An afternoon in Chinatown + Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice

Recently, we have been challenged by our church community magazine to plan a date for $10 or less. Not to show off, but Ms Budget said that was too easy because we go for such dates rather frequently; we enjoy them!

Case in point: Last week we went for two such dates (and apologies for not updating this blog last week!)

On Sunday, we went to Chinatown. Now Chinatown is a fascinating place, if you haven't been there before or in a long time. Sure, Chinese New Year is a great time to visit Chinatown to soak up the atmosphere, but the place is knee-deep in culture and other oddities on any other day of the year too!

Chinatown itself is well-known for finding great bargains and cheap food. But here at our Budget Couple blog, we look for more than great savings; we also look for good deals, especially when it comes to food. A friend said that the cheapest food anywhere in Singapore is still hawker centre, but not every hawker centre with cheap food serves good food.

Over in Chinatown, we went to a place recommended by Ms Budget's colleague, and we're going to share it with you now.

Along Smith Street, off New Bridge Road, directly opposite Chinatown Complex, you will find a row of shop houses. At one of these shop houses there is a branch of the famous Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice.

The address is: 56 Smith Street.

What's so good about this? For one thing, it's only $2 per plate. Of course the shop also sells other dishes, such as oyster sauce vegetables, chicken feet, etc, but all these come at $3 or more. You want a good deal? Stick to the standard plate of chicken rice.

What's more, ordering the $2 plate of chicken rice gives you a medium-sized bowl of soup that comes free, together with a Mentos breath mint. This is to counter the smell of garlic which will inevitably emanate from you after chowing down your chicken rice with dark soya sauce and mashed garlic.

But! We don't recommend their drinks. Save it for a $3 coconut that you can both share. Unfortunately, we forgot the address of the place...

We won't tell you where else in Chinatown to go, because everywhere is great fun just walking around and seeing everything that is there. Instead, we'll show you just some of what we came across:

Here, two uncles are selling photocopies (and some originals) of personalities and photographs of Singapore in the 1950s.

Two old ladies chatting as they display their metal jewellery for sale.

A man examines a piece of jewellery... perhaps to buy for his wife?


An older uncle trying to sell a middle-aged uncle some trinkets.

Speaking of trinkets, there are tons of stuff there. What caught Mr Budget's attention were some old coins and dollar notes. There were the old S$1 coins - the silverish ones, not the gold ones we have now, and dollar notes having the same serial numbers or special numbers that people might want to buy. But why would we pay $3 for a coin marked $1, and that is no longer in use?

Hence, look around, but you don't have to buy anything. You will want to, though. What you will definitely need is a cap or sunshade, and carry around a bottle of water, because the heat these days is a real scorcher.

At the end of the afternoon, after much walking around, we recommend hopping onto the North East Line, and taking the train a couple of stops to Dhoby Ghaut for... you guessed it! A foot massage at TT Quick Massage!

Next week: Another $10 date, this time in a relatively secluded place!

Sumo House - the cheapest Japanese food in town!

When we can't decide on a place to eat, which usually happens on a weekend evening, one of the places we frequently find ourselves going to is Sumo House.

Though the Japanese food is not splendid - actually it doesn't taste like Japanese food at all - the prices are good. The franchise which is available in Ang Mo Kio, Clementi, and Bedok, sells a la carte dishes and set meals, with the cheapest set meal being the katsu don at $2.90.

That's a decent price for a medium-sized bowl of rice, egg, and chicken, and it comes with miso soup, pickles, and some fruit as well. Actually, all the set meals come with those sides. To top it off, customers get free-flow of hot green tea as well, albeit somewhat diluted.

Like we said earlier, the food's not fantastic, but the prices are. A couple of Sundays ago, we had dinner here, and our total bill for a meal for two came up to $6.20 (including GST). A friend remarked that it's even cheaper than eating at a food court. We heartily agree. Like a food court though, it's also air-conditioned, and always crowded.

Another friend tells us that if you're the last customer for the night, the staff will give you a plate of sushi on the house. We have not yet confirmed this with our own experience, so please feel free to try it out and let us know what's the best time to go.

