Like I said before, I have always been a fan of food from Yishun and during my army days, I proudly brought a friend to my favourite Kway Chup stall in Chong Pang. After trying it, his instant reaction was, “I’ll take you to have REAL Kway Chup at Serangoon North.” And the rest is history.

So, he brought me there and it really was one of the best Kway Chups I had ever tasted. Even better than the “branded” and famous stalls in Bedok and Serangoon Gardens.

The taste of the gravy is simply so flavourful! I have no idea what goes into making it but the meat, gravy, broth, chilli, and “kway” just blend so perfectly together. Its a great way to start the day if you decide to have it for breakfast, which is my essential meal of the day.

They also sell braised duck meat which falls off the bone! The meat does not have a gamy taste and is always fresh.

Kway Chup at Serangoon North
Address: 204 Rangoon Road, Singapore 21845

Opening hours:
Daily: 7.30am to 1pm or when finished

Closed on Tuesdays

Personal rating: 4/5 (fresh, affordable, tasty)

Have any of you craved for durians but have the fear of dealing with pushy, irritating and unethical durian sellers? I know I do. I am not a durian addict, but more of a social durian eater. Just eating one or two seeds will satisfy me.

So I usually leave the durian purchases to my dad and even he gets irritated by many durian sellers who try to push the low grade fruits or supposedly bundle discounts to him. Until we found Spike Empire.

This company was initially located at Block 2 at Hougang. Buying durians from them would be really stress-free and even enjoyable. You take your time to choose your ideal durian, get them to weigh it, and then decide if you want to buy it. You can decide not to buy it before they cut it and they will not bad-mouth you or try to entice you with a lower price. I love how honest they are. There was once when my dad wanted a Mao Shan Wang and told the guy to choose one for us. He took one, opened it and before we could press it to see if the flesh was soft, he threw it away. He told us that that was definitely not a Mao Shan Wang and to choose another. I mean, I have never encountered such durian sellers.

Currently, they are located at Block 108 at Hougang and it looks like the sellers are different, but the level of service is still amazing. Just recently, my dad went to buy some durians from them. As they were cutting and packing the durian upon request, they realised that there wasn’t any fruit on 2 sides of the durian. Instead of ignoring it like what other durian sellers would, they chose another smaller durian, cut it up and put the fruits into the box as well. Really pleasant service even without request.

I really hope their business thrives and they maintain their high standard of service. It would be great to have such honest and non-pushy durian merchants selling good quality durians for every season.

I was introduced to this amaze-balls tea room some time back this year. It‘s a beautiful room with a super laid back feel for you to sip tea and simply read your books.

Once you enter, you can order tea from the counter. What’s special about this place is that they accept payment based on tips as there is no actual price list any of the teas. Some flavours include Fukamushi Snecha Tea and Hojicha Tea which are both beautiful Japanese teas. A lady prepares your tea and serves it to you at whichever spot you are sitting at. There are also many books available there to read and I especially enjoy looking through the cookbooks.

For those of you looking for a place to have some quiet time with a book whilst sipping on fragrant teas, this tea room is an excellent hideout from the hustle and bustle!