Ann Siang Hill is a highly sought-after district amongst expatriates and we attribute its popularity to the enclave of bars and restaurants housed in colonial shop houses. The dining establishments in this neighbourhood are predominantly western, but a new tenant is shaking things up a little.

Lo and behold, The Coconut Club! Do not let its name fool you – this place is neither a Tiki-themed cocktail bar nor a nightclub. Instead, it is a speciality Nasi Lemak restaurant. The owners have spent two years sourcing for the best coconuts and refining their nasi lemak recipe before opening this eatery.

It’s easy to mistake The Coconut Club for yet another pretentious café opening. But the reality is far from it. The Coconut Club keeps things incredibly simple: They open till 3pm daily (closed on Mondays and Sundays) and Nasi Lemak is the only main course sold here.

We know there is a lot to digest. Firstly, a Singaporean hawker food is now being served in a Melburnian-style café as the only main course. Next, the operation hours are totally Australian, but the food served is inherently Singaporean. Welcome to year 2016!

Each plate of Nasi Lemak costs S$12.80, hence making it one of the priciest Nasi Lemak we have ever come across.

However, judging from the crowd at The Coconut Club on a Saturday afternoon, it seems like many Singaporeans – even the elderly – are actually more than willing to fork that amount.

The Coconut Club’s MSG-free Nasi Lemak entails a generous portion of fragrant coconut rice, cucumber slices, peanuts, dried anchovies, succulent chicken leg, a fried egg and sambal sauce. We have to admit that we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it.

The entire dish—besides the sambal—is gluten-free. But if you would like, you could also request for gluten-free sambal chilli sauce.

Frankly speaking, S$12.80 for a Nasi Lemak isn’t too far-fetched. After all, we are sure you are willing to splurge at least S$20 on a plate of eggs benedict. It’s all a matter of perspective.

The Coconut Club
6 Ann Siang Hill
Singapore 069787
Tel: +65 6635 2999
Closed on Mondays and Sundays
Tue to Sat: 11am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Telok Ayer

About the writer:
Hui Jun Ng is a staff writer for ladyironchef. She previously worked in the food and marketing industry. She loves traveling and enjoys exploring underrated destinations. In her free time, you will find her indulging in coffee and her all time favourite local dish – bak chor mee.

Nestled in between the shophouses on Joo Chiat Road is Sinpopo Brand, one of our favourite cafes with a strong touch of nostalgia. The cafe boasts a retro rustic ambience – think wooden tables, checkered floor tiles, antique light bulbs, Bruce Lee posters and songs from the 60′s.

Nothing spells comfort to a Singaporean more than Nasi Lemak and Hor Fun – which is exactly what Sinpopo Brand is known for. However, what distinguishes Sinpopo Brand from the usual hawker centre food besides the vintage interiors of the cafe, is how they deliver local food that comes with a twist.

On our previous visit, we shared several of our favourite bites from Sinpopo Brand. Since then, the concept cafe has introduced new additions. There is a Salted Vegetable Duck Soup that totally reminded us of grandma’s cooking, a Muah Chee Salad and an extremely photogenic Gula Melaka Chendol Parfait!

Readers of Ladyironchef can enjoy any dessert for just S$5 with any 2 main dishes or Nasi Lemak for Two ordered.

Here are our favourite Mod-Sin Dishes from Sinpopo Brand That Are Worth The Calories.

YUMMY APPETIZERS

Move aside, boring salads.

We initially mistook the Muah Chee Salad’s (S$12++) golden-brown chunks as croutons, but they are actually fried Muah Chees. Can you believe that these traditional glutinous rice balls are now incorporated in salads?

Instead of tossing them in ground peanut, these chewy delights are rolled in a batter and fried till its exteriors are crisp. The Muah Chees surprisingly go well with the myriad of fresh greens, parmesan cheese and sesame seeds. Kudos to Sinpopo Brand for such an ingenious invention!

Now you may find this rather odd, but the Wedges & Curry (S$6++) was another dish that won us all over. This humble-looking dish to be so damn addictive! There was a sense of familiarity, like the curry Mom makes at home. It’s true – sometimes the simplest of things brings the most gratification.

NONYA KIAM CHYE ARG!

Many locals enjoy salted vegetable duck soup and the hot peppery broth is said to dispel internal body heat. This Chinese delicacy is known for its strong salty and sour taste that is good for whetting one’s appetite before a meal.

What constitutes a good bowl of salted vegetable duck soup for us is the right blend of saltiness from the salted vegetables, sweetness from the duck meat and a tangy sourness that is not overbearing.

