REVIEW: Good hawker and cafe food in Singapore: Keto friendly Bak Chor Mee, Moonlight Horfun Mala Xiang Guo, Cafe Crayfish Pao Fan - QiYin Teochew Minced Meat Noodle, MXG Classics, House Downstairs

One of my foodie friends recommended me QiYin Teochew Minced Meat Noodle because this one was keto-friendly. The konjac noodles were so springy and the bowl was topped generously with minced pork, pork slices, seafood, bean sprouts, red dates, and pork lard. The soup was hearty with a meaty and a slightly bitter aftertaste from the anchovies. 😋😋😋 I also ordered their mee pok dry which was also pretty good. This is located opposite Singapore Press Holdings so It is not difficult to locate.  If you're near Toa Payoh or Braddell, you can go check out this food stall.

Address: 203 Toa Payoh N, #01-1121 Block 203, Singapore 310203
Opening Hours: 7.30 am - 3 pm

Not your typical Mala Xiang Guo here at MXG Classics! They're a 4-month-old restaurant selling Mala Xiang Guo at Circular Road(Near to Boat Quay). Their mala is a secret blend of twenty to thirty herbs and spices. The owner told us fermented bean paste is used as well so there is a subtle sour note as we savor the bowls of fiery mala.

Aside from the original Mala, they also have Black Pepper, Twilight, Stir Fry, and Special. The spice level is also customizable. MXG classics not only have delicious Mala Xiang Guo but they also have tze char staples such as 𝐌𝐗𝐆 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐞 with crab meat and tobiko, 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐩 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐲 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲, and 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐬.

• Twilight ✨ is inspired by Moonlight 🌝 Horfun with an egg yolk resembling a shimmering river amidst the ingredients. Very flavourful!
• Black Pepper is stir-fried with the sauce used for Black Pepper crab. Flavour is quite mild.
• Special is a non-mala version, so people who can’t take extreme spice can enjoy this!
• As someone who can't eat too spicy food, their original Mala isn't that spicy but numbing and fragrant.

Address: 83 Circular Rd, Singapore 049435

Opening Hours: 11 am - 10.30 pm

House Downstairs is a new cafe located at Ulu Pandan CC. I also thought it would be at a void deck or something due to the name. Very bright and spacious scandi style cafe.

Their House Signature Craygee is basically Pao Fan but they present it with a mound of egg fried rice surrounded by fragrant umami seafood broth 🥘accompanied by fresh seafood such as prawns 🦐 , clams, and crayfish. This was very good!!! 

Their Korean Riceballs 🍙 consist of daikon, ebiko, pearl rice with kewpie mayo topped with more ebiko and nori. Love how the daikon gave this a textural touch. This was sweet to me, probably coz of the mayo and daikon.

Some notable items to try are their Laksa Goreng, Gochujang Chicken with Rice, and 5 different kinds of sandwiches.

Address: 170 Ghim Moh Rd, #01-03 Ulu Pandan CC, Singapore 279621

Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 8 am - 5 pm

Sat-Sun 9 am - 6 pm