Breakfast at Gemmills Singapore.

Here's a hidden (or not quite busy yet) place to get breakfast if you happen to work in the Amoy Street or Telok Ayer area. The address of the place is officially 110 Amoy Street, but the entrance to the place is by the back door.

If you are one of those early risers and take the MRT to work, you can exit before 7:45 am and take a short walk to Gemmills from Telok Ayer (Downtown Line) MRT Station. Telok Ayer Station happens to be one of the 18 designated stations that you can get off for free if you exit before 7:45 am. Just cross one street and a half and you are at Gemmills. Your mobile phone map can show you the route.

Money saved on your ride and be used to get some food and coffee here. The prices here are reasonable too. Scroll to the end for a photo of the prices.

A photo posted by Philip Lim (@keropokman) on Jul 11, 2016 at 12:40am PDT

Here's the entrance that is accessible from Gemmill Lane.

This place morphs depending on the time of the day. From 8 am in the morning till afternoon, it's a cafe, in the evening it becomes a pub. This place is a licensed bottle shop that has a wide selection of sparkling, reds and whites from around the world plus a selection of craft beers too.



Was here to have sampling of the breakfast that is served, courtesy of Gemmills.

There is a coveted seat here but most people will not get it unless you happen to be there at the right time. It has a view of the circular 'fire escape' staircase that is common in older buildings. Very Instagram-able just like the food here.

Decent enough table for your food and drink and 13 inch macbook air. Sorry, no wifi available as yet.



The priciest food here is only $8 for this bowl of Granola with Fruit and Yoghurt.
The granola is pretty good and it had a good mix of nuts and oats and has a nice toasty aroma.

It sure taste much better than my recent breakfast which has been Weet-bix. Ya, I am on strange diets sometimes and it has been Weet-bix the gluten free ones recently.  This granola made me think, why am I eating WB!! 
 This was Catherine's coffee, I was having Tea. 



This was the sourdough toast with jam that I had. Breads and pastry are all made in house as they have a baker that makes them there. Nicely toasted with a generous amount of butter and house-made blackberry jam, it was something simple and good.



The bakes for the morning. If you want a bigger selection, go around 10 or so and everything will be out on display. It will then remind you of the Cafes that are in Melbourne.

In fact, one of the co-owner of the place calls Melbourne his permanent home.



A capture of the pricing if you want to know.



For those in the area and have missed Stamping Ground Coffee House who have moved to the East Coast area, in the month of August, Gemmills and Stamping Ground are collaborating to have 2 unique blends of cold brew just to beat the heat.


Gemmills Singapore
110 Amoy Street, #01-02
Singapore 069930

Tel: +65 6221 5564
Opens from 8 am to midnight everyday except Sundays.

Social media links: 
facebook.com/gemmillssingapore
instagram.com/gemmillssingapore

Fried Kway Teow @ Amoy Street Food Centre

I had cravings for Char Kway Teow last week. I don't know why, but CKT is something that I love to eat since I was a little boy! Every now and then, I feel like eating it, although I was told it has the calories of eating 12 loaves of bread! (is that true?)

There are many styles of Char Kway Teow and everyone has their own favourite. There's no one stall in Singapore that can please everyone. Not even the best Char Kway Teow stall in Singapore can please everyone.  I have always prefer the slightly wet version (but not soggy). Some like the dry version and think the wet version is disgusting. 



This and the Fried Kway Teow stall at Tiong Bahru Market are my favourite stalls. Though this stall does not serve the nicest version I have eaten, I have grown to like it. I have eaten at this stall for more than 10 years!

The funny thing is that the uncle that cooks it is not even consistent! It's sometimes wetter than usual, sometimes it is dry. There used to be 2 uncles who took turns to fry it and they have different styles too! Nowadays I only see 1 old man frying it.

I had the Char Kuey Teow last Saturday. Sis was ordering and she since she had to wait, she had a chat with the lady at the stall. She said that uncle who is frying has been frying for over 40 years!

