodles. My heart dropped even further when i search the whole pot of doup for my fish dumpling. My heart screamed when I didnt manage to locate it in my pot. It was replaced with two-thirds of a hot dog, which doesn't even taste right.

To me, this is like a meal went wrong. Everything was bad, then got worse. I couldn't even finish my meal!

The only thing that taste alright for the meal was probably the can drinks which we got from the drinks stall.

The meal that disappoints

Never going back to this place for a meal again, not even if it will be a treat. I will gladly settle for some instant noodles at home. But well, there might be a chance you will have different views. Who knows?

Coffeeshop

Blk 54 Teban Gardens Road

Singapore 600054