Prata Place, Singapore

Posted on January 7, 2014 by nicjorach

and the search for the best prata in singapore continues! my all-time favourite prata stall is found in a relatively nondescript coffeeshop in sin ming (see here), but to my greatest horror, it was closed on the day i headed there for a prata fix 😦 was super disappointed because i had been craving it and had planned to head down on that day quite a bit in advance! and was even more shattered when the kaya toast stall aunty informed me that she didn’t have french baguettes for the kaya toast that day (i love it). there was a serious lack of spring in my step as i left the coffee shop…

refusing to settle for prata house along the main upper thomson stretch itself (i used to go there as a jc student; the prata is oily, and so are their floors), we decided to give casuarina curry a go since i hadn’t been in quite a while, and was interested to see how it oompared to my more recent prata adventures. googling the address however, the reviews didn’t seem as stellar as they used to be; it was suggested that a prata place in springleaf now served prata that was much better, and so that’s where we decided to head to!

tucked at the very end of a row of shops (many of which were food outlets) facing the main road with a sleepy residential estate behind is prata place. its not a very big shop, but spacious enough to serve a decently-sized crowd. it is extremely casual (perfect shorts & slippers kind of place) and just very functionally decorated (though i don’t think anything more is usually/should be expected more of a prata shop) but a huge plus point is that there’s air-con so this is the perfect place to take visitors (or anyone for that matter) who dislike sweating it out in hawker centres to get good prata. service is also extremely friendly and efficient (orders are taken on ipads!)

they have a huge range of pratas/thosais/murtabaks including some interesting choices like a chicken floss prata, red bean prata and a prata burger! here’s the very exciting menu:

check out the fascinating inverted V-shaped paper prata that the neighbouring table ordered:

the paper thosai also looked very good!

we ended up ordering a plaster prata and a fish briyani set (because by the time we reached prata place, we were famished and needed some rice) for the 2 of us. and of course a milo dino couldn’t be left out of the picture 😉 (who even eats prata without a milo dino/teh tarik as accompaniment anyway?!)fish briyani – $4.50

we weren’t wowed by this at all; it wasn’t anything to shout about though it was definitely very authentic. quite a big piece of fish was given (though you can’t really see its size in the picture), as well as a very generous serving of briyani rice accompanied by pappadam and achar. the briyani sets seemed to be quite a popular option with the lunch crowd though, so maybe the chicken/mutton briyani is more exceptional!

plaster cheese prata – $3

the only thing better than a cheese prata is an egg (with a wet egg yolk, no less) plastered across its top. this was amazing – i was in prata heaven. the prata was crispy on the outside but soft and fluffy inside. i absolutely loved the addition of the egg on top of the prata rather than within in like in regular egg pratas (my first time having a plaster prata!!!), and loved how the cheese they used here wasn’t a slice of sandwich cheese inside the prata, but was instead mozzarella bits sandwiched between the prata and the egg. i was really extremely satisfied and decided that plaster prata was probably one of my new favourite things to have (going through a plaster prata phase now – had one the very next day at tekka market, but was sorely disappointed because it paled in comparison to prata place’s). the curry was also good – not too sweet not too spicy, and was not the diluted/tasteless type.

i was intially intending on ordering an additional plain prata to really put their pratas to the test, but after having my plaster prata, i decided that that wouldn’t really be necessary 😉 the crispy outside and the fluffy inside really shone through, and i doubt their regular pratas will be anything less than that. definitely want to try their red bean prata the next time i visit though! (i saw pictures, it looks like a tau sar pia!)

the only thing holding me back from returning more often is the distance; it’s about double the distance to get here compared to getting to sin ming from home. but given that it opens all day (nearly – till midnight!) every day, who knows how long more i’ll be able to stay away from that plaster cheese prata…? 😉

The Prata Place

1 Thong Soon Ave
Singapore 787431

Sin Ming Roti Prata, Singapore

Posted on July 15, 2013 by nicjorach

i’m constantly in search of good prata and i think i finally found a place i can call my favourite for this indian dish!

i would say its quite a hidden gem since most people who think of eating prata in the thomson plaza area flock to the bigger and more conspicuous prata house along the main upper thomson road, me included, until i recently discovered Sin Ming Roti Prata, located in a coffee shop at the foot of a hdb block off the main upper thomson road.

i’ve been there twice in 10 days; my craving to have it again came about an hour after i had it the first time (i am ridiculously greedy, i know), as we were having ice cream for dessert at Salted Caramel.

i am completely sold by the prata from this stall for several reasons:

1. the pratas are all freshly made on the spot by a prata man behind the counter after you place your order. no such thing as reheating prata that was made much earlier here, which makes the pratas deliciously warm when you tuck into them. the dough for each prata is kneaded by hand and i feel this is what sets apart the prata here from others which to me, taste more mass-produced and aren’t vastly different from the good frozen pratas you can buy from supermarkets.

2. as you can see from the picture above, they have a really extensive menu! (though i stuck with my standard cheese & plain pratas.)
on my first visit there, we ordered a chicken murtabak to share on top of our pratas. the murtabak was not bad – huge with plenty of onions and chicken, and encased by the same yummy fluffy, light & non-oily prata. i’ve never really been a murtabak fan though, and i would say this murtabak didn’t suceed in making made me a convert. don’t get me wrong – it was very good, but not exceptionally outstanding such that it left me craving more (unlike the prata).
chicken murtabak

3. the pratas are what i consider to be perfect pratas – crispy on the outside and soft & fluffy inside. they’re also not very oily; in fact, there was very little oil left on the plate after we finished our prata both times i was there! makes them appear a little more healthy and the feasting a little less guilt-inducing? (some wishful thinking at work here heh) cheese prataperfect plain prata

4. the curry gravy is thick and has a really tasty kick. i find that quite often, the curry that prata shops provide with their prata can be rather diluted but that is not the case at all at sin ming prata! i personally quite like the curry they provide, though my parents (who tried the prata there after i raved about it) found it too sweet for their liking. i can see why some might find it too sweet, but i suppose you can always order other curries to go with it if you want, or just have the prata with sugar! the prata itself is good enough to keep me going back, nevermind the curry!

