Affordable rice bowls at Tasty Street
From Flaming Don to Gyu Nami and Five Ten, there seems to be undying contest for the most affordable rice bowls in Singapore. But who’s complaining? Even though it’s just a bowl of rice covered with different ingredients, there is something unique and oddly comforting about these grain bowls that I find myself mysteriously drawn to. Needless to say, I have tried many grain bowls in Singapore but Tasty Street’s $6.50 bowls are the few that really blew me away.
Food at Tasty Street
Like an atas version of a cai png stall, Tasty Street allows you to choose your own ingredients to go with the rice. However, they recommended sticking to their three signature bowls and those were the ones we went for!
The first bowl that we dove into was their Asian Black Pepper Wagyu Beef Bowl ($6.50). Like the other two bowls, the first thing that wowed us was the portion. With a heap of mixed white and brown rice buried at the bottom, the bowl was topped with three different types of charred vegetables, a soft-boiled egg, and a generous amount of wagyu beef slices that were covered with pepper sauce.
Although the “standard protocol” would be to mix all the ingredients up, I could not resist just going for the meat alone. Thinly sliced and lean, the wagyu beef remained juicy and was surprisingly tender. For wagyu beef priced at $6.50, I initially thought it was too good to be true. Slightly savoury on its own, the pepper sauce added a kick to the beef without overpowering the taste of the meat.
The next bowl, which is also the 25-year-old stall owner’s personal favourite, was Iberico Lor Bah Bowl ($6.50). At first look, the fatty pork belly was a little off-putting but one bite of the meat and I was sold. As cliche as it sounds, the fatty parts of the meat really did create a melt-in-the-mouth experience and the leaner parts were packed with the savoury sauce, giving each mouthful a combination of great texture and taste.
Although the wagyu beef bowl was impressive, this lor bah bowl had to be my favourite. Because of how soft the braised pork belly was, the meat incorporated well with the rice and the sauce also added much flavour to the entire bowl. Together with the charred sweet corn and black fungus, each spoonful was sweet and savoury.
As for the rice, those who are not a fan of brown rice may not like the harder texture that it gives compared to its white counterpart. However, I liked how the combination of two gave a wider variety of texture to the bowl.
The last bowl that we went for was their Truffle Hotplate Tofu Sous-Vide Chicken Breast Bowl ($6.50). Compared to the previous two dishes, I found the taste of the chicken breast slightly underwhelming.
Although I was pleasantly surprised by how tender the chicken breast was, the meat alone had no distinct flavour and was overpowered by the truffle hotplate tofu sauce. The sauce had an interesting taste that reminded me of a milder version of chilli crab sauce, but the overall flavour of the dish was lacking. As for the truffle aspect, it was also hardly noticeable.
However, at the price of $6.50, it was nevertheless a hearty and delightful bowl and my only qualm would be that the first two bowls fared too well compared to the chicken breast bowl. Even though it may be hard to resist having just the meat, the bowl tastes best when all the ingredients are mixed together into a messy heap!
Ambience at Tasty Street
Tasty Street occupies one of the stalls in the MOE Building cafeteria, which is located on the second level. Although most of the diners are office workers, the cafeteria is not exclusive to them and you simply have to present your IC to the security guards before taking the escalator up. Overall, the place was easy to find and friendly security guards took less than a minute to process the administrative part.
The cafeteria has ample seats but when we were there at about 12pm, the office workers filled up the seats pretty quickly so I would recommend avoiding the lunch hour if possible. Although this would not be the place to go for a romantic or relaxing date, it is a comfortable place if you’re looking for an air-conditioned place for a quick and cheap meal.
The owner also mentioned that they are setting up a second stall in the East so for those who do not want to travel to Buona Vista, check out their website for more updates!
The verdict
As a whole, I was more than impressed by my experience at Tasty Street. Besides the fact that this is one of the most affordable rice bowls I’ve come across, the quality and quantity of the food were beyond satisfactory. For the wagyu beef and lor bah bowl, I will definitely be back here with my friends! For more beef bowls, check out this list of beef donburi below $20++! If you’re in the area, these Buona Vista food places make good options as well.
Address: 1 Buona Vista Drive, #02-01, MOE Cafeteria, Singapore 138675
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9am to 3pm
Website
Tasty Street is not a halal-certified hawker stall.
This is an independent review by Eatbook.sg.
-
- 8/108/10
Summary
Pros
– Friendly staff
– Value for money
– Delicious food
– No GST or service charge
Cons
– IC required at the security counter
– Chicken breast bowl could be better
– Cafeteria becomes very crowded during lunch time
Recommended Dishes: Asian Black Pepper Wagyu Beef Bowl ($6.50), Iberico Lor Bah Bowl ($6.50)
Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri 9am to 3pm
Address: 1 Buona Vista Drive, #02-01, MOE Cafeteria, Singapore 138675
Drop us your email so you won't miss the latest news.
