I still can't get over the awesome food experience that I get from dining at Serangoon Garden Market and Food Center. A food center that is located beside a market has real benefits because there's a good chance that the raw ingredients are fresh before the cooking of it. That's one of the reasons why I highly recommend this food center.
The other good thing that I observe about this food center is the variety of food that is available to this place. Most food centers or hawker centers rarely have a pastry stall or bakery stall. It's also rare that there's a Middle-Eastern cuisine or kebab stall in a hawker center. That's why I'm amazed by this food center because it seems that it has a lot of types of food that are not typical to most of the other food stalls out there.
For this lunch, I had a great time choosing a unique set of food and drinks for my meal. For the main dish, I had a Nasi Padang-style Chicken Briyani. For my drinks, I'm trying the soya milk with boba pearls. And for my snack, I'm having the kampong-style pancake with red bean paste filling.
Nasi Padang-style Chicken Briyani
This is my first time trying a Nasi Padang-style Chicken Briyani, my usual choice is either Indian or Indian-Muslim style Briyani. I ordered the grilled Chicken Briyani which has a ton of sauteed chili paste. The amount of chili paste is beyond what I can take so I put most of it aside.
The grilled chicken was perfectly cooked and it's still moist and tender. The meat was glistening with fat after it was chopped which is a good sign of properly cooked protein.
Aside from the Indonesian-style Basmati rice, I was also served with a spicy cucumber salad and deep-fried fish chips instead of Apalam. I like the cucumber salad because it has the right balance of tanginess and spiciness while maintaining the crunchiness of it.
The fish chips were okay. I noticed that the experience felt much better when eating the fish chips together with Basmati rice. The texture of the fish chips adds a layer of enjoyment to it.
The name of the stall is Maimon Nasi Padang.
There are plenty of other types of dishes that look delicious. For sure, I will be trying some of it on my next visit to this food center.
Soya Milk with Boba pearls
Will you agree with me when I say that any drink with boba pearls is many times better than without it? Some people don't like boba pearls because it feels weird to be eating and drinking at the same time. While some hate the added sugar or calories that boba pearls have. For me, I like it. The sweet and chewy pearls are an enjoyable experience.
The name of the stall is Serangoon Soya Bean.
A soya milk drink is a healthier version of a milk tea with boba pearls because it has less sugar and fat content. The real advantage of drinking soya milk is the high amount of protein.
Kampong-style Pancake
I like eating a Kampong-style pancake because of the pillowy texture of it. The skin is chewy while the batter is moist. With the addition of red bean paste as filling, the creamy filling adds an extra layer of flavor and texture as well.
This is the kind of snack that is perfect to pair with an Americano-style coffee or espresso coffee. It's mildly sweet so it's not something that will make you feel guilty after finishing a big piece of pancake. There are other choices of filling like cheese, butter, kaya, and even peanut butter.
The Serangoon Garden Market and Food Center is a food haven. It's unique compared to other food centers because of the variety of food or cuisine that is being offered by the stalls.
The courtyard in the middle of the food center is a good way to ventilate the fumes from the cooking of food. There's a nice flow of air in the surroundings which is a suitable place to dine.
I still have plenty of food that I wanted to try from this place. I will come back and try the rest of the pastries and noodles. The thought of it makes me feel excited about this place, I will be updating you all on my next visit. Cheers!