We were told, the uncle was frying kway teow down the street. When Amoy Street Food Centre opened, they moved here and has been here frying his kway teow here ever since.  Quite a veteran eh! 40 years and people are still going for his CKT!

Kway Teow Mee

The default version of Char Kway Teow. It is actually Kway Teow Mee. It is mixture of flat rice noodles with yellow noodles.

I don't like yellow noodles so I 'dislike' this version. Sis ate the above and says it is too wet for her liking. She likes her drier version. But I know many people love this version, that's why there is always a queue for it!

Fried Kway Teow

This is my favourite. Only Kway Teow and not adulterated with yucky yellow noodles. (You can tell I really hate yellow noodles in my Kway Teow) To order it, say "Heng Kway Teow". You can say Heng Kway Teow to all fried kway teow hawkers. How many of you are like me? You only order Heng Kway Teow.

Sometimes you have to wait a while before they cook this for you. They have to finish serving the 'horrible' mix first before they serve me my 'delicious' kway teow.

I like the wetter version because the kway teow is softer and not so oily. I don't like the drier version, because it gives an oily aftertaste.  I also like to squeeze the calamansi over it so that it gives a slight citrusy taste and fragrance to it. Oh, I am salivating now.


Fried Kway Teow
Stall 01-01
Amoy Street Food Centre
MND Building Annexe B
7 Maxwell Road
Singapore 069111

The official address states Maxwell Road, but it's on Amoy Street.

Swee Kee (Ka-Soh) Fishhead Noodle House @ Amoy Street

This was lunch last Saturday afternoon with 20 other friends after our Bible Study Fellowship. It was our last meeting for the year and we are going for a break till next year. So we thought we will 'eat' as a closing.

Our food organiser had arranged to go somewhere else, but due to last minute changes, we just came here instead. It is nearer and we don't need to arrange any transport. It's walking distance from where we meet.



First thing that greeted us was mr lard. We have one friend who was saying, are you sure it is lard? It looks like some pickled salted veg or something.

We said it is lard. Try it. He said, "no way jose". Guess what? We kept telling him it's nice, try it, try it, and he tried it like half way through the meal. Guess what? He nearly finish all of it! LOL...



While mr lardy was mostly untouched in the beginning, ms achar was popular. really popular and some even wanted to order more. :-)



So what did we eat?

Their famous Pai Ku Wang. Deep fried pork ribs that's delicious. Dip it in the sweet black sauce. If you are a fan of fried food, I am sure you can finish it all up!



We also had the San Lou Hor Fun. A very nice rendition of this dish.




Another of their signature dish is the prawn paste chicken. Again, fried food lovers will love it. Close your eyes now, think about crispy chicken and when you bite it, it gives out a crispy crunch. The fragrant smell of prawn paste that has been exploded after it hits the hot oil.



We asked if anyone eat bittergourd. We realised that many people like bittergourd! That's really surprising! I thought only those outcast like me eat bittergourd. It seems almost everyone on the table eats it!

So, we had a bittergourd omelet. Not bad. The bittergourd was not dry inside. Still a little wet, the way many of us like it. (we think there's too much eggs and too little bittergourd though!)



We did order another veg, just in case those who did not say they did not like bittergourd was too shy to say it. Sambal Kangkong. Has this become the most common vegetable dish to order in Singapore I wonder....



For the namesake of the shop. We ordered the Fishhead (or in this case, the fish slices) Noodles. They said there's no added milk in their soup. Whitish soup is from the long hours of boiling.
(psst, we think it's so so lah..)



It was a good time of eating and fellowship.

I wonder if our 'food coordinator' will be planning some makan trips while we are having a 'holiday'. (we know the food coordinator is reading... hehe..)


Swee Kee (Ka-Soh) Fishhead Noodle House @ Amoy Street
96 Amoy Street
Singapore 069916

Tel: 6224 9920
Hours: 11:45 - 14:30, 17:30 - 22:45 daily.