Kok Sen Restaurant

A friend of mine learned of a restaurant where the food is cheap and good. He suggested that we should give it a try. I agreed. He suggested 6 pm, which was a bit early for me, but I nevertheless, went along with his suggestion.

The restaurant is called Kok Sen Restaurant, and it is in Chinatown. Apparently, it has been around for 37 years, and it is now helmed by the third generation in the family.

When we arrived at about 6 pm, there were a couple of tables occupied, and there were reservation tags on a few others.

On my friend's recommendation, we ordered the Claypot Yong Tau Foo which was the house speciality, Fried fish and a plate of stir fried vegetables. Three dishes for two people are quite the standard meal.

This is Claypot Yong Tau Foo dish. This dish comprised of eggplants, bitter gourd, shiitake mushrooms, okra, and chillies - they are either stuffed with a mixture of ground meat or fish paste, cooked in a claypot.

This is one of the restaurant's signature dish. It was very nice indeed. If you are dining alone, this dish itself with some rice should be sufficient for a meal - unless you have a big appetite.

Fried fish - I can't remember what fish it was. The dish was nice, but nothing special.

A plate of 'Nai Bai', or loosely translated, 'milk white vegetables' stir fried with garlic. I always enjoy a dish of greens, and this is one of my favourite vegetables. The leaves are curled, wrinkled and dark green, and they have short stems. I like them for their leafy and crunchy texture. This vegetable has plenty of water in them.

For tourists going to Kok Sen Restaurant for the first time, do not expect a fancy restaurant. The place is a typical SIngapore coffee-shop style eatery sans air-con. With mismatched tables and stools for seats, this local hole-in-a-wall kind of place, loud, crowded and unrefined. You might find the place a bit tacky.

Reservations are highly encouraged. If not, be prepared to wait anything from 30 minutes to an hour during peak hours.

This was the queue outside the restaurant, after our meal - at about a quarter to seven. My friend then revealed that was why he suggested early dinner. I was glad. I don't really fancy waiting for a table, or for my food, no matter how good they are.

House Specials are written on orange paper, pasted in straight rows across the wall, reminiscent of what the Hong Kong old-school eateries did.

If you don't like their House Specials, you can order from their menu.