What To Eat Along Downtown Line 2

Are you excited with the opening of the MRT Downtown 2 on 27 December 2015? I am because that means the MRT train will bring me closer to many great food, especially in the Bukit Timah area which can be quite inaccessible for many.

The new Downtown Line 2 section considers of 12 new stations, stretching from Bukit Panjang to Rochor. The 12 stations are as follows,

DT1 - Bukit Panjang
DT2 - Cashew
DT3 - Hillview
DT5 - Beauty World
DT6 - King Albert Park
DT7 - Sixth Avenue
DT8 - Tan Kah Kee
DT9 - Botanic Gardens
DT10 - Stevens
DT11 - Newton
DT12 - Little India
DT13 - Rochor

I have put together a brief list of the restaurants and eateries when you can find along the new downtown line 2 that are worthy to check out. Do click on the restaurants/eateries' name if you wish to read the full review I have written.

BUKIT PANJANG MRT STATION

Shan Cheng (山城) Ipoh Horfun @ Bukit Panjang Plaza

Most of us have eaten Chicken Shredded Ipoh Horfun but at Shan Cheng Ipoh Horfun, it offers many ways of enjoying the rice noodle. The different offering on the menu include Minced Pork Horfun Dry, Shao Xing Wine Chicken Horfun, Charsiew Horfun, Ginger Duck Horfun, and many more.

Shan Cheng Ipoh Horfun
Address: Bukit Panjang Plaza, 1 Jelebu Road #01-56/57 Singapore 677743
Opening Hours: 830am-1030pm Daily

HILLVIEW MRT STATION

Kinsa Sushi @ HillV2 Shopping Centre

Kinsa Sushi used to be located in Ang Mo Kio before moving to HillV2 Shopping Centre. Besides offering fresh and affordable Japanese food, Kinsa Sushi also incorporate health eating into its menu such as the use of purple rice for its sushi and chirashi. A highlight at Kinsa Suhsi is there A4 Kagoshima Wagyu Don which comes with 60 grams of beef, more than what usually is served elsewhere.

Kinsai Sushi
Address: HillV2 Shopping Centre, 4 Hillview Rise #02-02 Singapore 667979
Opening Hours: 1130am-3pm, 530pm-10pm (Mon-Thu), 1130am-10pm (Fri-Sun)

Joyden Canton Kitchen (欣艺和) @ HillV2 Shopping Centre 

Serving wholesome comfort Cantonese cuisine, Joyden Canton Kitchen is an ideal place for family dinner. Some of the interesting delicious include Traditional Hakka Salt Poached Farm Chicken, Braised Pork Ribs in Aged Mandarin Peel Sauce and Traditional Rice Vermicelli with Poached Egg White, Crabmeat and Scallop.

Joyden Canton Kitchen
Address: HillV2 Shopping Centre, 4 Hillview Rise #02-21 Singapore 667979
Opening Hours: 1130-930pm Daily,

Restaurant HOME (家) @ The Rail Mall

Restaurant HOME is opened by Owner and Celebrity Chef Tan Yong Hua. He is also known to be the first Singapore chef to defeat the Iron Chef Thailand. The spacious restaurant is ideal for family gathering or group gathering. Restaurant HOME is known for its Barbecued Peking Duck Roasted with Lychee Wood.

Restaurant HOME
Address: The Rail Mall, 392 Upper Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 678046
Opening Hours: 12pm-3pm, 6pm-11pm Daily

BEAUTY WORLD MRT STATION

Kampong Chicken Rice Chicken House @ Lorong Kilat 

Kampong Chicken Rice Chicken House is one of the better chicken rice place in Singapore using kampong chicken. The chicken is leaner but sweeter in taste. Its garlic and chilli dips are also very shiok to go with the chicken rice.

Kampong Chicken Rice Chicken House
Address: 17 Lorong Kilat #01-01, Singapore 598139
Opening Hours: 1030am-830pm

HamBaoBao @ Beauty World Food Centre

Located on level 4 of a old food centre at Beauty World Centre is a humble little stall runs by a young couple in their twenties selling their own interpretation of hamburgers. Their stall, HamBaoBao is the directly translation of the English work in Chinese hanyu pinyin. Currently the stall sells only 5 types of burgers only with adds on such as fries, cheese, bacon and additional patty. A must try is the Ayam Buah Keluak Burger.

HamBaoBao
Address: 144 Upper Bukit Timah Road #04-49, Singapore 588177
Opening Hours: 12pm-8pm Tue-Sun, (closed on Mon and even week of Tues)

Top 1 Home Made Noodle @ Beauty World Food Centre

A very popular stall at Beauty World Food Centre is the Top 1 Home Made Noodle. It is so popular that it has to use a numbering queue system. The spicy Mala Ban Mian will definitely make you break into a sweat with the noodles still retaining a nice bite to it.

