Author: Patrick

Came half an hour after they closed and they still had noodles left. Very glad I managed to catch them because they are always closed when I stop by. I got the assorted beef pho.

Broth was flavorful, with decent amount of beefiness and plenty of taste from the herbs. The beef was a bit tough because it was all fully cooked before being placed into the broth, but it was still acceptable.

The noodles were just normal kway teow and not the traditional pho rice noodles. A bit unauthentic, but I still enjoyed them!

I enjoyed their chili- it was a bit sour and had a bit of a kick. Again, not the normal chili I’ve had with pho in the past, but nice.

I’d definitely come back again and order the pho again or try their bahn mi. The Viet food in Singapore has been meh so far- I actually think the beef broth I found here was better than all the restaurants I’ve tried.

Rating: 8
Price: $7.00

My wife ordered the salted egg squid the other day from this stall and it was horribly overcooked. Today I opted for har cheong gai(prawn paste chicken).

The freshly fried chicken had a heavenly aroma of prawn paste and fried goodness. We had to wait a few minutes after it arrived for fear of burning our faces off.

They used a batter similar to the one used for goreng pisang. It was crispy in a light crumbly way. The prawn paste flavor didn’t penetrate the meat and I found it necessary to dab the chicken flesh into the chili for extra oomph (chili was average). I thought the chicken was a little bit dry… maybe overcooked?

I remember the prawn paste chicken from Jin Pai Zi Char being much fresher and juicier. Unfortunately that is stall number 47, so I’ll have to wait a while. Despite all the negativity in my review, prawn paste chicken is an S-tier dish and I found this rendition acceptable.

There were 8 rather large mid-wings in this serving of chicken. Shout-out to Jeffo’s where 20 bucks will get you 10 full wings. In terms of value, this place is a fail…

Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $15

Start of a new series! My wife and I are moving to Pasir Panjang, so naturally I’ve decided to try every single hawker stall from Alexandra Village and ABC Brickworks. I don’t have any real plan, so I’m just gonna try whatever dish I feel like from each stall.

I ordered the fish porridge. They didn’t have rice slush ready to use as a base, so the uncle just scooped some rice out of the cooker into a bowl and poured soup over it. Not exactly what I was expecting. In my opinion, classifying this as porridge is generous.

The soup what you’d expect- clean fish flavor, very light, and slightly savory. The grouper slices were fresh with a nice meaty texture. Great light meal option. Chili wasn’t anything special. Next time I’ll order the fish soup without the rice.

To be clear, the rating below is for the dish I ordered (fish soup with rice dumped in). I think the fish soup by itself would get a 7.5.

Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $7

My Order:

• Duck Shit Snow Mountain
• Large
• Golden Pearls
• 0% Sugar

I decided to give LiHo another chance and I was very pleasantly surprised! I’ve seen some marketing for their Duck Shit Tea, so being the susceptible person I am, I gave it a try.

The foam was advertised as light and fluffy. They didn’t lie- it was just whipped cream. The pearls were chewy and a bit sweet, but they were a bit soft for me.

The milk tea didn’t have too strong of a roast. It was fragrant, floral, and earthy. It was sufficiently creamy as well. I think Duck Shit is extremely chuggable and has a people pleasing taste.

My wife got the Earl Grey Tea which has a super strong citrus flavor. It was very nice.

I’m pleased to say that I will be going back to LiHo frequently in the future to give more of their offerings a try.

My Order:

• Drink: 8
• Topping: 5 (3 for foam, 7 for pearls)
• Tea Flavor: 8
• Tea Strength: 6
• Creaminess: 7
• Creativity: 5

Boba Powa: 6.5

My Order:

• Da Hong Pao Latte
• No Sugar
• Large
• Original Snow

Bawangchaji has a CNY special but they were all sold out.

I haven’t ever actually gotten their original cheese foam before. I think it’s their best one actually. It was nice and light and slightly cheesy and sweet. There were little bits of candied walnuts, which added a nice nutty flavor.

The tea was really good. Clean flavor without sappiness or tannins. It had a roasted flavor with many earthy notes. I would say it was more earthy than roasted. Drink was sufficiently creamy as well.

Score

• Drink: 8.5
• Topping: 9.5
• Tea Flavor: 9
• Tea Strength: 7
• Creaminess: 7.5
• Creativity: 7

Boba Powa: 9

My Order:

• Green Tea
• Fresh Milk
• 0% Sugar
• Less Ice
• Bubble

I redeemed my free drink from Chia Cha! I think they have the best rewards program (1 free drink every 12 stamps, as well as 1 free drink every 88 points, where every dollar spent is a point).

