Thursday, March 27, 2008

Singapore's best kept fast food secret

The Pearly Gates of Fast Food Heaven

Waffletown and i have quite a bit of history together. I basically grew up eating Waffletown as a kid, when mom would buy back fried chicken, mashed potatoes and the awesome waffles with ice-cream home for lunch. maybe i was a pretty spoiled kid. lesse, i'd probably need to have been in primary school if i were to count back the number of years its been since i've eaten their food.

probably about fourteen years.

imagine my excitement when my friends decided we'd actually have dinner there before one of our poker sessions.

Placing an order

Stepping into Waffletown is really a slice of nostalgia. the outlet at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre has since moved to Balmoral Plaza, and it's the only existing outlet left in Singapore. i think most of the crew is still the original staff, and amidst all the fast food outlets in Singapore modernising themselves, Waffletown preserves a lot of that 80's charm

Charmed

the ambiance is suitably the way it's always been, and it really is a taste of things to come. i was excited to hear how my friends were going re-live a fragment of their past





it may not look like much, but these burgers make no qualms about not being gourmet, and just good plain'ol junk food for the soul

I can has cheezburger?

don't you wish you were the one sinking your teeth into this?

First Taste

i opted for the three piece fried chicken meal.

Fried Chicken

this was absolute joy. it tasted more local than KFC, and probably reminiscent of the fried chicken you find at western food stalls in hawker centres. but it was so oily, crispy and it just added to the whole flavour of a real 80's diner. the coleslaw and mashed potatoes were just the way i remembered them as well.

and that's the thing that's so amazing about Waffletown, after 14 years, the food tastes EXACTLY the same! it all dawned onto me as i plunged into my first bite of the waffle ala mode blueberry with vanilla ice cream.

Waffle Ala Mode w/ Blueberry

the same blueberry sauce, the same waffle batter, and the same non-gourmet ice cream that they've been using for years! consistent good food, despite the changing world around us, Waffletown is in a stasis lock, and a welcome haven for those who remember it.

i've got nothing against gourmet ice cream like Haggan Daaz, Ben & Jerrys, Island Creamery and the multitude of other similar chains, but there's a certain confidence about an establishment that doesn't see a need to compete with other market forces, and change their look, style or food.

it's just the way it's been, and just the way we like it -)

9 comments:

DK said...

I still remember skipping my poly classes and go waffletown at Bt Timah Plaza. Great stuff.

Think that it is more accessible at Bt Timah Plaza.

brian koh said...

DK : hahaha, true, Bukit Timah Plaza is probably more accessible. but Singaporeans have been known to inconvenience themselves for good food! -) kekeke

Anonymous said...

not a secret anymore...
its nice to see that it has still retained its old charm after so many years.

i think i just might have dinner there.


"no chicken?" "shut up lah"....lol

Anonymous said...

Since you've nothing against them, maybe you could at least get the name right - Häagen-Dazs and not some weird mutation of their name. *wink*

brian koh said...

ian : hahahaha, maybe i just fear that they might close soon... but if they don't want this sort of attention..? i hope i didn't screw them over

wee : ahahaha, well, the important thing is that everyone knows it's haagen-hazs right? sorry i dunno how to do the two twiddly dots on top of the first "a". i might be a grammer nazi, but you're a spelling nzai! (sp)

Lounge Lizard said...

I remember their mashed potatoes... So they are at Balmoral Plaza now. Thanks for the heads-up!

brian koh said...

lounge lizard : hahaha, no worries bro! good things must share -)

Anonymous said...

Damn Brian!

You made me crave for fast food and especially waffles now...

recalcitranz said...

hey bro - brings a different perspective to 'meatball sundae' (is that the title, heh?) don't it? =) hope you don't mind i linked you at my self-indulgent private online journal...