5. they have amazing prata coins!!! i saw them on the menu but didn’t think of ordering them the first time i was there, so they were a must-order on my second trip there. the novelty of mini pratas did not disappoint! the prata coins were thick, giving them a really satisfying bite and emphasising what i love most about the prata from this stall – the fact that they are crispy on the outside while chewy and fluffy inside. the fact that they were small made them crispier than normal pratas, but their thickness allows them to retain the chewiness inside. i found them a bit pricey at $3.50 for 6 coins, but they were delicious so the price probably won’t stop me from ordering them again the next time i’m there… $3.50 for 6 prata coins

6. i also love that the stall is tucked away in a little neighbourhood coffee shop; no flashy signs or advertising.
i was initially concerned that the fact that it wasn’t a standalone prata shop might mean that i would miss out on what i deem the full prata experience – completing the prata meal with a milo dinosaur 😉 i had nothing to worry about though! the drink stall uncle was more than happy to make one for me heehee.

so there you have it, my 6 reasons for why sin ming roti prata is currently my favourite place for a roti prata fix in singapore! the stall also sells indian rojak, mee goreng, briyani etc, all of which are supposed to be pretty good. have yet to try them though, maybe next time!

Sin Ming Roti Prata

Blk 24 Sin Ming Road
#01-51 Jin Fa Kopitiam
Singapore 570024

Al-Azhar Eating Restaurant, Singapore

Posted on May 17, 2013 by nicjorach

(a long overdue post that i started writing during easter break but only got round to finishing after exams :/)

killing many birds with one stone is key with every meal given the limited time i have back home over easter. this time, the birds i had in mind were roti prata and butter chicken and this search took me to al-azhar, the stone of the day, which if i may say, rocked 😉 wahahahaha.

al-azhar is located along the stretch of eating houses in upper bukit timah, opposite beauty world and the whole series of similar-looking malls which i remember as the go-to places for huan zhu ge ge collector’s cards when my sister and i were little:
LOL.

okay, enough random digression, back to the food. (but i have to say, that picture of the hzgg cast really cracks me up and i’m sure it brings back memories for all of us who grew up watching it in primary school at 7pm as we ate our dinner. ah, those were the days~)

that upper bukit timah stretch (aka 7 mile) is known to have a few 24 hour eating places serving up a whole range of supper foods, and 2 joints – al-ameen and al-azhar (the one i went to)- are particularly well-known for their roti prata, roti john, mee goreng, murtabak etc offerings; basically everything greasy, good and guilt-inducing when eaten at 3am in the wee hours of the morning.

headed there on a friday night, and walked past al-ameen while making our way to al-azhar. i had always thought the 2 were pretty similar in standard but realised i was wrong after checking out other online reviews – seems like al-azhar is the more popular one while al-ameen had a noticeably thinner crowd and smaller shop space.

the menu at al-azhar is probably one of the most extensive ones you will ever find in singapore, ranging from thai food to prata to fried ice cream to red velvet cupcakes (yes i’m completely serious; we were thoroughly amused)?!

we had butter chicken, prata, roti john and murtabak!

I LOVEEE BUTTER CHICKEN. LOVE IT. could eat it all day every day, and so i was extremely pleased when the butter chicken here turned out to be some really good stuff. even my friend whose mum makes a mean butter chicken agreed!!! it was tasty and extremely satisfying – the gravy was of just the right creaminess and consistency and the chicken pieces were tender. i was eating spoonfuls of the gravy after i ran out of stuff to have the remaining gravy with!!!

LEGIT STUFF:

the cheese & mushroom prata was not bad. it was fluffy, not too greasy, and was of a good size. comparable to the one at prata house along upper thomson road, i would say!

my friends had the mutton murtabak and chicken & cheese roti john, which they were both happy with as well! the servings are pretty big and really fill you up (even for ravenous, growing boys):

for dessert, we shared a chocolate tissue prata (though we were tempted to try the red velvet cupcakes just to see how they tasted HAHA) and it was good stuff!!! thin and crispy – perfectly done tissue prata with a good dose of chocolate and sugar heehee.
we attacked it very happily and it was gone in no time, but not before taking a picture with it as a prata party hat first 😉

so unhealthy, but so good. really reasonably priced too! will definitely come back here to satisfy random midnight cravings in future. and for the butter chicken! shall try it with the naan next time – i hear the naan is good, and it did look good! i was eyeing the naan that the people at the next table ordered throughout dinner 😛

oh yes, and we had drinks:

this is really belated since i only just got round to completing this post (an entire month late) but to deep and curlz: thanks for taking me out that night and saving me from drowning in case law, guys 🙂 will see you again for more exciting times really soon!!! 🙂
bahahahahaahahahhahah.

good 24h supper spot discovered!!! (y)

Al-Azhar Eating Restaurant
11 Cheong Chin Nam Rd
Singapore 599736

rock a bite, baby

Tag Archives: milo dinosaur

Prata Place, Singapore

Sin Ming Roti Prata, Singapore

Al-Azhar Eating Restaurant, Singapore