Crumbs Don’t Have Calories
Our trainee Jin Wei shares his best food recommendations around Clarke Quay
By Ng Jin Wei
My circumstances have changed drastically as I graduated from university and started my traineeship at Covenant Chambers. I feel the weight of responsibility and accountability to my colleagues and clients, gone are the carefree days as a student.
In school, I was mostly accountable only to myself. Falling sick or missing deadlines would affect your academic grades, but nobody else would have to bear the consequences. In contrast, beginning my legal career with this traineeship made me realise that the quality of work I produced would affect the people around me: colleagues would have to put in extra effort to review and edit my submissions, and clients’ cases might be affected if I made any mistakes in my research or drafts, be it minute or substantial.
However, one thing that has not changed for me would be my passion for good food, and I believe that every mealtime is a privilege given to us.
Aside from making sure that I am sufficiently rested, another way to ensure that I am able to fully focus on my work would be by setting realistic deadlines and allowing myself to mentally reset in the midst of the day by taking breaks.
To me, lunchtime is a much-needed midday milestone and I look forward to it daily.
I will share my top 3 favourite food spots (in no particular order) near our office that I often crave and look forward to visiting.
Straits Bakery
2 Havelock Road, #B1-27, Havelock 2, Singapore 059763
If you fancy authentic and affordable Peranakan food, the Straits Bakery is a great choice. Located in Havelock 2 near the State Courts and Chinatown MRT, the restaurant has a traditional Peranakan feel to it. Its interior is decked with grey polished floors and the walls spot beautiful traditional motifs on them.
The set lunches come with 4 different options and are all priced at $9.80 NETT. Each set comes with blue pea flower rice, achar, keropok, omelette and a refreshing glass of Straits Iced Tea. My favourite would definitely have to be the Ayam Buah Keluak (chicken in buah keluak nut sauce), which goes perfectly with the rice and their homemade sambal sauce. The bakery also has a good range of tasty cakes which you can try if you’re feeling like filling up your second stomach.
Shrimp Prawn Seafood
53 Boat Quay, Singapore 049842
Shrimp Prawn Seafood is a restaurant largely loved by everyone at our firm. Located along Boat Quay with a cosy and modern ambience, you can also choose to sit in the alfresco area to admire the Singapore River while slurping their signature dishes.
The restaurant serves a wide variety of seafood vermicelli, including mains such as the Vannamei Vermicelli ($12.80++) that comes with smaller prawns, or my favourite Steelpot King Prawn Vermicelli ($18.80++). If you prefer a non-finger-licking experience, you can also opt for other options such as the Spanish Mackerel Vermicelli ($15.80++). Packed with lots of seafood-y goodness and wok-hei, I find it extra satisfying to add additional vermicelli for $3 as well. The prices at this restaurant aren’t the lowest but is definitely a place to visit when payday comes.
Tang Kay Kee Fish Head Beehoon
531A Upper Cross St, #01-70, Hong Lim Food Centre, Singapore 051531
Located near the main entrance of Hong Lim Food Centre, Tang Kay Kee serves delicious and affordable ‘tze-char’ bowls during lunchtime on weekdays, from 11:30 am to 2 pm. Despite the dish ‘Fish Head Beehoon’ being in its name, the stall has also started serving modern tze-char rice bowls, a local twist on Japanese donburis. Being about a short 10-minute walk from our office, this stall is one of our favourites in Hong Lim Food Centre.
If you enjoy prawn paste chicken and want to avoid the hassle of having to remove the bones from the chicken wings like you do at regular tze-char stalls, the Har Cheong Gai Rice Bowl ($6.50) would be a strong recommendation. The juicy chicken chunks are marinated well with prawn paste, with every bite bursting with umami, served with a side of battered enoki mushrooms and a runny egg to change up the texture. If chicken is not your favourite choice of protein, you might also want to consider their other best sellers such as the Slow-cooked Braised Pork Belly rice bowl, with the same sides included. If you are a fan of fried food like I am, you can also get an extra portion of the battered enoki mushrooms for $3.50 or $5. Once again, I’d strongly recommend this stall but do remember that they only serve the tze-char bowls during the weekday lunch hour!
Bonus – Black & Gold Coffee Stop
2 Havelock Road, #B1-27, Havelock 2, Singapore 059763
Discreetly tucked in the basement of Havelock 2, Black & Gold Coffee Stop is a small coffee house run by a young and lovely couple. There aren’t many seats at the café, so I’d say this is more of a little takeaway kiosk.
The options served at Black & Gold are relatively affordable, starting at a reasonable price of $3.50. Being placed in Havelock 2, I often drop by this café on my way back to the office from my favourite lunch spots (helps with the food coma) as a sign to show support for the young business. If you are ever in the area, make sure to drop by during non-peak hours if you want to get a seat.
Ultimately, as important as it is to fulfil our work commitments, I believe that it is equally as important to satisfy our tummies before continuing to provide high-quality work to our clients. It would be great if we could support small local businesses while refuelling for the day ahead!
Disclaimer: prices quoted and the availability of items are accurate as at the date of publication. They are subject to change without notice from the business owners.