Curry Hor Fun @ OldTown White Coffee

Besides knowing that OldTown White Coffee originated from Malaysia and that local host cum comedian, Mark Lee, introduced it to Singapore, I pretty much know next to nothing about this growing franchise restaurant.

The last day of June 2010 marked the first time I stepped into the restaurant at Toa Payoh Central. What welcomed me was a wave of warm air and no sign of any waiters or waitresses. If not for my determination and curiosity to locate just one serving staff, I would have walked out of the restaurant instead of venturing further in. Upon reaching the counter, I realised that there's an adjacent part of the restaurant hidden from view at the entrance where it's so much cooler and alas, the 'hidding' place for the serving staffs. :)

The restaurant was relatively empty at 6.30pm in the evening and it was no problem finding myself a comfortable seat at a round table under a revolving ceiling fan - which sort of reminded me of the settings in a typical coffeeshop in the 80s, albeit more hygienic now.

The menu is typically made up of the usual Malaysian fanfare of noodles, rice, nasi lemak, toast breads, drinks and almost certainly, a great selection of white coffee.

I ordered the Curry Mee which is one of the recommended dishes in the menu but proceeded to change the noodle to hor fun instead in my attempt to have a less fattening meal.

My order was served to me promptly within 10 minutes and the redness of the curry gravy raised an alarm of the spiciness which I might not be ready for. The hor fun was submerged in a sea of red with two juicy, floating tau poks on the surface. It was only after digging at the base of the bowl with chopsticks that I uncovered some chicken shreds, beansprouts and a few pieces of curry leaves amidst the lump of hor fun.
The curry gravy is definitely potent in both look and taste so I'll advise full attention and concentration while eating rather than making small talks in between mouthfuls. It tastes like curry noodles no doubt but it doesn't differentiate from curry noodles sold in food markets elsewhere.

However, I can see myself coming back for the thick toast bread just for the sake of comparing it to those sold at the numerous Hong Kong cafés in Singapore.