Al Tasneem, Singapore

Jac and I had planned to get breakfast at Singapore Zam Zam, the popular roti prata place near the corner of Arab and North Bridge Streets but we were hungry too early and it was still closed. When Jac’s ready to eat, it doesn’t take long for hungry to turn to hangry – I’ve learned from experience we need a Plan B fast. Luckily, Zam Zam’s not the only roti place along North Bridge Road. Victory Restaurant right next door wasn’t open yet either, and so we ended up at Al Tasneem, still on North Bridge Road, but on the next corner, opposite Sultan Mosque.

The man slapping prata onto the hot plate looked up grumpily, waiting for our order. The signs proudly proclaim the ‘BEST’ murtabak – available with deer, mutton, chicken, beef and sardine.
“One mutton murtabak, one plain prata, two teh tarik”, Jac said.
“No plain prata. Egg prata!” he snapped.
Egg prata it was.

We chose a table on the verandah in the shade of striped awning. Plates and cutlery were placed on our table, followed by our two glasses of teh tarik, and then a dish of sliced cucumber with a watery red sauce. That probably doesn’t sound appealing but the thin sweet and sour sauce wasn’t too bad. The teh tarik was mostly ‘teh’ without ‘tarik’ – the temperature of our drinks and their lack of a frothy top suggested not much ‘pulling’ had taken place. Once cooled down though, the strong sweet tea went down easy.

Oscar the grouch had the magic touch; the roti was very good – light and crisp, filled with a decent amount of egg, mutton and onion. Served with the roti were dhal and meat curry gravy for dipping. Tourists, don’t forget to BYO tissues/wet wipes, especially if, like me, you prefer using fingers to cutlery.

Al Tasneem Restaurant
709 North Bridge Rd (corner of Jalan Pinang)
Singapore 198681
Telephone: +65 6291 1781

Singapore series

Jac and I were in Singapore for 8 nights in July 2014. We paid for this trip ourselves and our friend Mandy was our local guide and makan kaki. We stayed in Bugis, close to the MRT (train) station and within walking distance of shops and places to eat.

• Ice cream wafer
• Al Tasneem – this post
• Forget chilli crab! Keng Eng Kee Seafood
• Chomp Chomp Food Centre
• High tea at the Raffles Hotel Singapore
• Tian Tian and Zhen Zhen, Maxwell Food Centre
• My Singapore durian fest
• Azmi Chapati
• Yet Con
• LEGOLAND Malaysia
• Dong Po Colonial Cafe

*A Malay phrase. ‘Makan’ means ‘eat’. ‘Kaki’s original meaning is ‘leg’ but in this context means ‘friend’ or ‘buddy’. ‘Makan kaki’ is your ‘eating buddy’.

TFP in USA

Jac and I are currently in the United States. Get the latest updates on my social media accounts: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. You can also get a sneak peek of the Instagram and Facebook feeds in my blog’s right sidebar. There’ll be more detailed USA blog posts in the months to come.

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breakfast, Indian, roti, Singapore, travel  3