From The Straits Times    |

After the midnight hour, food-crazy Singaporeans cry more, more, more.

The old Billy Idol song came to mind when Life!Weekend trawled the streets over the past few nights and discovered a range of eateries that stay open late, catering to twilight zone cravings.

These included at least seven supper spots that have sprung up within the last three years, offering dishes from sandwiches to Japanese ramen.

Among them are brand names such as Paradise Group’s two-year-old KungFu Paradise chain, which serves East-meets- West dishes till 4am on weekends, and independent establishments such as The Ramen Stall, a more than two-year-old cafe serving up a wide variety of Japanese food up till 5am.

And older eateries have also extended their opening hours several years ago. Eight-year- old nasi padang eatery Kampong Glam Cafe in Bussorah Street is now open till 3am and award-winning Outram Ya Hua Pork Ribs Soup is open till 4am.

Mr Frankie Gwee, 49, owner of Outram Ya Hua Pork Ribs Soup, used to open from 7am to 3pm but laid on a night-time slot from 6pm to 4am in 2009 after receiving feedback from customers craving for his peppery Teochew-style bak kut teh after a long night of work, partying or trying their luck at casinos.

It was an equally bustling scene at Kampong Glam Cafe when Life!Weekend visited at 11pm on Monday, the eve of the Deepavali public holiday.

Endless plates of piping hot mee rebus and gado-gado were served to throngs of hungry diners who filled the alfresco dining area.

IT executive Yazid Chemad, 38, who was there with friends, says the cafe has become “the meeting point” after work or a late-night movie on weekends.

“This is one of the few places in the area that is still open after midnight, and it serves a variety of good food at reasonable prices,” he says.


The team behind Ogopogo (from far left) Mr Levine Teo, 33, Ms Zenn Soon, 30, Mr Chris Koh, 31, Mr Nigel Lam, 32, and Ms Masturah A.K, 24, wanted a for night-owls to have coffee. — ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

Just a few doors down from Kampong Glam Cafe is two-month-old Ogopogo, a vintage-themed cafe serving sandwiches, salads, cakes, coffee and craft beers till 2am, though its owners say closing time is often stretched till the last patron standing leaves. It once closed at 6am – and that was on a weekday.

“We are all night-owls and wanted to have a place where friends can come for coffee late at night,” says Ms Zenn Soon, 30, a former air stewardess who is part of the five-person team running the place.

A short drive from Kampong Glam is The Ramen Stall on the same stretch as the famous Rocher Original Beancurd eatery along Short Street, where the nightlife crowd starts streaming in between 1 and 4am on weekends.

Mr Winston Sim, 40, owner of 70-seat The Ramen Stall, estimates that there will be about 30 to 40 patrons there at any one point during this period, which is similar to the number of patrons he gets during dinner time.

Heading west-ward to the quaint Tiong Bahru area is where those craving good ol’ roti prata can find Prata Paradise, a year-old eatery that opens till 4am daily. It is owned by the adjacent Sin Hoi Sai Seafood Restaurant, a well-known zi char eatery that opens till 5am daily.

Ms Sim Ai Cheng, 52, the supervisor at Sin Hoi Sai, says the company decided to open a prata place after noticing a lack of Indian eateries in the vicinity for pub and club- goers from nightspots in the Clarke Quay and Havelock Road area.

The heartland is certainly not left out from this sizzling supper scene.

Home-grown restaurant chain Paradise Group now has six KungFu Paradise outlets in mostly heartland locations, such as JCube in Jurong East and Bedok Point, barely two years after launching its late-night Hong Kong cafe-style dining concept.

Mr Edlan Chua, Paradise Group’s chief operating officer, says: “We feel that most people want to dine near their homes, be it after clubbing or for supper with the family. So our strategic locations are in the heartland, except for Bugis+ which is in town to cater to those who live there or prefer to dine in the city centre.”