Top 1 Home Made Noodle
Address: 144 Upper Bukit Timah Road #04-44, Singapore 588177
Opening Hours: 9am-830pm Thu-Mon (closed on Tue and Thu)

Joo Seng Teochew Porridge @ Bukit Timah

Being a Teochew, I like my Teochew Porridge. Joo Seng Teochew Porridge serves a great variety of dishes to go with the porridge. A great place for supper hunter as it opens up to 4am daily.

Joo Seng Teochew Porridge
Address: 14 Cheong Chin Nam Road
Opening Hours: 10am-4am Daily

KING ALBERT PARK MRT STATION

Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria @ Binjai Park

Accordingly to the owner, the Southern Italians like fiery-style dishes as compared to their northern counterparts. I was quite surprised. All this while, I only thought Italian is about tomatoes and olive. I never knew they like spicy food too. In fact, the used of fiery chillies is not uncommon both in preparation and curing process in the southern part of Italy. The place to go to for some spicy Italian food for a change.

Capri Trattoria & Pizzeria
Address: 3 Binjai Park, Singapore 589819
Opening Hours: 12pm-230pm, 6pm-1030pm Tue-Sun (closed on Mon)

SIXTH AVENUE MRT STATION

Nam Kee JB Handmade Pau @ The Grandstand

The bowl of Mee Hoon Kuay at Nam Kee JB Handmade Pau comes with ikan bilis, mushroom and minced pork with a choice to add an egg. The soup is rich and packed with ikan bilis flavour. The soup itself may come across a bit too salty but if ate with the mee hoon kuay together , it is actually quite comforting and balanced. You can also replaced the mee hoon kuay with yi mian or ke kou mian.

 Nam Kee JB Handmade Pau 
Address: 200 Turf Club Road #01-09, Singapore 287994
Opening Hours: 10am - 10pm Daily

Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh @ Sixth Avenu

Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh flagship outlet at Simpang Bedok back in January 2014. Since then, it has grown from strength to strength expanding his business into Indonesia as well as another 2 new outlets in Woodland Close and Sixth Avenue. I am glad that it has opened the latest outlet at sixth avenue which is near home. Now I need not travel all the way from West to East to satisfy my craving for Bak Kut Teh. Their Bak Kut Teh is an in between of Klang and Teochew style. However my favourite is their dry version which s a must try.

Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh
Address: Good Good Eating House, 24 Sixth Avenue Singapore 276481
Opening Hours: 1130am-930pm Daily

Caruso Ristorante Pizza Bar @ Bukit Timah

Caruso Ristorante Pizza Bar spots an orange and white furbishing replaced the defunct Onion Restaurant & Bar. The owner Leonardo Palmisano has named the restaurant after the great South Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso. Caruso offers a great selection of authentic Italian cuisine.

Caruso Ristorante Pizza Bar
Address: 791 Bukit Timah Road #01-01, Singapore 269764
Opening Hours: 12pm-230pm, 6pm-11pm Daily

TAN KAH KEE MRT STATION

Shelter in the Woods @ Greeenwood Avenue

Shelter in the Woods is a traditional flame rotisserie restaurant servicing classic European dishes. The food maybe rustic but refine in flavours. This is a great dining destination for foodies who seek to bond over good food and wine.

Shelter in the Woods
Address: 22 Greenwood Avenue, Singapore 289218
Opening Hours: 6pm - 10am Daily, 1130am-230pm Sunday Brunch

My Little Spanish Place @ Bukit Timah Road

My Little Spanish Place is inspired by the ‘meson’, a typical home-style restaurant often found in Spanish regions. Its philosphy is based on the Spanish saying, “Mi Casa es Su Casa”, which means “My House is Your House”. It boasts a full-fledged menu of Spanish home-style dishes and desserts, and offers Singapore’s most complete Jamon bar and a Spanish ‘Despensa’ (pantry).

My Little Spanish Place
Address: 619 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 269720
Opening Hours: 630pm-11pm (Tue-Fri), 930am-3pm, 630pm-11pm (Sat-Sun)

The Missing Pan @ Bukit Timah Road

The Missing Pan is an all day bakery and brasserie that prides on serving up food that is good to eat, share and enjoy. The 2 storey shophouse offers freshly baked, organic artisanal breads for dine-in and takeway on level one and refreshingly imaginative, modern cuisine on its upper floor.

