The time-tested favourite is Glory Catering, on East Coast Road (near the junction with Joo Chiat Road). It's a small shop, distinguished by all the kueh kueh in front, and the jars of pineapple tarts and other goodies in the crowded entranceway. Glory prides itself on its pineapple tarts, which are indeed pretty good (for bought rather than homemade tarts that is), and there are a number of newspaper reviews on the walls of the restaurant which serve as an endorsement of their prowess.
The cooking is pretty good - the tasty, lemak chicken curries (chicken rendang, masak merah are my favourites), sambal squid and sambal goreng. It's amazing how fast the turnover is - food is served quickly (but don't expect beautiful presentation) and people eat and leave in a jiffy. I also enjoy their soft drinks -- they serve Bundaberg ginger ale, root beer and others.
The new kid on the block is Makan Peranakan, also on East Coast Road (Telok Kurau R
oad junction). Situated in "Food R Us", the corner coffee shop of the Peranakan Hotel, it is a little stall which sells selected peranakan dishes - old favourites like mee siam, laksa, and kueh pie tee and more unusual dishes like nasi kunyit, nasi ulam. My favourites are the mee siam (savoury, with decent sized prawns) and the pie tee (tasty filling in a nice crisp pie tee shell). It's a pretty new outlet and if you fancy the mee siam, go early because it runs out fast. The nasi kunyit (glutinous rice, coloured with golden tumeric) is served with a really tasty chicken curry, prawns and some omelette. The most unusual dish here - the nasi ulam, full of herbs and (strangely) little bits of fish, is pretty tasty but tends to get a little dry. In general, however, the zhi cha at Food R Us is pretty solid. Good, tasty fare and friendly staff (who remember our preferences) make it the place we go to again and again (that and being right on our doorstep). So if you happen to be around the East Coast Road area and looking for a bite to eat in the evening, give this a try.