Hungry after a late-night movie or clubbing? Life!Weekend sniffs out 11 supper joints to satisfy nocturnal tummy rumblings:

KUNGFU PARADISE
What:
Tuck into a plethora of East-meets-West items with action-packed names such as Kungfu Bumger ($3.20), grilled chicken with kung pao sauce; seafood chilli crab pasta ($10.90); and The Duo Master ($13.90), which is baked rice with chicken chop and fish fillet with mozzarella cheese and a choice of cream, tomato or curry sauce.

Also try its Kungfu “Disciple” Frappe (from $6.90), which has coffee, peanut sauce and pineapple.

Where: Bugis+, 01-13, tel: 6884-7375, open: 11am to 4am (Fridays and eve of public holidays), 10am to 4am (Saturdays); JCube, 01-07, tel: 6684-4606, open: 11am to 4am (Fridays and eve of public holidays), 10am to 4am (Saturdays); Bedok Point, 01-01, tel: 6242-0788, open: 11am to 3am (Fridays, Saturdays and eve of public holidays). Last orders half an hour before closing time for all outlets.

Go to www.paradisegroup.com.sg for opening hours on other days.

KAMPONG GLAM Cafe
What:
A no-frills nasi padang eatery serving hearty classics such as mee rebus ($3), nasi lemak ($3), mee soto ($3.50), soto ayam ($3.50) and gado-gado ($3.50), along with a variety of nasi padang dishes.

Where: 17 Bussorah Street, open: 8 to 3am daily

OGOPOGO
What:
The two-month-old Ogopogo is the new nocturnal entrant surfacing from the sea of indie cafes here.The cafe is decked out in vintage furniture sourced from the region and retro-looking knick-knacks bought during the owners’ travels. A cabinet of old-school toys, sweets and memorabilia, together with handwritten menus in jotter books, add to the vintage theme.

Java lovers can try its latte ($4.50) and mocha ($6) made from Toby’s Estate coffee beans. The tea selection includes genmaicha at $6 for a pot, while the range of ciders include those from English brand Thatchers Cider ($13).It also carries craft beers from brands such as Japan’s Hitachino Nest Beer (from $12) and Britain’s Ginger Beard ($13).

Nibbles include sandwiches such as Moolander ($11.90), roasted black pepper strip loin beef on choice of bread or salad; and Monster Chicken Curry ($12.90). Desserts include Maracaibo chocolate mint cake ($6.90).

Where: 73 Bussorah Street, tel: 6295-1339, open: noon to 2am daily

BOSS BARBQ
What:
Want some Korean food after clubbing? Head to Boss BarBQ, a popular Korean barbecue and entertainment francise.

It offers a scaled-down menu after 1am that includes snacks and kimchi or seafood ramen ($15). For snacks, try its hanchi ($18), which is grilled half-dried cuttlefish with Korean spicy gochujang sauce, mayonnaise with soya sauce and pistachio; and fried chicken wings (from $22). The full menu, which includes special dishes such as Bo Ssam ($38), which is steamed pork, is available till 1am. There is also live K-pop entertainment till 1.30am except on Mondays.

Where: 3C River Valley Road, Clarke Quay, 01-04, tel: 6336-3393, go to www.facebook.com/ bossbarbqsingapore, open: 6pm to 1am for dinner, 11pm to 3am for bar area on Fridays, Saturdays and eve of public holidays; 6pm to 1am for dinner, and 11pm to 2am for bar area on Sundays to Thursdays; and noon to 3pm daily for lunch.

RASAPURA MASTERS
What:
There are six 24-hour stalls selling local dishes such as yong tau foo ($6.80 for a minimum of six pieces with noodles), sliced fish beehoon ($7) and ban mian ($6.20), bak chor mee ($6.80), dim sum ($3.80 for four pieces of har gao), desserts ($2.80 for sesame paste) and porridge ($6.90 for Hong Kong-style porridge).

