Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014

Hoy hoy! Great news everyone! Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014 is coming up soon (this weekend!!) and we're gonna run down some Halal options for you to head down and check out!

This is the 3rd year the event is running and this year promises to be even bigger and better. We're talking about some of the best hawker fare out there and great to see that there are some Halal options featured which look set to be big hits!!

And best of all - everyone can do their part for charity!
All profits will go to 32,000 beneficiaries under Touch Community Service!!

So what exactly can we expect in terms of Halal fare at the festival?

Prata with Poached Egg and Indian Hollandaise Sauce ($10.00)

The Ultimate Hawker Fest is not just about showcasing the bestest and most power hawker food in our beloved Singapore but also a chance for the masters to showcase their skill and creativity by incorporating new and unique ingredients and cooking methods to create fantastic spin-offs of our favourite dishes.

The masters at The Prata Place - one of the most popular prata joints in Singapore - have truly outdone themselves with this dish which will remind you of Eggs Benedict or Eggs Royale when you take a look at it.

So you have a Prata Kosong as your base (and yes, it's still good ol' crispy prata!) and on top of that you have a slice of turkey ham for an extra bite and some savoury flavour. Next, you have a poached egg which is super power when you break into it and the yolk runs all over the shop. *drool*
If that's not enough, they top it off with an Indian Hollandaise Sauce which incorporates curry and spices and gives you a unique flavour kick like no other!

And just how power is the poached egg???

ZOMG DAMN POWER RIGHT!!!!
You know we have a thing for poached eggs and this one does not disappoint at all!!
And the finished product when you're about to dig in?

Looks like a big yummy mess! I am sure some of you are going ZOINKS just about now.
We had our doubts when we first heard the idea but we hail to this excellent food invention!
Don't be put off by the idea - just try and it and you'll know just how power it is!!

The Prata Place has been at the festival for 3 years straight and has always been a big hit.
First it was The Ultimate Murtabak and then it was The Murta-burger (which we will review separatelt very very soon!) and this year they have come up with yet another sure hit!

Look out for another Halal choice too!
Asam Tree Cafe will be there at the festival with their offering - 'Longtong!!

Well, trust us - the Prata with Poached Egg and Indian Hollandaise Sauce is more than enough reason to go! We still can't get over how surprisingly power this dish was! LOL

A unique twist on classic dishes and so delicious - that's what Ultimate Hawker Fest is all about!!

The Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014 will be held this weekend, Saturday 22 November 2014 at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre Halls 401-402. Festival will run between 11am til 5pm but take this tip from us - head down early to grab some of this prata fast because it's confirmed gonna sell out fast we tell you!!

Entry is free but you'll need to buy coupons to get your hands on the food.
Coupons can be purchased at www.ultimatehawkerfest.sg and you can collect them at TOUCH Community Services at Bukit Merah Central or at the event booth at Suntec on the day itself.
You can also make a donation at the site! Let's do our part to help out while enjoying some makan!!

Special thanks to one of our idols, Ms Maureen Ow aka Miss Tam Chiak and also Derrick Tan from SGFoodOnFoot and Ian Low from The Silver Chef who happen to be curators of this year's festival. With these names involved, you can confirm it's gonna be power!

And a special hearty thanks to Mr Guna from The Prata Place for blowing our minds with the prata!!

See you all at  Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014 this weekend okay!! YES YOU!!

Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014

Saturday 22 November 2014
Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre Halls 401-402
11.00am til 5.00pm

www.ultimatehawkerfest.sg

ROUSE

First heard about Rouse online when some people were buzzing about how cool and hip it was.
And when I saw Shamsydar Ani's post on Instagram about the food, we simply could not resist! But could the food live up to its reputation?

And when the HungryGoWhere Guest Instagrammer '5 Halal Pastas' project came along, it was a given because ROUSE had a pasta dish that a few people had recommended.

So one fine evening, we eagerly made our way down to Dunlop Street with great expectations.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup ($7.90)

First up for starters was the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.
I'll be honest and say that I've had Butternut Squash before but never as a soup. For me, it tasted like a cross between pumpkin and sweet potato so I was interested to see how it would be.

I'd have to say I quite enjoyed it! The soup was creamy and was tasty. You could tastes the butternut squash and also the seasoning as well without it being overpowering.

