Our Review On Coffee House By Old Chang Kee (Tampines Hub)
After trying out so many Sotong Ball and Curry’O, two of our favourites by Old Chang Kee over the years, we were curious at how would their take on traditional Singapore Dishes be like… and so, we decided to visit the Coffee House by Old Chang Kee located at Our Tampines Hub on a Sunday afternoon just before our Yoga Lesson over at Tampines Plaza.
This is their second outlet which was opened in 2019 (according to this FB Post). Their Flagship Outlet was opened in 2018 and is located along Mackenzie Road, opposite Rex Cinema.
When we arrived near to 1 pm, the outlet was pretty packed with only an empty table near to the entrance. Luckily another inner table cleared and we quickly shifted over. The outlet also looked pretty short-staffed with no one at the cashier counter, just one staff at the Old Chang Kee counter, whom told us to order via the QR Code on the buzzer and a few inside the kitchen area.
Side Note: An empty table with a buzzer on it means that you are free to sit there as long as there are no other personal belongings. Just scan the QR Code and you are ready to order and make payment online with a credit card.
Online Menu
There was no sign of any Physical Menu and only the Online Ordering Menu. In it there were many items across categories like Local Delights, Mains, Nasi Lemak, Old Chang Kee, Sides, Prata, Toast, Kids Meal, Western and Beverages. They had a Recommendation Section at the top of the Menu which showcased some of their popular items (this helped us to choose what to eat eventually). Sold out items would be written on a whiteboard near the collection point. For that day it was Burgers. A copy of their menu, with better images, can be accessed here (PDF).
One thing that we did not like about the Online Ordering Menu was that it hanged / lagged badly once we reached any end of the screen. This was on an Android phone.
What We Ordered
We decided to try their Crispy Chicken Drum with Hainanese Rice Balls ($8.90) and Softshell Crab Pasta ($12.90). Prices were before GST. We made an online payment with our Citibank PremierMiles Card to earn miles for our future trips. You can consider signing up for this credit card with our Referrer Code – t581524313T and thank you in advance.
So after ordering and payment were done, one of the staffs passed us the Receipt and informed us that the Softshell Crab Pasta would take some time to prepare so just wanted us to keep a lookout at the Collection Point.
The Food Taste
— Crispy Chicken Drum with Hainanese Rice Balls
Our buzzer sounded like 8 minutes later and the Crispy Chicken Drum with Hainanese Rice Balls was served first. The plate looked retro-styled with the flowers.
So this dish was served with 3 Rice Balls, one Chicken Drumstick, Cucumbers, Tomato Slice and a mixture of Dark Sauce and Chilli.
The mixture of chilli and dark sauce was very nice – not too spicy and not too salty. This went well with the drumstick and the rice. We would have preferred that these two were on its own.
Rice was chicken rice – very fragrant but a bit too wet, maybe they need this kind of texture to make to a ball. Cucumber and tomato were a bit dry and bland to taste.
Initially on first look, we thought that the chicken drumstick would be a big piece but we were cheated of that feeling. The skin made the piece looked big and the amount of meat was not really satisfying enough for a grown man who liked meat. The meat texture was rather dry but good thing was that it had a kind of braised taste and the chilli-sauce mixture added a bit of taste. The skin was also very crispy.
— Softshell Crab Pasta
The Softshell Crab Pasta was served shortly after the Crispy Chicken Drum with Hainanese Rice Balls.
This dish was served with Spaghetti, a lemon slice, baby tomatoes and Crispy Softshell Crab.
On first taste of the spaghetti, we were surprised that it was cooked with chilli crab sauce and it was those thick-thick kind. We liked the authentic taste, but still found it to be a little spicy and too thick to keep eating it.
Baby tomatoes were nice. They were fresh and juicy as compared to the tomato slice in the chicken rice.
We liked the crispiness of the Softshell Crab. It was extra crispy on the leg areas and softer towards the main body which we could taste the mushiness. The lemon gave the skin texture a bit of sour taste which was not bad.
Review Summary
We like how Old Chang Kee is taking on traditional Singapore Dishes with their own styles and tastes. They have many items on their Menu which would attract tourists and whom are curious about Singapore Food. Locals are definitely welcomed to this place with friends and family members who may want to try different local dishes in a single place. Price is still considered value-for-money here.
How To Get To Coffee House By Old Chang Kee?
Address: 1 Tampines Walk, #01-105 Our Tampines Hub, Singapore 528523 (Google Maps)
Opening Hours: (Daily) 8am – 9pm
Other Coffee House Outlet:
- Coffee House @ REX – 19/21/23 Mackenzie Road, 01-01, Singapore 228678
Links:
- Website
- Location & Opening Hours (PDF)
- Coffeehouse Menu (PDF)