Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Spirits are high as the sound of drums fill the air and the sight of a lion and dragon dance troupe invite good luck to the spanking-new JFD 家啡店 coffee shop at 78C Toa Payoh Central. Adjacent to Toa Payoh Central Community Club, this kopitiam — launched on April Fool’s Day — houses 10 stalls, including 2 returning from its previous coffee shop.
I shan’t waste your time anymore — here are some of the food options you can expect.
Starting with a stall with a Michelin Bib Gourmand status — San Xiang Bak Chor Mee, which hails from ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre, opens another outlet here. You can expect noodle dishes like Hand-pounded Fishball Noodle (S$4/S$5/S$6), Special Fried Meatball Noodle (S$4.50/S$5.50), and Tiger Prawn Roll Mee Sua (S$8).
My medium bowl of Special Bak Chor Mee (S$6) with mee pok came with immaculately-prepared pig’s liver, pork slices, bak chor, and meatballs. The noodles were cooked just right, with a strong hint of vinegar, while the chilli was fiery enough to ignite a small fire in my mouth.
I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted Fei Zhu at JFD 家啡店 coffee shop. I had patronised their now-defunct Tai Seng outlet years ago and their lok lok was good. Over at JFD 家啡店, they offer an Unlimited Buffet (S$25.90 for adult, S$9.90 for child) and on Fridays, weekends, and PH, there is an addition S$4 surcharge. There are various soup bases to choose from — Lala Soup (S$14.90), Chicken Collagen Soup (S$16.90), or Double Pot (S$15.90).
Since I don’t have an appetite that’s built for buffets anymore, I went for the lok lok instead, which starts from S$1 each. There’s bacon wrapped with enoki, luncheon meat, quail eggs, broccoli, pandan mantou, just to name a few. Oh, and please help yourselves to their array of homemade sauces to dunk your sticks into. I LOVE their Thai green chilli and spicy mayo. Their zesty homemade chilli slaps, too!
For a quick snack, Home Curry Puff offers 3 flavours at S$2.20 each — Rendang Chicken, Sardine, and Chicken Potato. They also stock up various Nyonya kueh from Borobudur Nonya Pastries like ang ku kueh and ondeh ondeh.
You might remember Golden Rooster and Al MAAS, which was occupying the previous coffee shop for about 6 years and 1 year respectively. The former sells your usual Western fare like Fried Whole Leg w Fries (S$8.90) and Grilled Lamb Chop (S$16.90). If you have cravings for Indian fare, the latter has Poori, Sarang Burung Prata, Kothu Prata, and more.
It looks like Toa Payoh is on a roll, with so many new kopitiams popping up everywhere. Do swing by 78C Toa Payoh Central and check them out!
Granny Taste: Red glutinous wine chicken mee sua & curry by 78-year-old Fuzhou uncle
