PappaRich Plus at OneKM Mall - Malaysian Comfort Food Done Well

I used to frequent Old Town White Coffee in the past for my Malaysian food fix. That is, until I visited Johor on a regular basis and discovered that Old Town's stuff was pretty much filtered down.

Since then, there has been hardly any decent establishments within our island to go to for some decent Malaysian fare. Until now, that is.

To date, PappaRich has opened 6 outlets here and the latest at OneKM Mall is a PappaRich Plus outlet, which means even more selections.

Most of the food here are comfort food, served in a richly decorated and comforting setting. No fussing with heat or messy tables, and it is an ideal place for a family outing. And then some.

The menu comprises of familiar Malaysian dishes,  most of which will go down easily with the Singaporean palate. Founder Rich Tan's commitment to sourcing for the best recipes and ingredients can be clearly reflected in the food on display here.

Kampong Fried Rice

We utterly adored this simple plate of Kampong Fried Rice, which is actually a dish that is supposed to be made from leftovers in the old days. Here, it was nicely wok fried infused with a hint of wok hei to give a tingling sensation to the tongue.

Layered with a simple sunny side up, the distinction is the crunchy and savoury fried anchovies that just gave this dish a whole new dimension. Simple but tasty.

Steamed Kaya Toast

It is getting harder and harder to find steamed toast in Singapore, and often I have to travel across the causeway just to eat this. Thankfully, now I can get my fix right here in PappaRich.

Not only do they do steamed toast, they do it very well and coupled with their own made kaya, it was a nostalgic trip for me with every bite.

Curry Fish Head

The curry fish head will be ideal for a family dinner. Fresh and succulent red snapper is used and the portion is more than generous, with the requisite side ingredients filling up the massive claypot.

The curry itself was a potent concoction of 22 different spices and it showed. But it was neither too hot nor too overpowering as the sweet natural flavours of the fish came through beautifully. Fish heads live or die by how fresh the fish is, and for my money, this is one of the better curry fish heads around.

Four Heavenly Kings

The monicker of Four Heavenly Kings might mislead you into thinking that Jackie or Andy might have something to do with this dish, but no. It is actually a combination of petal, long beans, aubergine and lady fingers cooked in a luscious shrimpy, sambal paste.

The dish looked colourful and appetising from the get go, and I particularly liked the spicy and flavourful sambal that again, was neither too spicy nor overpowering. The different textures of the vegetables provided a playful crunch in the mouth and this should go down very well with the ladies.

Chendol

The chendol might look somewhat pedestrian but do not let that deceive you. Using gula melaka (cane sugar) from Malacca, this was definitely one of the best chendols I have had here. The gula melaka was robust and smoky enough to smother the milky stylings of the coconut cream. Nicely balanced and judged in terms of the ratio.

Overall, I had a blast at PappaRich. There are more dishes that I did not try but I am sure that if the rest of the cooking is as good as the above, it will not prove disappointing either.

It may look a bit posh for Malaysian comfort fare, but all things considered the prices are still very affordable and should prove a better destination for such cuisine than say, Old Town. Straightforward cooking, but cooking that is fresh and well executed. Bravo.

PappaRich Plus
11 Tanjong Katong Road
#01-60