Food Centre - Black Carrot Cake, Fried Prawn Noodes and Rojak, Food Republic @ 313 Somerset, Singapore (Rating: 3/5)

Singapore is a food paradise as good food can be found within an arm's distance. Especially in Orchard Road - Singapore's famous shopping belt district, you can also find great food without going to expensive restaurants. Why not try the Singapore food at your nearest food centres?

Rojak was surprisingly delicious. The rich and thick aroma of the spicy fermented shrimp paste with the ground peanuts were extremely addictive. The mixture of toasted fried dough fritters, pineapple, turnips, cucumber and fried beancurd in the black spicy sauce was delicious. Usually, I would order a plate of fried dough fritters only Rojak (Asian Salad). Priced at SGD5, I ordered myself the original mixture blend to try. The preparation was very quick. In less than ten minutes, I have a plate of crispy toasted fried fritters and beancurd, fruits and vegetables bathed in thick spicy prawn paste sauce. I prefer thick rich sauce with freshly toasted fritters to diluted saccharine sauce. At each bite, I could taste the rich prawn paste with a tint of sourness and sweetness from the lime juice and sugar respectively. The peanut bits coating added crunchiness to the dish. (Rating: 3/5)

At Fa (发) BBQ Chicken Wings stall, you can order a plate of fried carrot cake - balack (炒萝卜糕). There are two kinds of carrot cakes - white and black, just like the reversi game. The black carrot cake, which was my absolute favourite, is cooked with sweet black sauce. The ingredients were simple - oil, carrot cake, egg, preserved turnips, sweet black sauce and good wok heat. Wok heat means that the stove must be hot so that when the carrot cake is cooked, it will have the nice fragrance. For this dish, I must say that they cooked it well as it was neither too dry nor too moist. There was a little moisture in the dish that gave that added boost. (Food rating: 3/5)

Thye Hong Fried Hokkien Mee (泰丰炒福建虾面) is the brand you usually see whenever you dine at Food Republic - Wisma Atria or even at 313 Somerset. I went to the outlet at 313 Somerset, Food Republic. Just like McDonald's, the food quality at the various outlets were consistent. The noodles were perfectly cooked in al dente style. The rich broth was aromatic and more importantly, the chilli complemented the dish best. This is one of the stalls I patronise for Fried Hokkien Mee or Fried Prawn Noodles. (Food Rating: 3/5)

Address: Level 5, 313@Somerset313 Orchard Road, Singapore 238895

Price: $ (Each of them costs less than SGD10)

Rating: 3/5