[CLOSED] The Flying Pan: Big portions of Western food with 3 sides for $5.50 at Hougang kopitiam

I was astonished when I chanced upon a Facebook group that mentioned The Flying Pan. It’s a Western food spot nestled within a kopitiam underneath a HDB void deck at Hougang Avenue 2.

The reason for my surprise? Well, the Western food here costs only S$5.50, and they even throw in not 1, not 2… but 3 side dishes of your choice! How ridiculously affordable is that?

I knew I had to check this place out for myself, and it was an added bonus that it’s near to where I live.

The stall is relatively new at its current location, which opened on 8 Apr 2021. It is owned by 23-year-old Vicky and her husband, Sean. Before this, they were operating another business called Western Food @ Ci Yuan, also in the vicinity of Hougang.

To support their 3 kids, Sean also doubles up as a private hire driver. As a result, Vicky has to handle everything by herself at times. On weekends, their eldest son will chip in to help.

Besides the 5 different options that were going at S$5.50, I also spotted a couple of dishes that were priced slightly higher: Fried 1/2 Spring Chicken (+S$1) and Ribeye Steak (+S$2).

As I was curious about why they didn’t hike up the prices, I decided to ask Sean directly.

“We just want to sell our food at cheaper rates so that more people are able to afford it, and be able to try them as well,” he shared. Such a heartwarming reason, right?

What I tried at The Flying Pan

I brought my colleague, Rachel, to try out their Western delights. We decided on the Fried Fish (S$5.50), which came with our choice of baked beans, butter corn and mashed potatoes. We were disappointed that the mac & cheese and aglio pasta wasn’t available that afternoon.

The piece of Fried Fish was shimmering with the perfect shade of golden brown. I proceeded to cut it with virtually no effort as it was coated with a paper-thin encrustment of panko.

After I experienced a crispy and light batter upon sinking in my teeth, I was then greeted with flaky and moist flesh which disintegrated instantly in my mouth. It paired really well with the creamy mayo dip. The baked beans were normal and nothing to rave about.

The mashed potatoes were smooth and were coated with a warm savoury brown gravy. Even though it wasn’t homemade, it still hit the spot for me. Perhaps my only displeasure would be the absence of butter from the butter corn— it tasted like it was served directly from the can.

We tried to avoid having too much fried food, so we decided to try the Grilled Pork Chop (S$5.50) next. For this dish, we opted for the coleslaw, fried mini bun and garden veggie.

The pieces of pork chop had probably spent the night being covered in herbs and spices, which explains why the meat was well-seasoned and perfumed with the aromatics used. It also had a subtle peppery punch which greeted me gently with every bite.

The smoky notes were taken up a notch when I dipped the meat into the black pepper sauce, which gave the pork chop a lot more personality. The meat was generally nice and tender although some parts were slightly on the tougher side.

The garden veggie turned out to be a generous serving of boiled broccoli which came coated in a slightly viscous cream sauce. Rachel and I felt that although the sauce made the florets more smooth and slippery, it lacked flavour.

The coleslaw was tasty and slightly crunchy with the perfect amount of mayonnaise. In terms of portioning, compared to the rest of the sides, we thought that the fried bun (which was a mantou) lacked in quantity as we were only served a single piece— two would have been better.

Honestly, before I ordered the Mushroom Soup (S$1.50), I wasn’t expecting much from it until I saw Rachel’s eyes light up after she took her first sip.

“The soup is gooooood!” She exclaimed, enthusiastically.

And she was right. The soup did taste slightly different (in a good way)— don’t expect robust mushroom flavours coming from it though. It tasted as if a strong flavourful stock had been added— I’d recommend you to come down and experience it for yourself.

Rachel’s and my jaw dropped to the ground (in sync) when Vicky brought out our side dish of Cheese Fries (S$3). We were presented with an insane amount of crinkle-cut fries and a generous drizzle of cheese sauce.

It was pure indulgence and I felt a sense of comfort as I wolfed down the crispy fries. The cheese sauce wasn’t overwhelming and before we knew it, half the plate was already in our tummies— time for a diet!

Final thoughts

Western hawker stalls are a common sight in Singapore’s local food scene. I’ve had my fair share of places where side dishes are non-customisable, and cost at least S$7.

Discovering places like The Flying Pan which offers dishes at only S$5.50 is a miracle. Although the taste isn’t out of this world, the portions and price point more than make up for it.

Do give Vicky and Sean some support and try out their dishes for yourselves.

Expected damage: S$5.50 – S$9 per pax

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