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Almost exactly a year ago, my colleague Esther and I swung by Nguan Express 88 at Ang Mo Kio Central to try their S$1.90 chicken rice. I’d say it was pretty decent and well worth the price. Fast forward to today — we discovered that the same folks have opened another branch in Jurong West, this time serving cai fan from just S$2.50. The question is: was it worth my 1-hour, 10-minute public transport journey? Let’s find out.
After a short 4-stop bus ride from Lakeside MRT Station, I finally arrived. The outlet is a stark contrast to the one at AMK Central, boasting a much larger seating capacity instead of just the 2 tiny tables where Esther and I squeezed together cosily.
Though the stall hasn’t stated how long this promotion is going to last, who knows? It may end up like its $1.90 chicken rice promotion, which is still running a year on. The variety of dishes were quite substantial though it pales in comparison to other cai fan stalls at kopitiams.
For the S$2.50 option that includes 1 meat and a vegetable, we chose braised pork belly and cai xin. The first thing that caught our attention was the generous portion of rice… it was a complete bowl’s worth. The rice was well-cooked and I had no complaints.
Though the pork belly pieces weren’t quite melt-in-your-mouth tender, the flavour was still acceptable, in my opinion. The cai xin tasted just like the ones I had for lunch during my army days in the cookhouse — nothing fascinating and purely for sustenance.
For the S$3.80 plate that includes 2 meat and 1 vegetable, I selected chicken wings, potato cubes with minced pork, and sauteed cabbage.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive 2 wings (at least we each got our own wing). The skin was crispy and the flavour of the meat was well-marinated, just like the addictive, scrumptious wings that my aunty will deep-fry during Chinese New Year.
The potato cubes were pillowy and soft, while the accompanying minced meat was tasty. Even the stir-fried cabbage with black fungus was up my alley; it was cooked till delightfully soft.
There was a poster stating that their Fried Chicken Drumsticks were available at S$1 each. Esther commented that if she had topped up a fried chicken drumstick to her plate of S$2.50 cai fan, it would still be cheaper than the S$3.80 plate.
The stall was quite crowded on a weekday morning, so try to avoid peak hours (unless you’ve no choice). Come try their cai fan and chicken rice (if you haven’t) today, and tell me what are your comments.
V1 Jia Chang Cai (家常菜): $3 for cai fan? You’ll get 3 dishes + rice at this hawker stall
