饗好吃 Xiang Hao Chi – Pocket Friendly Taiwanese Cafe in Upper Thomson

Found along the famous stretch of good food in Upper Thomson is 饗好吃 (Xiang Hao Chi) Dessert and Food. It’s been around for quite a while, but it has always been a lowkey cafe. It’s easy to pass by without noticing it, especially at night, since they don’t have a flashing LED light to catch your attention. I used to frequent this place a few years back when I was interning at a company located nearby.

Since then, ‘veI always had Xiang Hao Chi at the back of my head whenever someone mentions Taiwanese food. It has been a while since my last visit, and I was worried about their standards dropping. I’m happy to report that there was absolutely no cause for worry — the cafe crew was still the same, and the food was still as good.

Xiang Hao Chi is a great chill-out spot for a catch up with friends and family, and it is also conducive space for you to do work(there’s free wifi and power sockets). Its interior has a cute illustration of their mascots and landmarks of Singapore and Taiwan. How apt is it that they’ve included Taiwanese landmarks, which made it very fitting for the times that we are in now? This might be the closest we can get to Taiwan right now…

They have an all-day promotional menu that has been running for the longest time — purchase a main and get a dessert for free. The items included consist of almost all their popular mains and a smaller range of hot desserts and drinks.

From the promotional menu, we got the Taiwanese Crispy Chicken Chop with Minced Pork Rice and Braised Soft Boiled Egg ($8.80) with Iced Milk Tea with Pearl (complimentary). Another set that we had was the Combo Mee Sua ($7.80) with Pulut Hitam (complimentary). We also had the Shallot Noodles with Braised Pork ($6.80) and Xiang’s Signature Dessert ($4.20), both a la carte. That was a whole lot of food, and I spent under $30!

Let’s go down the list starting from the mains and ending off with dessert. First up, one of my go-to orders, the Taiwanese Crispy Chicken Chop with Minced Pork Rice and Braised Soft Boiled Egg comes with three options of drizzle — nachos cheese, salt and pepper and BBQ.

The minced braised pork sauce on the rice was not a very generous scoop, so some parts of the rice might not have the braised sauce. However, the runny egg yolk paired great with the plain rice.

The chicken was crispy, tender and it tastes like 盐酥鸡 (salted chicken) in cutlet form. The cheese drizzle was not too overwhelming, so you won’t feel jelak by the end of the meal.

Next, the Combo Mee Sua. My friend got all excited as she read the menu as there aren’t many places in Singapore that sell the braised intestine mee suas. Hence, we had to get this. The Mee sua with braised pig intestines and/or salted chicken alone is available on the promotional menu too.

The mee sua had the right amount of “gooeyness”. Be sure to let them know over the counter that you want to add vinegar and chilli for that extra kick. The mee sua was not lumpy at all, and we adored the smooth consistency of the thick broth.

The Shallot Noodles with Braised Pork is a new item on the menu and I loved how tasty it was! The heap of shallots was brilliant and fragrant. The la mian is “qq” and had a good thickness.

The braised pork slices, on the other hand, were a little disappointing. They were not as flavourful as expected. Perhaps it’s because it didn’t come submerged in the braised sauce like how we usually have it. But I guess the plus point is that the slices were thick and and quite filling! It was definitely a filling meal.

For all those of you with a sweet tooth, thanks for hanging tight or maybe you just scrolled here for the desserts. Here goes!

The Pearl Milk Tea was… the only thing that I would recommend not getting whether you’re a bubble tea fan or not. The tea was rather diluted to the point that I think the Teh bing from the coffee shop would have a taste that is closer to the Taiwan bubble tea. The pearls were not very chewy too and it was overall, a sad cup of tea. The Iced Red Tea ($3, or complimentary on the promo menu) is way better.

Xiang Signature Dessert comes with ai yu jelly, sweet potato balls, green bean, red bean, pieces of actual sweet potato and yam, tau huey, bubble pearls, peanuts, kidney beans. They didn’t have the option to add in milk or creamer like what the big chains offer, but it was sweet enough for me. It’s quite a lot of ingredients in a bowl for a very affordable price.

My favourite part of it is the addition of the baked peanuts on top. They added an extra crunch to the dessert and complemented it very well, even though I was sceptical at first.

We also had the Pulut Hitam, which is a local favourite. It was not too sweet and you can opt to add in coconut too. The Pulut Hitam had a very good consistency, and is quite comparable to those sold in local hawkers centres. They have a range of other local desserts such as Ginko Barley ($3.30) and Sesame Paste($3.30) as well.

In a nutshell or TLDR, this place serves really good food and desserts. Just don’t order the milk tea. If you really miss Taiwan and you’re on a budget, this is the place to visit.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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