The Yummy Food of Hong Lim and Maxwell

Due to recent financial constraints, Elayne and I have reduced ourselves to trawling our amazing food centres and hawkers to please our palates, while not busting our budgets.

Penny-pinching outlet #1 - Hong Lim Market

Insanely crowded during lunch hours and dead-ish during the late noons/evenings. There's too many great food stalls to patronise and we had late lunch on a Saturday, when most of the stalls were closed! Thankfully, the really popular Ji Ji Wanton Noodle Specialist stall is still up and running. On weekdays, the queue for the wtm is insanely long, but somehow, worth the wait, as the price is cheap ($2.50) for a great quality wtm with excellent service. The noodles is springy and the taste is great. Value for money: Rating: 8.5/10

We also had Curry Chicken Mee ($3.50) from Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee. We had previously had the one located at Golden Shoe, at the Mei Xin Food Court, which was surprisingly, better than the one at Hong Lim. I don't know if they were running out of chicken, but all I had was 2 measly pieces of chicken breast and the curry was not as tasty as the one I previously had. They were really generous with the tau pok though. Abit of a disappointment to be honest. Rating: 6.5/10


Penny-pinching outlet #1 - Maxwell Food Centre

Rather than go for the usual popular stalls like the Fish Slice Bee Hoon and the Hainanese Curry Rice, I decided to look for something different that day. I came across this unassuming stall, Hock Kee Fu Zhou Fish Ball Noodle and decided to go for it for no particular reason. It was a patient wait for the owner to cook the noodles, even though there was no queue for the food. It was well worth the wait as the Fu Zhou Fish Ball + Wanton Mee ($3.50) was really good! The noodles, springy and has a good bite, the Fu Zhou Fish Ball and Wantons were tasty and fresh. I just love a place which puts such effort into getting fresh ingredients and making them taste good. What's more, it's less hyped than its other famous neighbouring stalls, which would mean a shorter waiting time for food! Rating: 8.5/10

Of course we had to have chicken rice from Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice! I almost forgot how cheap it was at $2.30 a plate, and considering that it's located in the CBD, and how it is being hyped by the likes of Anthony Bourdain and K.F Seetoh, I like that they have not capitalised on that and start charging exorbitantly for their chicken rice. Nothing new to say about it, the usual high standards kept to, great chilli, great tasting rice and tender-fresh chicken. All you can ask for. Probably the best chicken rice in SG? Certainly amongst the top! Rating: 9/10

Not-really-penny-pinching outlet #3 - Pattisserie Glace

Located at the ulu Chinatown Plaza along Neil Road, this Japanese cake shop has become one of my fave haunts, due to its cakes and the close proximity from my house! I usually only can go on the weekends as on weekdays around late noon, the popular cakes will be sold out already! So far, the Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Mille Feuille, Rin Rin Cheese Tarts and the Mont Blanc have not caused us any disappointment. The cakes are light and scrumptious. The creams are just delightfully tasty and surprisingly light! I only have an issue with the Strawberry Souffle, which tasted more like strawberries on a Japanese cheesecake, you know the kind they sell in Japanese confectionaries? It is peculiar since the Japanese lady did say that it tasted like cheesecake, but calling it a Souffle? I'm puzzled as well! Pastry chef I am not! Haha. Not a cheap haunt but a really quaint and cosy place to get some cakes made by a real Japanese pastry chef, and served by a really friendly Japanese lady. Rating: 8/10