More Than Just A Gimmick!
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 7
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $25 per person.
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Part retro diner, part vintage museum, Kombi Rocks (Diner) took over a now defunct coffee shop called Koon Kee at this location along Yio Chu Kang Road. Popular for their affordable Asian style food and great ambience, Kombi Rocks (Diner) can see queues of up to 1 hour, unless you make reservations in advance!
The ambience at Kombi Rocks (Diner) is retro / vintage themed. Decor is a combination of tributes to music, mostly featuring the Beatles, and tributes to vehicles. Furniture is a throwback to the past, with old barber chairs or wooden coffee shop chairs, mixed with metallic tables. Space is small, and tables are packed quite close together. Even the layout is different, ranging from family style zi char table dining, to cozy couple 2 seaters.
The fleet of classic / retro vehicles here are available for rental, and are normally taken up by wedding packages. Toy memorabilia displayed in the cabinets are for sale. And on Tuesday and Thursday nights, Kombi Rocks (Diner) hosts live musicians playing golden oldies.
Service at Kombi Rocks (Diner) is semi self-service, where you order and make payment at the counter, but staff wil serve your order to the table. Staff are generally young, perhaps part-timers, and quite friendly, able to make recommendations if asked. Food is also served quite quickly even despite peak periods, normally between 10 - 20 minutes.
Food at Kombi Rocks (Diner) revolves around Asian cuisine, featuring a mix of influences ranging from Thai, to Chinese, to Singaporean. But there is some hint of Western style influence as well, as Kombi Rocks (Diner) is also a bar, with a decent range of drinks / beer / wine, and bar snacks. Prices are very affordable per dish, but you'll need to reserve a table if you don't want to wait too long!
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The distinctive facade of the place stands out among the shophouses, as do all the retro vehicles parked around it!
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| Kombi Rocks Signage |
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| Kombi Rocks Exterior |
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| Kombi Rocks Interior |
Inside, the retro theme continues, with a wall of pictures and guitars dedicated to the Beatles.
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| Decor |
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| Beatles Tribute |
The other wall is a tribute to retro vehicles, including the Volkswagen and the Vespa. And yes, the memorabilia here is for sale, including die-cast limited edition toy models!
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| Volkswagen Tribute |
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| Auto Wall |
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| Display Cabinet |
Choose the type of olden seats / tables you like! Comfort levels vary though.
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| Barber's Seat |
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| Retro Seat |
Both of the Vespa are indoors, and seem to be more for decor than for actual riding purposes.
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| Vespa 01 |
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| Vespa 02 |
The Volkswagen Beetle car is normally parked nearby. I've never seen both blue and black versions together, so I think it might be the same car, just repainted. This 1959 love bug model has a removable roof, and can be loaned for wedding photography.
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| Blue Bandit Beetle |
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| Black Bandit Beetle 01, Source |
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| Black Bandit Beetle 02, Source |
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| Black Bandit Beetle 03, Source |
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| Black Bandit Beetle 04, Source |
There are 4 different Kombi for wedding photography loan, and they differ by exterior paint job and interior seat configuration. The Sugar Baby Kombi has long bay windows, and face to face rear seat configuration.
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| Sugar Baby Kombi 01, Source |
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| Sugar Baby Kombi 02, Source |
The Scooby Doo Kombi is a tribute to the blue mystery van in the cartoon, with 14 panelled windows and 2 rows of front facing rear seats.
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| Scooby Doo Kombi 01 |
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| Scooby Doo Kombi 02 |
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| Scooby Doo Kombi 03, Source |
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| Scooby Doo Kombi 04, Source |
The auspicious red Ang Pao Red Packet Kombi features split windows, and is the only Kombi in Singapore with a removable sun roof.
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| Ang Pao Red Packet Kombi 01, Source |
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| Ang Pao Red Packet Kombi 02, Source |
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| Ang Pao Red Packet Kombi 03, Source |
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| Ang Pao Red Packet Kombi 04, Source |
The Porsche 911 Classic with a removable roof.
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| Porsche 911 Classic |
The fierce looking Triumph Spitfire 4 Mark 2, whose engine noise will let anyone know you're coming up behind them!
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| Triumph Spitfire 4 Mark 2 |
The bottled beers here are among the cheapest in Singapore, with a Beer Stella Artois at SGD $8, and a German Beer Krombacher Weizen at SGD $9. And while the Iced Green Tea Jug is served nicely chilled and in a generous portion, I find it hard to accept that it also costs SGD $9, at the back of my mind, knowing it's much cheaper just bugs me.
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| Beer Stella Artois |
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| Beer Krombacher Weizen |
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| Iced Green Tea Jug |
I love the intense red bean flavour of the Pulut Hitam Red Bean Ice Cream (SGD $5). Studded throughout with red beans, the consistency is smooth, but doesn't melt easily, great for the sunny weather in Singapore.
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| Pulut Hitam Red Bean Ice Cream |
The made in house Sparkly Cupcake (SGD $5) features a vanilla flavoured sponge cake base, topped with smooth vanilla frosting and studded with crunchy candy sparkles. The candy sparkles give a nice contrast to the smoothness of the cream, and the cake is light and airy without being too rich or sweet. Decent, although the staff here was enthusiastically recommending it.
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| Sparkly Cupcake 01 |
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| Sparkly Cupcake 02 |
A twist on the classic Chinese Red Wine Chicken from Foochow / Fujian cuisine, the Red Wine Chicken Wings (SGD $15) are deep fried chicken wings doushed with a Chinese red wine sauce. The chicken wings have a crisp, savoury skin, and well cooked but juicy meat. The sauce is lovely, with a tinge of tangy and sweet... Very good!
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| Red Wine Chicken Wings 01 |
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| Red Wine Chicken Wings 02 |
The Hand Made Thai Fishcake (SGD $8) is excellent! 3 lumps of well cooked fishcake, the exterior skin is crisp and flavourful with herbs and Thai spices, while the interior fish meat is soft and smooth. Not too oily, I only wish there was a bigger portion of it!
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| Hand Made Thai Fishcake |
The Koon Kee Mee Goreng (SGD $6) has the right amount of wok hei, and is tasty and flavourful. The ratio of noodles to ingredients like seafood is also just right. An above average rendition of a Chinese style Mee Goreng, worth a try.
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| Koon Kee Mee Goreng |
The Signature Pork Ribs With Lychee & Pineapple (SGD $13) has meaty pork ribs still on the bone. The meat is nicely glazed with sweet marinade, with just a slight hint of the taste of lychee and pineapple. Pretty good.
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| Signature Pork Ribs With Lychee & Pineapple |
The Thai Style Beef Slices With Basil (SGD $15), as a dish, is quite tasty. But the name sets wrong expectations, as this is nowhere near Thai style cooking. The basil leaves do add a floral herb essence, but the flavour is unmistakably Chinese. The beef slices are also slightly tough. Decent taste, but not value for money, skip it.
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| Thai Style Beef Slices With Basil |
While I loved the flavour of the Tom Yum Soup With Fish & Prawns (SGD $12), there is very little ingredients within, and it's hard to justify the price. The soup is modified from Thai style, making it less spicy, but still as intense in the seafood and lemongrass taste.
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| Tom Yum Soup With Fish & Prawns |
The Hand Made Ngoh Hiang (SGD $7) is excellent! Well fried, crisp outside, with a hot meaty interior, juicy and flavourful. Highly recommended!
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| Hand Made Ngoh Hiang |
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CONVERSATION