This used to be known as Kem Huat Kopi, before taking on the more straightforward, and honestly more generic-sounding… 913 Eating House.
It sits along (no surprises) 913 Bukit Timah Road, in a building some may still remember as the former Tan Chong Motor Centre.
Still, do not write it off too quickly.
The space is not trying to charm you with café plants and soft lighting. It is a bright, straight-forward and practical dining place which looks like a canteen-style eatery.
And the prices are not too bad for Bukit Timah area.
The menu also does that very Singaporean thing of trying to cover breakfast, lunch, kopi, toast, noodles, rice and dessert all at once.
There are traditional kopi and teh, along with toast sets with kaya butter, peanut butter or butter sugar toast ($6).
Also look out for breakfast items such as Nasi Lemak Rice ($2), and Fried Bee Hoon ($1.80), Chee Cheong Fun ($3.50), with add-ons including nugget, fish fillet, luncheon meat, curry chicken, cabbage and fried egg.
Some items were not available when I visited, so ordering became more of a “let’s see what is still around” situation.
Not a complaint, as the place still feels like it is finding its rhythm.
I ended up with the SHIOK Pork Noodle ($9) which came with bee hoon (because kway teow was not available), minced pork, liver, pork slices and pork balls.
There was quite a lot going on for $9 (if you try not to compare everything to hawker centre prices).
The soup reminded me a little of the pork noodles you might find in Johor Bahru, with conspicuous floating bits of minced pork in a slightly sweet soup, and pork balls which brought that familiar bounce.
Comforting and more satisfying than I expected from a place I had not heard much about.
If there is one area to work on, it would be the sauce or seasoning-to-noodle proportion. I felt the noodles could have been coated a little more evenly.
For lunch, there are Hainanese Curry Rice options such as Curry Chicken Rice ($9), Fried Chicken Curry Rice ($9), Kong Bah Curry Rice ($9) and Curry Rice Combo ($12.50).
The Curry Chicken Rice ($9) was also good for the price.
It came with curry chicken, rice, braised cabbage and fried egg. The curry leaned towards the old-school eating house style, just a tad spicy, not too thick, not too lemak, but comforting enough to go with rice.
I also liked the fried chicken pieces on the side, which added crunch and made the plate feel more complete.
Nothing too fancy here, but I can see why someone working nearby would order this again, especially when the craving is for curry, rice and something fried on the same plate.
913 Eating House still feels like it is finding its footing, but there are hints of potential here.
If they can tighten a few details, like the seasoning proportions and overall consistency, this could become one of those Bukit Timah lunch places people quietly return to before it gets crowded.
913 Eating House
913 Bukit Timah Road, #01-00, Singapore 589623
Opening Hours: 8am – 3:30pm (Mon – Fri), 8am – 3pm (Sat), Closed Sun
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Bao Er Café (Fortune Centre)
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Cafe 107 (Serangoon North)
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