Green milk tea was grassier and more veggety than the green milk tea I had at Playmade. I still feel it has a similar taste profile. It was a bit sappy as well. I think green tea might be my favorite flavor at ChiCha. Drink was quite creamy, which was nice.

The pearls were too soft for me. Some of the softest pearls ever. Luckily they still had a bit of chew.

Score

• Drink: 8
• Topping: 3
• Tea Flavor: 6
• Tea Strength: 8
• Creaminess: 8
• Creativity: 2

Boba Powa: 5.5

My Order:

• Green Tea Latte
• Large
• Less Ice
• 0% Sugar
• Coffee Pearls

I’m still feeling a bit fatigued 2 days after my booster shot. The coffee pearls must contain quite a lot of caffeine- somehow I am wired and tired at the same time.

The pearls were meh. Slight coffee flavor and a bit gritty. The pearls felt a bit old too- they weren’t as fresh as usual. They have a similar texture to the black sesame pearls.

The milk tea was average. It has the classic grassy green tea taste. Drink wasn’t too creamy. It was made with real milk, but I don’t think they put too much of it. I’m convinced that 90% of green milk teas taste about the same. Maybe I’m uneducated- will have to test my theory by ordering more.

I wouldn’t recommend the coffee pearls unless you really need a caffeine fix.

Score

• Drink: 5
• Topping: 3.5
• Tea Flavor: 5
• Tea Strength: 5
• Creaminess: 4.5
• Creativity: 6

Boba Powa: 4.25

My Order:

• Royal Earl Grey Milk Tea
• Large
• Honey Pearl
• 0% Sugar
• Less Ice

My wife wanted me to include this disclaimer: I drank this boba after getting my booster jab, so I might be slightly deranged.

Whale Tea always has excellent toppings and they didn’t disappoint. The honey pearls were very chewy and squishy. They were softer than I usually like, but I think that was a result of the honey soaking into the pearls. I really enjoyed the honey taste! It paired well with the milk tea.

The earl grey milk tea was citrussy, acidic, and had a slight hint of tannins. It wasn’t too strong- the roasted tea flavor was dominated by the citrus. Drink was quite creamy as well.

This was a pleasant and delicious milk tea. The only reason I’m not giving it a higher rating is because I like being punched in the face and this drink didn’t do that. I would highly recommend this milk tea to all. I feel it is a milk tea of the people.

Score

• Drink: 8
• Topping: 10
• Tea flavor: 8
• Tea Strength: 5
• Creaminess: 8
• Creativity: 5

Boba Powa: 9

My Order:

• Roasted Oolong Milk Tea
• Less Ice
• 0% Sugar
• Pearls

I haven’t heard great things about this place, but I decided to give it a shot as my wife was getting her booster at Bishan CC.

The pearls had the texture of stale popcorn- a bit spongy and airy and quite chewy. They have a larger radius than normal so the soft outer layer is quite thick. I also feel the pearls are less dense than most tapioca pearls. These pearls were a bit different, but I eventually came to enjoy them.

The first thing you are hit with is the taste of the creamer and the tea only enters the stage after a second or two. The drink had a smoky roasted oolong aroma, but it quite weak.

This tasted more like roasted barley milk tea than a roasted oolong milk tea.

I’d recommend trying Bober tea once just to give their pearls a try. Unclear whether you’ll love em or hate em.

Score

• Topping: 6.5
• Drink: 4.5
• Tea Strength: 4
• Tea Flavor: 5
• Creaminess: 6
• Creativity: 7

Boba Powa: 5.5

My Order

• Roselle Tea
• 0% Sugar
• Herbal Jelly

I was looking for a non caffeine low calorie option. I didn’t know this drink was caffeine free until I asked the staff at GongCha Singpost Centre. I had no idea what roselle was, other than that it might be some sort of flower.

This drink punches you in the face repeatedly. It is very tart and tastes like sour plum or cranberries. It is verryyy strong. I would recommend normal human beings get at least quarter sugar with this drink to balance out the sourness. It’s the sort of tart that makes your tongue water.

I didn’t like the taste initially, but it really grew on me. The first few sips were too intense for me, but I started loving it after about 5 sips. Maybe I got Stockholmed into liking it.

The grass jelly was excellent. Smooth, easy to slurp, with a slight sweetness and light herbal taste.

I strongly recommend grass jelly over pearls at GongCha. This drink is not for those faint of heart- you might not be able to even finish it if you don’t enjoy sour flavor.

Score

• Drink: 9
• Topping: 8
• Tea strength: 10 (probably syrup, but I’ll count it)
• Tea flavor: 9
• Creaminess: N/A
• Creativity: 7

Boba Powa: 8.5