We normally visit the Sumo House in Ang Mo Kio for dinner on Saturday or Sunday. After dinner, and filled to the brim with green tea, we often make our way to the neighbouring Cash Converter. Though we hardly buy anything from here, it's a great place to window shop; you always find the weirdest things here and, once in a while, a real gem can be found.

We've been known to find gift-worthy items at jumble sales, secondhand shops, thrift stores, and Cash Convertor.

These are the addresses of the three Sumo-House outlets in Singapore:

Ang Mo Kio Central
Blk 710A Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8
#01-2633
Singapore 561710

Bedok Central
799 Upper Changi Road
#01-02
Singapore 467351

Clementi Central
Blk 451 Clementi Avenue 3
#01-309
Singapore 120451

Website: www.sumo-house.com

We haven't been to the other two, but the Ang Mo Kio branch is easiest to get to by MRT. Just cross the road at the traffic light on the side of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, and it is located behind the bus stop. The Cash Converter is just round the corner.

Dhoby Xchange

Where to go after a nice relaxing 10-minute massage? Well, after TT Quick Massage has warmed you up and as you sit there sipping your hot cup of cooling tea, let your eyes wander to just outside the kiosk.

Located in the centre of Dhoby Xchange, is JustAcia - your destination for noodles & rice set meals from $5.90 onwards. Being the Budget Couple we are, we'll of course take the $5.90 sets. But regardless of which set meal you choose, you'll have free-flow of cappuccino, soft drinks, and ice-cream!

Although there's no service charge, GST applies. Seats and tables take a little while to find as the place is often crowded, especially on weekends. What's more, seats really do take a while to find because JustAcia is all over Dhoby Xchange! It's hard to tell where it ends and where another food outlet begins, so just follow the directions of the staff.

If free-flow average-tasting ice-cream is not to your liking for dessert, we've got another great place for you to try out. It's called P. Osh, an all black-and-white shop that specializes in brownies. Depending on the topping you choose, prices per slice range around $3.00.

Okay, so that's not cheap, but it's still a good deal because they are oh so yummy! The free samples served by the promoter just outside the kiosk are just the tip of the iceberg, or rather, the base, of the brownie, that is. But what really kicks in P. Osh brownies are really the toppings, available in 11 different flavours.

The most popular ones are the Triple Chocolate and the Marshmallow, but we are a little picky. I, Ms Budget, only like milk chocolate, so we often ask the staff to sell us a customised slice of brownie with just melted milk chocolate topping. You can choose your own, of course, and the staff are always happy to oblige.

I, Mr Budget, was initially skeptical of the brownies, but the moment Ms Budget popped one piece dripping with chocolate into my mouth, my face melted into ecstasy.

Though P. Osh is a little beyond what we usually call 'budget', it's a must-try when you're here. One slice for two people is usually enough. Too much and you tend to get gelak (italics) (sick of the rich flavour).

How to get there:
JustAcia is located at #B1-45 to 50, while P. Osh can be found at #B1-40 of Dhoby Xchange, which is located just above the exit of the North-South line of Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.

P. Osh can be found at #B1-40 of the same place.

Have fun!

Traditional Thai Massage @ Dhoby Xchange

When we went to Bangkok recently, we each got a fabulous hour-long traditional Thai massage for 250 baht, which is roughly equivalent to S$10. Where in Singapore can you find a traditional Thai massage for that kind of money?

We have one favourite place. It's called TT Quick Massage. ('TT' stands for 'Traditional Thai'.) A quick massage here costs just $10 but lasts for only for 10 minutes. It's a great place to drop by after a long day at the office hunched up in front of the computer. It's perfect if a massage is just what you're looking for without having to blow your budget or don't want to go to a sleazy one offering 'additional' services.

Speaking of services, TT Quick Massage offers the following:

- Shoulder & Back Massage
- Head Massage
- Foot Massage
- Spots Massage (which we think means massage at certain spots only)

In addition, there are some promotional packages to consider. There's the basic package which offers 5+1 massage services for $50. We happened to drop by on Mother's Day earlier this month when they were having a special 5+2 package for $50. Of course we got it.

