Roasted Meat, Min Jiang Kueh & FRESH AVOCADO TART

Sunday Food Tour (Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre + Drips Bakery)

Finally had time to write this post, had been a really long week. Went to Tiong Bahru on Sunday, 230619 to try out the different food in the area. I've been to Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre before but my previous visit may have been far too brief because the moment I went up the escalator, I was shocked as to how spacious the place was and how many stalls there were. As I had a huge food day just the day before, my goal for that day though, was to continue trying famous roast meats across Singapore, hence making my way towards try the Lee Hong Kee Roasted Meat stall. Along the way though, I couldn't resist getting some breakfast/appetiser/desserts. :)

Everything I bought:

1) 2x Coconut Min Jiang Kueh

2) 1x Peanut brown rice Min Jiang Kueh

3) 1x Chocolate round pancake

4) Roasted Pork Char Siew Rice + Char Siew

Hawker Centre Food Tour 5 23/06/19 - Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre

Granny's Pancake #02-71

Coconut Min Jiang Kueh ($1)

- Soft, moist and thick pancake

- Lots of coconut filling was given

Overall, not a bad pancake

Price: 8/10

Taste: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

Tiong Bahru Mian Jian Kueh #02-34

Stall has been around for over 30 years and has the Singapore Best Foods Label

(All their kuehs were warm to the touch; May have been because this was the second stall I bought from)

Coconut ($0.80)

- Batter itself was sweet though not as moist, tasted a bit like pancake batter which I felt added more depth to the overall pancake

- Had crispy edges and soft parts of the pancake

- Coconut shavings were a lot more fine but less filling was given was given

- Coconut shavings also had a darker orange hue and I felt tasted slightly sweeter

Overall, would definitely order this over the other stall (Cheaper + Tasted more delicious and was served warm)

Price: 9/10

Taste: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

Crispy edges

Brighter orange hue for the coconut filling

Peanut brown rice ($0.80)

- So this is supposed to be slightly healthier as it is made with brown rice (Cost the same as the original peanut flavour)

- Peanut filling was not as sweet as others which I prefer, but there's a tad too little filling

- Brown rice pancake did not taste significant;y different from the typical batter used

Overall, a standard min jiang kueh though would have preferred more filling

Price: 9/10

Taste: 8/10

Overall: 8.5/10

Bits of sugar crystals at the top

Thin layer of peanut filling

Chocolate round ($0.80)

- Good amount of sweet chocolate filling

- Comforting dessert to end off one's meal

- Pancake rounds differ from the traditional Min Jiang Kueh as this is basically 1 thick, soft and moist pancake with filling added into it

Price: 8/10

Taste: 7.5/10

Overall: 8/10

Thick chocolate pancake

Tiong Bahru Lee Hong Kee Cantonese Roasted #02-60

Front of the stall

Roasted Pork Char Siew Rice + Char siew ($6)

- Sauce was sweet and had a slight herbal flavour

- Good char and caramelisation all around the char siew, char siew here is more meaty and leaner compared to other stalls

- Roasted pork here was of higher standards, with the skin providing a really good crunch

- Chili was spicy, and slightly tart complementing the sauce well but not the kind that you want to drench your rice in

Overall, would actually rate this stall as my favourite roast meat stall thus far for its value and leaner cuts offered. Perhaps my only gripe would be that this stall does not serve sambal chili

Price: 8.5/10

Taste: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

While travelling towards Tiong Bahru, I knew I had to go to one of the many cafes that the neighbourhood has to offer. Walking past Whisk Cafe and Tiong Bahru Bakery, I decided to try Drips Bakery, well-known for its tarts. The cafe was significantly less crowded than Tiong Bahru Bakery nearby which had a snaking queue outside, providing a lovely peaceful ambience. It had a significant selection of pastries and tarts available from quiches to scones to pies, cakes and of course, their tarts. Hence, I had a hard time narrowing down what I wanted and finally shortlisted 3...

Note: Butter costs an additional $0.30 here :/

Drips Bakery

My order :)

Long Black ($4.80)

- Honestly, quite shocked that the coffee costs so much but felt that it was really strong and aromatic, hence perhaps worth paying slightly more

Taste: 9/10

Avocado Tart ($8.80)

- Sweet meringue dusted with matcha and cocoa powder, a layer of creamy avocado a thin layer of sponge followed by the tart base (Also contained 1 cashew nut which I only discovered when eating the second half of the tart)

- Very refreshing and strong avocado flavour

- Avocado was creamy and subtly sweet, ensuring that it was not too cloying

- Cocoa powder at the top helped to provide another dimension to the tart; bitterness contrasted the sweetness of the meringue and avocado

- The shell of the tart was firm and thin, holding the numerous components well

(Did not need a knife to cut into it)

Overall, the tart was absolutely divine with all the components complementing one another harmoniously. 

Taste: 10/10

Look at those beautiful layers!

Spoke to the owner of the shop afterwards. They only make this tart on the weekends to ensure that all of it gets consumed as avocados have a very short shelf life, truly worth it for the fresh ingredients used!

Cinnamon Bun ($3.50)

- Dense piece of pastry with strong notes of cinnamon

- May become cloyingly sweet if eaten all at one go. Otherwise, a good pastry to pair with the coffee

Taste: 8.5/10

Dense & Rich

Scone ($2.90)

- Moist, soft, dense and buttery with hints of sweetness from the dried fruits and the dough itself

- Hard and firm on the outside, moist on the inside

Overall, a really good buttery scone

Taste: 8.5/10

Thick buttery scone

Decided against rating the prices here as it will really depend on what you are comparing with (Other cafes in the area/ in SG/ restaurants/ hawker stalls that sell such goods etc.). But would I come here again? Yes, definitely. The avocado tart has proven that ALL their tarts here deserve a try and apart from the coffee, and perhaps the cinnamon bun, I feel that the tart and the scone was quite well-priced for the quality offered.