Truly Test Kitchen Tasting Session

Truly Test Kitchen Tasting Session
153 Kampong Ampat
#07-05 Jun Jie Industrial Building

Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat: 7am - 4pm,
Closed Sun


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Truly-Test-Kitchen/432382453627211

This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from Chubby Botak Koala, Jelly Loves Food, msginginly, PerfectEdge Motorsports, and Dairy & Cream.

Truly Test Kitchen Meal

Affordable Hawker Food Worth Finding

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 4
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 6
Value for Money: 10
Budget about SGD $5 ++ per person.


.....


Beginning as a small curry rice stall in the Telok Blangah area in February 2014, the founders of Truly Test Kitchen, ex-forex traders Joel Chia and Deniece Tan, along with Joel's brother Joshua Chia, have since relocated to a much larger space within the Tai Sing area in November 2015. Now located in a rather out-of-the-way location in Jun Jie Industrial Building, on the 7th floor, Truly Test Kitchen now offers a much wider variety of food options, while still retaining their extremely affordable prices.

Truly Test Kitchen Signage

Us

Ambience at Truly Test Kitchen resembles that of a coffee shop, a large open space, brightly lit by natural lighting and flourescent lights, with functional plastic and wooden furniture scattered about. While the fans here are powerful, diners will still be subjected to the heat of the day, but at least the area is completely sheltered from rain. Of the 5 food stalls at Truly Test Kitchen, only the curry rice stall actually displays an attractive range of food, the rest don't have any pictures or food displayed, but at least the menus are large and legible.

Truly Test Kitchen Facade

Service at Truly Test Kitchen is partial self-service, with ordering and payment done over the counter. Collection of orders is only done for items which can be served immediately, for all other items, staff will serve these to your table. As with any coffee shop, there is minimal engagement with the staff, unless you happen to be speaking to the passionate founders of Truly Test Kitchen, who can regale you with their history, how each dish is put together, and why it's presented as such. There usually is a short waiting time for dishes, during peak periods, be prepared to wait up to 15 minutes.

Truly Test Kitchen Seating

Food at Truly Test Kitchen is varied, mostly consisting of classic Singapore Chinese and Western dishes, spread across the 5 stalls. Taste of dishes ranges from below average, to above average. What stands out is the large, filling, carbohydrate packed portions, created to be filling one-dish meals for the many labourers in the area. Prices are cheap, wallet-friendly deals, for less than SGD $4, you can get a complete meal, with drinks costing SGD $1 - $2 more. Incredible value for money to dine here!

Display Of Food

The signature dish which made Truly Test Kitchen famous is their Curry Rice With Hainanese Pork Chop & Cabbage (SGD $3). The curry is specially made, very different from other Chinese curries elsewhere, being thick and savoury, with a nice layer of spicy heat and a little sweetness. The cabbage is fresh, soft but not limp. The pork chop is decent in taste, a thin, breaded, piece of meat, that holds up well despite the curry gravy. I would have preferred a thick slice though. The Stir-Fried Egg & Tomato (SGD $2) is tasty, juicy and floral from the tomatoes, though I would have liked the egg to be softer instead. The best thing we tried from the Chinese economy rice stall was the Stewed Daikon Radish (SGD $2), tender slow braised chunks of radish in a savoury sweet, robust gravy, incredibly delicious! Highly recommended!

Curry Rice With Hainanese Pork Chop & Cabbage (SGD $3)

Stir-Fried Egg & Tomato (SGD $2)

Stewed Daikon Radish (SGD $2)

The founders tell us that across the board, they wanted to provide substantial dishes at more or less the same prices. Such is the case with the Chinese noodle stall, and the Homely Noodles (SGD $3.50) are a good example of this. This carb-packed noodle bowl features a delicious savoury spicy curry gravy that is a family recipe, and just like at home, customers can choose whatever ingredients they want inside, from the noodles, to the meat and vegetables. What's unique about their curry gravy is the taste profile; it's thin and savoury sweet when served hot and fresh, but thick and savoury with a deep robust flavour when it's cool. The Curry Chicken Chop Noodles (SGD $3.50) was rather forgettable for me, below average in taste and texture, as the curry makes the once crisp chicken chop a soggy mess. The Chicken Chop Hong Kong Style Maggi Noodles (SGD $3.50) fared better, as this dry noodle version still has a crisp chicken chop, while the noodles in a savoury salty gravy with a fried egg is just umami goodness.

Homely Noodles (SGD $3.50)

Curry Chicken Chop Noodles (SGD $3.50)

Chicken Chop Hong Kong Style Maggi Noodles (SGD $3.50)

Among the better items we had, the Fried Yam Cake (SGD $2) is an incredibly value for money, yam-packed treat! The yam cake itself has a slightly crisp exterior, with a soft interior that yields easily, and has solid yam flavour. Good enough to eat on its own, the sweet savoury dark sauce on the side makes it even more tasty! Highly recommended!

Fried Yam Cake (SGD $2)

The pasta here caters to the local palate, being soft and slightly mushy in texture. Personally, I prefer a more al-dente texture to my pasta. The Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Pasta (SGD $3.50) is a filling, heavy meal, with slices of fresh chicken, though I felt the ingredients could have been more generous. The Meat Ball Marinara Spaghetti Pasta (SGD $3.50) features home made meat balls, either chicken or beef, and while I commend the effort required to make them, I felt the meat balls could have been more tightly packed. But the taste is good, meaty and savoury with a tinge of salty, and it picks up the sauce well. Overall though, I find the pasta to be rather underwhelming.

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Pasta (SGD $3.50)

Meat Ball Marinara Spaghetti Pasta (SGD $3.50)

The signature dish of the Western stall, the Chicken N Waffles (SGD $4.50) features a large, crisp outside moist inside, piece of deep fried chicken cutlet, that is straight forward and tasty on its own. Served sitting on a rather underwhelming waffle, which was crisp but dry, a side of decent potato fries, and sweet maple syrup on the side. Still among the better dishes we had here.

Chicken N Waffles (SGD $4.50)

What stands out about the Chicken Ball Porridge (SGD $3) is their big hand made chicken meatballs, and thick yet smooth congee texture. They're generous with the chicken meat balls too, I'm glad to say there were about 8 meat balls within the porridge, along with the egg cracked in! Worth ordering!

Chicken Ball Porridge (SGD $3)

The biggest draw for Truly Test Kitchen is their large portioned meals, and cheap, affordable prices. Despite the rather inconvenient location, diners still flock to Truly Test Kitchen, a testament that Singaporeans will seek out cheap and good (or at least decent) food. I will return for their signature dishes, especially their curry rice, chicken and waffles, and fried yam cake!


.....







.....