March 13, 2013

Chicken Wings Galore! @ 泡泡满庭香 Mun Ting Xiang Tea Hut, Toa Payoh ERA Centre


I can't recall how it started...

I don't remember when it started...

I only know... I love CHICKEN WINGS!


I can't recall how my love for chicken wings started. Maybe I was too young to remember. Yes, it started young. I remember when I was in primary school and whenever there's a class potluck party, the teacher would ask: "who wants to bring chicken wings?", my hands will just shoot up. Maybe I heard only the words "chicken wings", and got too excited. Anyway, I was tasked to bring the chicken wings of course. When I went home and told my mum, she will say: "Huh? Why must you bring chicken wings again? Cannot bring something cheaper like agar agar (jelly) meh?". You see, I grew up in a money-challenged environment. Chicken wings was something beyond our budget to contribute. It's not apparent to me back then what it took for mum to prepare those chicken wings for me to bring to school. But it's very apparent that mum loves me.


Over these years, my love for chicken wings never fluttered, fattening as it may be. It's almost always a must-order if I spot it on any food menu. Friends told me they will think of me whenever they see chicken wings. I'm often teased whenever a whole chicken is presented (during dinner banquets) and they will say, "Nicole, GO for the WINGS!!" Sounds familar? Friends who are reading this, you know who you are! LOL.


There is certainly no lack of chicken wings whenever I step into 泡泡满庭香 Mun Ting Xiang Tea Hut. Situated within the Toa Payoh ERA Centre, this little eatery has been serving Taiwanese food and bubble tea for more than 10 years! Customers are mostly students, working crowds and residents in the area. From mains like braised pork rice, deep-fried chicken cutlet to snacks like Taiwan sausages, tea leaves eggs and a wide variety of bubble tea flavors, you'd be spoilt for choice. The food is all very affordable with everything priced under $10. There is no service charge or GST.



What differentiates 泡泡满庭香 Mun Ting Xiang Tea Hut from other Taiwanese eateries is that they serve a lot of chicken wings items! From appetizers to mains, with different cooking styles of deep fried, braised to even curry, I think fellow chicken wings lovers would be happy here! :D

Departing from the norm of using boneless chicken pieces for crispy salted chicken (盐酥鸡), 泡泡满庭香 Mun Ting Xiang Tea Hut uses mid-joint wings instead. The 6pc-Crispy Salted Chicken Wings ($4.90) makes a delightful snack whenever my mouth itches for some deep fried sinfulness. The 4-pc Crispy Salted Chicken Wings with Fries ($4.90) is served with some crinkle cut fries on the side. 
 
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For a more substantial meal, I'd go for the Claypot Braised Chicken Wing Rice ($4.90). Served piping hot in a claypot, the mid-joint wing is all of fall-off-the-bone tenderness and savoury braised sauce goodness which is brilliant with rice, braised egg and slices of firm beancurd.


If you prefer to have noodles instead of rice to go with the braised chicken wings, the Claypot Chicken Wing Mee Sua ($3.90) would be a good choice. Mee Sua is a type of chinese noodles made of wheat flour. It looks like rice vermicelli but is much softer and brittle in texture.


The mee sua with its mildly flavoured broth and generous slices of mushrooms, vegetables and soya beans, is a pot of warm simple bliss. It throws me back to my younger days when mum would cooked this for me whenever I'm feeling unwell. I do not have to be unwell to be enjoying this now, but mee sua will always remind me of the comfort I felt.


I added some braised soya sauce and red chilli padi to the mee sua for a stronger flavour. Though not spectacular in taste, there is just something so homely about this dish that I finished up everything effortlessly even on a not-so-hungry tummy.


Curry Chicken Wings with Rice ($4.90) is definitely more of a Singaporean dish rather than Taiwanese. The curry here leans towards the Chinese version with its slightly thin gravy and has a much more delicate flavour compared to Indian curry.


This being a Taiwanese tea hut, the specialty drink has to be the bubble milk tea with black pearls. I was told by the staff that that the tea and other ingredients are specially imported from Taiwan, which I think explains the steep prices. If you want to enjoy a glass of bubble tea here, be prepared to fork out at least $3.20 to $6.80 for a starting size. Given the lack of tea fragrance plus the overdose of sugar and artificial flavouring, the money would be better spent on the food rather than the drinks.


The menu book is super confusing with the same item appearing multiple times with different code number. The best way to order is to point to the photo in the menu to indicate what you want to the waitress and have her fill in the order chit for you.

See that banner on the shop wall? ~ 百忍歌, literally translated as 'Song of Hundred Endurance'. It seems to be telling me to stop eating so much chicken wings lol. 叫我忍? 很难很难! Ask me to endure? Very difficult! *Keep pointing to the chicken wings on the menu* :p

Chicken Wings galore! This is where I'd be!



泡泡满庭香 Mun Ting Xiang Tea House

Address: 450 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #01-03/04, ERA Centre, Singapore 319394
Contact: +65 63522022

All photos on this post are taken by my Samsung mobile and Instagram filtered.
Do follow me @pinkypiggu on Instagram for daily delicious food updates :)


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