The Hainan Story Opens At NEX With Rojak Pandan Waffles, Pig’s Trotter Assam Curry And More

The Hainan Story opens their first coffee house at NEX

With their 24/7 flagship near Lavender, bakery store in Bukit Panjang, and Chapter Two at Jewel, The Hainan Story continues on their roll with their latest launch—a brand new concept at NEX, which opened on 15 January 2023.

Designed to resemble a coffee house from a bygone era, albeit with a modern touch, The Hainan Story Coffee House presents a menu of both well-loved classic dishes, as well as new, NEX-exclusive ones.

These include Hainanese Ah Mai’s Chee Cheong Fun ($7.80), starring four sauces: chee cheong fun sauce, green chilli sauce, rojak sauce, and light soya sauce. That’s not all—the wide, rolled rice noodles are topped with a hard-boiled egg and fried fish balls, with spring onions, Chinese celery, and aromatic fried shallots.

Its silky-smooth rice noodles will surely impress any fan of chee cheong fun, and its tantalising flavour profile—sweet, piquant, and savoury all at once—will whet your appetite in no time.

For a new take on a traditional food item, order yourself the Baked Hainanese Rice Cake Lasagna ($8.80), where chwee kueh replaces pasta sheets, and chye poh has been forsaken for bechamel sauce, eggplant tomato stew, and a blanket of cheese.

The result is a dish with a wonderfully soft and pleasing mouthfeel, but with the savouriness and creaminess of lasagna.

Then, there’s Hainanese Pig’s Trotter Assam Curry Noodle ($9.80). Pork trotter, fish cake, hard-boiled egg, and yellow noodles are all drenched in a sour-spicy assam curry that will keep you wanting more.

Those looking for a comforting dish should go for the Hainanese Pork Patty Noodle Soup ($7.80), which features a succulent Hainanese pork patty and yellow noodles in a refreshing broth.

And finally, the last outlet-exclusive item is Pandan Waffles (from $1.80), which you can have with sweet or savoury toppings. These include their house-made gula melaka kaya, peach jam, rojak jam, avocado egg mayo, or cheese.

You’ll still be able to find The Hainan Story’s stalwart brands here—Newspaper Curry Rice and Uncle Robert Hainanese Western can also be enjoyed at this NEX store. From the former, you’ll get a swishy new Childhood Fried Chicken Wing Set ($10), whose chicken wings are said to hold a hint of lemongrass.

Image credit: The Hainan Story

If you’re just here for breakfast or a tea time snack, order yourself their Hainan-style thick, ultra fluffy toasts topped with Home-Made Gula Melaka Kaya & Cold Butter ($2.20) or Rojak & Peanut Jam Spread ($2.50), and pair it with Kopi Gu You (from $2.40), where a slice of butter is added to your kopi!

While you’re hanging here, check out our NEX food guide for more nosh in the Serangoon mall; otherwise, there’s the all-new EMart24, direct from Korea!

Address: 23 Serangoon Central, #02-17, NEX, Singapore 556083
Opening hours: Daily 8am to 10pm
Website
The Hainan Story is not a halal-certified eatery

Photos taken by Hui Hui Lau.
This was an independent visit by Eatbook.sg.