Tien Kee & Co Cafe @ Dakota Crescent

Among all the cafes that has opened up around various part of Singapore, Tian Kee & Co Cafe is probably one of the hipsters of them. Converted from a 54 years old provision shop in one of the oldest neighbourhood, the converted artisan cafe comes in rusty metal gate with air conditioning. The owner has even chosen to retain the original provision shop's name as well as the iconic blue signboard.

Pink Lady 3/5 and SNAG 3/5

There is a interesting drinks on the menu such as the Pink Lady ($5) and SNAG ($5.50)/ This is something you don't get to see in other artisan cafe. The pink lady is rose syrup with steamed fresh milk, or in my own interpretation hot bandung drink. SNAG on the other hand is espresso and rose syrup with steamed fresh milk. I was told to appreciate the different layers first before mixing the drink up for anther different enjoyment. The two drinks are definitely an interesting playful addition but it will be subjective to individual's liking.

Yuan Yang Cheesecake 3/5

I ordered a slice of their Yuan Yang Cheesecake ($6.50) which is actually made up of a layer of espresso and another layer of Hong Kong style milk tea. Interesting take of the tradition but I could not really taste the distinct character it intended to portray.

Caffe Latte 4/5

Can't complain much about the Caffe Latte ($5) because they are using one of roaster's coffee beans. The coffee beans Tien Kee used is from Dutch Colony. I am not sure whether they have changed it by the time of the post as the owner did share with me that he plans to try out other roasters.

There is definitely a rustic vibe at Tien Kee & Co however I felt that the missing link is their food. This is further confirmed after coming across several reviews about the food at the hipster cafe. I random idea came to mind while drafting this post. Instead of selling the usual bakes, pastries and western breakfast, Tien Kee may want to consider selling Chinese style fried beehoon with choices of luncheon meat, egg, chicken wings and/or some Chinese traditional kuehs. I thought that will be pretty cool, unique and fits their whole Chinese provision shop setting.


Tien Kee & Co
Blk 12 Dakota Crescent
#01-48
Singapore 390012
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiankeedakotacrescent
Nearest MRT: Mountbattan (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Fri: 12pm - 9pm
Sat-Sun: 10am - 9pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Mountbattan MRT station. Take Exit B. Turn right and walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice @ Katong Shopping Centre

So I have heard that there is a very popular Chicken Rice stall at Katong Shopping Centre food court. In fact, I have heard of Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice for years but I have not been able to make my way down to the far east to check out the chicken rice. By chance I needed to run some errand in the area so I made my way to the basement food court hoping to get a quick meal a couple of weeks back. However to my horror, there was a snaking queue and I ended up waiting for a good 45 minutes.

Hainanese Chicken 4.5/5

While the name of the stall is known as Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice, the chicken is not served boneless unless you request. The Hainanese Chicken is chopped into big chunky pieces and topped with fried garlic. The chicken is definitely dipped in cold ice water to get the jelly like skin because the chicken tasted chilled. Overall the chicken was really very tender. No wonder the stall is so popular with patrons willing to wait for a good 30 minutes or more.

Chicken Rice 3.5/5

The Chicken Rice has a nice garlic aroma but it was not as fluffy as I would have liked. In fact it was almost on the dry side.

Achar 3/5

Lotus Root Soup 4/5

What I think is very generous of the stall is the complimentary Achar and Lotus Root Soup. The achar is cut into chunky pieces and patrons can help themselves to them as many times as they want. Although simply seasoned,  I am not complaining since it is free flow. The Lotus Root Soup on the other hand was rich in flavour. The soup should have been boiled for hours with pork ribs and chicken feet that literally fell apart when I picked them up with my chopsticks.

Bean Sprouts 4/5

Since I have queued for so long, I might as well ordered more dishes to try. I had the Bean Sprouts which surprisingly is topped with a few slices of abalone. A nice crunchy side dish to go with the chicken rice.

Overall I agreed that the chicken served at Delicious Boneless chicken is ready delicious as per its name. I do like the way the chicken is chopped into big chunky pieces. I prefer it to be smaller. The complimentary achar and soup are definitely a bonus and generous of the stall. However will you wait 45 minutes for the chicken rice?

*All photos in this post is taken using the new Samsung Galaxy K Zoom LTE smartphone.


Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice
Katong Shopping Centre
865 Mountbattan Road
#B1-85/87
Singapore 437844
Nearest MRT: Dakota (CC Line), Mountbattan (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun: 1030am - 8pm
(Closed on Mon)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Dakota MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at Blk 99 Old Airport Road (Stop ID 81181). Take bus number 10 or 32. Alight 5 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Mountbattan MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Blk 2 Mountbattan Road (Stop ID 80279). Take bus number 12 or 14. Alight 7 stops later. Journey time about 16 minutes. [Map]