Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
“Serving quality beef noodles in a wholesome broth till late”
Did you know that “Grub” is a slang for the word food? We at sethlui.com reckon that “Grub” is such a catchy and adept name for an f&b joint. After the much successful set up of Grub at Bishan Park (famous for their perfect burgers) and Fix Cafe at HomeTeamNS Balestier with amazing desserts; the four owners of Cookyn Inc introduces their latest dining concept – Grub Noodle Bar at Rangoon Road.
This street is notably made famous by the Ng Ah Sio bak kut teh stall; Grub noodle bar is located diagonally opposite the aforementioned bak kut teh stall.
The huge mural on the front of the shop is comical and cute. Be sure to take your selfies, duofies and wefies against this mural because it will make all your social media posting look so natural and cool (haha!)
To be honest, I had earlier thought we were invited to taste only noodles (well it’s after all a noodle bar right?), only to be totally impressed and blown away by some of the appetizers Grub Noodle Bar offered on their menu.
Kang Kong Salad ($7). Imagine crunchy fresh kang kong tossed with traditional nonya achar and a unique mustard house dressing, how do you think this combination tastes like? It is extremely appetizing; a definite refreshing and great starter to spur and open up one’s taste buds. This salad is such an interesting mix because it is crunchy, tangy, salty and a little nutty all in one mouthful. A definite “Must not miss out on” dish.
Live tiger prawns ($15). Seriously, you can’t find prawns any fresher and sweeter than these. For $15, you get a 200g serving of live tiger prawns steamed in sake, lightly deep fried garlic and ginger glaze. Seafood lovers will not want to miss out on trying this dish.
Venus Clams ($15). Juicy, plump and fresh clams are sauteed in a beer, toasted ginger and lemongrass broth. The beer broth tastes slightly bitter which I like but personally reckon that the taste can be enhanced further if the lemongrass flavour was pumped up.
Chicken drumlets ($9). A highly recommended, sure must order type of dish! This is THE perfect deep fried chicken which compliments oh so well with beers or ciders. The chicken drumlets are marinated with curry leaves, garlic, pepper, sesame seeds and of course other Grub’s secret spices then deep fried till golden brown perfection. What is served to you are aesthetically crispy, good ole finger licking tender meat and yet non oily chicken drumlets.
Hokkaido Scallop Tataki ($15). Very thinly sliced scallops that are lightly torched with mustard glaze and mandarin orange segments; this dish will be a favourite with sashimi and raw food lovers. The mandarin orange were juicy and it really brought out the natural sweetness and freshness of the scallop. I’m not a big fan of this dish but credit has to be given to the chef for this creative mix of ingredients.
Beef noodles ($12 – $19). Alrighty, finally we get to the real crux of this food review. There are 4 choices of beef (all beef imported from Australia) on the menu, we were served the 100% hormone and antibiotic free 150 day grainfed Angus Ribeye beef noodles. For $12 – $19, you will be served a relatively big portion of dried noodles topped with their home-made beef balls, minced beef and mushroom savoury sauce together with a bowl of hearty beef soup stock that has thinly sliced of beef in it.
I would describe their beef noodles as a fusion between Korean Jajangmyeon, Thai beef boat noodles and Singapore’s traditional beef noodles. Their egg noodles are made fresh without preservatives and delivered daily to their shop by a local supplier. The noodles are springy but I would have preferred it slightly more firmer al dente style. The beef balls are made of 100% beef however it lacked moisture and were slightly on the bland side.
The soup is faultless. The beef broth is hearty yet light, bursting with a nice strong beefy but nevertheless non-overpowering flavour; the soup is also MSG and artificial flavours free. Beef meat lovers will enjoy the thinly sliced generous servings of beef slices in the soup, further more fans of spicy chilli will definitely appreciate the housemade chinchalok served together with the soup. Dip the beef slices in the chinchalok for that extra kick.
Chinchalok chilli is served with the beef noodles.
Assam Laksa ($13). For those who do not eat beef, your only other choice of noodles is the Assam Laksa. This bowl of noodles just did not quite make the cut for me. I lived in the Land of Perfect Assam Laksa (Malaysia) for 8 years previously so I consider myself a mini assam laksa “expert”.
This assam laksa broth was relatively tasty and sour but lacked the thick consistency of a good ole hearty fish-based soup topped with petis udang (shrimp paste) like those you would find in Malaysia. I personally much prefer fish slices with the thick vermicelli over prawns that was served in the Grub’s version.
Grub Noodle Bar currently serves dinner and supper from 730pm till 1230am from Tuesday to Sundays. We would hope for them to have more variety of noodles on their menu to live up to their name, but the appetizers so far were pretty good. We also hear that they will be serving desserts soon hence we will definitely be back for more soon.
