NTU Breakfast Set Showdown!

I consider myself a permanent resident of Nanyang Tech University (NTU), having spent a considerable amount of time residing and studying there. NTU may seem cut off and isolated from the outside world, but thankfully there are several canteens and cafes dotted around the campus to feed the hungry student population.

Breakfast is an important meal to start the day right, and definitely an important meal before our daily routines begin (COFFEEEEEEE!). Most NTU canteens serve the usual Singapore style kaya toast, hard boiled egg and coffee sets at really student friendly prices. You should be able to purchase such a breakfast set for under $2! So here is a list of canteen breakfasts I have tried several times so far in the year:

Canteen 9- CHOICE!

You get to choose different variations of toast and coffee breakfast sets here- the options are clearly stated on their menu banner above the stall. I just went for the usual traditional set with bread, two eggs and coffee- Set A I think ($1.80). The auntie behind the counter will ask how you want your eggs done (semi runny or hard boiled), which is nice because other stalls don't usually bother to ask. The eggs came out as requested- semi runny just the way I liked it. The bread were those thin crispy wafer kind of toasted bread similar to Ya Kun, with some kaya spread inside. The bread here is toasted over those open grill so it's as traditional as it gets. And they serve 3 pieces (Even more bang per buck for students!) The bread may come off a bit like a cookie, and it's really a matter of whether you love it or hate the texture. The coffee was really good here, aromatic, full bodied traditional coffee served in a rather retro koi print ceramic cup.

Canteen 11- Kaya Spread!

I've patronised this stall a couple of times and found that the auntie's mood fluctuates with the crowd; the longer the queue, the more curt her replies become. She becomes more cheerier when there are less people or there happens to be a really handsome guy waiting in line. The eggs here are not consistent- sometimes they are over boiled, sometimes they come out runny just the way I like it. I was later told that you can actually request for how you want your eggs done, just tell the auntie. I ordered iced milk tea to replace the usual cup of coffee for an additional 30 cents, but the coffee here is decent nonetheless. The bread served here is the regular toasted bread, but this stall probably serves out the best kaya spread- they use the nonya honey kaya kind and they don't scrimp on it. This is probably the highlight of this $1.80 toast set. Look out for their special scrambled eggs sets which is served like a western breakfast set if you want something different.

Canteen 13- Hard Boiled Eggs

I was a little disappointed when I cracked open the eggs and found that the egg whites refused to flow out- they have been cooked for too long already. Like Canteen 11, I'm guessing you need to request for semi cooked eggs if not the default option is completely cooked. The bread served here is also the traditional toasted brown bread kind with its nice crispy texture. Wished they were more generous with the kaya spread though. Coffee was pretty strong, served in a nice traditional cup too! This breakfast set also costs an affordable $1.80!

NIE Canteen- Not the best coffee...

Runny eggs are the default options here, and so far I didn't need to request for my eggs to be less well done and they usually turn out the way I like them! The bread served here is the regular toasted crispy white bread kind and yes, they could also be less stingy with the kaya. The coffee is served in an army style red plastic mug but unfortuately is a let down; it is a little too diluted although it does have some coffee flavour infused into it. I guess you shouldn't expect too much from a $1.80 set meal. 

Kuishin Bo (Suntec City Mall)

Popped by Kuishin Bo to get our Japanese dinner buffet fix! Judging by the long queues outside the restaurant, people still can’t enough of Kuishin Bo and their glorious food spread. It is also best to reserve beforehand, so you can be directed to your seat once you arrive and start chomping down on the food provided. There is a whole range of Japanese food to choose from: sushi, sashimi, seafood, tempura, teppanyaki, noodles and desserts!

The sushi/sashimi counter is probably the busiest counter, where people snatch up prized slices of salmon, tuna and grab the different variations of sushi available. The sashimi are replenished frequently and are quite fresh. The sushi selection includes standard rolls with various fish, unagi, egg and are quite decent.

Perhaps the highlight of the buffet is the abundance of Hokkaido snow crab legs available for consumption. The freshes, juiciest and meatiest parts of crab legs and claws are stacked in rows, and many diners just cannot get enough of them. Kuishin Bo provides the necessary utensils (scissors, crab crackers) for diners to deshell the crab; each table gets a set but you can request for more. I helped myself to multiple servings of Hokkaido snow crab, savouring the fresh, succulent crab meat. Cholesterol levels be damned, for just one night.