The Missing Pan
Address: 619D Bukit Timah Road #01/02-01, Singapore 269724
Opening Hours: 9am-230pm, 6pm-9pm (Tue-Fri), 9am-4pm, 6pm-9pm (Sat-Sun)

My Cosy Corner @ Coronation Shopping Plaza

My Cosy Corner at Coronation Shopping Plaza is very popular with it's local delights if you stay in the Bukit Timah area. This tiny little eatery is tucked right in the corner at level two of the shopping centre. The eatery is not that cosy as the name suggested, it felt like stepping into a small eatery in the early 80s. Furthermore it felt more like an eatery selling Japanese food, rather than local nonya cuisine. A must try is their Popiah and Mee Siam.

My Cosy Corner
Address: Coronation Shopping Plaza, 619 Bukit Timah Road #02-02, Singapore 269707
Opening Hours: 10am-7pm (Mon-Sat), 11am-4pm (Sun and PH)


I hope the brief list will be a handy and useful guidance for you to explore the new downtown line 2. I will try to update it whenever I have discovered more worthy restaurants/eateries to recommend along the new line. If you have recommendations, do feel free to leave a comment so I can share it with other readers.

Keng Eng Kee Seafood Restaurant (琼荣记海鲜) @ Bukit Merah Lane 1

Keng Eng Kee Seafood Restaurant (KEK) has been one of my favourite zi char places to go to whenever I have family gathering or friends visiting from other countries. Started in a humble hawker centre in the 1970s, Keng Eng Kee moved from the demolished Havelock Road hawker centre to its current location at Alexandra Village. It was only a small stall when it moved into Alexandra Village. Down the years, it has expanded the business and took over the whole premises. Keng Eng Kee Seafood Restaurant is a family business whereby the kitchen is now helm by one of the youngest local chef, Wayne Liew while his brother Paul, runs the operations.

Mingzhu Roll 4/5

Mingzhu Roll ($9/$12/$15) is one of KEK's own creation. The golden brown roll is stuffed with salted egg yolk, prawn, ham, mushroom and parsley in a fried tau pok shell. What result is a crispy exterior with many layers of flavours what work harmoniously.

Moonlight Hor Fun 4.2/5

Another signature dish at KEK is the Moonlight Hor Fun ($5/$8/$12/$16) that is wok fried to fragrant in the dark sweet sauce. giving it a smokey aroma or better known as wok hei in our local description. A raw egg is cracked with the egg yolk resembling the moon. Give it a good toss so that the rice noodles are well coated in the egg yolk. I felt it give the noodle a pleasant smoothness in texture while at the same time cut through that rich sweetness from the dark sauce.

Chinese Spinach with Fried Ikan Bilis 4.2/5

For a more balance diet, we order some greens in the Chinese Spinach with Fried Ikan Bilis ($8/$12/$16). The spinach is cooked to a nice crunchy bite with the ikan bilis giving the dish an additional crispy texture.

Prawn Rolls 4.2/5

The huge and plump homemade Prawn Rolls or Hay Chor ($8/$12/$16) is made with a blend of minced pork, carrot, prawn and water chestnut, wrapped in beancurd skin. I like the addition of the water chestnut, giving it a nice crunchy enjoyment.

Coffee Pork Ribs 4.5/5

The aroma of coffee filled the air when the Coffee Pork Ribs ($10/$18/$25) topped with sesame seeds is served to the table. I like the fact that the bones of the pork ribs are removed so it is really easy for consumption. The caramelized sweetness, coffee flavour and aroma made this an excellent dish. This is a must order for me whenever I visit KEK.

Salted Egg Crab 4.5/5

Many foreigners that visit Singapore will always go for the iconic Chilli Crab or Black Pepper Crab. However these are on the spicy side which may not be suitable for the foreign palate. Hence I will usually order the Salted Egg Crab (seasonal price) which is not spicy but instead comes with a sweet buttery and creamy taste that is more suitable for the foreign palate. My foreign friends that have tried it, all have enjoyed it.

Good news to the fans of KEK. KEK has opened a second outlet at 200 Padan Gardens. The menu is slightly different with Chef Wayne's modern take of zi char dishes and a couple of all times favourite from the KEK flagship outlet. Do look out for my post of their second outlet soon.


Keng Eng Kee Seafood Restaurant (琼荣记海鲜)
Blk 124 Bukit Merah Lane 1
Singapore 150124
Tel: +65 62721038
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Queenstown (EW Line), Redhill (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 12pm - 230pm, 5pm - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Queenstown MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at Queenstown MRT station (Stop ID 11149). Take bus number 195. Alight 3 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Redhill MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop opposite Redhill MRT station (Stop ID 10201). Take bus number 33 or 120. Alight 5 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time 10 minutes. [Map]