There's more! Recommend a friend to buy a package, and you get a free massage as well. So if you're going there, and you sign up for a $50 package, drop us an email with the name you used, and we can get a free massage with the next package we get. You rub our back, and we'll keep rubbing yours by sharing with you these great budget tips!

How to get there:
TT Quick Massage is located at Dhoby Xchange, #B1-34 of Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. There's a strip of shops just above the exit of the North-South line in the station.

Next week, we'll share with you some of the other places to check out in Dhoby Xchange that will keep you coming back!

Ladies Plus Size Clothes Bazaar

We normally wait for Thursday before we blog about our latest budget date, but here's something that has caught our attention that's going on this week.

ACMI is having a Ladies Plus Size Clothes Bazaar from May 25-29. The catch is, it's open only from 10.00am-3.00pm at 11 Hillside Drive in what used to be CHIJ St. Joseph's Convent.

The tagline for the bazaar reads: Casual & office wear PLUS SIZE ladies clothings for sale at a special price of $10 for 3 pieces. Proceeds go to ACMI Migrant Welfare Fund.

ACMI stands for Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. We wonder why they don't call themselves "ACPCMIP". It's a Catholic organization. We find that religious organizations and non-profit organizations sometimes hold jumble sales and have thrift stores that are simply great for a budget date. One of our favourite is held twice a year at Lorong Low Koon. We'll let you know when it comes again.

Little Guilin

We like to go to places where there are big bodies of water. The sea, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are all places we like to go to when we can. There's a certain calming feeling we get when we stare out over the surface of the water.

A few weeks ago, we spent a Sunday afternoon in the western area of Singapore. We took a nice long train ride from Ang Mo Kio all the way to Bukit Batok. This region used to be a place for mining granite. The name 'batok' comes from the noise made by the blasting in the granite quarry that now form the natural surroundings of Little Guilin.


We had heard of the place before, but this was our first time there. It's a nice little man-made lake in the disused quarry. Makes for nice photographs, but is actually quite unimpressive. There used to be a trail that led up the quarry so you can overlook the lake, but it is now closed because people have died from jumping or falling from there.

It's a nice place to spend a weekend morning or afternoon. Pack some sandwiches and drinks for a picnic. Makes for a nice change from all the shopping malls.

How to get there:
It's a short walk from Bukit Gombak MRT station. Head to Bukit Batok East Avenue 5, walk past the stadium and you're there. Be sure to bring a camera for those artistic and scenic photos.

Cost:
Other than your transport, it's free. Best deal for a budget couple like us. :D

Joe's Kitchen Thai Cuisine

Yo! My name is Joe,

and I work in a button factory.

The Joe in question here is the one found in Joe's Kitchen. On the recommended by Geraldine who likes the idea of this blog, we decided to pay a visit to one of her lunch-hour haunts.

This Thai food outlet is located along Alexandra Road, directly opposite Queensway Shopping Centre. The signboard, in bright orange, draws your attention, and only later am I reminded of the orange colour of its tom yam soup. The bright colour contrasts nicely with the brown wooden tables and chairs inside.


Its main attraction on the menu for the budget couple that we are is the $1.50 pineapple rice. The portion is large enough not to let you go hungry later. But it's not meant to be eaten alone.

Other items on the menu that are worth trying are the Thai prawn cake (with real prawn!) for $2.30 each (a bit expensive, but worth a try), crispy seafood tofu which are $5 for six pieces, and the home-made brewed barley (not the cordial type) for $1.20. We were kind of hungry, so we started eating before remembering to take a photo of what we ordered:


We came here on a Sunday evening, just after the evening shift (5-10pm) began, looking for an early dinner. By the time we left a short while later, it was already half full. My guess is that it's quite popular for the working crowd in the area, so the lunch shift (11am -3pm) should find the place pretty crowded.

We recommend making a trip here if you're visiting IKEA to walk around or are going to the Henderson Waves for the bridge walk. It's air-conditioned, so feel free to sit as long as you like.

The address of Joe's Kichen is:
Blk 125 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-182, S150125

It is on the side of the block closer to AIA building, along the main road. Not difficult to find.

It is open every day at the abovementioned times.

Did we mention that this eatery is recommended by King Of Thrift as well?


Give it a try if you're in the area. Thanks for the tip, Geraldine!