Where: B2-50 (beside skating rink), Canal Level at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, selected stalls are open 24 hours

FEI FEI WANTON NOODLE HOUSE
What:
Eggy wonton noodles served with a spoonful of chilli sauce ($3.80) and Ampang-style yong tau foo with tangy Thai-style chilli dipping sauce ($5.50 for 10 pieces). Other noodle dishes include dumpling noodles and chicken feet noodles (both $4.50).

Where: 72 Joo Chiat Place, open 24 hours

MONGKOK DIM SUM
What:
Fifty-four types of dim sum including unique ones such as breaded chilli crab (fried bread stuffed with crabmeat, $4.80), paper-wrapped curry chicken ($3.20) and new phoenix prawn (prawn and minced pork wrapped in dumpling skin, $3.20). There are also 48 types of stir-fried dishes available from 5.30pm to 5am, ranging from the popular salted egg and butter pork ribs (from $14) to fried brinjal with pork floss (from $12). Try its three-colour milk tea ($2.80), made up of three layers of coconut sugar, fresh milk and tea.

Where: 214 Geylang Road, Lorong 8, tel: 6841-5133, open 24 hours

OUTRAM YA HUA PORK RIBS SOUP
What:
Peppery Teochew-style bak kut teh ($7) served with salted vegetables (from $2), braised peanuts (from $2) and dough fritters (from $1). Pair the dish with mee sua for $2.

Its iced homemade barley drink is thick, has the right balance of sweetness and costs just $1. The 21-year-old eatery is one of the winners of The Business Times/Knight Frank CEOs’ Hawker Choices 2012, which selects top hawkers based on voting by senior management of companies here.

Where: 7 Keppel Road, 01-05/07, PSA Tanjong Pagar Complex, tel: 6222-9610, open: 7am to 3pm, 6pm to 4am, closed on Mondays

TING HENG SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
What:
The 19-year-old Hong Kong-style zi char establishment run by husband-and-wife team Maggie Cheah, 44, and Hong Kong-born chef Wat Wing Keung, 52, is famous for its fish head steamboat (from $30 for a small pot that serves two) which comes with a choice of fish such as red garouper and pomfret. The light-tasting soup is brewed with dried fish, chicken, fish and pork bones, and contains Chinese angelica (dan gui), yam and seaweed.

Order its handmade meatballs and fishballs (12 balls for $12) and raw sliced beef (from $15) to add to the steamboat. There are also zi char dishes such as baked fresh prawns ($18) and roasted spring chicken ($20).

Where: Block 82 Tiong Poh Road, 01-03, tel: 6323-6093, open: 5pm to 4am daily

PRATA PARADISE
What:
Offers roti prata ranging from plain ($1.10 each, minimum order of two pieces) to flavours such as kaya ($2.80). Hot sellers include nasi pattaya ($7.50), which is fried rice wrapped in omelette; kambing soup ($7) and mutton cheese murtabak ($11). Drinks include teh tarik ($1.50 for the hot option) and teh halia ($1.50 for the hot option).

Where: 55 Tiong Bahru Road, 01-37, tel: 6534-7273, open: 11am to 4am daily

THE RAMEN STALL
What:
The Ramen Stall scores on variety. There are six types of ramen in either chicken ($10) or pork ($11) broth that have been modified for the local palate and taste lighter.

Popular ramen flavours include cha shu ramen and volcano ramen with three levels of spiciness. There are about 30 items on the kushiyaki (grilled) menu including prawn with roe and mayonnaise (from $3.90). It also serves teppanyaki beef ($16.90) and sashimi (from $9.90).

Where: 6 Short Street, tel: 6734-9294, open: 11am to 3pm daily, and 6pm to 5am (Mondays to Fridays), noon to 5am (Saturdays), and noon to 1am (Sundays). Go to www.theramenstall.com.sg

This article was first run in The Straits Times newspaper on November 16, 2012. For similar stories, go
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