Tucked in the small Choa Chu Kang Park lies a small Halal eatery called Rasa Istimewa, and if you're driving past you should be able to identify it's hut-like strucutre facing the main road. Popular with Chinese and Malays alike, it's one of the better eateries in the neighbourhood for local-style dishes, and which therefore deserves some mention here.
Satay
Perhaps one of the most popular orders here at Rasa Istimewa is the satay, which patrons readily tuck in whilst waiting for their main dishes to arrive. It's pretty good and tasty satay on most days, where the meat is tender and evenly marinated. If East Coast Lagoon Food Village is too far for you westies like me, then this is the best you've got in the area.
Fish Head Curry
What me and my family particularly like most is the Fish Head Curry, which is wonderfully spicy and flavourful. The fish is fresh and tender, and it comes with fairly generous servings of vegetables and fried beancurd ("tau pok"). A regular order for us on most of our dinners here.
Deep Fried Chicken Wings in Prawn Paste
Delicious Deep-Fried Chicken Wings, this got my approval as well. Crunchy and crisp on the outside, but tender on the inside. Yums.
Hotplate Beancurd
Pretty typical too, the Hotplate Beancurd does fall into the usual suspect of having too much cornstarch in its gravy.
Kangkong Belacan
The Kangkong Belacan here is typical, nothing much to shout about.
Fried Rice with Seafood and Salted Fish
The Fried Rice is a disppointment however, as it was just too salty for my liking. It was the same case for other types of fried rice, so you can either ask for less oil or choose plain steamed rice to avoid any heart-clogging moments.
Service
Good.
Price
$20.00 for the fish head curry
$11.00 for the deep-fried chicken wings in prawn paste
$9.50 for the hotplate beancurd
$7.00 for the kangkong belacan
$4.80 for the fried rice with seafood and salted fish
$4.00 for fried rice with chicken
Place
Choa Chu Kang Park,
Walking distance from Lot 1 Shoppers' Mall / CCK MRT.
Pictures taken with the Canon Ixus 80 IS.
6 Foodie Comments:
Is this good for fish head for a person who would be leaving SG soon and have never tried fish head before?
May 14, 2010 at 2:24 PMthe satay is good there!
May 15, 2010 at 7:40 AMshall be trying out e prawn paste fried chicken!! Very difficult to find a really good one!
May 15, 2010 at 8:44 AMhungrytrotters: if you are living nearby, yes this is quite good enough ;)
May 19, 2010 at 1:40 AMhuiyuan: yeap, i like the satay here too!
gluttonous animalia: hello! i not sure if this prawn paste fried chicken would meet the mark as the ones sold in chinese restaurants though. i haven't tried that many to have a commanding opinion on this dish!
u missed out the price for the satay? :)
May 20, 2010 at 1:23 PMhello eve, i think it's about $7-8 for a set of ten satay and one ketupat :)
May 20, 2010 at 2:13 PMPost a Comment