HCMC, Vietnam: Halal @ Saigon

Flight delays are no laughing matter, especially when it means another five hours in transit in an almost godforsaken Nha Trang airport with little food, air-conditioning and wi-fi. It's an even more "interesting" experience when you can see the aviation engineers attempting to hammer the plane door, use masking tapes, squeeze paper into gaps etc., and then you find yourself scrambling to find another flight just so you don't get on that plane. No complaints about having to stay in the five-star Sheraton Hotel, since we missed our connecting SQ flight from Ho Chi Minh City and had to find a place for the night. No complaints either about indulging in familiar Malaysian fare, even at 10+pm, since it was all good comfort food.


Halal @ Saigon was opened by the lively Dr Shimi for about a year and eight months now, and to date has won at least three local awards in recognition of its good food. Halal @ Saigon is located across the road from Sheraton Hotel and is close to the shopping belt of Ho Chi Minh City. Do take note of its namecard (above) though, because you wouldn't want to confuse it with a competitor who had set up shop nearby, with a large Halal sign to boot and with similar fonts too.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls: I'm not a fan of these, but my colleagues liked it a lot. This is one of the staple dishes of the typical Vietnamese diet, but I would take pho anytime. The food I mean, not the euphemism.

Rice Pancake with Chicken: I took the picture (left) of the rice pancake off the Internet just so you could see what it looks like. I'm not a bean-sprouts person so I have to reserve my comments on this, but at least my colleagues (again) seemed happy with it.

Fried Shrimp with Salted Eggs: I've eaten the crab variation of this in Singapore, but with prawns it's really much saltier. Probably better eaten with noodles or rice rather than on its own.

Curry Chicken: No pictures from the late dinner, but the chicken curry is worth mention because it's not our usual Singapore-type curries. It has a more distinct Indian flavour, and can be mind-numbingly spicy if taken in large and repeated doses. Still, it was hugely addictive to me, and I went on and on drinking the curry as it is. Curries are comfort food to me!

Nasi Lemak


We returned to Halal @ Saigon the following morning, and most of us ordered the Nasi Lemak because of the favourable opinions of it from the night before. The rice was fragrant and tasted alright, but people who appreciate balance would especially love the chicken rendang and sambal chilli because they were not too spicy. Me, I would like it with a more spicy kick, but overall it was still quite good.

Roti Canai



The Malaysian equivalent of the Singaporean roti prata, where the only difference is in name actually. The Roti Canai was disappointing because I doubt it was "hand-made", and going by the taste and exact dimensions it should be from a frozen pack. At least the curry (note: different from the à la carte chicken curry mentioned above) that came along with it saved the dish.

Teh Tarik: Make sure you order this delicious full-bodied beverage, it's sweet and warms you up inside all over.

Well, I wish I could tell you more, but most of us were ordering similar dishes and sticking to our comfort zones. This is definitely a place to go to if you need a break from traditional Vietnamese food, fusion French dishes and international buffets. We know this for sure because we've been having quite a bit of all that, and as you can tell we even missed the breakfast spread at the Sheraton just for some comforting Nasi Lemak and Teh Tarik :)

Service
Very good, most of the staff can manage orders in English. Do chat with Dr Shimi if you see her around, she's a very passionate person who loves food. There's only one Halal @ Saigon by the way, because she doesn't want to compromise on quality that usually follows with expansion.

Price
VND 70,000 for the vietnamese spring rolls
VND 45,000 for the rice pancake with chicken
VND 99,000 for the fried shrimp with salted eggs
VND 90,000 for the chicken curry
VND 72,000 for the nasi lemak

* The roti canai is not on the menu but you can still order it.

Place
31 Đông Du, District 1,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Additional Comment
The picture of the airport and the rice pancake are from external sources on the Internet.

Pictures taken with the Canon Ixus 80 IS.

Jalan Kayu: The Prata Cafe

Jalan Kayu has always been one of the places for a late night prata supper, complete with the smells, the busy chatter, and the humidity. Truth be told, I find the place somewhat over-rated, but I'm sure some others may differ on this.


Still, you could imagine my surprise when I saw this little cafe facing the main road from United Square, and of course, this is no place for a late night supper given its proper opening hours. A few customers were coming in and out for a quick bite or two even when it was nearing nine, and the interesting bit about it all was having Chinese nationals making the traditional Indian teh tarik for you, and serving you the pratas. Thankfully, it's still our friendly ol' Indians doing the flipping, otherwise I might have my doubts about this place.