A smooth start to our meal I'd say.

Quinoa Quake ($16.90)

First thing to note - I kept calling this the 'Quinoa Cake' but it's actually QUAKE! LOL.
And secondly - I'm not sure whether I should classify this as an appetizer or a main.
The menu places it under 'Savouries' which is a separate section from the 'Mains' so I guess I can classify this as an appetizer.

That being said, this is quite an expensive appetizer at $16.90!
(In fact, even a pasta main course costs the same on the menu)

What exactly is Quinoa anyways?
Well, it's actually a type of grain or a cereal that's so healthy that it's classified as a 'superfood'. Surely that means it's gotta be good for you right?

The Quinoa Quake at Rouse is served with Smoked Salmon (ZOMG), a poached egg, lemon dill yoghurt and some leafy greens to top off the whole healthy experience. I actually quite like the Quinoa patty itself. It has a nice breading and was especially good with the tasty lemon dill yoghurt.
And I am such a sucker for Smoked Salmon. I guess my biggest issue was the price because this dish was not enough to be filling on its own and yet had a price up there with the mains. Maybe quinoa is really expensive? I am really not sure.

Beef Wrapped Asparagus ($16.90)

I actually hadn't heard of this one but Mein Brudder says "a lot of people said this one is the bomb" so surely we had to try it right?

So there's 2 spears of asparagus which the wrap with a slice of beef. They lay invitingly on a bed of pumpkin mash while a poached egg awaits on a slice of toast. This would normally sounds like it was gonna be great to me but somehow the end result was not what we expected.

The beef was... well... I'm not quite sure how to describe it.
The outside was tough (maybe a bit overcooked?) but the inside part closer to the asparagus was... very underdone to say the least. We didn't finish the beef.

But we did finish the pumpkin mash and the egg and the toast though. Such a pity about the beef.
Mein Brudder did quite like the flavour though.

Spicy Asian Penne Crab Pasta ($16.90)

And we finally got to the dish that we came for. The pasta dish to be featured on HungryGoWhere's Guest Instagrammer feature! Surely this had to be worth it right?

Thankfully, this one hit the spot.
It kinda had a Thai accent to it with the chilli and the lemongrass (there plenty of small slices of lemongrass you cannot miss them). If you're worried about it being too spicy, don't worry.

The serving of crab meat was really generous and as with most pasta dishes, this was really filling.
But just to confirm for you, this one does not have any sauce to go with it okay.

And what did we have to drink?

Iced Chocolate ($6.50)

Nice and rich with chocolate flavour, this is an obvious must have for all your choco-holics.
Refreshing but still not too heavy to have with your meal. I'm guessing this is (and will be) quite a firm favourite with a lot of people!

Iced Peppermint Cucumber Tea ($6.50)

If I said the Iced Chocolate was refreshing, this is 10x more refreshing!
I decided to go a slightly different route with my beverage choice and saw this rather unique option.

I'm quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It was nice and tasty and even though I could taste the cucumber, it was not weird at all. Maybe I'm a jakun and I don't try enough healthy drinks or juices but if they all taste like this then I don't mind!

Adam's Verdict:
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup 3/5 -- Quinoa Quake 4/5 -- Beef Wrapped Asparagus 1/5
Spicy Asian Penne Crab Pasta 3.5/5 -- Iced Peppermint Cucumber Tea 4.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Quinoa Quake 4/5 -- Beef Wrapped Asparagus 3/5 -- Spicy Asian Penne Crab Pasta 4/5
Iced Chocolate 3.5/5

 I guess one of the reasons Rouse is making a name for itself is because it's quite a simple and laidback spot where you can chill with some friends. The decor itself is very simple as you can see.

But be sure to get a good table by going early. We made our plans a little bit too late and ended up sitting in the middle of the walkway in front of the door and on small crates no less.
That's right. We sat on crates. you can see an example in that picture above. See the crate?

Well, there are still a few things on the menu that we'd like to try so I guess we'll visit again soon.

ROUSE

36 Dunlop Street
Tel: 6292 2642
www.facebook.com/rouseondunlop

Operating Hours
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thurdays 12:00 - 22:00
Fridays and Saturdays 12:00 - 23:00
Sundays 11:00 - 19:00
Closed on Tuesdays