Today's review features one of most lauded vegetarian stalls in Tampines. Ok, Tampines is hardly a vegetarian mecca, but nevertheless, this stall is highly praised amongst the residents of this area. The Chinese name is 谢必安. The character 谢 means to thank, while 必安 can translate roughly to mean 'definite peace'. While the character for 'heart'心 is placed on top of these characters. This stall has been around for four years, and is famous for its curry fish and sweet & sour abalone mushroom, which are served only in the evenings.
Xie Bi An Vegetarian Food
Location: Blk 828, Tampines Street 81
Contact: 90064438Opening Hours: Daily 7.00am-10.00pm This stall is divided into two parts, one section (pictured) with the specific purpose of hauling out the noodle dishes, while the larger side deals with the rest of the dishes coming out.
I started the meal off with
Wanton Mee from the small stall I mentioned just now. Overall this was quite a good rendition of wanton mee. On the larger plate, there was a healthy amount of noodles, with good quality char siew and zhai er on top for a nice crisp texture. The wanton themselves were lurking in the small bowl of soup. I found the taste of the soup to be a little bland, and the wanton skin was too tough and thick. But the flavourful dark noodle sauce made up for whatever flaws the wanton had, all in all a decent dish.
Price: $3.00. 7/10Lor Mee was next to the table. If you're looking for a traditionally cooked Singapore rendition of lor mee, then this dish will be what you're looking for. For myself though, the sauce was too heavy and I could almost feel the MSG on my palate. On the plus side, the portion size is big, and definitely it can't be accused of being bland in taste.
Price: $3.00. 6/10Out of the literally thousands of Chinese dishes, most of which I wholeheartedly adore, there is one dish I have never been able to appreciate - congee. This dish, which is mostly just rice and water, makes me feel like some kind of detained prison of war upon consuming. I was not hoping for much from this
Duck Porridge, but it was edible, which is already a success in my book. The healthy scoop of dark sauce certainly gave the listless rice and water the lift that it needed, and the tofu floating on top had good texture. Overall though, I just can't stand congee, therefore it would take something miraculous to make this dish come alive for me.
Price: $2.50. 6/10
Conclusion - I visited Xie Bi An in the afternoon, when their menu was quite trite and unexciting. I would be curious to visit again in the evening, when their signature dishes are available. From what I tried, the dishes are appetising enough (although nothing special) to warrant me returning to this stall again.Overall RatingFood - 6/10Ambiance- 6/10 Service - 7/10 Value - 6/10