Egg and Plain Pratas: 7/10


Truth be told, they're your ordinary pratas, but good enough to satisfy any prata cravings that you may have. This is a good alternative for those who are not fans of the crispier pratas at Thomson. What me and Daphne liked most was the fish curry, which went very well with the hot pratas.


Could you get this at your typical coffee shops? Yes, I think you would, and probably at 40cents cheaper too. But if you're in the area, and need some pratas somehow or another, at least now you know where to head to! And oh, they seem to have a good range of murtabaks (think of it as filled pratas) which I might try next time.

Service
Good. The Chinese staff seem new.

Price
$1.20 for a plain prata
$1.60 for an egg prata
$1.90 for a iced "teh cino"

Place
Novena United Square #01-12/13.

Al-Ameen Eating House III

Daphne was craving for some coin pratas, and since I've tried them from both Al-Azhar and Al-Ameen along Cheong Chin Nam Road, suggested we go for the ones from the latter, for obvious reasons of course.

Coin Pratas: 8.3/10


The last time I was here, I gave a score of 7.5 because it somehow tasted a little salty, probably from the ghee or butter. This time round there wasn't this problem, instead the pratas were thick inside but very nicely crispy on the outside. I liked it a lot, though I wasn't too fond about the dhal (a type of curry that uses pulses as a primary ingredient) that was served with it. Ask for the usual roti prata curry. As I've mentioned before, this dish is not in the menu, but they've got it when you ask for it. Usually they would ask you to get the "set" which includes chicken or mutton curry, but this time round we did away with the meat.


As much as I was pleased that the pratas tasted much better now, there was another inconsistency and that's the size of the coin pratas. Instead of being of similar dimensions, it was more of two usual sized ones and three really mini ones, about half their size! Not that I am complaining because I personally liked the crispy smaller ones, but if they're going to make the coins so small, then they should make more of them then, otherwise it wouldn't be worth the money!

Butter Naan: 6/10


I decided to go for a butter naan and butter chicken dinner because it would resemble the Indian dinner I had in Hong Kong (sounds a bit odd I know, you would probably be asking, what about the dim sum?!) a couple of weeks back. It's a pity that this naan didn't quite measure up because one, I couldn't really taste the buttery flavour, two, it was quite oily, and three, it was quite burnt on the undersides. Actually, now that I've tried this butter naan from Al Ameen, I would think the one at Noor Jannah's is way better (and to that effect, deserves a higher rating too).

Butter Chicken: 7.7/10


This was not bad, I think the chicken was baked "tikka"-style before it was added to the Indian tomato cream. Very tender chicken slices indeed, and quite a lot too, just nice for two to share. The gravy was a wee bit salty though, so I didn't slurp it up too readily. Good as a dip for the naan of course.

Egg Roti Prata: 7/10


It's alright I guess, this was ordered by Daphne since she was still feeling quite hungry. The coin pratas were probably too small. This egg prata was a bit too oily for her liking though.

Service
We came here around 5.45pm when it wasn't crowded, and service was pretty prompt and they smile at you too. I'm only saying this because I'm suggesting there's an inverse correlation with the staff here, as I understand they're often in too much of a hurry (that they may appear rude or hasty) when the place is more packed.

Price
$3.00 for the coin pratas (non-set)
$1.50 for a butter naan
$7.00 for the butter chicken
$1.50 for the egg prata

Place
Cheong Chin Nam Road, Bukit Timah.
Opposite Beauty World / Bukit Timah Shopping Centre.

Additional Comments
1. Accompany the meal with a cold, sinfully thick and awfully sweet glass of iced milo.
2. Complete the meal at the end with a hot and refreshing cup of teh tarik.
3. Open 24 hours!

Al-Ameen Eating House II

After trying the coin pratas at Al-Azhar, I thought it was only right to give Al Ameen a try and see if it could do any better.

Coin Prata: 7.5/10


And yes, it did fare better than Al-Azhar, having the right amount of crispiness and at the same time still retaining the thickness of the dough (that makes it different from the usual, thinner pratas). Could be better if it tasted a little less salty, probably from using too much butter or ghee. And oh, these coin pratas are not listed in the menus, but they do sell it anyway. So don't be too surprised if you can't seem to find it there heh.

Chicken Curry: 5.5/10


This came together with the coin prata (you can choose to order just the pratas). The chicken was not too bad, but the curry was just too thick for my liking.

Mutton Chop


My father ordered this, which is really the "Indian"-version of the otherwise Western grilled lamb chop. He said it was alright.

Chicken Briyani


My little sister had this, found it okay as well even if it was a bit too spicy for her. She was hissing her way through her lunch because the spicy curry was mixed with the rice.

