Streets

C says:

This place was quite an unexpected find. We were at IMM on Saturday and this joint, which occupies the space in the center of the ground floor where Coffee Club used to be, enticed us with a pretty interesting Hong Kong cha chan teng menu.


What caught my attention was the luncheon meat instant noodles with a fried egg. Luncheon meat and instant noodles – a match made in heaven, I say. The one here was pretty good; the luncheon meat was well fried and crispy but not dried out or oily, and the noodles were sufficiently seasoned.


A ordered the Macau chicken chop with fried rice. This was a huge portion, and very good value at only $7.80 for a whole chicken thigh chop and a very generous helping of rice. The rice was very tasty, and the chicken was tender and juicy.


We ordered a side of the Fried Carrot Cake with XO Sauce – this absolutely ROCKED (careful though, A will tell you that the crispy outer layer retains heat like you wouldn’t believe). The carrot cake was really soft inside, but very well fried so the outside was crispy and not at all greasy. It also wasn’t floury at all – a sign of low quality carrot cake that skimps on the radish by loading up on flour. Here, you could taste the radish in it with every bite. It was served with XO sauce (made with chili, dried scallops and dried shrimp) on the side, which added even more flavour. I’m afraid this dish has spoilt me for all other carrot cakes in future – I don’t think I can go back to having greasy hawker centre style carrot cake, not when a plate of this costs only $5.50 and is heaps better quality, not to mention way more delicious.

We also ordered a Polo Bun, another cha chan teng staple. However, I was always under the impression that although this is commonly called a pineapple bun, that’s only because it somehow looks like a pineapple, with its uneven golden top. There isn’t actually any pineapple in it at all. The one here, though, seems to take it literally, because in addition to the slice of butter inside, there’s also a slice of canned pineapple, which is kinda weird but not unpleasant.

With two cups of yin yang tea (a combination of coffee and tea), our entire meal cost just $30. I really like this place, but alas there are only two outlets – IMM, and another at Bukit Panjang Plaza (err… where….?). I’m willing to come back here just for the carrot cake; helps that there’s an Esprit outlet store in IMM as well.

A says:

I can’t recommend this place enough. Excellent service, good food and great value-for-money portions. Too bad they don’t have a branch at a more central location.

Streets Café Restaurant
#01-126 IMM Building
Tel: 6565-0507
Opening hours: 11 am to 10 pm daily