Did We Survive A Work Week in Tanjong Pagar With Just $50?

One week in Tanjong Pagar. Three meals a day. Fifty dollars. Is it possible?

You can get affordable and tasty meals at Maxwell Market and Amoy Street Food Centre, but did you know that Tanjong Pagar Plaza and International Plaza offer pocket-friendly options too? Read on to find out if we managed to complete our challenge!

Huh? Monday again…

Breakfast: SL II Muffin

Back to work… How about a sweet treat for breakfast before work? Since they open at 8.30am, SL II Muffin is the perfect place to grab a bite before your work day starts. We decided on the Banana Walnut ($1.70) which was studded with walnuts. We liked that the dense muffin wasn’t overly sweet, and that there were small banana slices embedded within. The Aunty told us that they do not use butter or margarine in their muffins. Ooh, healthy. These muffins can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days. Do grab a few of their coconut tarts or egg tarts, which cost just $1-$1.50, for your colleagues back in the office!

Lunch: Maxwell Fish Soup 家潮州鱼粥。鱼汤

This stall is no stranger to those who work in Tanjong Pagar. It has one of the longest, if not the longest, queues in Maxwell Food Centre. The snaking queue is well worth joining. Unlike other stalls which give thin slices of fish, this stall gives extremely thick ones.  The flavourful broth does not contain any MSG and this is definitely a healthy option. Although they supposedly close at 3.30pm, they were already running out of fish slices around 1.30pm. Their fish soup is priced at just $3.50 (with rice). It’s no wonder they have such a long queue!

Dinner: Blue Star Fishball Minced Meat Noodle

The long queue at Blue Star Fishball Minced Meat Noodle at Tanjong Pagar Plaza caught our attention immediately. We quickly joined the queue (which moves fairly quickly) and were rewarded with a satisfying bowl of Mushroom Minced Meat Noodles ($3). They serve lots of other typical noodle dishes such as Dry Fishball Noodles and Mee Tai Mak soup, as well. Although each bowl costs just $3, Blue Star definitely doesn’t skimp on ingredients. You get 2 meatballs, a sizeable portion of minced meat, pig liver, and delicious braised mushrooms. Pro-tip: add more braised mushrooms. The juicy and thick mushrooms are super tasty!

Let’s Get This Engine Started Tuesday

Breakfast: Good Morning Nanyang Coffee

Power up with a hearty breakfast! The unique thing about the kaya toast at Good Morning Nanyang is that it comes with ORANGE CIABATTA toast. The usual kaya and butter spread is sandwiched between two crispy ciabatta toasts. Here, the Orange Ciabatta Toast ($2.50) has orange peel mixed within the ciabatta dough. The tanginess of the orange peel gives the bread a delicious and zesty aroma. By the way, their kaya is not too sweet and is slightly more grainy, as they are using a recipe that originates from Segamat. If you’re not so into orange, get the original ciabatta toast or the classic steamed bun with kaya.

Lunch: Pepper Bowl

If you spot a snaking queue at Amoy Street Food Centre, it probably stems from Pepper Bowl. This humble stall specialises in Black Pepper Beef Hor Fun. With every bowl cooked to order, it might take awhile for you to dig in, but we promise the good food is worth the wait! We recommend the Black Pepper Beef Hor Fun ($5 + $0.60 for an additional onsen egg) which has piping hot and silky smooth hor fun drenched in strong black pepper-infused gravy. If you’re an Asian who can’t live without rice, get the Black Pepper Beef Rice ($5) or the Spring Onion Pork Rice ($4.50) instead.

Dinner: Issan Thai Food 泰国东北美食

Treat yourself to a satisfying plate of Pad Thai ($4.50) from Issan Thai Food at Tanjong Pagar Plaza. They open till 8pm and serve perfect comfort food for after-office hours. Their Tom Yum Soup with Seafood seems to be a popular option as well. The Pad Thai is cooked on the spot and comes with 2 prawns, eggy bits and firm tofu cubes. 

Hump Day Wednesday

Yummi Chiffon

Yummi Chiffon is especially popular among OLs who want to grab a quick bite during tea time. Their circular chiffon cakes come in a wide array of flavours, ranging from the classic Pandan ($1.60), to more unique flavours such as Cranberry Soy ($1.60) and Oreo Cookie ($1.60). We tried the Chocolate Cheese ($1.60) and liked that it was moist enough. Note that the chiffon cakes can keep up to 3 days in the fridge (2 days for Pandan).

