Bab Noodle Millenia Walk

The good thing about working in Centennial Tower is that you can never run of new places to discover for lunch. Granted not all places are Michelin-worthy but the variety is endless. There's walking-distance Suntec City and Marina Square; further down you can count on City Link and Raffles City. As the end of the month rolls by, your purse strings and waistline may require some tightening as the variety spoils you rotten.

I had lunch highlight of the day with another fellow SMU intern Eileen and she took us to Bab Noodle at Millenia Walk. Approaching the restaurant, I was little alarmed. Reason 1: I usually stay away from restaurants, which display more than a dozen loud food photographs screaming out at you. Reason 2: The more than a dozen loud food photographs all contain set meals, which look unsettlingly mass-produced and are tagged with $X.90 price promotions.

Heave. Breathe. Enter restaurant.

Service was raw but enthusiastic. For example, our cups of ice water were shoved promptly in front of us and the self-serving cutlery box landed on our table with a loud 'thud'. I sense a lot of pent up energy here.. Haha.. This is not to say I was unsatisfied or anything, it sure beats waving your hands manic-style for COMPLENTARY ice water. Going through the numerous menu items, however, felt like participating in some sort of hit-or-miss game show. I picked Spicy Tofu Set while Eileen gave the Spicy Chicken Set a try. We also had Bab's Special Soft Shell Crab for starters. By the way, the sets came with kimchi, miso soup and generic cut-fruits.



Instead of a pallid steam tofu drench in sickeningly churlish sauce, I received a sizable slab of Agedashi tofu, drowned in rich oomphy more-spicy-than-sweet sauce. Therein lies a quick-fix for instant gastro-gratification for I thoroughly enjoyed slathering my white rice in generous globs of delectable sauce. To top it off, I was surprised to find a generous serving of tender chicken thigh slices and mushrooms. Definitely got more than what I bargained for- in a good way.



Requiring less ingenuity to create this dish, Eileen’s spicy chicken was flavourful and "nothing-wrong". I can't say it was "faultless" since that would imply it blew me away and while mind-blowing it was not, I couldn't find anything unsatisfactory. Unless you find the smattering of seasame seed offensive, it would be wise to order this if you are at lost over what to order.



Bab's Special Soft Shell Crab reminded me of the chili crab dish (erm it helps if you stretch your imagination.. haha) The soft shell crab was brttle crisp, albeit on the greasy side. It was perched on scrumptious egg-mingled spicy sauce, which was bread-soppingly good. Now who doesn't like it hot and spicy? Waitress-san, where are my fried mantous?



My first visit to Bab Noodle was encouraging although I think it generally boils down to expectations. I had anticipated an uninspiring affair, worthy of a lifetime slot in the Hall of Shame but when the above-average lunch settled well in my tummy, it traslated into an extremely agreeable experience. Still I maintain my stand that I could just be lucky and to find out if Bab Noodle is truly worth the praise will require return visits- which shouldn’t be too difficult.

I really want to try the bibimbAp!

Bab Noodle
Millenia Walk #01-20
9 Raffles Boulevard
(S) 039596
Tel: 6336 6770