There is a variety of hot cooked food to choose from, we sampled the teppanyaki items which were not bad at all. You place your order for barbecued meat, vegetables at the teppanyaki counter and it will be served to your table. Besides the usual hot cooked food (rice, meat, vegetables), they also serve Japanese style dishes like udon and hotpot. You can choose between seafood, beef, mushroom ingredients for your hotpot but do not expect too much, the soup was decent but there wasn’t much ingredients in the actual hotpot.



And for desserts, there is also a large variety of cakes, cream puffs to choose from. There is coffee machine where you can make yourself a cup of coffee or tea to go with the delectable desserts. Don’t forget about the chocolate fondue too! The place can get quite messy with chocolate stains all over the counter, so be careful.

Every kuishin bo experience is not complete without the sounding of their signature jingle song: “Dong Dong Dong, Kuishin Bo”. That signals the arrival of a special limited food item and like Pavlov dogs to ringing bells, people stop what they’re doing/eating, get out of their seats and rush to the main buffet counter where they are giving out their special food item. The first time the bell rang during our stay, we got a small frozen fresh strawberry.

The second time, we got this puff cake which was filled with bean filling which wasn’t too appetizing. We heard the special items can get exotic sometimes, but so far for our visit, we weren’t impressed. But I guess the element of mystery and surprise definitely works up people’s appetite!

Also there is this ongoing lobster promotion: if you reserve beforehand for dinner at this outlet, each diner will be entitled to an additional free serving of lobster. We were treated to a lobster dish drenched in dark teriyaki sauce. The lobster was decently fresh; we had no trouble prying the lobster meat from its shell, and the fragrant teriyaki flavor actually went well with the thick succulent lobster meat.

I would visit kuishin bo for their free flow fresh seafood, the other items are quite average, but if you are itching to try a variety of food and are not afraid of piling up the calories, this place is for you!

Hong Kong Mongkok Tim Sum @ Chinatown Complex Market

Located on the second floor in Chinatown Complex Market, this humble dim sum hawker stall whips out decent and fresh dim sum at affordable prices. If you are expecting hotel or restaurant quality dim sum from a hawker centre joint, you might be disappointed. But since the prices charged at the stall are much less than those places, so naturally expectations should be lowered too. But that doesn’t mean freshness and quality is compromised here.

There is a ready stream of customers at this stall and a queue system is implemented to cater to customers. So when you arrive here, you should get a queue number first then wait patiently for your number to flash on the electronic board before proceeding to place your orders. The wait depends on how many people are in front of the queue and also depends on how fast the stall is able to churn out dim sum to meet the orders. Dim sum is freshly made and sold on the day and the stall closes once they have run out of dim sum. I waited about 25 minutes and explored the other stalls in the meantime.

There actually isn’t much food choice from this stall: the 6 main dim sum dishes served are shown on the signboard on the store’s front (Char siew bao, siew mai, har gow, chicken feet, prawn and char siew chee cheong fun). Each dim sum item costs $2 and it’s really cheap and good! All dim sum is also freshly taken from the steamer, so they are served piping hot!

Char Siew Bao ($2 for 3 pieces) is incredibly fluffy and soft when it’s warm. Not like those hard, dense overly sticky buns you might get elsewhere. The fillings are a nice surprise- the char siew filling is really fragrant and juicy. The char siew meat had been diced into smaller pieces and you can taste the roasted meat which complements the nice sweet red marinade sauce.

Siew Mai and Har Gow ($2 for 3 pieces of each kind): Siew Mai was not bad- each bite is filled with chunky pieces of fresh, succulent pork. The har gow is also fantastic- the prawn pieces inside were really fresh and crunchy. The outer skin was neither too thin nor too thick; just enough to encase the prawn fillings and complement the prawn fillings.

Prawn cheong fun ($2) was really tasty too- the rice noodle roll was really smooth and each roll contained generous portions of chopped chunky fresh prawns. The soya sauce provided the main bulk of flavouring for the dish and it really enhances the dish with its salty, sweet combination of flavours.

Although you might have to brave the queue and the stuffy atmosphere of the food centre, this is nonetheless a great place for your fix of affordable dim sum! Do note they close on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Hong Kong Mongkok Tim Sum

335 Smith Street, #02-097 Chinatown Complex Market