11 Amazing Places To Eat Around Tanglin Halt

11 Amazing Places To Eat Around Tanglin Halt

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visits and paid its own meals at the stalls featured here.

Tanglin Halt was developed in the 1960s where many of the blocks were ten storeys tall. That is why, it is also known among the locals as chap lau (十楼; “ten storeys” in Hokkien). Most places are still the way it is, while some of the HDB have been placed en bloc. Nonetheless, Tanglin Halt is still a place that is filled with many foodie spots and even a celebrity-owned café! So here’s 11 local food hunts that you can find around the old-school Tanglin Halt.

Two Chefs Eating Place

Two Chefs Eating Place first started at Commonwealth before opening another branch at Sin Ming Avenue. As it tends to get very crowded during dinner time, it is highly advisable to arrive early with everyone present. Only then, you would be given a table. The Drunken Cockles ($7) consist of cold cockles served in vinegar, wine, garlic, chilli padi and spring onions. The sauce is very appetizing with a tingling sensation from the garlic and chilli. Another signature is the Butter Pork Ribs, which is coated with sweetened milk powder. The pork ribs were succulent. The milk powder gives it an interesting texture and can be quite addictive. We also had the Salted Egg Sotong, where the salted egg really gives the oomph and the batter was really crispy! Just remember to order the dishes along with the portion, otherwise, the aunty would decide and end up serving a way bigger portion.

D’Life Bistro & Café – Vegetarian

Located in the corner opposite of Two Chefs Eating Place, D’Life Bistro & Café serves vegetarian food. The place exudes a cosy feeling, with a rustic touch. Old-Fashioned Vinegar Stew with Rice ($7.90) stirred my curiosity. The vinegar stew was surprisingly good and appetizing, with a strong ginger taste. Hence, it can be quite spicy for some. Instead of having our usual pork trotters, it was replaced with fungi. There was mushrooms, black fungus, lots of ginger and a generous amount of beans. Personally, the stew itself was good enough to go with the rice.

Henry’s Chicken Rice

Having been eating this since young, I was told by the aunty that they have opened for 30 over years! Other than the increase in price, Henry’s Chicken Rice has been maintaining their quality. It tasted the same as when I had it 20 years ago. I prefer the Roasted Chicken Rice ($2.50), as the roasted chicken has a slight savoury touch to the skin. The chicken is also tender. The rice is cooked in chicken stock and very fragrant. Nonetheless, what keeps me going back is the chilli sauce. It is so good that if you want extra to take away, you would have to pay for it! The Chicken Feet ($2) is another love of mine. The “lor” is full of flavours as the chicken feet is braised in spices and dark sauce over time. Be sure to beat the crowd or be prepared to queue.

The Milky Way

A celebrity opened a café at Tanglin Halt! Campus Superstar 2006 alumni, Renfred Ng, was the initial owner of this café. Subsequently, it is now run by his brother Alfred Ng who is very friendly as well. We got ourselves Half Waffles with Ice Cream ($8), and felt it was actually quite pricey. Nonetheless, the waffle was piping hot, crispy and not doughy. We paired it with Salted Caramel ice cream, which was not too sweet as well. There are also other interesting flavours such as Mao Shan Wang and Smurf!

No.1 Western Food

No.1 Western Food, run by two elderly, serves western food with special sauce. The Chicken Cutlet ($5.50) was served on a metal plate, with fries and beans. They were quite generous in the portion of the chicken. It was also crispy and best dipped in the special sauce. The sauce tasted almost like the tomato sauce from the beans, except that it was more appetizing.

Ru Yi Yuan Vegetarian

Ru Yi Yuan starts their business very early, and you will see the queue streaming in as early as 8.30am. Thankfully I’ve gotten there early, as the people behind were buying multiple packets of vegetarian food. The Vegetarian Beehoon ($3) has springy white beehoon, drizzled with thick and savoury brown sauce. The sauce kept the beehoon moist and easy to eat, especially when it’s in the morning. There were French beans, beancurd and fried beancurd skin. The fried beancurd skin is crisp on the outside while soft on the inside. No wonder so many people are buying it just the way it is.

Maria’s Corner

After touring around the neighbourhood, the hidden gem at Tanglin Halt is finally found! Although surprisingly not many reviews of this place, yet some were tagged with different addresses; even the stall itself is not labelled! As the nasi lemak was sold out, the friendly aunty suggested Nasi Sambal Goreng ($3.50), which is super sedaplicious! Interestingly, sweetened shredded coconut was put on the rice. It added sweetness onto the dish, without being too overwhelming. The tahu tempe was flavorful and beef rendang was not too tough. There are also two types of sambal given. One of it was slightly sweet and spicy, while the other was super hostile! It sent a burning sensation down my throat!

Wei Yi Laksa & Prawn Noodle

Opening at 5.30am, Wei Yi Laksa & Prawn Noodle has an interesting menu for its laksa and prawn noodles. The menu displayed different combinations of ingredients that you would want in your laksa, for example, chicken, cockles and taupok or prawn, chicken, cockles and taupok. I tried the common Prawn, Cockles and Taupok combi ($3) topped with a teaspoon of chilli. The laksa gravy was thick, spicy and filled with hae bee (dried shrimp) flavours. Wei Yi Laksa & Prawn Noodle is also not stingy in their cockles, which were fat and juicy. Nonetheless, the queue took quite a while even with just a few customers before me.

Delicious Duck Noodle

Delicious Duck Noodle had been operating since 1969, and till date, there’s still always a queue before the stall. The Duck Noodle Soup ($3) came with slices of duck, noodles and a duck liver/heart. The soup tasted quite salty, almost like it was made from mainly dark soy sauce, but with a slight herbal taste. What I really liked were the slices of duck meat which was tender, surprisingly not tough.

Jiu Ye

What I like about Jiu Ye was that the chee cheong fun was always freshly made upon order, which meant that it would be served piping hot. No doubt it would take a long process that could result in a queue. Nonetheless, the skin was thin and silky smooth. The uncle was very generous with the ingredients, maybe a little too generous. We had a lot of char siew in our Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun ($2.50), and it became too overwhelming. The char siew was also quite tough. We preferred the Fresh Prawn Chee Cheong Fun ($2.80) as the balance between the skin, the prawns and the vegetables were just nice.

Edmond Chicken Rice – Halal

We travelled all the way to Queenstown to try halal certified Edmond Chicken Rice-Halal. Chicken is juicy and tender, goes well with the mildly-flavoured rice. Don’t be fooled by the pale looking chilli sauce. Their chilli sauce is really power, gives you the kick immediately. Very shiok. Priced at $3.50, it is slightly more expensive than usual chicken rice at coffeeshop. I would recommend you get the drumstick version for 50 cents more. They also have roast chicken.

NaNa Curry

The Curry Fish Head ($18 for half) is the best seller at Na Na Homemade Curry. As the uncle lifted up the clay pot cover, the aromatic smell of curry immediately filled the air. Within the bubbling hot curry, not only was there a generous portion of the fish head, there were also ladies’ fingers, yam, tomato and taupok. The sauce was rather thick but it also brought about a slight powdery texture. The freshness and the tenderness of the fish was also a selling point for this dish. With good control over the fire, the fish head was not overcooked, keeping the fish meat soft and moist. Other than the fish bones, we truly enjoyed the Curry Fish Head such that not even a drip of the curry sauce was left.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to the stalls above. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!

For more food videos, check out our official YouTube channel! You may also want to check out our articles on 33 Vegetarian which serves very good vegetarian chicken rice, or Raimah Eating House, a popular eatery in Kembangan!