Happy to declare that Sinpopo Brand’s Nonya Kiam Chye Arg! (S$16++) ticks all the above boxes. The cherry on top? Or should we say the duck on top, my friends, is a whole duck leg confit that is wonderfully crisp and even better when eaten with the belachan chilli served on the side.

SLICED WAGYU HOR FUN

The Sinpopo Sliced Wagyu Hor Fun (S$18++) is one of the cafe’s bestsellers. The uniqueness lies in its drastically different texture. These hor fun noodles have been painstakingly soaked in a semi-salty beef broth before being cooked till it becomes fish maw-like.

Complemented with fork-tender wagyu slices, ground peanut, sliced onions, red chilli, coriander leaves and a lime wedge, this mind-blowing dish is indeed worthy of being one of Sinpopo Brand’s signatures.

SINPOPO CRAB BEE HOON

The Sinpopo Crab Bee Hoon (S$16++) is another hearty soup dish. Ultra-thin vermicelli dunked in a savoury broth, and completed with a huge dollop of delectable crabmeat. Everyone at the table was nodding their head in unison and singing praises about this stellar bowl.

LOCAL FLAVOURED DESSERTS

As Awfully Chocolate’s sister company, Sinpopo Brand places much pride in their desserts. We always love a good serving of sweets when at Sinpopo Brand, for they are really good at crafting delectable desserts with a local touch.

New desserts that are going up on the menu are Sinpopo’s Super Chendol Parfait, Durian Puff and Marshmallow Cheesecake.

The Sinpopo’s Super Chendol Parfait (S$10++) is an impressive elaborate dessert served in a martini glass. A scoop of gula melaka ice cream is placed atop a bed of chendol and finished with a jiggly konnyaku palm sugar jelly. Dig further in and you will find attap chees and red bean paste. Yum! What calories?

The Durian Puffs are going at S$5.90++ for one and S$20++ for four. Upon digging into it with a spoon, the crisp biscuity exterior broke apart to reveal rich creamy durian pengat encased inside.

The Marshmallow Cheesecake (S$7++) is a new dessert addition that deserves to be raved about. The sweet treat has successfully combined the contrasting textures of stickiness, softness and crumbliness into a divine creation. You can expect a dense New York-style Cheesecake – with a crumbly base – covered with torched marshmallow fluff. Sinful yet delicious.

From now till 31 October 2016, readers of Ladyironchef can enjoy an exclusive deal when dining at Sinpopo Brand! With any 2 main dishes or Nasi Lemak for Two ordered, enjoy any dessert for just S$5!

For the latest updates, go to www.sinpopo.com and like them on Facebook and Instagram.

Sinpopo Brand
458 Joo Chiat Rd
Singapore 427671
Tel: +65 6345 5034
Tue to Thu, Sun: 12pm – 10pm
Fri & Sat: 12pm – 12am
(Closed on Mondays)
Nearest Station: Dakota

This post is brought to you by Sinpopo Brand.

Run by the folks behind Awfully Chocolate, Sinpopo Brand is a nostalgic café along Joo Chiat Road and it encompasses everything a good cafe should be – welcoming and cosy, comforting local food with a twist, and exceptionally interesting desserts and drinks. And what Sinpopo impressed us with the most is the attention to details and all its subtle nostalgic touches – evident from the interior and dishes.

Stepping into Sinpopo, their love for all things retro is evident from the design, and it will surely invoke a sense of nostalgia. We were particularly drawn to the menu design too! You will see why when it is your turn to dine there.

Of special name-cards and customised menus modelled after old school attendance books, an old television, songs from the 80′s and 90′s, vintage chairs and tiles, and a kitchen that whets your appetite with comfort fare that we grew up loving, here are some of the things we love so much about Sinpopo Brand.

GREAT APPETIZERS

If you must have your salads, a great choice would be the Frisée Salad with Crispy Muah Chee (S$10). Unlike your usual salads of just greens, Sinpopo has added homemade crispy battered muah chee into a mix for a more badass touch (oops). Well, this can also be thought of as a great choice for vegetarians.

The Crab Wantons (S$8) were filled evenly with creamy crabmeat and served with a side of house dip, reminiscent of our local chilli crab sauce.

For pork lovers, a must-try is the Babi Toast (S$7) which comes with the Thai-style green chilli dip. It will make you forget about staying skinny temporarily.

