Food Republic has always been known for its thematic food courts, but this one might be their most elaborate yet. Walk into their new outlet at Mandai Wildlife Reserve, and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back to a time when we were enjoying our hawker food on the streets under the stars.
The life-sized facades of three-storey shophouses, movie billboards and vintage pushcarts, including a bird’s nest cart, really make you feel like you just walked onto a 70s movie set!
The Food Court occupies a 15,900 square feet space with cavernous high ceilings that can seat 400 indoors and 200 outside. And it’s fully air conditioned, which is a welcomed reprieve after a morning at the zoo or Bird Paradise.
They are so serious about the theme that they even specially made plastic plates that resemble the old enamel plates. Many of us Gen Xers and older folks will remember eating out of these plates. Together with the ceiling painted to look like the sky, foldable tables from a bygone era, and many other little fixtures, the place evokes some real nostalgia. To be sure, it isn’t exactly like the real thing, more of a whimsical theme park feel to it.
Is this somewhere you go specifically for the food? Probably not.
But it’s a great place to bring visitors who are already spending the day at the parks, and a good spot to educate the kids on what Singapore looked like when their parents, or grandparents, were growing up.
There are over 20 food stalls here where you can expect to find mostly local hawker dishes. Here are some of the highlights.
- Hong Xing Fishball Noodle
- Yang Sayang Chicken Rice
- Pepper Pan
- Nya Nya Nonya Laksa
- Aarthy Banana Leaf Indian Cuisine (no pork, no lard)
- Monster Western (Halal)
- Old Amoy Chendol
- Tanjong Rhu Pau
Hong Xing Fishball Noodle
One of the key things to eat here is Hong Xing Fishball Noodle. The man behind the stall is William, and looking at his physique, you might think he’s a model turned hawker. But the reality is even stranger. He actually started off scrawny, and took up bodybuilding when he began expanding his business. He thinks it would be a great way to get publicity for his fishball stall. And it actually worked!
William came to Singapore as a teenager to study, but his real passion was always food. So he spent his free time working for a fishball noodle hawker to learn the craft. Seeing his dedication, the second-gen owner took him on as a disciple. Eventually, he handed the stall over to William, making him the third-generation owner.
Even though they now have many stalls under the Hong Xing brand, William still insists on making all the fishballs by hand, fresh every day. You can tell they’re handmade by the little indentation on each ball. This is caused by the soup spoon used to scoop it off his hand while it’s being molded.
William told us that a good fishball isn’t just about being bouncy or QQ. The true value of a freshly handmade fishball lies in its tenderness. Only the freshly made ones stay tender. The longer you keep the balls, the harder they become.
The meatballs are worth trying too. They are made with pork and fish paste with added sole fish, giving them a deep and savoury flavour.
Yang Sayang Chicken Rice
Next up is Yang Sayang Chicken Rice, a stall serving white, roast and fried chicken. It’s created by the same chef behind Food Republic’s Sergeant Chicken Rice.
They use large 2kg chickens here, so you get a lot more meat than the usual chicken rice stall, which typically uses 1.6kg birds.
Even though only halal ingredients are used, it still tastes very much like the classic Hainanese version. The meat is tender and juicy, and the drizzling sauce tastes just like the Chinese version, even though it’s made from halal-certified soy sauce and sesame oil.
The chilli sauce is also unique, made with puréed pineapple and calamansi without any artificial vinegar. It’s well rounded, without the bitey edge you get from the artificial stuff. Their fried chicken is also very good, served with achar and a quail egg and chicken sausage sambal.
Pepper Pan
Making its debut here is a new brand, Pepper Pan, serving sliced beef and other proteins on sizzling hot plates with garlic butter and pepper sauce. It is, obviously, another brand offering the kind of dishes made famous by Pepper Lunch.
Despite being a new name, we found the offering legit and enjoyable. Once the butter melts into the meat juices and mixes with the pepper sauce, the rice becomes rich, savoury and quite addictive.
Nya Nya Nonya Laksa
Nya Nya made its debut with their quick Peranakan dishes at Food Republic’s Wisma Atria outlet. We enjoyed the Peranakan food made by this Peranakan family, whose 3 brothers have taken over as the third generation owners of the 46 year old brand.
Over at Mandai Wildlife Reserve, they only serve one dish, Laksa, made from their grandmother’s original recipe. The gravy is fragrant and creamy without being too spicy, so even the kids can enjoy it!
Aarthy Banana Leaf Indian Cuisine (No Pork, No Lard)
If you’re craving some freshly flipped prata, there’s Aarthy Banana Leaf Indian Cuisine. It’s my idea of the perfect weekend breakfast before heading to the zoo!
Apart from plain prata, they also make Kothu Prata, which is plain prata pan-fried with onions, drenched in curry chicken, then chopped into bite-sized pieces. It’s messy, decadent and the ultimate prata indulgence.
Monster Western (Halal)
Another popular halal option here is Monster Western, where you can get familiar Western dishes such as Hainanese style chicken chop. As the name suggests, their portions are quite big, and should satisfy your craving for local Western cuisine.
Monster Western is actually part of a growing halal Western food group, with outlets already at Jewel Changi Airport, Pasir Ris Mall and Century Square. Their Hainanese Chicken Cutlet was specially developed by their in house chef after months of research. It has since become something of a signature dish across the brand.
If chicken chop isn’t your thing, they also do a solid chicken steak with pasta, whether aglio olio or carbonara.
Old Amoy Chendol
Old Amoy Chendol has been my go-to chendol since I first discovered them in 2019. So I was glad to see them make it all the way out to Mandai.
The stall is the brainchild of Zhao You Ning, a next gen hawkerpreneur who left a business in China to recreate the chendol his grandfather used to sell off a pushcart along Amoy Street. Hence the name.
The coconut milk is cold pressed daily, and the gula melaka is brought over by hand from Sarawak, unadulterated with any added sugar. Even the red beans get special treatment. Japanese azuki beans are slow cooked over a charcoal fire until thick and just broken.
On a hot afternoon after a long walk around the zoo, this is exactly the kind of thing you want in your hands. Cool, sweet, and worth slowing down for.
Tanjong Rhu Pau
We are also very glad to see our favourite pau brand here. Tanjong Rhu Pau has a history that goes back to 1988. Mr Yap Peng Wah first started selling Fuzhou style paus out of his family’s coffeeshop, itself founded in the 1930s. The paus didn’t take off until the early 90s, when a new recipe and partnership turned them into the Tanjong Rhu name we know today.
They’re famous, or perhaps infamous, for their size. What they call a “Big Pau” is closer to what most stalls would call a small one. The Char Siew Pau is practically one mouthful. But that hasn’t stopped generations of Singaporeans from lining up for them. The handmade paus here are typically smaller, but so satisfying. We like the soft, tender pau skin and the charcoal smoked char siew filling. The siew mai is also one of my favourites. A warm pau with a cup of freshly brewed local kopi or teh (tea) is my idea of the perfect afternoon snack.
Note:
At one stage, the two partners of Tanjong Rhu Pau split. One continued under the Tanjong Rhu Pau name while the other renamed the business Chin Sin Huan, after the original coffeeshop.
Two years ago, the two merged again. These days, Tanjong Rhu Pau refers to kiosks like this one, while Chin Sin Huan is the sit down eatery serving the same paus alongside drinks.
Disclosure: This post is written in partnership with Food Republic. Opinions expressed are those of our own.
