Tucked away in the quiet Adelphi shopping mall at City Hall, among the many hi-fi and audio equipment stores on level 1, is the nondescript King Umar Teh Tarik Cafe.
The small standalone Indian Muslim eatery, which offers the usual suspects like roti prata, nasi biryani, and, of course, teh tarik, is relatively under the radar despite having been around for almost 10 years. It also occupies the unit next door.
The menu is pretty extensive with affordable prices. You can get a freshly fried plain prata for S$1.50 and a plate of mee goreng starts from S$5. But the star at the joint, it seems, is their goreng pisang, or banana fritter, which costs a very wallet-friendly 50 cents.
Only available around 3pm, the banana fritters are not listed on the menu, though you can spot pictures of them on the wall.
GORENG PISANG, S$0.50
The shop uses decent-sized (around 10cm) halved bananas which are lightly coated in a simple rice flour batter. This is so it cooks more thoroughly and gives it more crunch with every bite, said Hidayatulla.
While he isn’t sure what variety of bananas is used, they appear to be pisang kepok, which is flat, sharply faceted and stubby.
We’re not fans of overly thick, hard and crunchy batter, so we like that the crust here is thin, crisp, and is not too greasy.
The pale flesh is creamy and mildly sweet with a slightly tart flavour. Not as gooey and caramelised as we’d like, but at 50 cents, we’re not complaining.
We wolfed down three pieces in one sitting. Note that two pieces are equivalent to about one regular goreng pisang.
TEH TARIK, S$1,50
We like a frothy teh tarik with a robust tea flavour and the one here hits the spot. It is fragrant, full-bodied with just the right amount of sweet and milky.
King Umar Teh Tarik Cafe is at 1 Coleman Street, #01-08, The Adelphi, Singapore 179803. Open daily, 7am to 7.30pm.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
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