Chapati with Keema



My parents shared this between themselves. When the chapatis (thin, flat Indian bread) first arrived, my father was puzzled because it really did look more like naan (another flat bread resembling pita bread) than chapati, though the waiter insisted it was chapatis indeed. My mother did manage to detect a slight difference from the taste, but I could tell my father wasn't all too convinced haha. The keema (minced meat curry) was quite good, would have been much better if it was served hot though.

Service
Friendly on quiet periods, but put in a crowd and it can be so difficult trying to get their attention. Orders can get mixed up too on really packed nights. Just be patient and relax.

Price
$5.00 for the coin pratas and chicken curry,
Around $3 if it's just the coin pratas.

Place
Cheong Chin Nam Road, Bukit Timah.

Additional Comments
Open 24 hours =)

The Roti Prata House II

A food blogger once mentioned that the roti prata here is as crispy as a frisbee, and I couldn't agree more. The Roti Prata House is popular throughout the night from dinner to late suppers, where even at 3am you can find (mostly) youths and (especially) clubbers still tucking in to their now nationwide famous crispy pratas. I remember a time when such crispy pratas were such a hit that almost every neighbourhood stall started imitating it, then the trend died down and almost everyone reverted back to the softer pratas, the usual ones we have today. Lucky for those who still have a penchant for crispy frisbee pratas, they have Roti Prata House at Thomson.

Plain Roti Prata: 8.3/10


As me and my friend agreed, when you're tasting pratas, you've always got to go back to basics to see if it's really good. These pictures are taken with my Nokia N85, I'm still trying to see how I can make the pictures better, but so far I've been very impressed already. Harris is a happy man, a happy foodie blogger heh.

On taste, this is how I always remember it to be, crispy yet still with the flour taste characteristic of roti pratas. Good stuff.

Egg Prata: 8/10


Very yummy too, it's crispy but you can still taste the smooth eggs inside.

Mushroom and Egg Prata: 4/10


Whoops! This one received a flat thumbs-down from my buddies. They disliked the taste of the mushrooms, which I reckon would be straight out of a cheap can of button mushrooms. At $4 (!!), it's certainly not worth the money at all.

Mutton Soup: 7.7/10


You must be wondering, for something that looks like an oil bomb, why am I giving it a 7.7? Thing is, as much as I like the crispy pratas here, I don't really like the curry that the serve with it, because it's too thick and not that spicy. Furthermore, I think I have a preference for Indian fish curries to accompany my pratas. As you can see where I am going here, I think the "kambing" (mutton) soup went very well with the roti pratas! It's not like many of the other mutton soups that I've tried because the spices used and the way it's cooked makes it a bit closer to a curry. So, just nice to go with my pratas. They're pretty generous with the mutton bits too.

Service
The place is always packed, so I kind of accept that they can't exactly be giving every single customer their fullest attention. Don't lose the little slip of paper they give to you after you order, that's your bill.

Price
Around $0.80 for the plain prata
Around $1.40 for the egg prata
$4 for the mushroom and egg prata
$3.50 for the mutton soup

Place
246K & M, Upper Thomson Road

Additional Comment
Open 24 Hours.

Niqqi's The Cheese Prata Shop II

For many NUS students, especially those staying in halls or campers during orientation camps, Niqqi's one of those favourite haunts in the middle of the night when stomachs rumble or mouths yearn to munch or sip on something. More affectionately known as "Fong Seng" (from the name of a nearby Nasi Lemak shop that has a sort of "alliance" with Niqqi's in which both allow customers to eat food from either place and sit in their areas), Niqqi's is open 24-hours.

Nasi Lemak Kampung: 7/10


Although it is on friendly terms with Fong Seng Nasi Lemak, Niqqi's has its own nasi lemak on offer here too, but tries to distinguish it by saying its standard-fare nasi lemak as compared to the one at Fong Seng where there's a variety of ingredients to choose from. I like the nasi lemak at Niqqi's because the chicken wing is good, and the sambal is not as sweet as Fong Seng's.

Niqqi's Special: 3/10


As I've always said time and again, taste is after all subjective. A couple of my friends like this, but I don't think my taste buds like it at all. It's a roti prata with egg, cheese and mushroom filling, and at first bite I was already wincing at the salty-type of taste from the cheese. I dumped sugar on it and ate it like a sugared doughnut haha.

Plaster Prata


Interesting name, eh? It got its name from the way that the egg is merely "plastered" on the top of a prata without it really being mixed into it like the typical egg pratas.

Sausage and Cheese Prata


Another one of Niqqi's roti prata variations.