MAIN COURSES WITH LOCAL TOUCHES

Although Sinpopo offers mains such as Baked Salmon and Char-grilled Pork Chop, they never fail to jazz the dish up with a local element. But when at Sinpopo, we would like to think that the local-style mains should still be in the limelight. We could not sing enough praises of the Bakwan Kepiting (S$16) and Sinpopo Beef Shortrib Horfun (S$16) – comfort food at its finest.

The former is a warm bowl of tasty clear soup broth that comes with three very large meatballs (talk about generous!) and flat rice noodles. A nice little extra gem that comes along with this bowl is an onsen egg, and a side of classic red cut chillies, of course.

The meatballs are springy and packed with pork, crab meat and bamboo shoots. It sounds oddly plain, but having a bowl of the Bakwan Kepiting gives us almost as much gratification as eating Grandma’s cooking.

The Sinpopo Beef Shortrib Horfun is one of their signature dishes and we loved how the execution of this dish is one of a kind. The horfun is first prepared to a crisp texture, before being soaked in a rich and slightly salty beefy broth.

The bowl is topped off with fork-tender short ribs that have been braised for hours, and some fresh cut red chilli, onions and lime.

NASI LEMAK SET FOR 2

If you are visiting Sinpopo with the love of your life, you have to try the house special Nasi Lemak for Two (S$25). Because sharing is caring, and what better way to spend quality time together than enjoying some great local food, right?

For S$25, you get more than your money’s worth with a big variety of ingredients for your nasi. The coconut rice is fragrant and comes with a side of halved onsen egg and caramelised onions; and the rice is free-flow so you can eat to your heart’s content!

The accompanying dishes are, behold – Prawn Paste Chicken (WE LOVE THIS SO DAMN MUCH), Crispy Pork Belly, Ma Ling luncheon chips (a hot seller here and available as an appetizer itself), Rojak Slaw, Sambal Fish Balls, Roasted Potatoes & Curry and Sambal Chilli. So good, you are even encouraged to take a bottle of Sinpopo’s Sambal Chilli home!

DESSERTS WITH A LOCAL TOUCH

Desserts are Sinpopo’s specialty and some of the creations are inspired by their sister company, Awfully Chocolate. All of the sweet treats here at Sinpopo bear very distinct local elements, and there has never been another time when we are so fond of modern desserts with a local twist.

Gula Melaka is a special taste and not many can master the art of preparing it to the right consistency and sweetness. Thankfully, Sinpopo has aced the preparation of Gula Melaka, producing at least 3 different desserts featuring this delightful ingredient.

We leave it to you to decide which to order, but let’s just say the Gula Melaka sells like hotcakes.

Fans of Awfully Chocolate may find the presentation of this cake familiar as the style of layering is similar to the ever-popular Super Stacked Cake from Awfully Chocolate. If you are worried that the Gula Melaka Cake (S$7) might be overwhelmingly sweet, you will be happy to know that this cake sports just the right amount of gula melaka and is fragrant as it can be.

Yes, more gula melaka because we simply cannot get enough of it! Crunchy doughnuts are slathered with gula melaka with a side of kopi affogato. Sinpopo’s Doughtnuts & Gula (S$8) might look like a novelty but it is assuredly enjoyable. If we may, this will get many likes on Instagram.

Where do we even begin? The Orange Kaya Pisang Crème Brûlée (S$7) sounds more than complicated, but it is really a simple twist of the usual rich custard dessert. Using orange kaya as the base flavour, Sinpopo’s take on the classic French dessert comes with a pleasant Singapore twist, and the top note of pisang (banana) married the orange kaya really well.

The Durian Pengat (S$9) is served all year round and you need not wait till it is the durian season to enjoy this dessert! We were stoked when we were first presented this dessert, because the amount of durian used is pretty generous. It is topped off with a refreshing scoop of coconut ice cream and some crisp browned butter croutons.

The Chilled Pandan Soufflé (S$9) was such a stunner and all of us couldn’t contain our excitement. Pandan is infused into the chilled cottony soufflé and served with almond streusel and a sesame dentelle. As the soufflé is chilled, you have to eat it quickly before it “melts”.

Quote ‘Ladyironchef” or flash this post on your mobile for a complimentary Sng Muay Pop (u.p. $5) with every Gorgeous Mains purchased. This promotion is valid until 31 August 2015.

For the latest updates, go to www.sinpopo.com and like them on Facebook and Instagram.

Sinpopo Brand
458 Joo Chiat Rd
Singapore 427671
Tel: +65 6345 5034
Tue to Thu, Sun: 12pm – 10pm
Fri & Sat: 12pm – 12am
(Closed on Mondays)
Nearest Station: Dakota

This post is brought to you by Sinpopo Brand.