Lunch: Hainanese Curry Rice 中国街咖喱饭

The Hainanese Curry Rice from Maxwell Food Centre draws large crowds during lunch hour. We actually managed to get a decent portion of curry-soaked rice, egg, pork chop and stewed vegetables for just $3.20! We especially loved the thin and crispy pork chop!

Dinner: Crunch Salad

Since we had a heavy lunch of curry png, let’s have a light and refreshing salad for dinner. Located at Tanjong Pagar MRT, this shop boasts a plethora of eye-catching and brightly-coloured toppings. A premium (protein) and 3 toppings OR a box of 5 toppings costs $5. This is one of the cheapest salads in Tanjong Pagar, so don’t miss out! We went for the smoked duck, corn, purple cabbage, carrots, and my all-time favourite Japanese sesame dressing.

So-Close-Yet-So-Far Thursday

Breakfast: Rickshaw Noodle 中国街热食 拉车面

Rickshaw noodles is a dish that is fast vanishing. It used to be the staple of rickshaw pullers in the olden days. Fortunately, you can still grab a bowl at Maxwell Food Centre. The stall, which is in its 74th year of operation, is manned by Madam Soh, who is 71 this year. A small bowl of rickshaw noodles goes for just $1, while a bigger portion goes for $1.50. A selection of ngoh hiang is also available. We got a small bowl of noodles (rickshaw noodles & mee sua) in a starchy gravy with a prawn fritter, a deep fried vegetable pancake and ngoh hiang for just $2. Their ngoh hiang is small, but is super flavourful and satisfying! Note that they are only open from 6am – 1pm.

Lunch: International Plaza Mee Siam

$3.20 might not seem like much, but it’s enough to get you a plate of mee siam! The mee siam gravy has an extremely tangy taste and is slightly nutty. Perfect to perk you up before you head back to the office. The noodles come with fried taukwa and a hard boiled egg. While it is definitely not the best bowl of mee siam around, the generous portionis sure to keep you satiated.

Dinner: Earth Kitchen

$5.50 here gets you 4 prawns, a generous portion of noodles, and some vegetables. Unlike other places which mix the noodles with thin beehoon, the prawn mee here only comes with yellow noodles. We thought that the broth was surprisingly robust, and especially flavourful after adding fried onions (shallot) inside. However, we would have preferred the prawns to be fresher. Other than prawn mee, Earth Kitchen serves econonic bee hoon as well.

Thank God… It’s Friday!

Breakfast: J2 Famous Crispy Curry Puff

Bet you didn’t expect a Michelin Bib Gourmand winner to be on this $50 challenge list! Two-time winner (2016 & 2017) of the Michelin Bib Gourmand, J2 Famous Crispy Curry Puff looks rather unassuming. Look out for the stall owners at the front of the stall who are probably making them curry puffs by hand. They have 3 items on their menu: the Crispy Black Pepper Chicken Puff ($1.50), Crispy Curry Chicken Puff ($1.20) and the Crispy Sardine Puff ($1.20). All 3 have the same flaky crispy skin that comes apart with a light prod, and is served piping hot (take care of those fingers!) The flaky deep-fried pastry is filled with curry potatoes and chicken bits. We love that they believe in doing everything from scratch. They even peel the potatoes themselves. How’s that for effort?

Lunch: Taste Affair

Taste Affair serves up Italian food at affordable prices! It is set up by Saveur’s co-founder, Joshua. We got a decent serving of Chicken Leg Angel Hair Pasta for $5. The pasta is coated with a chilli oil-based sauce, and comes with a tender chicken leg and a golden poached egg. Another popular item is the Clam with Sauté Mushroom & Angel Hair Pasta ($6) which is cooked in a clam soup base.

Dinner: Jewel 7 Prata

Made to order, the prata at Jewel 7 Food Court in International Plaza will arrive warm and toasty at your table. We got 2 plain pratas ($2.40), which is the minimum order. The prata did not have the usual gleaming sheen of oil on its surface, and was lightly browned. We like that it was not too oily and it feels quite light on the palate. It is the doughy sort of prata that is more filling that it looks, but we would have loved for it to be a little crispier! However, we rather enjoyed pairing the thick curry with the doughy pratas. 

SO DID WE DO IT?

Yes we did! We spent a total of

$49.90

during the week. Talk about cutting it close. There’s probably a lot more delicious hawker food such as Hua Kee Fish Soup at Amoy Street Food Centre and Shanghai Dumplings at Maxwell Food Centre, but we hope that we managed to feature some stalls that weren’t on your foodie radar (yet). Let us know if there’s anymore affordable food around Tanjong Pagar that we should check out!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stalls featured here.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to the stalls listed above. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!