Teh Ping and Syrup Limau (Lime)


Cool down with sweet, iced drinks!

Service
Okay.

Price
$2+ for the nasi lemak
$3+ for Niqqi's special
$1.30 for the plaster prata
$3.00 for the sausage-cheese prata

Place
Niqqi's The Cheese Prata Shop
16/18 Clementi Road

Additional Comment
Open 24 hours.

Al-Azhar Eating Restaurant

Along the Cheong Chin Nam row of restaurants are two large Indian Muslim eateries that sell similar dishes and at pretty much the same prices. For the less discerning they might say that the food taste the same, though I would think that there has to be a bit of difference here and there. I don't actually have a particular preference, though I do find myself visiting Al-Ameen a little more than Al-Azhar. Don't ask me why, I'm not sure myself, other than the fact that Ameen's closer to the public carpark?

Coin Prata: 6.5/10


Ever since I tasted the yummylicious coin pratas from Irfan's, I've been trying to look for the next place that has coin pratas, especially since Kembangan is a little far off for me. The coin pratas at Al-Azhar could really be better, and I'm convinced they would be the next time I return. They were a tad salty and weren't as crispy as those from Irfan's. Probably the cook was rushing since it was a packed evening.

Egg Prata: 6/10


I would think it's a similar case as my coin pratas above. For those who love their normal pratas (meaning plain and egg) absolutely crispy, you've got to go to the absolutely best crispy pratas: The Roti Prata House. If you're a Singaporean and you have not heard of this place, where have you been all this while man?!

Teh Cino Peng: 8.5/10


My staple drink. "Peng" is... hokkien for "iced" if I'm not wrong. "Teh" is tea in Malay. And well, Cino probably comes from Cappuccino. The Teh Cino Peng here is superbly sweet and puts you on a sugar high. I could drink this like a shot.

Service
Pretty brisk.

Price
$3.00 for the coin prata
($5 if you want to add curried mutton or chicken)
$1.50 for the egg prata
$1.80 for the teh cino peng

Place
11/11A Cheong Chin Nam Road
(Opposite Beauty World / Bukit Timah Shopping Centre)

Additional Comment
Open 24hours.

Irfan's Eating Corner

It was after an uneventful clubbing party that me and Daphne found ourselves going round and round the eastern part of Singapore, thinking of a good place for supper. I initially wanted to go to Noor Jannah's to try their "bone steak hor fun", but we got lost and ended up travelling along the (unsavoury) part of Geylang. Somehow or another, I reached Kembangan eventually, Noor Jannah's was there but it was closed! We settled for Irfan's, which was next to it, for supper.

Kambing Soup: 8/10


This was good, even Daphne who doesn't really fancy mutton soup kinda liked it. Served hot, lots of mutton pieces and very aromatic.

Egg Prata: 6/10


Very ordinary, nothing to shout about.

Coin Prata: 8/10


Now, I found this to be quite interesting, mini pratas but much thicker (and more buttery) than the usual roti pratas. Very crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside. I think I will be on the lookout for more coin pratas now haha.

Service
Good.

Price
$4.00 for the mutton soup
$1.20 for the egg prata
$3.00 for six coin pratas

Place
459 Changi Road
Near Kembangan MRT Station

Additional Comment
Open 24 Hours.

Niqqi's The Cheese Prata Shop

The third stop of the camp's "A-Makan" Race was Niqqi's The Cheese Prata Shop, otherwise more affectionately known as Fong Seng Prata. If you realised, all three of the stops are relatively near NUS, and with a purpose too, since we wanted to get the freshmen accustomed to the places nearby. By this point, most of us were full enough not to order more than the stipulated dishes (the freshmen helped themselves to yummy bread at Petit Provence at Holland Village too) for the activity.

If you're thinking why is this place called Fong Seng Prata, it's because it's just a stall away from Fong Seng Nasi Lemak. Apparently, these two stalls have an agreement to allow customers to eat food from either places at their tables. This of course leaves out the stall in the middle, which coincidentally has kept changing hands and has been faced with poor business for as long as I could remember.

Cheese Prata


I hesitated on giving a rating on this because I personally don't fancy cheese with pratas, and it would probably come out looking bad when it isn't that horrid after all. In all fairness, it looked alright but I felt the flour/dough and overall flavour was missing somewhat. Very ordinary, and the tastes are like... Separated? It's like plain dough and then plain cheese, if you get what I mean.

