18 food and drink stalls, durians, fruits that are not the king of fruits, claw machines… and teak furniture sets worth tens of thousands of dollars each. The Kallang pasar malam at Kallang MRT station may not be the biggest but there seems to be something for everyone. It runs from 3 Feb to 19 Feb 2023.
The incessant drizzle has been a bit of a dampener but there was still quite a crowd when I made my way down on Day 2, Saturday. Showing that they understand Singaporeans very well, the organisers have given the 16 food and 2 drinks vendors premium road-facing stalls.
I wasn’t surprised to see pasar malam stalwarts Mr. Vadai, Super Ramly Burger and Ah Moi Thai Tea here. Each has its standard range of food and drinks for sale and all attract a respectable crowd that knows and loves the familiar tastes.
First to convince me to open my wallet, though, was Twist Potato. The skinny Christmas tree-like Twist Potato (1 for S$3, 2 for $5) is lovely even in the Plain version I got. As you can see from the photo, the lady was very happy to hand it over to me.
They also have Mala, Salted Egg, Truffle, Seaweed, Cheese and BBQ flavours.
The same stall sells Fried Oreo (S$2.50) in 4 flavours— Chocolate Syrup, Caster Sugar, Condensed Milk and Plain. These delicious little delights are best eaten right away— the batter has to be as crispy as possible for you to get the full blast of decadence. I was safe in that regard— eating delicious snacks too slow isn’t a problem I have ever faced before.
I headed to the Takoyaki stall next. Those ball-shaped receptacles of deliciousness are great but I wanted to try their Okonomi Japanese Pizza (S$3.50). I opted for the Chicken Ham flavour. Sadly, it turned out to be a bit underwhelming. It’s a pity because the helping wasn’t small and they are generous with the sauces.
Come to think of it, maybe it was the flood of sauce that was the issue. Remember to ask for just how much you like.
My next stop was Siam Thailand Food, the stall that had the longest queue. Their Thai Basil Chicken with Rice (S$6) is a good choice! The ample serving of chicken and greens, a delicious egg and some pretty potent chilli made my day.
Even better, I also got the Skewers (3 for $5) in Honey Chicken, Herb Chicken and Chicken Sausage. If I got a do-over, I would get 3 Honey Chicken skewers instead.
The Original Pisang Keju has a stall, too. Here, ordinary goreng pisang (banana fritters) are made into their best selves with an Indonesian-inspired addition of chocolate, cheese or condensed milk. It’s Singapore’s “No.1 Crunchy Pisang Keju” according to the signboard. I don’t think the field’s very crowded so they’re probably right.
Later, I made my way down to check out the beautiful teak furniture. This set looks like it belongs in the Flintstones cave.
There is an entire tent of homeware, a mobile phone case store and even this little claw machine corner.
Fun as those may be, my favourite part of the Kallang pasar malam is undoubtedly the food. Just remember that it’s been raining all of this week so the benches and tables will be wet— takeaway may be the way to go for now.
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