Plaster Prata: 6.7/10


I wonder where this "plaster" prata came about, and how it caught on, because quite a good many places in Singapore are starting to sell this. It's a variation of the egg prata because instead of cooking the egg together with the prata, this one is kinda cooked on top (but still a little joined) of the prata, letting you have a fuller taste of the egg. So yes, it's stuck on the outside, just like a plaster. The plaster prata in this case was just alright, the egg did not have much taste other than being a tad burnt.

Maggi Goreng: 6.5/10


Seriously, if you ask me, I'm not really a huge fan of Niqqi's. It's just that it's the only place to go for supper if you're around school for camps and the like. I think the food is pretty much so-so, and it's not exactly cheap too. The maggi goreng is just cooked instant noodles Indian style, but there is little effort on ingredients. Portion is small too.

Service
Very dependent on their mood! I think good business from students have gotten into a lot of their heads. Waiting times can be terribly long too if it's crowded.

Price
Below $2 for the pratas each, I think a plaster goes for $1.40.
Maggi Goreng is about $2.50.

Place
Niqqi's The Cheese Prata Shop
16/18 Clementi Road

The Roti Prata House

I was driving Daphne home when the thought of supper struck me. Never mind that I'm tipping the weighing scales a bit but I just needed to munch on something - hot and cold, I couldn't make up my mind. We dropped by The Railway Mall but it was too crowded, and it was only then that I decided to head for The Roti Prata House along Thomson Road.

Crispy Plain Roti Prata: 8.5/10


If you like your roti prata hot and crispy, this is THE prata for you. It was a very long time ago when crispy prata was the craze, and then it died out and most of the stalls reverted back to the soft and oily fluffy ones. The curry is sufficiently spicy and goes very very well with the tasty prata! Yums!

This place is a hit with people pigging the night away, and it's a favourite too with club-goers who, after blowing money on drinks, now come back to something easier on the pockets. I'm not entirely sure if it is 24hours, but we've been here at 4am before and it still is open, so I would guess that it is.

The Pengs


Always the favourite Iced Milo and Teas (Milo Peng / Teh Peng) to wash it smoothly and oh so cool down =)

Service
Can be very slow at times, especially when it's crowded, but you've got to be patient here. The staff do try their best, but some to get frustrated if customers get to irritating.

Price
$0.80 each for the prata
$1.40 each for the drinks

Place
246K & M, Upper Thomson Road

Tohirah Restaurant @ Jalan Kayu

I don't normally like to have supper after a heavy dinner (with a sweet chocolate cornetto after that too mind you) but the invite by a relative to Jalan Kayu seemed too good to pass. It has really been some time since I've gone there, and as I've been telling my girlfriend, the thought of adding more posts of food on this blog will always be the best incentive haha!


This is Tohirah Restaurant along the Jalan Kayu stretch (I see Mad Jack here too, but the one along Bukit Timah looks more accomodating if you ask me). Very crowded on a Saturday night, but what you do get is a nice picture of multiculturalism! Chinese, Malays and Indians all gathered here for the love of food =)

Roti Prata [Plain / Egg] - 6.5/10


HAHA. You must be thinking, all the way to Jalan Kayu and only for plain prata?! As I said, I was full from dinner and dessert, so all I had space left for was one plain and one egg (not shown in pic). Still, if we're talking about good prata, we should always look at basics first shouldn't we?

Alas, this one was terribly ordinary fare, even the curry was boring to say the very least. I know there's a couple more prata shops in the area, all claiming to be the Jalan Kayu roti prata, but this one is definitely not it then. To be honest, the prata place along Thomson is crispier and the curry is better too.

Service
Prompt.

Price
Perhaps riding on Jalan Kayu popularity, this shop sells plain pratas at $0.90 a piece, and $1.50 for an egg one. Man!

Place
Jalan Kayu, Tohirah Restaurant

Additional Comments
1. They have your typical Indian muslim ala carte fare as well as Halal seafood here. I think some of the dishes are cooked by chinese chefs too, since I saw them at work in the kitchen.
2. Because I had a pretty ordinary visit to Jalan Kayu, today's breakfast was... Roti Prata again! HAHA. But this time, my mummy cooked the frozen ones from the supermarket, and let's be honest: It's much better! Not oily, not thin, but really... nice! Don't ask me why it's spelt "roti paratha" haha, I was wondering why too.



Curious how it would look? Of course nothing far from the original prata. Lightly crisp, and the flour is good. No oil needed too, just pan fried (or heated).


Guess what's the next best thing, it costs only about $2 for a packet of 5! (I'm tempted to cook this for the girlfriend soon!) We didn't cook curry though, we were lazy and made do with Yeo's canned Chicken Curry heh.